CHE Calls

12 January 2012: Cumulative Impacts Working Group Call: Analyzing and Addressing Cumulative Impacts Using an Ecological and Complexity Model.

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 23:02:20 -0800

On this call, Ted Schettler, MD, MPH, CHE science director, and science director of the Science and Environmental Health Network, proposed a general, higher-level, qualitative ecological model, focusing on several fundamental dimensions, that may be helpful in analyzing and addressing cumulative impacts.

11 January 2012: CHE-Alaska Call: Science and Action to Protect Public Health: How Healthcare Professionals Are Changing Chemicals Policy.

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 21:43:36 -0800

Executive Director Martha Arguello of Physicians for Social Responsibility — Los Angeles (PSR-LA) led a one hour discussion examining our broken chemical safety system and offering solutions to protect our health and the environment. Martha works at the intersections of health, the environment and social justice to advocate for effective policy change.

16 December 2011: CHE Partnership call: Breast Cancer and the Environment: A Life Course Approach: A New Report from the IOM.

Mon, 19 Dec 2011 15:05:11 -0800

Breast Cancer and the Environment: A Life Course Approach, a new report from the Institute of Medicine, assesses the breast cancer risk posed by various environmental factors, identifies actions that offer potential to reduce women's risk for the disease, and recommends targets for future research.

CHE-Alaska Call Recordings.

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 21:59:05 -0800

Recordings of dozens of calls going back to October 2007 are posted on the CHE-Alaska call page on the website of the Alaska Community Action on Toxics.

14 December 2011: CHE-Alaska Call: The Role of Environmental Chemicals in the Development of Diabetes and Obesity

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 21:50:29 -0800

Emerging scientific studies suggest environmental chemicals may be contributing factors to the epidemics of diabetes and obesity. Can a fetus’ exposure to toxic chemicals in the womb cause obesity or diabetes at age 5, 15, or 25?

1 December 2011: Cumulative Impacts Working Group call: Assessing and Addressing Cumulative Impacts in Communities.

Thu, 8 Dec 2011 17:34:03 -0800

Understanding the cumulative impacts of environmental and social factors is essential to sound public health and environmental protection policies.

18 November 2011: CHE Fertility call: Integrating Environmental Health Into Clinical Practice.

Fri, 25 Nov 2011 21:43:23 -0800

The CHE Fertility and Reproductive Health Working Group hosted this informative discussion about strategies for incorporating environmental health information into clinical care.

17 November 2011: CHE Partnership Call: Food Additives: Do They Subtract from Our Health?

Fri, 25 Nov 2011 21:37:34 -0800

On this call, three experts on food issues and public health presented: David Wallinga, MD, highlighted an array of problems with our current food system; Erik Olson described the findings of the Pew report, "Navigating the U.S. Food Regulatory Program" in more detail; and Michael Jacobson, PhD, discussed actions his organization has taken to champion science-based nutrition and food safety, specifically in regards to food additives.

27 October 2011: CHE Partnership Call: New Frontiers in Cancer Research: How Chemicals Can Interfere with Cancer Therapies and Implications for Health Policy

Sun, 30 Oct 2011 13:36:41 -0700

Widely noted research published recently indicated that the presence of chemicals like BPA and methylparaben can interfere with commonly-used breast cancer therapies. This call featured the lead author of that study, William Goodson, MD, as well as Mhel Kavanaugh-Lynch, MD, MPH, who discussed health policy opportunities based on this research and other studies associating chemical exposures with breast cancer. Ted Schettler, MD, MPH also provided a brief update on new science relevant to this topic.

3 October 2011: Cumulative Impacts Working Group call: No Borders: Communities Living and Working With ASARCO, a discussion with Lin Nelson and Anne Fischel.

Tue, 4 Oct 2011 20:45:57 -0700

Anne and Lin discussed the evolving project and their collaborations with concerned citizens in these different communities all affected by ASARCO industrial operations.

20 September 2011: Cumulative Impacts Working Group call: Emerging Trends in the Field of Cumulative Impacts.

Mon, 26 Sep 2011 17:56:09 -0700

This call was a general meeting of the Cumulative Impacts Working Group. The group discussed upcoming activities, and Nancy Myers of the Science and Environmental Health Network (SEHN) updated the group on current trends in the field of cumulative impacts.

21 July 2011: CHE Partnership Call: Breast Health and Early Life Exposures.

Thu, 21 Jul 2011 15:56:25 -0700

This call addressed the current state of the science on environmental exposures and breast health with article authors Ruthann Rudel of the Silent Spring Institute, Suzanne Fenton of the National Toxicology Program, and Susan Makris of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Research and Development.

