Ventura, California's 2023 winter storm activity underscored the impact that runoff has on recreational water quality and public health. To examine public perception of stormwater runoff, coastal water quality, and community decision-making toward recreating in polluted water, an online survey of the Ventura River watershed community determined…

This article presents a hands-on web-based activity motivated by the relation between human health and ozone pollution in California. This case study is based on multivariate data collected monthly at 20 locations in California between 1980 and 2006. Several strategies and tools for data interrogation and exploratory data analysis, model fitting…

In 1966, the California State Department of Public Health was directed to report on lead contamination of the environment and its effects on the people of California. As a result, this report represents information on the sources, occurrence, and distribution of lead in the environment; on studies conducted by the Department; on body burdens of…

The citrus thrips is a small insect pest that causes some cosmetic damage, but seldom causes yield reduction, tree kills, or lower the nutritional value or eating quality of citrus fruits. In California however, economic and marketing factors have prompted the massive, unnecessary overuse of insecticides to kill this pest. (Author/MA)

Since 1984, October has been recognized in the U.S. as National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. In 1997, the Toxic Links Coalition of the Bay Area, California, began organizing annual "Stop Cancer Where It Starts" tours to counter attempts to obscure the environmentally-linked causes of cancer. By drawing on research including participant…

This report contains the proceedings of the first of two hearings that explored the risks of environmental toxins to children. Testimony concerned the special vulnerability of children to toxins; the dangers of lead poisoning; instances of childhood cancer, birth defects, and developmental problems; passive smoking; child health in the California…

Community-based participatory research (CBPR) increasingly is being used to study and address environmental justice. This article presents the results of a cross-site case study of four CBPR partnerships in the United States that researched environmental health problems and worked to educate legislators and promote relevant public policy. The…

The human response to an environmental hazard can either reduce or exacerbate its impact on health. This article reviews determinants of community-level responses to environmental health hazards. The aim is to identify factors that can enhance a community's capacity to protect itself and to suggest public health strategies that can increase such…