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Rachel's Democracy & Health News #931
"Environment, health, jobs and justice--Who gets to decide?"
Thursday, November 1, 2007..............Printer-friendly version
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^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Featured stories in this issue... Problems Create Opportunities A new report from the United Nations offers a wake-up call. It's time to turn things around. By making major investments in solar power, green chemistry, and clean production, the U.S. could create whole new industries and large numbers of new jobs. Most importantly, we could reclaim our standing as a beneficent giant, a global leader in ideas, research, and manufacturing. What are we waiting for? Tests Reveal High Chemical Levels in Kids' Bodies "[Rowan's] been on this planet for 18 months, and he's loaded with a chemical I've never heard of," Holland said. "He had two to three times the level of flame retardants in his body that's been known to cause thyroid dysfunction in lab rats." Exposed: The Poisons Around Us "In one industry after another, a new double standard is emerging: that between the protection offered Europe's citizens, and those afforded to Americans." It is now fair to ask: "Is America itself becoming a new dumping ground for products forbidden because of their toxic effects in other countries?" Outmoded thinking has endangered not only America's health but also its economic future. Parents Raising Concerns Over Synthetic Turf Dr. Philip J. Landrigan, a professor of pediatrics, agreed that there should be a moratorium on new playing fields made from synthetic turf. He said the turf poses other dangers to children besides just exposure to chemicals. Global Warming May Hit Kids Harder, Pediatrics Group Says Global warming is likely to disproportionately harm the health of children, and politicians should launch "aggressive policies" to curb climate change, the American Academy of Pediatrics now says. Troubling Meaty 'Estrogen' High temperature cooking can imbue meats with a chemical that acts like a hormone. But cooks can take steps to alleviate the danger. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: From: Rachel's Democracy & Health News #931, Nov. 1, 2007 [Printer-friendly version] PROBLEMS CREATE OPPORTUNITIES The new GEO-4 Report from the United Nations describes a world in decline, but it doesn't have to be this way. By Peter Montague The United Nations published its long-awaited GEO-4 report last week. Five years in production, the 570-page report offers a catalog of human impacts on the natural environment and warns that national governments must make the natural environment central to their policy focus. The report was written by 390 experts and peer-reviewed by 1000 more. The report says humans are now requiring 22 hectares (54 acres) per person for all the activities that sustain human life. However, there are only 16 hectares (39 acres) per person available world-wide. As a result, farm land is being degraded, ocean fisheries are being depleted, and fresh water is becoming scarcer. Furthermore, the human population is expected to grow 50% in the next 50 years. "About half of the footprint is accounted for by the areas that are required to absorb our greenhouse gas emissions," says Neville Ash of the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre. "The other half is the land which produces our food, the forests which produce our timber, the oceans and rivers which produce our fish." Clearly, all is not lost if we recognize that the GEO-4 report is a wake-up call. Major investments by nations like the U.S., which affect the world all out of proportion to their population size, could create a new world of possibilities. (The U.S. is 4% of world population but produces 25% of all global warming gases.) A major push to develop solar power, so we could leave all remaining fossil fuels in the ground -- stop mining them as soon as humanly possible -- would drastically reduce the human footprint on the planet. It would also create whole new industries and large numbers of new jobs, and would revive America's standing as a beneficent giant of positive ideas, applied research, and high-quality products. We have a detailed road map that shows us the direction we need to go. Our military leaders have told us that our national security depends upon ending our addiction to fossil fuels. We know we need the jobs and the revival of national spirit that such a crash program would bring. What are we waiting for? Now here are four published summaries of the new United Nations GEO-4 report -- facts you can use to persuade friends, family, and elected representatives that a new beginning for America is necessary and is possible: ========================================================= Source: Scientific American Date: October 26, 2007 Headline: The World Is Not Enough for Humans URL: http://www.precaution.org/lib/07/world_not_en ough_for_humans.071030.htm Humanity's environmental impact has reached an unprecedented scope, and it's getting worse Since 1987 annual emissions of carbon dioxide -- the leading greenhouse gas warming the globe -- have risen by a third, global fishing yields have declined by 10.6 million metric tons and the amount of land required to sustain humanity has swelled to more than 54 acres (22 hectares) per person. Yet, Earth can provide only roughly 39 acres (15 hectares) for every person living today, according to the United Nation's Environmental Program's (UNEP) Global Environment Outlook, released this week. "There are no major issues," the report's authors write of the period since their first report in 1987, "for which the foreseeable trends are favorable." Despite some successes -- such as the Montreal Protocol's 95 percent reduction in chemicals that damage the atmosphere's ozone layer and a rise in protected reserves of habitat to cover 12 percent of the planet -- humanity's impact continues to grow. For example: Biodiversity -- The planet is in the grips of the sixth great extinction in its 4.5-billion-year history, this one largely man- made. Species are