Earth Day 2024 takes place on April 22 when around one billion people come together across the globe to focus on sustainability and take action to create a healthier and brighter future for all. The theme this year is ‘Planet versus Plastics’, with Earth Day calling for a 60 percent reduction in the production of all plastics by 2040. Plastic pollution poses a serious threat to ecosystems, wildlife, and human health now and for future generations.

Wendy M. Purcell, a global expert in sustainability and Vice Chair for Education for the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health and Justice at the Rutgers School of Public Health, explores the connections between planetary and human health.

South Asian American women increasingly are diagnosed with breast cancer at younger ages and with more advanced disease compared with other groups, a fact made even more alarming because they are underrepresented in studies, said Jaya Satagopan, an associate dean for faculty affairs and professor at the School of Public Health and member of the Cancer Prevention and Control Program at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey.