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Dear CHE Partners:
A special welcome to those of you who have recently joined CHE. You have joined a community of over 3000 Partners in 48 states and 45 countries dedicated to raising the level of dialogue about environmental health science and its implications for human health.
As 2007 draws to a close, we can celebrate a year in which CHE grew substantially in strength and in accomplishments. CHE-Fertility, the Learning and Developmental Disabilities Initiative (LDDI), CHE-Cancer, the Women's Health and Environment Initiative (WHEI), CHE-EMF, CHE-Parkinson's Disease, CHE-Science, CHE-Asthma, CHE-Integrative Health, and the HEAL-CHE Working Group that links us with our European Partners are all active collaborations. Our regional Working Groups are active on various projects as well.
In 2008, we hope to update the CHE Consensus Statement to reflect the many advances in environmental health science that have taken place over the past six years.
We also have a strong interest in further developing the science dialogue on the ecological health paradigm that Ted Schettler and others are working on. What are the implications of the science that suggests that many of the environmentally-related diseases we face are multifactorial in initiation and progression? Different people may develop the same disease by different causal pathways. What are the implications for our understanding of disease causation, disease prevention, and appropriate measures to protect public health?
Based on the strong interest of many CHE Partners, we need further dialogue not only on environmental health science, but on solutions to the urgent health problems that the emerging science reveals. We have had limited yet successful experience with CHE Policy Option messages that enabled Partners to participate in policy or advocacy opportunities of their individual choice. We cannot forgo our core CHE commitment to providing a safe and civil forum for environmental health science dialogue. But are there ways in which interested Partners can take the CHE Policy Option process further than we have to date? That is a key question for 2008.
We wish all CHE Partners good health and productive opportunities to better protect our health and the health of our communities in the New Year. Thank you for being part of CHE.
With warm best wishes,
Michael Lerner
Founding CHE Partner
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CHE Launches New Community Resources Section on Web Site
We are delighted to announce that CHE has launched a new Community Resources section on the CHE web site, available by visiting our home page or linking directly to http://www.healthandenvironment.org/resources/community.Developed in collaboration with the Center for Environmental Health in Oakland, California, the section serves as a one-stop resource for community-based participants on science and how it relates to community issues, and as a resource for site visitors at large to get a sense of how environmental justice and community sectors process and use scientific information for their issues. The major issue areas covered include:- What Are Community Resources?
- The Value Of Science: Whose Science?
- Translation Of Science
- Public Reporting Of The Science
- Researching "What's In Your Community?"
- Finding And Creating Alternatives
While the Community Resources section does not include the full breadth of the work being done in the area of community action and environmental health, we hope it will be a starting point for communities, scientists, health practitioners and others to explore how various communities have turned science into action. We encourage visitors to utilize the feedback function on the site so we can improve the content over time.CHE wishes to thank Christine Cordero from the Center for Environmental Health for her work in developing the Community Resources page.
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CHE Partnership and Working Group Calls
Resources from Recent CHE Partnership Calls
If you missed any of the following Partnership Calls, you may listen to MP3 recordings and find supporting materials at the following links:And of course, you can always explore our archived resources from past partnership calls.
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Conferences and Symposiums
CHE Co-Sponsored Symposium in San Francisco
Medical Approaches in Autism: Clinical Implications of Environmental Toxicology for Children's Neurodevelopment in Autism
This
Symposium will be a source of cutting-edge information for physicians
and other healthcare professionals who work with children with or at
risk for autism spectrum disorders. Parents and others interested in
these issues will also find this a remarkable opportunity to learn
about new perspectives on autism research and treatment.
The details:
February 8, 2008
8am - 5pm
UCSF Laurel Heights Conference Center
3333 California Street
San Francisco, CA
The cost is $50, with a limited number of scholarships available for low-income parents. For more information, contact the NPART Symposium Coordinator, or RSVP via the event registration page.
The Sypmosium is sponsored by New Paradigms in Autism Research and Treatment, the Collaborative on Health and the Environment, Commonweal, San Francisco Medical Society and UC Davis MIND Institute.