becoming extinct 100 times faster than the average rate in the fossil record. More than 30 percent of amphibians, 12 percent of birds and 23 percent of our own class, mammals, are threatened. Climate -- Average temperatures have climbed 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit (0.76 degree Celsius) over the past century and could increase as much as 8.1 degrees F (4.5 degrees C) over the next unless "drastic" steps are taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from, primarily, burning fossil fuels. Developed countries will need to reduce this globe- warming pollution by 60 to 80 percent by mid-century to stave off dire consequences, the report warns. "Fundamental changes in social and economic structures, including lifestyle changes, are crucial if rapid progress is to be achieved." Food -- The amount of food grown per acre has reached one metric ton, but such increasing intensity is also driving rapid desertification of formerly arable land as well as reliance on chemical pesticides and fertilizers. In fact, four billion out of the world's 6.5 billion people could not get enough food to eat without such fertilization. Continuing population growth paired with a shift toward eating more meat leads the UNEP to predict that food demand may more than triple. Water -- One in 10 of the world's major rivers, including the Colorado and the Rio Grande in the U.S., fail to reach the sea for at least part of the year, due to demand for water. And that demand is rising; by 2025, the report predicts, demand for fresh water will rise by 50 percent in the developing world and 18 percent in industrialized countries. At the same time, human activity is polluting existing fresh waters with everything from fertilizer runoff to pharmaceuticals and climate change is shrinking the glaciers that provide drinking water for nearly one third of humanity. "The escalating burden of water demand," the report says, "will become intolerable in water- scarce countries." The authors -- 388 scientists reviewed by roughly 1,000 of their peers -- view the report as "an urgent call for action" and decry the "woefully inadequate" global response to problems such as climate change. "The amount of resources needed to sustain [humanity] exceeds what is available," the report declares. "The systematic destruction of the earth's natural and nature-based resources has reached a point where the economic viability of economies is being challenged," Achim Steiner, UNEP's executive director, said in a statement. "The bill we hand our children may prove impossible to pay." ========================================================= Source: New Scientist Date: October 25, 2007 Headline: Unsustainable Development 'Puts Humanity at Risk' URL: http://www.precaution.org/lib/07/humanity_at_risk.071025.htm By Catherine Brahic Humans are completely living beyond their ecological means, says a major report published by the UN Environment Programme on Thursday. The 550-page document finds the human ecological footprint is on average 21.9 hectares per person. Given the global population, however, the Earth's biological capacity is just 15.7 hectares per person. The report is UNEP's latest on the state of the planet's health, taking five years in the making. It was put together by about 390 experts and peer-reviewed by an additional 1000. It reviews the state of Earth's natural resources, from the atmosphere and water, to land surfaces and biodiversity. It concludes that instead of being used and maintained as a tool for the sustainable development of human populations, the environment is being sucked dry by unsustainable development. Examples of how humans are over-exploiting natural resources to their own detriment include: ** Water -- by 2025, 1.6 billion people will live in countries with absolute water scarcity; 440 million school days are already missed every year because of diarrhoeal diseases. ** Land use -- modern agriculture exploits land more intensively than it has in the past. In 1987, a hectare of cropland yielded on average 1.8 tonnes of crops, today the same hectare produces 2.5 tonnes. This increased productivity comes at a cost -- overexploited land is degraded and becomes less productive. ** Fish -- 2.6 billion people rely on fish for more than 20% of their animal protein intake, yet as the intensity of fishing increases, the biodiversity of the ocean and the ocean's capacity to produce more fish decreases. ** Air -- more than 2 million people die each year because of indoor and outdoor pollution. Unsustainable consumption The individual average footprint of 21.9 hectares per person estimated by UNEP, includes the areas required to produce the resources we use, as well as the areas needed to process our waste. "About half of the footprint is accounted for by the areas that are required to absorb our greenhouse gas emissions," says Neville Ash of the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre, underlying the scale of the climate change problem. "The other half is the land which produces our food, the forests which produce our timber, the oceans and rivers which produce our fish." The inflated size of the footprint, says Ash, is partially the result of the growth of the human population. The population is currently estimated at 6.7 billion people, and is expected to reach 8 to 10 billion by 2050. But for Ash, the main driver of the size of our footprint is our unsustainable consumption. "There is no doubt that we could sustain the current and projected population if we lived sustainably," he told New Scientist. 