12 July 2011: CHE Cafe call: The World Gets Hot(ter) with Mark Hertsgaard.

Thu, 14 Jul 2011 16:45:20 -0700

Hertsgaard's new book HOT is a father’s cry against climate change, but most of the book focuses on solutions, offering a deeply reported blueprint for how all of us--as parents, communities, companies and countries--can navigate this unavoidable new era.

30 June 2011: CHE Partnership Call: Navigating the Science: Evaluating Research Quality.

Wed, 6 Jul 2011 15:18:51 -0700

CHE Fertility Working Group hosted this CHE Partnership call for an important discussion on the development of the Navigation Guide and its practical applications.

9 June 2011: CHE Partnership Call: Cumulative Impacts on Health: New Community-Based Research Projects

Thu, 16 Jun 2011 13:39:06 -0700

This was the first call in a 2-part series co-sponsored by CHE and the Science and Environmental Health Network (SEHN) featuring EPA funded researchers and their community partners discussing cumulative impacts research projects on a community level.

26 May 2011: CHE-Fertility Call: Finding Your Voice: Advocacy for Healthcare Professionals.

Thu, 16 Jun 2011 13:38:41 -0700

CHE Fertility hosted this call to discuss strategies for health care professionals advocating for changes in policy that will protect patients from environmental risks.

24 May 2011: CHE Partnership Call: Science and Decisions: How Can We Advance Risk Assessment.

Wed, 25 May 2011 14:36:20 -0700

On this call, three leading national researchers discussed the National Academy of Sciences 2009 report’s recommendations and what progress has been made towards their implementation--as well as what obstacles remain in order to more accurately evaluate public health risk.

20 April 2011: CHE Cafe Call: A Conversation with Carl Cranor, Author of "Legally Poisoned: How the Law Puts Us at Risk from Toxicants"

Mon, 25 Apr 2011 13:25:58 -0700

Dr. Cranor offers suggestions about what kinds of legal initiatives might work, making the case that individual actions will not be sufficient to prevent harm and that only pragmatic, thorough and far-reaching reforms will give us world reasonably safe from toxic chemical harm.

28 March 2011: CHE Partnership Call: Radiation and Human Health: In the Shadow of the Japan Disaster.

Fri, 1 Apr 2011 20:14:40 -0700

Radiation has long been identified as a serious risk factor in various human diseases. Previous disasters at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Chernobyl, and Three Mile Island have highlighted the risks and fears, but now another tragedy has occurred, with implications yet to be determined. The earthquake and tsunami in Japan, and the resultant ongoing struggles to contain radiation released from reactors there, has brought radiation to the forefront again. What are the primary risks to human health, of both acute high-level and lower-level exposures? Are there scientifically valid strategies for minimizing harm in those exposed? And how might such disasters best be avoided in the future? This call featured two leading experts on these issues, with opportunity for some questions and answers.

17 March 2011: CHE Fertility Call: Effects of BPA on In Vitro Fertilization.

Sat, 19 Mar 2011 21:07:38 -0700

Dr. Victor Fujimoto, from the University of California San Francisco, and Dr. Michael S. Bloom, from the State University of New York, Albany, presented the results of their recent study on the effects of bisphenol A (BPA) on in vitro fertilization (IVF).

10 February 2011: CHE Partnership Call: Report from the Cancun Climate Change Talks: NGOs Promote Health and Partner for Future Action.

Tue, 15 Feb 2011 10:51:39 -0800

CHE hosted three active leaders in that process, Dr. Pendo Maro (Health and Environment Alliance/Health Care Without Harm, Europe), Dr. Lynn Wilson (SeaTrust Institute) and Pastor Peters Omoragbon (Nurses Across the Borders) in this teleconference call to share how the momentum from Copenhagen to Cancun is being carried forward into 2011 towards collaborative activities promoting health in the run up to COP17 in Durban, South Africa and beyond.

3 February 2011: Cancer Working Group call: Do Chemicals Cause Breast Cancer? Tell it to the Marines!

Tue, 8 Feb 2011 19:09:25 -0800

Mike Partain and Jim Fontella were featured on this CHE call to talk about their experiences in bringing their situation to public attention and their attempts to get compensation for affected Marines and families.

18 January 2011: CHE Partnership Call: Cumulative Impacts and Environmental Justice: A conversation with Manuel Pastor.

Wed, 19 Jan 2011 11:19:59 -0800

Dr. Pastor’s groundbreaking research has generally focused on issues of environmental justice, regional inclusion, and the economic and social conditions facing low-income urban communities.

8 December 2010: CHE Partnership Call: Environmental Health Highlights of the Year.

Thu, 9 Dec 2010 17:20:36 -0800

We invited three national leaders to highlight what they think have been the top 2 or 3 research studies, reports, policy actions, seminal events, etc. in environmental health and justice in 2010 -- and why.