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Second International Conference on Health and Biodiversity
The Second International Conference on Health and Biodiversity (COHAB 2) will aim to advance dialogue and collaboration across
sectors on issues linking biodiversity with human health and
well-being, and highlight practical cross-sectoral and holistic
approaches to addressing the issues.
The details:
February 25-28, 2008
Radisson SAS Hotel
Galway, Ireland
COHAB 2
will review research and action on the links between health and
biodiversity since the first COHAB conference in 2005, and highlight
relevant developments in international and regional policies on
biodiversity, public health and the MDGs. The outputs and impacts of
the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment will be discussed, while
relationships with other multi-lateral projects on climate change,
biodiversity conservation, human development and environmental
sustainability will be examined. The conference will work to produce a series of
evidence-based reports on key issues, for consideration at subsequent
multilateral meetings on the environment, health and development.
Workshops will focus on three key areas:
- Disaster prevention, relief and recovery - harnessing ecosystem services for crisis prevention, recovery and redevelopment programmes
- Emerging infectious diseases - integrating biodiversity conservation and ecosystem management into disease prevention and control programmes
- Food resources, diet and nutrition - meeting nutrition security and poverty challenges with biodiversity
Abstracts are invited for poster and oral presentations exploring the linkages between human, animal, plant and ecosystem health. Presentations highlighting lessons learned and experience gained from the design, planning or implementation of collaborative, inter-disciplinary approaches to health, nature conservation, climate change adaptation and international development issues, are particularly welcome.
For more information, visit the conference website or contact the conference organizing committee.
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Women's Reproductive Health and the Environment Workshop
This workshop will convene 15 leading international scientists to explore what we know and what we need to know about how
environmental contaminants impact female reproductive health. Organized by CHE Fertility and co-hosted with the University of Florida and the University of California at San Francisco's Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment, it will be held in early January 2008 in Bolinas, California. We will keep CHE Partners apprised of the results of the workshop.
For more information, please contact CHE Fertility coordinator Julia Varshavsky.
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Tools, Announcements and Resources
EPA seeks comments on Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program draft procedures
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is calling for comments about draft policies and procedures for the initial screening of pesticide chemicals under the agency's Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program (EDSP). The comments should focus on the specific policies and related procedures that EPA will follow to impose data requirements, minimize duplicate testing, promote equitable cost-sharing, and protect confidential business information. EPA will require the use of validated assays to screen pesticides, commercial chemicals, and environmental contaminants in relation to estrogen, androgen, and thyroid hormones.
For more information, visit the EPA's EDSP Draft Procedures website or contact Bill Wooge (non-press inquiries) at wooge.william@epa.gov or (202) 564-8476.
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Call for nominations: EPA's Achievement in Environmental Justice Awards
Due January 11, 2008
National awards for achievements in environmental justice will be given to organizations in 5 categories: academic institutions, community-based organizations, non-governmental and environmental organizations, state and local government organizations, and Tribal government and indigenous organizations. Award
winners will receive national recognition for their significant EJ
achievements. EPA will publish a feature article in the Environmental
Justice Quarterly newsletter focusing on the selected award recipients.
Award winners will also be featured on the Office of Environmental
Justice's Web site.
Organizations should be nominated for their achievement in addressing environmental justice issues or achieving the goals of environmental justice in a manner that results in positive impacts to a community. The award competition will be open to all organizations within the United States. The nominated entity must have achieved a significant milestone or accomplishment within the past five years (2002-2007).
For more information, please read the award flyer [PDF] the award website or contact Lisa Hammond at (202) 564-0736 or at hammond.lisa@epa.gov.
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Chemicals Health Monitor briefing: What Will New EU Chemicals Legislation Deliver for Public Health?
On the occasion of a public hearing to confirm the appointment of new European Chemicals Agency Executive Director, the International Society of Doctors for the Environment co-published with the Health and Environment Alliance and CHEM Trust a briefing entitled, "What will new EU Chemicals Legislation Deliver for Public Health?".
This four-page briefing introduces the new EU law called 'REACH' (Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and restriction of CHemical substances) and briefly discusses the health problems linked to chemicals. It also addresses: how REACH can bring health benefits; the types of chemicals causing concern; and how members of the health sector, whose voice is important, can give input to the discussion on the law's implementation. The briefing is part of HEAL Chemicals Health Monitor activities.
