Tuesday, October 28, 2008
New Book of Interest
The library has just received The Green Collar Economy: How One Solution Can Fix Our Two Biggest Problems by Van Jones. I saw Van Jones speak at the First Annual Green Jobs conference in Pittsburgh last March. (The conference was excellent, but unfortunately had very little press coverage in Pittsburgh.) Jones is a powerful and inspirational speaker and is the founder and president of Green for All. Learn more about the book on our Green Reads!
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Program: Global Oil Issues and Strategies
The Regional Environmental Education Center in Upper St. Clair hosts:
Global Oil Issues and Strategies
Dates: Wednesday, October 29 ("America's Love Affair with Oil and the Current US Situation")&
Thursday, October 30 ("Drill More/Use Less - What Do the Presidential Candidates' Energy Plans Reveal?")
Time: 7 - 9 pm
Fee: FREE
Audience: General public
Gather at the REEC offices before you make your decision in November, for a timely and informative discussion on global oil issues and strategies during this two night symposium. Worried about gasoline prices, the oil supply and how we got into this mess? Are the oil companies to blame? Are Americans addicted to oil? Answers to these questions will be presented by Rick Jacobs, Manager of Environmental Projects at PPG Industries Inc., and his discussion on the 29th. Then join us again on the 30th for "Drill More/Use Less - What Do the Presidential Candidates' Energy Plans Reveal?" presented by Vanessa Schweizer, PhD candidate in Engineering and Public Policy, CMU. Admission to both events is free.
Pre-registration is helpful, but not required. Leave a message at the REEC's office at 412/838-0064.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Women's Health and Environment Conference
Installment III
This will be my last installment in the topic of the Women's Health and Environment Conference that I attended September 25. I have mentioned that chemicals are taking a toll on our health. The challenge is understanding the enormity of the problem and then discovering the means to avoid these chemicals.
As for the enormity of the chemical problem:
“More than 82,000 synthetic chemicals are registered for use in manufacturing and industry. Only ten percent of those chemicals have been tested for their effects on human health. Approximately 2,800 of these are considered “high-production volume” chemicals, or those produced in amounts of 1 million pounds or more per year in the United States.”*
The Collaborative on Health and the Environment has developed toolkits to assist you in learning how to avoid many toxic chemicals. Check out their website and download their toolkits. The publications provide recipes for non-toxic cleaners and hints on what foods to avoid as well as links to other resources. Click here for more information.
*Excert from toolkit: What We Know: New Science Linking Our Health and the Environment, authored by Heather Sarantis.
This will be my last installment in the topic of the Women's Health and Environment Conference that I attended September 25. I have mentioned that chemicals are taking a toll on our health. The challenge is understanding the enormity of the problem and then discovering the means to avoid these chemicals.
As for the enormity of the chemical problem:
“More than 82,000 synthetic chemicals are registered for use in manufacturing and industry. Only ten percent of those chemicals have been tested for their effects on human health. Approximately 2,800 of these are considered “high-production volume” chemicals, or those produced in amounts of 1 million pounds or more per year in the United States.”*
The Collaborative on Health and the Environment has developed toolkits to assist you in learning how to avoid many toxic chemicals. Check out their website and download their toolkits. The publications provide recipes for non-toxic cleaners and hints on what foods to avoid as well as links to other resources. Click here for more information.
*Excert from toolkit: What We Know: New Science Linking Our Health and the Environment, authored by Heather Sarantis.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Women's Health and the Environment Conference
Installment II
Alot of the conference September 25 was about chemicals in our every day life: cosmetic products, food, air, water, food containers, etc. We are exposed to hundreds of chemicals for which there is no FDA or USDA oversight and for which we do not yet know the long term consequences of this exposure. One of problems researchers are discovering is that many of these chemicals are endocrine disruptors which are thought to mimic hormones such as estrogen. A very concise description of endocrine disruptors can be found on the Extoxnet and cooperative effort of 5 Universities http://extoxnet.orst.edu/faqs/pesticide/endocrine.htm.
For more information, check out the film The Estrogen Effect: Assault on the Male a BBC documentary produced in 1998 (DVD616.65071 E87).
Today I came across a book that should interest everyone: Anti-Cancer: A New Way of Life, by David Servan-Schreiber, MD, PhD. The author provides a "shopping list" for anti-cancer foods, which have the least risk in pesticides, and which household products to avoid. One of the chemicals he suggests we avoid is one of those endocrine disruptors - phthalates, which can be found in perfumes and soft plastics.
Alot of the conference September 25 was about chemicals in our every day life: cosmetic products, food, air, water, food containers, etc. We are exposed to hundreds of chemicals for which there is no FDA or USDA oversight and for which we do not yet know the long term consequences of this exposure. One of problems researchers are discovering is that many of these chemicals are endocrine disruptors which are thought to mimic hormones such as estrogen. A very concise description of endocrine disruptors can be found on the Extoxnet and cooperative effort of 5 Universities http://extoxnet.orst.edu/faqs/pesticide/endocrine.htm.
For more information, check out the film The Estrogen Effect: Assault on the Male a BBC documentary produced in 1998 (DVD616.65071 E87).
Today I came across a book that should interest everyone: Anti-Cancer: A New Way of Life, by David Servan-Schreiber, MD, PhD. The author provides a "shopping list" for anti-cancer foods, which have the least risk in pesticides, and which household products to avoid. One of the chemicals he suggests we avoid is one of those endocrine disruptors - phthalates, which can be found in perfumes and soft plastics.
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