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AARP Blog on Healthy Aging and the Environment

AARP has just launched a blog on Healthy Aging and the Environment. The inaugural piece links to a number of resources that can help educate AARP’s 35 million members on environmental influences on health, including a report on the environmental threats to healthy aging and EDF's web site on toxic chemical impacts and TSCA reform.

Food & Environment Reporting Network Launches

The Food & Environment Reporting Network (FERN) is an independent, non-profit, non-partisan news organization that produces investigative reporting on food, agriculture, and environmental health for distribution to major media outlets. You can sign up for their free newsletter on their website.

Toxics Tools and Resources

Physicians for Social Responsibility's Environmental Health Policy Institute has compiled the best and brightest tools and resources about toxic chemicals, including databases, clinical tools, and advocacy resources all designed to help reduce and prevent exposures to toxic chemicals.

Green Chemistry and Commerce Council (GC3) Retailer Portal: Tools to Evaluate Chemical Ingredients in Products

This Retailer Portal features a database of tools and systems to evaluate and manage chemical ingredients in the products retailers buy and sell, and a summary document explaining the organization of the Retailer Portal and how it can help retailers.

EPA Greener Products Web Portal

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has launched a new tool designed to provide Americans easy access to information about everyday products like home appliances, electronics and cleaning products that can save money and protect people's health and the environment.

Environmental Health Legislation Database

This database tracks state legislation addressing environmental factors that may adversely impact human health or the ecological balances essential to long-term human health and environmental quality

Their Mines, Our Stories

This website has been launched to improve public awareness and demand for change in communities where ASARCO or other corporations may have evaded public responsibility for their negative environmental consequences.

Proxy Preview 2011 Available

A free publication that the Chicago Tribune called the “bible for socially progressive foundations, religious groups, pension funds, and tax-exempt organizations.” Shareholder resolutions covered include a range of environmental health issues including BPA, climate change, coal, electronic waste, hydraulic fracturing, and toxic exposure. Download at: http://www.proxypreview.org.

Media coverage of the Jan. 2011 Minnesota Green Chemistry Forum event

There was considerable coverage of the recent Green Chemistry event held in Minnesota in early January 2011. The event, organized by the Minnesota Green Chemistry Forum (which was created and is staffed by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy) and the University of Minnesota, brought together over 180 leaders from the business, academic, non-profit and government sectors. The day was filled with great presentations, including an opening talk by John Warner, one of the “fathers” of Green Chemistry, remarks from Senator Al Franken, Secretary of State Mark Ritchie, and the new Minnesota Pollution Control Agency Commissioner Paul Aasen about the need for public policy support for green chemistry, and presentations from companies such as Aveda, Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day, and 3M about what they are doing in this field. This event was a great introduction and launching pad for advancing Green Chemistry across all sectors in Minnesota – and beyond! There was good media coverage of the event, including: • MinnPost, Brad Allen: http://www.minnpost.com/bradallen/2011/01/10/24721/group_launches_minnesota_green_chemistry_industry_initiative • Public News Service, Sharon Rolenc: http://www.publicnewsservice.org/index.php?/content/article/17782-1 (audio also available) • The Line, Dan Haugen: http://thelinemedia.com/innovationnews/greenchemistry010511.aspx • Finance and Commerce, Arundhati Parmar: http://finance-commerce.com/2011/01/green-chemistry-can-save-businesses-money/ The Minnesota Green Chemistry Forum, which is now co-hosted by IATP and Aveda will continue to advance green chemistry in Minnesota throughout the year, with additional events and collaborations. Information on the conference is posted at www.greenchemistrymn.org. We will be posting video and power point presentations on this site, as well as ongoing activities of the Minnesota Green Chemistry Forum.

Learning Green: An introduction to Green Chemistry

An online course from The Institute of Green Science at Carnegie Mellon University providing an introduction to the study of green chemistry.

TEDX (The Endocrine Disruption Exchange)

TEDX is a non-profit organization, founded by Dr. Theo Colborn, dedicated to compiling and disseminating the scientific evidence on the health and environmental problems caused by low-dose exposure to chemicals that interfere with development and function, called endocrine disruptors.

Central Valley Funder Tour Blog

This week the Women’s Foundation of California will be leading a funders’ tour in California’s Central Valley. For two days we will be meeting with dynamic women leaders in their communities and learning about both the challenges and opportunities faced by residents of the Central Valley.

PSR Launches Environmental Health Policy Institute

Today PSR introduces its new Environmental Health Policy Institute, an online forum of medical and public health experts. Delve into this virtual think tank to learn what public health experts think about the most critical environmental issues of our time -- and to build your advocacy skills. This month, read how Laura Anderko, Devra Davis, Steven G. Gilbert, Maye Thompson, and Kristen Welker-Hood respond to the question: What is the key obstacle to implementing an effective, health-protective chemicals management system?

Assessing the Human Health Effects of the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill

This is a link to session recordings and slides from of a June 22-23, 2010 meeting of the Institute of Medicine (IOM).

Healthy Food Action - A Tool to Help Health Professionals Become Agents for Change

Dear Colleague, As a health professional, you see the effects of our broken food system every day. You are on the front lines of America's epidemics of obesity and related diseases, like heart disease, stroke, diabetes and cancer. It's time to do something about it. Beyond just responding to downstream impacts of an unhealthy food system, let's build a better one. Your help is essential. That's why we're launching Healthy Food Action, a new site for turning your passion around good, healthy, sustainable food into action. Healthy Food Action makes explicit the links between health, food and farm policy. Whether it's rising obesity in kids, the use of arsenic in animal feed, antibiotics being squandered to make livestock grow faster, or a Farm Bill that undercuts the nation's health, we will give you timely information. And, we'll make it easy for you to take action to influence public policy. Policymakers need to hear from the health community - dieticians and doctors, psychologists and social workers, nurses and public health professionals. Our collective voice is terribly important for success. Only a huge effort is likely to displace the dollars and inertia keeping today's unhealthy food system in place. Speak out. Help create a critical voice to make health the future of food and farming. If we want a healthier food system for our patients and ourselves, we have to demand it. Participate in Healthy Food Action. Watch for opportunities to lend your voice to those demanding change. Ask friends and colleagues to join you in Healthy Food Action. Sincerely, David Wallinga, MD

Chemical Policy Reform Resource Page

The information on this webpage will allow people to quickly link to coalitions and organizations working on bills that are relevant to environmental health. We will also highlight conference calls that are open to the public regarding particular environmental health-related legislation.

Do you know a great Environmental Justice partnership?

EPA’s National Achievements in Environmental Justice Awards Program recognizes community-initiated, multistakeholder partnerships that result in Environmental Justice Achievements in communities. EPA is looking for 2010 applications! The goal of the Awards Program is to encourage achievement of public and environmental health results in communities, to foster collaborative problem-solving by all stakeholder organizations to address significant Environmental Justice concerns, and to document successful activities that can be used in other communities. Applications must be postmarked by August 13, 2010.

EPA Response to BP Gulf Coast Oil Spill

 

NOAA National Ocean Service Deepwater Horizon Incident, Gulf Coast incident page

As the nation’s leading scientific resource for oil spills, NOAA has been on the scene of the Deepwater Horizon spill from the start, providing coordinated scientific weather and biological response services to federal, state and local organizations.

Environmental Justice in America Blog

A blog for the 2010 Environmental Justice in America Conference. The blog includes reports, articles, announcements, and other informational resources.