The Networker: Volume 17 No. 3
Updates - Summer 2012
The Science & Environmental Health Network (SEHN) is in the midst of groundbreaking work this summer! We wanted to share with you some of our recent highlights.
Women's Congress for Future Generations: Join us in Moab this fall!
Are you called to be a guardian of the future? Gather with artists, writers, activists, and spiritual leaders to take up our sacred responsibilities as ancestors to future generations. SEHN is co-convening the Women's Congress for Future Generations to launch a rights movement for future generations, September 27-30, 2012 in Moab, Utah. Click here to learn more about the event and register.
Carolyn Raffensperger and Sandra Steingraber Speaking at Bioneers
SEHN Executive Director Carolyn Raffensperger and Board member Sandra Steingraber will both present at this year'sBioneers conference, October 19-21 in San Rafael, CA. This "revolution from the heart of nature" event features inspiring speakers, unparalleled networking, and a spirit of hope and possibility. Please attend Sandra's plenary talk, "The Whole Fracking Enchilada," on Sunday morning October 21, and join Carolyn for "Becoming Beloved Ancestors -- Building A Women-Led Civil Rights Movement for Future Generations" on Sunday afternoon.
Carolyn Raffensperger's TEDxMaui speech now online
Carolyn Raffensperger gave a rousing presentation to the TEDxMaui conference this year. Entitled "Becoming Great Ancestors," Carolyn wove together future generations, the precautionary principle, hope and grace. Her speech was featured by trendhunter.com as the "Keynote of the Day" and described as "passionate and motivated by the speaker's involvement in environmental causes."
SEHN Legal Director consults with Mexican environmental agency
SEHN Legal Director Joe Guth recently traveled to Mexico City to consult with the government of Mexico on the regulation of chemicals. Joe shared his expertise on American and European chemical regulatory schemes, and worked with the local environment agency to plan what might work for Mexico.
Report Co-authored by SEHN Leads to Intergenerational "Unconference"
SEHN Science Director Ted Schettler co-authored a landmark 2008 report, "Environmental Threats to Healthy Aging," which led the way to a recent gathering, "Healthy Environments Across Generations," sponsored by the Collaborative on Health and Environment (CHE), SEHN, the New York Academy of Medicine, AARP, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), WE-ACT for Environmental Justice, and many others. This "unconference" featured panel discussions, art, dance, and roundtable conversations to focus on the impacts that multiple, interacting environments can have on health. As CHE noted, the gathering was "more than an event, but part of a mental shift toward collective, positive action based on hope, rather than fear."
SEHN Advocates in Congress for Safer Chemicals
SEHN Associate Director Katie Silberman was interviewed live on CNN during the recent National Stroller Brigade for Safer Chemicals event in Washington, D.C. Katie joined other concerned families and health professionals to urge passage of the Safe Chemicals Act. The Act reforms our nation’s chemical regulation scheme to better protect our health and environment.
SEHN Publishes Two Pieces in Medical Journal
SEHN Science Director Ted Schettler had two articles published in "San Francisco Medicine," the Journal of the San Francisco Medical Society. Entitled "Environmental Health: Toward Healthier Environments Across the Lifespan," the issue includes Ted's articles on assessing the risk of toxic chemicals and the concept of ecological health.
Cumulative Impacts Project Forges a New Trail
SEHN and the Collaborative on Health and the Environment launched a national, cross-sectoral project on cumulative impacts in 2011. The term "Cumulative Impacts" refers to the total harm to human health and the environment resulting from combined stressors over time. It reflects real-world complexity: social stresses, such as age or poverty, combining with multiple environmental harms that lead to unpredictable outcomes.The Cumulative Impacts Working Group has since grown to nearly 100 participants. We hold monthly calls with leading researchers, thought leaders and advocates in this budding field. Find links to these information-packed calls, including MP3 audio recordings, by entering, "cumulative impacts working group" in the search slot on the project website's search page.
The Cumulative Impacts Project website is a gateway to hundreds of documents and links on cumulative impacts at all levels—ecological, community, and individual health. Its unique search system links both problems and solutions at all levels.
SEHN has completed a paper summarizing the lessons learned in the Cumulative Impacts project, currently being prepared for publication.
You can join the Cumulative Impacts Project here.
Thank you SEHN Friends!
None of this would be possible without SEHN's supporters, and we are so grateful for your generosity. Please consider renewingyour support to keep these projects moving forward, and the many others we have planned for this fall.I hope you are as excited about this summer's progress as I am, and I look forward to bringing you more news in the months ahead. We always love to hear from you and welcome your thoughts on this work at moreinfo@sehn.org. Thank you again for being SEHN's partner in creating a healthier future!
Sincerely, Carolyn Raffensperger Executive Director Science & Environmental Health Network http://www.sehn.org