15 November 2010: CHE Science Cafe call: Sacrifice Zones: The Front Lines of Toxic Chemical Exposure in the United States: a conversation with author Steve Lerner.

Tue, 30 Nov 2010 14:38:55 -0800

The book is based on hundreds of interviews of residents of communities on the fenceline with heavy industry. Lerner lets the victims of environmental injustice speak in their own words, and describe in detail what they experience and how they are organizing to improve their quality of life and protect themselves.

9 November 2010: CHE Partnership Call: Fracking: Implications for Human and Environmental Health.

Wed, 10 Nov 2010 08:25:05 -0800

This CHE Partner call featured four leading researchers in different fields of expertise who discussed the potential human and environmental health implications of fracking.

28 October 2010: CHE Cafe call: State of the Evidence: The Connection Between Breast Cancer and the Environment.

Fri, 5 Nov 2010 09:50:18 -0700

Breast Cancer Fund recently released its sixth edition of State of the Evidence: The Connection Between Breast Cancer and the Environment. This latest edition reflects the burst of scientific research on breast cancer and the environment, incorporating more than 250 new research articles. It also includes a new focus on breast cancer and vulnerable populations. CHE hosted a conversation with Janet Gray, PhD, author of the report and Director of Vassar College's Program in Society, Technology & Science.

12 October: CHE Cafe Call: Living Downstream: A Conversation with Sandra Steingraber and Chanda Chevannes.

Wed, 13 Oct 2010 11:18:13 -0700

Based on Dr. Steingraber’s 1997 book of the same name, Living Downstream follows Sandra over the course of one pivotal year as she works to break the silence about cancer and its environmental links, and as she finds herself in a period of medical uncertainty about whether her cancer has recurred. CHE hosted a conversation with Dr. Steingraber and the film’s producer and director, Chanda Chevannes.

21 September 2010: Partnership Call: Pediatric Integrative Health.

Fri, 24 Sep 2010 22:26:55 -0700

CHE and three leaders in the pediatric integrative health field discussed the latest in "ecological" medicine and emerging science regarding specific approaches to creating optimal environments for children to develop.

25 August 2010 CHE-EMF Call: Wireless SmartMeters.

Thu, 26 Aug 2010 09:58:57 -0700

Cindy Sage, co-facilitator of CHE EMF and lead co-founder of BioInitiative.org, presented a summary review of the concerns with SmartMeters.

12 August 2010 Partnership Call: On the Ground in the Gulf Coast.

Mon, 16 Aug 2010 08:36:29 -0700

Wilma Subra spoke with the CHE community, updating us on the human health impacts of the oil spill, including the toll on fishing communities, the impacts of dispersants, the testing for safety of seafood and many other important concerns.

29 July 2010 Partnership Call: Gulf Coast Oil Spill.

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 14:39:58 -0700

We heard from some of the leading participants in the IOM meeting about known and suspected health implications of the spread of crude oil and of efforts to contain and clean it.

10 June 2010 Partnership Call: Nanotechnology: A New Chapter in Environmental Health Sciences.

Thu, 10 Jun 2010 14:14:09 -0700

Over the past decade, nanomaterials have exploded onto the marketplace, ranging in use from teddy bears and tennis rackets to pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. What do we know about these materials and how are we addressing them from a public health standpoint?

25 May 2010 CHE-Fertility call: Elevating the Issue: the Emerging CDC National Action Plan on Infertility.

Thu, 27 May 2010 18:04:27 -0700

Speakers on this call covered the background and impetus for this national action plan, what is currently happening among the working groups, and what the opportunities are for involvement by CHE colleagues in this important endeavor.

18 May 2010 Partnership Call: The President's Cancer Panel Report: "Reducing Environmental Cancer Risk: What We Can Do Now"

Wed, 19 May 2010 14:12:59 -0700

This call's purpose was to hear from representatives of the President's Cancer Panel and learn more about the report's findings and key recommendations.

11 May 2010 Partnership Call: The Information Age and EMF/RF Illness: The Potential for EMF and Radiofrequency/Microwave Radiation Illnesses and How Smart Choices in New Technologies Can Reduce Potential Risks.

Tue, 11 May 2010 17:10:38 -0700

CHE hosted this international, in-depth discussion of current electromagnetic field research, science, health implications and policy initiatives.

4 May 2010: CHE Cafe call with Annie Leonard, author of the Story of Stuff.

Wed, 5 May 2010 18:28:03 -0700

In December 2007, Annie released The Story of Stuff, a hit 20-minutes webfilm that takes viewers on a provocative and eye-opening tour of the often hidden costs of our consumer-driven culture.