1. Welcome from Michael Lerner
2. Listen to the Recent CHE Call on Endocrine Disruption and Cancer Online
3. UCSF-CHE Environmental Reproductive Health Summit, January 28-30
4. Working and Regional Group Updates
5. Tools, Announcements and Resources for CHE Partners
6. CHE Science News Headlines
7. New CHE Partners
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Dear CHE Partners and Friends:
CHE now has 2500 Partners in 48 States and 39 Countries!
We welcome all new CHE Partners to our national and increasingly international community of individuals and organizations dedicated to raising the level of public and professional dialogue about the impact of the environment on human health.
CHE Etiquette
"Science and Civility" is CHE's informal motto. We want CHE to be a safe place for people to exchange views on scientific studies and consider personal and public strategies to reduce the risks of personal and public exposures to unhealthy environments and to build resilience to those exposures we cannot avoid.
Experience has helped "CHEtiquette" evolve. It takes new CHE Partners time to figure out the "rules of the road." Here is a current guide. Suggested additions or modifications can be sent to info@healthandenvironment.org.
CHEtiquette on our unmoderated working group listservs involves more than civility. We have experimented with moderated listservs, but avoid them because they slow down spontaneous dialogue among Partners. But to keep the lists open and spontaneous, care in posting is essential! We consider participation in CHE listservs to be a privilege, and has occasionally been withdrawn after repeated private cautions to the Partner involved, in the interest of safeguarding the CHE Commons.
Some of the keys to maintaining the privilege of being a CHE Partner are:
1. A civil, science-oriented tone in emails. Disagreements are part of science, and part of life, but the tone can and should be collegial.
2. Post germane scientific studies or knowledgeable comments on studies.
3. Post sparingly! Take detailed conversations on a point off-line at the request of the Working Group facilitator.
4. Avoid detailed descriptions of personal experience.
5. Do not advertise products or services.
New CHE Blog
Note the new CHE Blog at www.healthandenvironment.org where you can post comments on environmental science and suggestions for CHE. It is another experiment in enhancing our communications.
Thank you for participating in CHE.
Michael Lerner
Founding CHE Partner
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2. Listen to the Recent CHE Call on Endocrine Disruption and Cancer Online
The MP3 recording, call resources and CHE blog are now available at: http://www.healthandenvironment.org/articles/partnership_calls/845.
CHE Cancer, CHE Fertility, and new CHE Women's Environmental Health working groups recently co-hosted a joint call featuring a discussion about the the link between cancer and environmental contaminants known to interfere with the endocrine system. Presentations were made by Dr. Donna Baird, Reproductive Epidemiologist at National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences; Dr. Gail Prins, Professor of Physiology, University of Illinois at Chicago; Dr. Ana Soto, Professor, of Anatomy and Cellular Biology at Tufts University and Dr. Cheryl Walker, Professor at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.
Presentations were made regarding recent research on the science of estrogenic chemicals such as diethylstilbestrol (DES), a drug frequently prescribed in the past to prevent miscarriages in pregnant women, as well as Bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical widely used in certain types of plastic, and how exposure to these chemicals at particular windows of development may lead to an increased risk of developing fibroids, cancer, and reproductive health problems later in life.
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3. UCSF-CHE Environmental Reproductive Health Summit, January 28-30
UCSF - CHE Summit On Environmental Challenges To Reproductive Health And Fertility, January 28-30, 2007 at UCSF Mission Bay Conference Center, San Francisco, CA
20.5 AMA PRA Category CME
Summit ALERTS:
- Early registration period (for lowest rates) has been extended through January 9th.
- For the purpose of recertification, the American Nurses credentialing center accepts AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)TM issued by organizations accredited by the ACCME.
Find program, registration and more info at: www.ucsf.edu/coe/prhesummit.html.
At this conference:
- Discover why environmental health science is critically relevant to reproductive and developmental health.
- Join multidisciplinary stakeholders in a pioneering, national conference to explore and set new directions.
Preeminent researchers will present overviews of the science on environmental contaminant impacts on male and female reproductive health and fertility/pregnancy, including focus on:
- Periconceptional/fetal origins of adult and pubertal disorders; and developmental health
- Adult exposures of concern
- Contaminants of concern
- Gene-environment interactions
- Critical research directions
Multidisciplinary topics include:
- Translation of research data to the clinic, wider public health and policy, and disease prevention
- Patient advocate and community health concerns
- Integration with health professional education
- Federal environmental reproductive health priorities
This summit is designed for clinical researchers and clinicians/health professionals (in practice or in training); scientists; allied and public health professionals; policy makers, government; leaders from patient advocacy, women's health, community and worker health, environment, reproductive advocacy, and environmental justice; and environment/health funders.
