Health is very important to you. You eat a healthy diet most of the time, try to exercise, see your doctor for screening tests. You do not smoke and you drink reasonable amounts of alcohol. You take care of your family’s health, too, making sure your kids develop healthy eating and exercise habits, and get their routine vaccines and screening exams.

You strive to live a healthy lifestyle and keep your family healthy. But what about planet Earth?

Our planet’s health has taken a turn for the worse. Much of the globe’s natural space is receding. The effects of urban sprawl, massive numbers of cars and interconnected highways have turned farm land, forest, and wetlands into concrete worldwide. Our rainforests are disappearing, our oceans have been depleted. And due to heat-trapping carbon emissions, our earth is becoming dangerously warmer. Global warming could unleash a slew of public health catastrophes.

You take care of your personal health, so why not strive for a healthier planet? Planetary health and human health are linked. Not only do humans cause pollution, environmental destruction and global warming, but many of the same practices that destroy the earth also wreak havoc with human health. That fast food meal so many Americans eat for lunch or dinner? It’s full of unhealthy calories, and the individual food components--the hamburger meat, the wheat for the bun, the sweetener for the soda--are all grown in ways that seriously damage the earth. Driving to work or to a friend’s house rather than walking or biking? You burn fossil fuels that contribute to global warming and you deny yourself a chance for some healthy exercise.

Fortunately, because our own health is linked to our environment, the converse of this equation is also true: taking care of planet earth is good for your health! Simple steps benefit your personal health and improve the planet. Planting a small vegetable garden in your yard or in containers on your porch helps you cut back on fossil fuels needed to transport food across the US to your local grocery store, and gives you the benefit of the exercise and healthy produce that gardening provides. Riding your bike and walking are easy ways to exercise, but can be useful ways to run errands or commute to work without relying on a polluting car. Buying local, organic and less processed food is healthier for your body but also benefits the planet.

Healthy people need a healthy planet, and good planetary practices help keep us healthy.