- HOLD THE DATE: CHE National Conference - Friday, October 13
- CHE Working and Regional Group Updates
- Tools, Announcements and Resources for CHE Partners
- CHE Science News Headlines
- New CHE Partners
__________________________
Dear CHE Partners and Friends:
As you know, CHE will never speak in your name without your permission. But CHE does offer the Partnership selected CHE Policy Options when we see opportunities to support environmental public health research and practice that is of potentially strong interest to many CHE Partners.
We believe this to be the case with the American Public Health Association's Campaign on Environmental Health Issues. APHA asks that anyone interested in environmental health funding and priorities take advantage of the August Congressional recess and let your own legislators know of your concerns.
Good work in any field takes money. As many of us likely know, funding for CDC environmental health activities is in jeopardy. APHA advocates for level funding for CDC environmental health activities and provides arguments against cuts using specific programs that are important to you and your state. Both the House and Senate Appropriations Committees proposed cuts to funding for CDC environmental health activities. In some cases specific programs are slated for cuts. Although no action will be taken on the appropriations bill until after the November election, APHA's wise advocates feel that now is the time to encourage your representatives to support CDC environmental health funding.
The APHA Campaign Web site: http://www.apha.org/legislative/walkhill/ has information that can help guide you through these advocacy activities. We hope you will take a look and see what might be possible for you in this regard.
On another note, CHE Partners have already received a save the date announcement for our next national meeting, "Environmental Medicine and Health: Science, Medicine, Prevention And Policy," to be held in San Francisco on Friday, October 13. We are planning what we hope to be a stellar meeting with broad appeal, and invite all CHE Partners. Fall is usually the finest time of year in San Francisco and we chose a Friday to allow attendees a weekend - at a minimum - to enjoy the area. Much more information on this meeting will soon come your way, and we hope to see many of you here.
Sincerely,
Philip R. Lee, MD
Chairman, Collaborative on Health and the Environment
and
Steve Heilig, MPH
Director of Public Health and Education, Collaborative on Health and the Environment
1. HOLD THE DATE: CHE National Conference - Friday, October 13
We are pleased to announce that CHE, with many co-sponsors, will be hosting a one day national conference titled, "Environmental Medicine and Health: Science, Medicine, Prevention And Policy," on Friday, October 13th, 2006 at the University of California, San Francisco’s Laurel Heights Auditorium.
This all-day conference, the second CHE national educational meeting, will provide a solid overview of current scientific knowledge regarding environmental contributors to human disease, and state-of-the-art efforts to prevent, treat, and otherwise improve such impacts. Researchers and health advocates will come from around the country to provide summaries of their knowledge and work. The meeting is open to all health professionals, researchers, advocates and anyone interested in the issues. Continuing Medical Education credit will be available via the California Academy of Family Physicians.
We will be sending more details regarding the agenda and registration within the coming weeks.
2. CHE Working and Regional Group Updates
CHE Breast Cancer Working Group ~ coordinated by Michael Lerner, Ph.D., President, Commonweal
Save the Date for the next CHE Breast Cancer Working Group call scheduled for Friday, September 8, at 11:00 am Pacific / 2:00 pm Eastern time. If you would like to join this call, please contact Julia Varshavsky, at: Julia@HealthandEnvironment.org.
Learning and Developmental Disabilities Initiative (LDDI) Working Group ~ coordinated by Elise Miller, M.Ed., Executive Director, Institute for Children's Environmental Health
LDDI and CHE's Working Group on Parkinson's Disease and the Environment (CHE-PD) will hold a joint conference call on September 11, at 11:00 am Pacific / 2:00 pm Eastern time. This call will highlight the research on links between pesticides and Parkinson’s undertaken by Gary Miller, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Rollins School Public Health at Emory University. If you are interested in joining this call, please contact Elise Miller, at: emiller@iceh.org.
3. Tools, Announcements and Resources for CHE Partners
* POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT: Coordinator, Collaborative on Health and the Environment in Pennsylvania (CHE-Penn)
The Collaborative on Health and the Environment (CHE) is seeking a part-time Coordinator to manage the activities of its regional partnership affiliate, the Collaborative on Health and the Environment in Pennsylvania (CHE-Penn). This position involves organizing and coordinating activities and programs of CHE-Penn. The primary focus is on identifying and collaborating with key constituencies, including health-affected groups, health professionals and researchers regarding critical regional environmental health issues. Candidates with a proven record of exceptional collaboration-building skills among diverse constituencies and a background in health are strongly desirable. For more information, please visit: http://www.healthandenvironment.org/articles/announcements/692.
* Environmental Justice for All Tour – Sept 24 - Oct 1
Environmental justice and health groups from all over the country are hosting a national tour of communities directly impacted by industrial contamination to meaningfully link these communities together with environmental justice and health anchor groups and promote safe solutions to toxic contamination. For more information, visit: http://ej4all.org/.
* Community Environmental Action & Justice Fund: The Center for Environmental Health (CEH) 2006 Grant Information
CEH, an Oakland-based nonprofit organization that helps protect the public from toxic chemicals, is offering grants for grassroots, community-based organizations that serve and are led by low-income people, people of color, and residents of disproportionately impacted communities in California. Grants range in size from $250-$2,500. Deadline for application is September 22. For more information and to download an application, please visit: http://www.cehca.org/projects.htm#justice.