This is not a typical data presentation conference, but rather an unusual "hybrid," trans-discipline effort to raise awareness and promote collaboration as we convey broad overviews and perspectives on science linking environmental contaminants with male and female reproductive health and fertility compromise.
Plenty of time has been planned for interaction and discussion. Plenary "town hall" discussions, concurrent sessions, and break-out groups will focus on: translation of research to clinical care and wider public health/policy; environmental health in health professional education; critical research directions and cross-discipline collaboration to advance environmental reproductive health understanding; the nexus between reproductive health advocacy/justice and environmental and worker health/justice; and next steps for various stakeholders.
Participation is expected from a wide range of environmental reproductive health stakeholders, including clinicians/health professionals; physician-scientists; allied and public health professionals; basic and environmental health scientists; community and worker/labor groups; infertility, women's health and reproductive health support organizations; and health and environment policy makers and funders. We hope to encourage all of these stakeholders to become better informed and to work in concert to promote enhanced environmental reproductive health research agendas and education.
Summit Funding Partners: Adeza Biomedical, Center for Environmental Health, Collaborative on Health and the Environment, The Compton Foundation, Fred Gellert Family Foundation, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, New York Community Trust. Some Summit faculty travel support has been provided by US EPA Reproductive Toxicology Division.
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4. Working and Regional Group Updates
CHE's Working Group on Parkinson's Disease and the Environment (CHE-PD) ~ coordinated by Jackie Hunt Christensen, Minnesota State Coordinator, Parkinson Action Network, jackiehc@gmail.com and Elise Miller, M.Ed., Executive Director, Institute for Children's Environmental Health, emiller@iceh.org
CHE's Working Group on Parkinson's Disease and the Environment (CHE-PD) will be holding a consensus conference on environmental factors in PD and other neurodegenerative diseases in Sunnyvale, CA, June 26-28. This unique and historic event will bring together a group of 50 researchers, clinicians, patient-advocates, representatives from national organizations and communications experts. Together, these individuals will begin to identify the areas of research where there is relative certainty, where connections are likely, and which areas are cause for concern. Following this invitation-only meeting, a scientific consensus statement with documentation will be circulated for signatures from members of the academic community. A more general statement will also be developed for the PD community and the general public. CHE Partners will be encouraged to use these statements to affect policy changes, funding increases and new research opportunities. For more information, contact CHE-PD facilitators Jackie Hunt Christensen or Elise Miller.
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Collaborative on Health and the Environment Washington (CHE-WA) ~ coordinated by Elise Miller, M.Ed., Executive Director, Institute for Children's Environmental Health, emiller@iceh.org
* The Research and Information Working Group has posted 18 health fact sheets for Washington State based on the environmental health science presented on the Working Group’s web site at: http://washington.chenw.org/RIgroup/ch_intro.html. These fact sheets are downloadable for use by any interested parties.
* The Environmental Justice Working Group has posted the notes from the Environmental Justice/Health Disparities Exploratory Session held in Seattle in October. Some follow-up actions include: a) mapping organizations and agencies addressing these issues in King County to better understand the relationships between groups and how they might more effectively work together; and b) collectively determining how to better channel resources to community groups for capacity-building.
* Our fourth annual environmental lecture series, “Our Health, Our Environment,” will be held at Town Hall Seattle this winter. The opening speaker on January 24 will be Dr. Terry Collins, who will discuss green chemistry. For more information, please visit: http://washington.chenw.org/lectures.html.
* Our next quarterly meeting will be held on January 4 at 2:00 pm at Antioch University in Seattle. The focus will be on climate change and health, featuring researchers from the University of Washington and those working on policies to address climate change on city and state levels. After the presentations, those interested in developing a climate change and initiative will stay to discuss the scope of that proposed effort.
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CHE's Learning and Developmental Disabilities Initiative (LDDI) Working Group ~ coordinated by Elise Miller, M.Ed., Executive Director, Institute for Children's Environmental Health, emiller@iceh.org
* David Bellinger, PhD, MSc, from the Harvard School of Public Health, spoke on LDDI’s quarterly call November 30. He discussed his research regarding lead exposure, socioeconomic factors and child development. His slides will be posted on line shortly.
* Maureen Swanson has just been named the new Healthy Children Project director at the Learning Disabilities Association of America. She has significant experience in environmental health and will no doubt build on the LDA’s current national and state efforts to educate their constituencies about neurotoxicants as well as weigh in on related policy initiatives.
* Several LDDI Practice Prevention columns have recently been updated, including mercury, pesticides and PCBs. See these and other columns (in English and Spanish) at: http://www.iceh.org/LDDIpublications.html.
* The agenda for the national LDDI conference May 10-11 in Atlanta is being finalized. On-line registrations and hotel reservations will open in mid-January.
