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T HE UNITED NATIONS projects that global population will reach a peak of 9.22 billion in 2075. The need for natural resources such as food, land and water will sig- nificantly strain the planet's production capacity. As ecosystems are destroyed or modified to expand access to farmland, fisheries or fossil fuels, many scientists believe humans will be more exposed to emerging health threats. Researchers are currently developing macroscopic approaches to quantifying the symbiotic link between ecosystems and human health — a novel approach that complements the ongoing work of various departments of environ- mental health, according to Samuel S. Myers, MD, MPH, research scientist in the Department of Environmental Health at Har vard School of Public Hea lt h a nd Clinica l Inst r uctor at Harvard Medical School. "We're arguing that there's a ver y separate discipline within environ- mental health that is focused not on dose-response epidemiolog y but on understanding how changes in structure and function of Earth's natural systems will alter population health," he says. Population increases present mul- tifactorial challenges that are often addressed by changing the landscape to provide more space for living or farming. Although land-use changes can promote health benefits by providing access to water and farmland, they simultaneously introduce new dilemmas. Many observ- ers warn that it is critically important to fully conceptualize the health risks inherent in changing an ecosystem to meet the needs of a burgeoning global population. Emerging Diseases H i s t or ic a l ly, t he emerg ence of zoonotic and vector-borne diseases presents some of the most identifiable The Complex Relationship between the Environment and Human Health By Michael Ferguson 2 4 | Minnesota MD NEWS ■ M D N E W S . CO M