Joav Merrick & I Leslie Rubin 
Environmental Health Disparities 
Costs and Benefits of Breaking the Cycle

This book represents a body of work performed by students from a diverse set of disciplines and a variety of universities. Each project was developed by the students to "break the cycle" of social, economic and environmental health disparities. This book contains the projects from the tenth annual "Break the Cycle" program. "Break the Cycle" projects are designed to raise awareness among students of the reality of environmental health disparities and its impact on the world around them. Although the students may feel daunted by the magnitude of the challenge, they need to know that even the relatively small project they develop can make a big difference and becomes part of an inexorable process towards making the world a better place for all of its citizens. The dictum that "It is not incumbent upon you to finish the task, yet, you are not free to desist from it" empowers the students to take on a challenge for a lifetime. We believe that the lessons learned by the students from their own projects, from working with the other students and from appreciating the difference that each little effort can make, goes significantly towards cultivating our future leaders. They are the people who will carry on the work and make the world a better place.