Healthy human population

Healthy Human Population is an indicator of ecosystem health established by the State of Washington's Puget Sound Partnership. It is part of a series of indicators known as "Puget Sound Vital Signs" that include sub-categories such as air quality, drinking water, local foods, onsite sewage systems, outdoor activity and shellfish beds. The goal of the indicator is "a healthy population supported by a healthy Puget Sound that is not threatened by changes in the ecosystem," according to the Partnership's website. Related articles below may include topics pertaining to beneficial—not just adverse—conditions for human health.

Sources:

The Puget Sound Partnership Vital Signs web page.  

Related Articles

2013 Health Impact Assessment: proposed cleanup plan for the lower Duwamish Waterway superfund site

"[Researchers at the University of Washington School of Health] partnered with two nonprofit groups, Just Health Action and the Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition/Technical Advisory Group, to assess the potential health impacts of the Duwamish River Cleanup on Tribes and people who use the Duwamish River or live or work nearby.

The health impact assessment (HIA) focuses on health changes that may result from the proposed cleanup and makes recommendations about how to minimize health impacts, maximize health benefits, and reduce health disparities in the affected populations."

-- Summary of Health Impact Assessment by Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences

Read More
Juvenile Manila clams. Photo: Julie Barber

Extended abstract— Poisoning the body to nourish the soul: Prioritising health risks and impacts in a Native American community

This is an extended abstract of Poisoning the body to nourish the soul: Prioritising health risks and impacts in a Native American community by Jamie L. Donatuto, Terre A. Satterfield and Robin Gregory. The full article was published in Health, Risk & Society, Vol. 13, No. 2, April 2011, 103–127. The extended abstract was prepared for the Encyclopedia of Puget Sound by Jamie L. Donatuto. 

Read More

Well-being indicators in the Puget Sound Basin

A summary and categorization of types of social indicators and metrics used by government and non-government agencies in the Puget Sound Basin.

Read More
Puget Sound Marine Waters 2011

2011 Puget Sound Marine Waters Overview

The Puget Sound Marine Waters 2011 report is now available. The report was produced by the Puget Sound Ecosystem Monitoring Program and assesses the condition and quality of the waters of Puget Sound. 

Read More

Marine fecal bacteria

Fecal bacteria are found in the feces of humans and other homeothermic animals. They are monitored in recreational waters because they are good indicators of harmful pathogens that are more difficult to measure. 

Read More
Whale watching boat in Puget Sound.

Ecosystem services in Puget Sound

Ecosystem services are the “outputs” and experiences of ecosystems that benefit humans, and are generated by the structure and function of natural systems, often in combination with human activities. The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, a global effort to catalog and assess ecosystem status and functions, offers a useful classification scheme.

Read More