Healthy Planet, Healthy People:
A climate for understanding
We seldom consider how we humans affect our own health and welfare with the effect we have on the environment. Yet, a rising incidence of human diseases has emerged as a direct result of changes in the environmental health of the planet.
The Botanical Research Institute of Texas and the University of North Texas Health Science Center recognize a need to integrate the scientific approaches to understanding environmental issues with the science of protecting human health. As institutions dedicated to conservation through research and education, BRIT and its partners provide this public lecture series to explore the origins and development of certain diseases and the direct relationship between environmental quality and human health. Three leading international scientists will share their perspectives from their diverse fields of study.
Lectures are held in Fort Worth in the Leonhardt Lecture Hall, Fort Worth Botanic Garden
Every day of our lives we eat, drink, and breathe minerals and trace element contained in the water we drink, the food that we eat, and the dust that we inhale. For most of us this interaction with natural materials is harmless, perhaps even beneficial, supplying us with some essential nutrients. However, for some, the interaction with the minerals and trace elements can have devastating, even fatal effects. Examples that will be discussed include: a town in Montana that has been devastated by trace quantities of asbestos that now affects the Dallas-Fort Worth area; a deadly fungus in west Texas mobilized by earthquakes; natural groundwater that has contributed to the death of more than 100,000 people in the Balkans and that may also affect communities in east Texas; a trace element in Texas ground water that influences suicide rates; dust from African that may impact our health. These and other medical problems and benefits of geologic materials and processes will be discussed.
Dr. Robert B. Finkelman, a Research Professor at the University of Texas at Dallas, retired in 2005 after 32 years with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). He is an internationally recognized scientist widely known for his work on coal chemistry and as a leader of the emerging field of Medical Geology. Dr. Finkelman has degrees in geology, geochemistry, and chemistry. He has a diverse professional background having worked for the federal government (USGS) and private industry (Exxon), formed a consulting company (Environmental and Coal Associates), and has lectured and provided mentorship at colleges and universities around the world. Most of Dr. Finkelman’s professional career has been devoted to understanding the properties of coal and how these properties affect coal’s technological performance, economic byproduct potential, and environmental and health impacts. For the past 10 years he has devoted his efforts to developing the field of Medical Geology. Dr. Finkelman is the author of more than 575 publications and has been invited to speak in 50 countries. He is an officer in several professional societies, associate editor of several scientific journals, and holds adjunct professorships at six universities. Dr. Finkelman was Chairman of the Geological Society of America’s Coal Geology Division; Chair of the International Association for Cosmochemistry and Geochemistry, Working Group on Geochemistry and Health; founding member and co-chair of the International Medical Geology Association; President of the Society for Organic Petrology; recipient of the Nininger Meteorite Award; recipient of the Gordon H. Wood Jr. Memorial Award from the AAPG Eastern Section; a Fellow of the Geological Society of America; and the 2004 recipient of the Cady Award from the GSA’s Coal Geology Division. Dr. Finkelman was also a recipient of a 2004 U. S. State Department Embassy Science Fellowship for a three-month assignment in South Africa. He was a member of a recent National Research Council committee looking at the future of coal in the U.S.
Organized by BRIT and the University of North Texas Health Science Center (UNTHSC) and hosted by the Fort Worth Botanic Garden, Fort Worth Garden Club and the Fort Worth Botanical Society
For more information about the lectures, contact pharrison@brit.org