* Pediatric Environmental Health Toolkit Training: Clinical Applications for the Busy Pediatric and Family Practice -- Oct 14, Oakland, CA
This half-day training program will introduce participants to a new clinical resource for practitioners, the Pediatric Environmental Health Toolkit. The Toolkit was developed partially in response to the frequent requests by pediatricians for practical, clinical tools that enable providers to incorporate environmental health guidance into everyday practice. It includes materials for both providers and patients on preventing exposures to toxic chemicals and other substances that may affect child health. For more information, contact Lucia Sayre at: luciasayre@sbcglobal.net.
* Master Home Environmental Health Program
The Master Home Environmentalist program is an innovative approach to addressing issues of indoor pollution that can damage health and the environment. It is efficient to assess exposure to pesticides, allergens, molds, tobacco smoke, lead, and home chemicals in one visit rather than through separate programs and an integrated in-home intervention may help to reduce total exposure to many pollutants. Training dates are based on interest. For more information, visit: http://www.healthandenvironment.org/articles/partner_events/678, or contact: Aileen Gagney, ALA Washington, 206-441-5100, agagney@alaw.org.
* 4th Annual Conference on Children's Health and the Environment -- Oct 21
The 2006 4th Annual Conference on Children's Health and the Environment will be held at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. This conference, which will address clinically important issues in children's health that are affected by the environment, is organized by the Mid-Atlantic Center for Children's Health and the Environment, and jointly sponsored by Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, the United States Environmental Protection Agency, Region III and the Children's National Medical Center of Washington, DC. For more information and to register, visit: http://www.gwu.edu/~macche/conference/.
* CSPI Forum on Government Science Panels: Transcript Now Available
The Center for Science in the Public Interest recently held a panel discussion in Washington, DC, where representatives from the Food and Drug Administration, industry groups, and academics debated conflict-of-interest issues on panels at federal agencies and the National Academy of Sciences. The transcript of that discussion is now available online at: http://www.cspinet.org/new/pdf/scientific_panels_transcript.pdf.
* Activists of Color Invited to Apply for Alston/Bannerman Fellowship
The Alston/Bannerman Fellowship Program is committed to advancing progressive social change by helping to sustain long-time activists of color. The program honors those who have devoted their lives to helping their communities organize for racial, social, economic, and environmental justice, and provides resources for organizers to take sabbaticals for reflection and renewal. Each year, ten organizers of color are awarded the Alston/Bannerman Fellowship and receive $15,000 to take sabbaticals of three months or more. For more information, visit: http://www.alstonbannerman.org/.
* ENACT Local Policy Database Now Online
Prevention Institute, with funding from The California Endowment, is pleased to announce that the Environmental Nutrition and Activity Local Policy Database is available online at: www.preventioninstitute.org/sa/policies. The searchable database is designed to provide community advocates, health professionals, policymakers and those working in related fields with concrete examples of local-level policies that have been adopted and/or implemented to improve nutrition and physical activity environments. For more information, visit the Strategic Alliance at: www.eatbettermovemore.org or contact: manal@preventioninstitute.org.
* UCSF - CHE Summit on Environmental Challenges to Reproductive Health and Fertility -- Jan 28 - 30, San Francisco, CA
The UCSF-CHE Summit will provide overviews by leading researchers of the science on environmental contaminant impacts on male and female reproductive health and fertility, developmental health, and peri-conceptional/ fetal origins of adult disorders. The Summit will also explore: critical research directions and tools; translation of the research to public health policy; integration with health professional education; federal government environmental reproductive health priorities; patient advocate and community health concerns; and translation of research to clinical disorders. For more information, contact Mary Wade at: wadem@obgyn.ucsf.edu.
* Newly Enhanced and Updated CHE Toxicants and Disease Database
The newly enhanced and updated CHE Toxicants and Disease Database, a scientifically based, web-interactive database summarizing the evidence of exposure to chemical contaminants and over 180 associated human diseases or conditions, is available on the CHE website at: http://database.healthandenvironment.org. We also have a spreadsheet version available in printed format or as an electronic file. For more information, please contact Eleni Sotos, CHE National Coordinator, at: Eleni@HealthandEnvironment.org.
* New CHE Brochure
We are also pleased to announce our new CHE brochure. If you would like copies of the brochure, please contact Frieda Nixdorf, CHE Administrative Specialist, at: Frieda@HealthandEnvironment.org.
4. CHE Science News Headlines
Most of these articles have been gleaned from Above the Fold.
Some CHE Partners may not yet know about Pete Myers' "Above the Fold," an indispensable daily summary of environmental health science news. Pete, who is a co-founder of CHE and CEO of Environmental Health News, (which publishes Above the Fold) is our Environmental Health Science Information Partner. ATF is internationally regarded as THE best daily summary of environmental health news. We encourage every CHE Partner who wants to understand the field to subscribe to ATF. You can also add an RSS feed to your website specialized for your specific interests, so the latest environmental health science information focused on your specific issues and interests appears on your website every day. For more information, visit: http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/.
More News...
5. New CHE Partners
We welcome the many new CHE Partners who have joined since the last newsletter. To see the New CHE Partners and the growing list of all CHE Partners, please visit: http://www.healthandenvironment.org/base/partners-recent.
__________________________
Thank you for taking the time to read the latest about CHE. As always, we welcome your feedback, suggestions or questions. Please direct them to Eleni Sotos, CHE National Coordinator, at: Eleni@HealthandEnvironment.org.
Best wishes,
Eleni Sotos, National Coordinator
and
Frieda Nixdorf, Administrative Specialist
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