Download the chemicals legislation briefing [PDF]
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HEAL briefing: Climate Change and Health: Protecting the Most Vulnerable
A review of the latest scientific evidence on climate change and health as well as key findings from selected European countries and policy recommendations have been summarized in a newly published HEAL (Health and Environment Alliance) briefing entitled "Climate change and health: Protecting the most vulnerable". According to the Health & Environment Alliance, policies focusing on the most vulnerable groups and considering win-win-win scenarios for public health, adaptation and mitigation should be a first priority when tackling climate change.
Download the climate change briefing [PDF]
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Microwave News takes on flawed industry cell phone-cancer research project
An eight-year, $10 million industry research project that was supposed to answer the question, "Does cellphone radiation cause cancer in animals?" instead promises to sow more confusion and mistrust, according to Microwave News. The project, known as PERFORM A, consists of six long-term experiments, carried out on mice and rats in four European laboratories. Most everyone connected to PERFORM A --from the researchers who did the work to the cell phone industry that sponsored it-- says that it sounds an all-clear: Cell phones are cancer-safe.
Microwave News points out a major flaw common to all six experiments. The animals were restrained in a fixed position during the radiation exposures and that restraint had a profound impact. There is now no way to disentangle the effect of the exposure system from that of the radiation.
Read the complete story
Microwave News has also assembled a helpful table with details on all 19 published cell-phone animal studies.
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December Science News
UCSF researchers report key breast cancer finding
Judy Peres
The Chicago Tribune, 17 December 2007
Researchers in San Francisco say they have found a
way to predict which patients with precancerous breast tumors are
destined to develop cancer, potentially saving tens of thousands of
women a year from unnecessary treatment -- and unnecessary anxiety. In a study presented at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, which
ended Sunday, Thea Tlsty reported that her group had discovered a
molecular profile that can distinguish potentially lethal cases of DCIS
(ductal carcinoma in situ) from ones that will never become
life-threatening.
Continue reading...
Synthetic DNA on the brink of yielding new life forms
Rick Weiss
The Washington Post, 17 December 2007
Until recently, even the most sophisticated laboratories could make only small snippets of DNA. Now researchers are poised to cross a dramatic barrier: the creation of life forms driven by completely artificial DNA.
Continue reading...
Green tea extracts may help stop Parkinson's: study
Stephen Daniells
NutraIngredients.com, 14 December 2007
The antioxidant effects of green tea polyphenols may protect neurons against the detrimental effects of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and nitric oxide (NO), thereby offering potential benefits for Parkinson's, says new research from China.
Continue reading...
UK inquiry into artificial light's link to cancer
Sophie Berland
The London Telegraph, 17 December 2007
Evidence that staying up late and sleeping with the light on can cause cancer is to be examined by scientists advising the Government. The Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution is to study the impact of artificial lighting on health as part of a report to be published next year. The work follows research that has linked exposure to light at night to breast cancer, which affects one in 10 women. The
International Agency for Research on Cancer is considering officially
labelling night-shift work as a "probable" human carcinogen.
Continue reading...
Minnesota initiates biomonitoring program in response to industrial pollution findings
Tom Meersman
The Star Tribune, 15 December 2007
Minnesota health officials are poised to test for arsenic in 100 children and for chemicals formerly made by 3M in 200 adults. The 2008 studies will be part of a $2 million experiment in biomonitoring, which collects human tissue, hair, blood or urine to look for harmful contaminants. The Legislature recently authorized the research in response to discoveries this year of widespread industrial pollution in parts of the Twin Cities.
Continue reading...
New Partners
We welcome the many new CHE Partners who have joined since the November newsletter. To see the list of new CHE Partners and the growing list of all CHE Partners, please visit http://www.healthandenvironment.org/base/partners-recent.
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Thank you for taking the time to read the latest about CHE. As always, we welcome your questions and suggestions. Please direct comments to Eleni Sotos, CHE Program Director, at Eleni@HealthandEnvironment.org.
Best wishes,
Eleni Sotos, MA, Program Director
Shelby Gonzalez, Administrative Coordinator
Julia Varshavsky, Program Associate
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