Environmental security and public health

This chapter empowers the reader to think about a planning process in a way that allows complex environmental security (ES) linkages to be considered at the level of strategic national and international policy making and long-range human security. Environmental security is presented both as a concept that should be a key component of US national and homeland security strategy planning, as well as a major, growing, and complex global problem. The chapter provides a summary of weather and climate, global warming, and a brief history of ES. It describes the meaning and context of security at various levels and examines the relationships between the impacts of environmental phenomena and resulting global political and security issues. The chapter also examines the health impact of the environment on human security. It creates a direct linkage between ES and both national and homeland security strategies in developing as well as developed countries.