June 2023: Direct From CDC/Environmental Health Services
June 2023
Volume 85, Number 10
Editor's Note: The National Environmental Health Association strives to provide up-to-date and relevant information on environmental health and to build partnerships in the profession. In pursuit of these goals, we feature a column on environmental health services from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in every issue of the Journal of Environmental Health.
In these columns, authors from the CDC Water, Food, and Environmental Health Services Branch, as well as guest authors, will share tools, resources, and guidance for environmental health practitioners. The conclusions of these columns are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official position of CDC.
Shine a Light on Environmental Justice Issues With the Environmental Justice Dashboard
Jena Losch, MPH, National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Some communities face environmental injustice—disproportionate burdens from environmental exposures, damaging land uses, psychosocial stressors, and historical and structural racism—that can be linked to short- and long-term health disparities. Environmental justice can be achieved when everyone has the same degree of protection from environmental and health hazards and equal representation in the decision-making process to have a healthy environment. An important step toward achieving environmental justice is improving access to data and information that can be understood and used by communities, decision makers, environmental health practitioners, and health officials to identify and address environmental injustices.
The Environmental Justice Dashboard from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is an important tool that uses data to shine a light on injustices, to help inform decisions, and to be a foundation for community narratives and environmental justice initiatives and actions. This month’s column explores the Environmental Justice Dashboard and how you can use it in your community.