Includes bibliographical references and index.

Historical and Cultural Roots. The European ancestry of environmental health ; Early environmental public health in the United States ; Environmentalism and economic growth ; The birth of the U.S. environmental health movement. -- The Contemporary Movement. Organizations and issues ; Making environmental issues personal ; Precaution and the limitations of science ; Environmental justice and the right to a healthy environment ; Changing economics, the markets, and business. -- Conclusion and next steps: strategies for social change. This book offers a comprehensive examination of the environmental health movement, which unlike many parts of the environmental movement, focuses on ways toxic chemicals and other hazardous agents in the environment effect human health and well-being. Born in 1978 when Lois Gibbs organized her neighbors to protest the health effects of a toxic waste dump in Love Canal, New York, the movement has spread across the United States and throughout the world. By placing human health at the center of its environmental argument, this movement has achieved many victories in community mobilization and legislative reform. Here the author, an environmental health expert describes the movement's historical, ideological, and cultural roots and analyzes its strategies and successes. -- Publisher's description.