Our climate is changing and will continue to change. The impact of this change will be different in different countries, areas, and communities. Our vulnerability and resilience to this change is impacted by our economic, social and health conditions. This enquiry group will explore how we respond to this on-going climate change. 

Adaptation is an under-developed response to the climate crisis, yet we know that health and wellbeing is already being significantly affected – at its most extreme leading to excess deaths, but also impacting on our physical and mental health. In this enquiry group, you might choose to investigate how do we support more resilience at the individual, community, or national level? This could include considering: 

• Physical adaptation – to our homes, transport routes, etc. 

• Supporting/informing positive behaviour change. 

• Addressing health and social inequalities. 

• Citizen science to understand local impacts. 

The earth’s capacity to support life is governed by the intensive cycling of chemicals. While carbon dioxide currently takes centre stage in public discourse regarding climate heating, alterations to other geo- and biochemical pathways also cause considerable harm to human health. Many of these changes are exacerbated by climate change (e.g., Pollutant release from wildfires or flooding events). Manufactured chemicals may enter the air we breathe, the rivers and oceans, and the biosphere, profoundly affecting the resources upon which we are reliant. Exposure to these chemicals can be local (e.g., Factory workers) or experienced at great distance (e.g., Through air), immediate (e.g., Toxic gas leading to respiratory illnesses) or a long way in the future (e.g., nuclear waste leading to cancer). They may cause acute, chronic, or transgenerational epigenetic health problems. Impacts to health are especially experienced by vulnerable populations: the economically deprived, the disempowered, the underrepresented. Existing regulatory processes struggle to keep up with increasing numbers of manufactured compounds—including novel chemicals with unknown effects on health—even in high-income countries. 

In this enquiry group you may consider the following challenges: do we need more chemicals to improve our lives (how, when or should society stop looking for novel chemical solutions to its problems)? Is the chemical pollution of our planet driven by industry, or by the society it serves? How might chemical pollutants be better regulated globally? And as stewards of the planet earth, what responsibility do we bear for each other and the biosphere? Is a chemical-dependent vision civilisation condemning us to poor health? How can we reduce inequalities of health impacts in our societies, across the world, and across generations? How can biodiversity be protected against the onslaught of these chemicals? 

"How inappropriate to call this planet earth when it is quite clearly ocean." (Arthur C. Clarke) 

The meta-discipline of ocean(s) and human health postulates that the health of humans is inextricably interconnected with the health of the ocean. This transdisciplinary area of research and training incorporates both the benefits and risks of the interactions between humans and the oceans. This includes the risks of climate and other environmental change, but also the growing evidence for health and wellbeing benefits from interacting with high quality marine environments (although currently not for equally for all people). 

In this enquiry group, you can consider the costs of healthcare, the food industry and tourism on the health of the global ocean, and ways to address and prevent these impacts. What are the benefits, risks and ethical issues poised by creating and maintaining marine protected areas (MPAs) for both humans and the oceans? What are the challenges and opportunities of living as a citizen of a small island nation in an era of climate and other environmental change?