2010: Environmental Health Highlights of the Year

For our last CHE partner call of the year, we have decided to invite three national leaders to highlight what they think have been the top two or three research studies, reports, policy actions, seminal events, etc. in environmental health and justice in 2010—and why. We would also like to invite YOU to send in your thoughts on what have been prominent highlights or turning points (positive or challenging) during this past year and why. To offer your contributions, submit a comment to this post. Depending on time, we will try to mention some of your ideas on the call in addition to those of our presenters. We will also hold at least 20 minutes at the end of the call for questions and comments.

The call with be Wednesday December 8th
3:00 p.m. Eastern/Noon Pacific
Visit the call page on the CHE website.

We look forward to your participation.

Community Organizing: Catalyzing Sustainability from the Ground Up

Elise Miller, MEd
Director

Many colleagues I know and respect would argue that working on the community level is really the only way to catalyze sustained social change. Again and again, I have seen this to be true. One of my local heroes here on Whidbey Island, north of Seattle, is a master gardener. She has put enormous creative energy into developing a thriving organic garden for the community food bank. This means the ever-growing number of families now living on food stamps get to enjoy fresh, healthy vegetables in addition to other staples. She also raises money to allow youth in juvenile detention to work in the garden, giving those teens an experience that for some changes the trajectory of their lives. Then there are other local heroes described poignantly in Steve Lerner’s new book, Sacrifice Zones: The Front Lines of Toxic Chemical Exposure in the United States – many who didn’t intend to become community or environmental activists, but simply couldn’t stand by and watch their families and neighbors succumb to various illnesses linked to exposures from nearby industrial sources. (Please join us for our CHE Café call on Monday, November 15th featuring Steve Lerner).