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5. Tools, Announcements and Resources for CHE Partners
The 13th Annual Parkinson's Action Network Forum
CHE Partners are encouraged to consider attending the 13th Annual Parkinson's Action Network Forum in Washington, DC on February 11-13. Hear presentations from Parkinson's researchers on potential causes and new treatments, develop advocacy skills, and participate in democracy in action on Capitol Hill. For more information, visit: http://www.parkinsonsaction.org/ or call 800-850-4726.
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The South Texas Environmental Education and Research (STEER) Program
The STEER program of the Department of Family and Community Medicine, hosts a 4-week elective 7-8 times each year at the U.S.-Mexico border (Laredo/Nuevo Laredo) for students who are interested in international, environmental, community and public health. STEER participants learn about contemporary environmental and public health concerns, as well as cultural influences that affect the health of U.S.-Mexico border residents and other underserved populations, sources of public health information and assistance, and how to use these to help patients and communities. Applications can be downloaded from the STEER website at: http://steer.uthscsa.edu/. For further information or to enroll in STEER, contact Stella Olveda at olveda@uthscsa.edu.
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NCSE 7th National Conference: Integrating Environment and Human Health
The National Council for Science and th Environment invites you to participate in this conference, which will be held February 1-2 at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, DC. The conference will serve as a forum for over 800 scientists, educators, and decisionmakers in the environmental and health sciences, policy and government, corporations and civil society, and education to reconnect the unity of the health of the people and the health of the planet. Conference participants will identify opportunities for a new approach to science and education regarding health. For more information and to register, please visit: www.ncseonline.org.
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6. CHE Science News Headlines
Most of these articles have been gleaned from Above the Fold.
Getting the 'Baddest of the Bad' Toxins Out of You
Ottawa Citizen, 11 December 2006, Donna Jacobs
Politics has always been a "blood sport." Now, sporting political players are fielding blood test results on how "toxic" they are. Continue reading...
Renowned Cancer Scientist was Paid by Chemical Firm for 20 Years
The Guardian, 8 December 2006, Sarah Boseley
A world-famous British scientist failed to disclose that he held a paid consultancy with a chemical company for more than 20 years while investigating cancer risks in the industry, the Guardian can reveal. Continue reading...
Breast Cancer Risk 'Starts in the Womb'
The Globe, 6 December 2006, Martin Mittelstaedt
Exposure in the womb to a chemical widely used in the making of plastic could be predisposing some women to develop breast cancer when they become adults, according to a new study. Continue reading...
What's Toxic In Toyland
Time, 3 December 2006, Margot Roosevelt
San Francisco's ban on toys like these has sparked a sharp debate about the dangers of plastic contaminants. Continue reading...
Professor Doll Failed to Declare Interests When Working on Vinyl Chloride
British Medical Journal, 2 December 2006, Roger Dobson
The eminent epidemiologist Richard Doll acted as a paid industrial consultant to several chemical firms around the time he was working on a paper on the possible dangers of exposure to vinyl chloride, a new article says. Professor Doll, who died last year, did not declare that interest, the article claims. Continue reading...
As EPA Libraries go Digital, Public Access Suffers
The Christian Science Monitor, 2 December 2006, Mark Clayton
For a new Democratic Congress facing big environmental issues from global warming to dwindling fisheries, the first step may be keeping the nation's top environmental libraries from closing - and saving their myriad tomes from ending up as recycled cardboard. Continue reading...
EU Chemicals Directive Agreed
Radio Telefís Éireann, 1 December 2006
Member states and representatives of the European Parliament have reached a landmark agreement on how some 30,000 chemicals should be regulated within the European Union. Continue reading...
Finding strength: Determined Science Researcher
Missourian, 26 November 2006, Jill Hilbrenner
Fred vom Saal averages a 14-hour workday. As an MU biological sciences professor, his days begin at 6 a.m., and from then until late evening, he conducts laboratory research, writes papers, meets with students and browses the Internet. Continue reading...
Britain Sabotages EU Law to Control Toxic Chemicals
The Independent, 19 November 2006, Geoffrey Lean
Ministers are sabotaging laws to control toxic chemicals despite fears that they are causing a "silent epidemic" of brain disorders in British children, a leaked document shows. Continue reading...
Toxic Toys
San Francisco Chronicle, 19 November 2006, Jane Kay
Widely used chemicals with suspected links to cancer and developmental problems in humans are present in common baby products like the yellow rubber ducky, bath books and clear plastic bottles, a Chronicle analysis confirmed. Continue reading...
What Ails the CDC
Time, 19 November 2006, Christine Gorman
Staff turnover, morale problems and charges of mismanagement couldn't have come at a worse time for the guardians of U.S. public health. Continue reading...
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7. 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.
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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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