Geology and Human Health Workshop

May 12-15, 2004
Chico Hot Springs Resort

The notorious Berkeley Pit a defunct open pit copper mine in Butte Montana photo by Steve Peters

Geology contributes in many ways to human health issues--in water and air quality and quantity, natural and anthropogenic health hazards, as a controlling factor in the epidemiology of water- and air-borne diseases, and in the development of public health policy. The interdisciplinary field of "medical geology" is of increasing importance in society, and should, therefore, have an increasingly important place in the geoscience curriculum. The purpose of this workshop is to explore where and how human health issues are taught in the undergraduate geoscience curriculum, and to develop an action plan toward widespread implementation of human health curricular materials in undergraduate geoscience courses.


Workshop speaker Mickey Gunter examines salt deposits along Silver Bow Creek resulting from mining upstream. photo by Steve Peters

Workshop Links

Conveners:

  • Catherine Skinner, Yale University
  • Jean Bahr, University of Wisconsin
  • David Mogk, Montana State University
  • Jill Singer, Buffalo State College