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Environmental Health

Improving health and equity by addressing critical environmental issues

Our Impact

See all Environmental Health Impacts

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  • 50+ years 50 years researching links between chemical exposures during pregnancy and health across generations
  • PASSED the most aggressive climate bills in the country: CA SB 32 and SB 1383
  • 10x more pollution episodes identified

Our Work

Our environment, the air we breathe, the food we consume and the climate around us profoundly impact our health. Communities of color and low-income populations are disproportionately exposed to environmental hazards and the impacts of climate change. PHI is in the vanguard of improving health and equity by addressing some of the most pressing environmental issues of our time. We undertake groundbreaking studies. We show how the built environment can influence whether or not an individual will develop asthma, cancer and other illnesses. We educate the public and policy makers about the impacts of climate change on public health, and more.

PHI Priority

Building Health Equity

PHI's Achieving Resilient Communities (ARC) works to mitigate the dangers of heat-related illnesses and to increase climate change resilience in vulnerable communities. Thanks to their efforts, Ventura County launched a new emergency audio alert system in Mixteco and Zapoteco that notifies farmworkers when air quality reaches unhealthy levels due to wildfire smoke. ARC has also worked alongside farmworkers to document their stories and experiences during climate events, helping to elevate calls to action and community-led solutions. Their work has been recognized by the EPA as a best practice in how to communicate about the health risks of extreme heat with vulnerable populations by expanding access to information in indigenous languages and audiovisual formats.

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New Public Health Primer: Engaging Community Development for Health Equity

How can the public health and community development sectors to work together to advance health and racial equity? A new primer from PHI’s Build Healthy Places Network and partners provides a roadmap for forging upstream partnerships, with recommendations, strategies and lessons-learned from national, state and local leaders.

Explore the primer

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