Sustainability, health and precautionary perspectives on lawn pesticides, and alternatives.

This article considers health concerns associated with lawn pesticide use and potential policy actions to address those concerns. We first briefly present the generations of pesticide technology, and then apply a sustainability lens to consider the dissipative use of persistent compounds. We enumerate uncertainties in available science and gaps in toxicity testing of pesticides, along with potential for exposure and evidence of harm from lawn pesticide exposure.

Sustainability, synthetic chemicals, and human exposure.

Public concerns regarding exposures to synthetic chemicals are increasing. Globally, there are increasing concentrations of many synthetic chemicals within the environment. The ubiquitous extent of some chemicals makes human exposure unavoidable.

Integrating sustainability and health care.

Unsustainable development around the world has contributed to ecological degradation and human suffering while compromising the ability of ecosystems and social institutions to support human life. The United States health care system and its institutions are significant contributors to unsustainable development, but leaders of change are emerging from the health care arena. Health professionals, including primary care providers, are poised to serve as models for sustainability and to facilitate the necessary transformation toward more sustainable practices.