'Inexorable decline' According to the report authors, energy efficiency is key to sustainability. Johan Kuylenstierna of the Stockholm Environment Institute says that the growth of greenhouse gas emissions in developing nations could be halved by 2020 simply by using existing technologies for energy efficiency. According to Jo Alcamo, at the University of Kassel in Germany, who led the group which looked at future development for the report, open borders and free trade could also be important. In models of the future where trade between countries is made simpler, technologies that improve the sustainable use of resources are adopted more quickly. "Much of the 'natural' capital upon which so much of the human wellbeing and economic activity depends -- water, land, the air and atmosphere, biodiversity and marine resources -- continue their seemingly inexorable decline," warns Achim Steiner, UNEP executive director. "The cost of inaction and the price humanity will eventually pay is likely to dwarf the cost of swift and decisive action now." ========================================================= Source: New York Times Date: October 26, 2007 Headline: U.N. Warns of Rapid Decay of Environment URL: http://www.precaution.org/lib/07/u.n._warns_on_enviro nment.071026.htm By James Kanter PARIS, Oct. 25 -- The human population is living far beyond its means and inflicting damage to the environment that could pass points of no return, according to a major report issued Thursday by the United Nations. Climate change, the rate of extinction of species, and the challenge of feeding a growing population are putting humanity at risk, the United Nations Environment Program said in its fourth Global Environmental Outlook since 1997. "The human population is now so large that the amount of resources needed to sustain it exceeds what is available at current consumption patterns," Achim Steiner, the executive director of the Environment Program, said in a telephone interview. Many biologists and climate scientists have concluded that human activities have become a dominant influence on the Earth's climate and ecosystems. But there is still a range of views on whether the changes could have catastrophic impacts, as the human population heads toward nine billion by midcentury, or more manageable results. Over the last two decades, the world population increased by almost 34 percent, to 6.7 billion, from 5 billion. But the land available to each person is shrinking, from 19.5 acres in 1900 to 5 acres by 2005, the report said. Population growth combined with unsustainable consumption has resulted in an increasingly stressed planet where natural disasters and environmental degradation endanger people, plants and animal species. Persistent problems include a rapid rise of "dead zones," where marine life no longer can be supported because pollutants like runoff fertilizers deplete oxygen. But Mr. Steiner, of the Environment Program, did note that Western European governments had taken effective measures to reduce air pollutants and that Brazil had made efforts to roll back some deforestation. He said an international treaty to tackle the hole in the earth's ozone layer had led to the phasing out of 95 percent of ozone-damaging chemicals. "Life would be easier if we didn't have the kind of population growth rates that we have at the moment," Mr. Steiner said. "But to force people to stop having children would be a simplistic answer. The more realistic, ethical and practical issue is to accelerate human well- being and make more rational use of the resources we have on this planet." Mr. Steiner said parts of Africa could reach an environmental tipping point if changing rainfall patterns turned semi-arid zones into arid zones and made agriculture much harder. He said another tipping point could occur in India and China if Himalayan glaciers shrank so much that they no longer supplied adequate amounts of water. He also warned of a global collapse of all species being fished by 2050, if fishing around the world continued at its current pace. The report said that two and a half times more fish were being caught than the oceans could produce in a sustainable manner, and that the level of fish stocks classed as collapsed had roughly doubled over the past 20 years, to 30 percent. In the spirit of the United Nations report, President Nicolas Sarkozy of France outlined plans on Thursday to fight climate change. He said he would make 1 billion euros, or $1.4 billion, available over four years to develop energy sources and maintain biodiversity. He said each euro spent on nuclear research would be matched by one spent on research into clean technologies and environmental protection. ========================================================= Source: Agence France Presse (AFP) Date: October 26, 2007 Headline: Save the planet? It's now or never, warns landmark UN report URL: http://www.precaution.org/lib/07/its_now_or_never_for_earth. 071026.htm NAIROBI (AFP) -- Humanity is changing Earth's climate so fast and devouring resources so voraciously that it is poised to bequeath a ravaged planet to future generations, the UN warned Thursday in its most comprehensive survey of the environment. The fourth Global Environment Outlook (GEO-4), published by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), is compiled by 390 experts from observations, studies and data garnered over two decades. The 570-page report -- which caps a year that saw climate change dominate the news -- says world leaders must propel the environment "to the core of decision-making" to tackle a daily worsening crisis "The need couldn't be more urgent and the time couldn't be more opportune, with our enhanced understanding of the challenges we face, to act now to safeguard our own survival and that of future generations," GEO-4 said. The UNEP report offers the broadest and most detailed tableau of environmental change since the Brundtland Report, "Our Common Future," was issued in 1987 and put the environment on the world political map. "There have been enough wake-up calls since Brundtland. I sincerely hope GEO-4 is the final one," said UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner. "The systematic destruction of the Earth's natural and nature-based resources has reached a point where the economic viability of economies is being challenged -- and where the bill we hand on to our children may prove impossible to pay," he added. Earth has experienced five mass extinctions in 450 million years, the latest of which occurred 65 million years ago, says GEO-4. "A sixth major extinction is under way, this time caused by human behaviour," it says. Over the past two decades, growing prosperity has tremendously strengthened the capacity to understand and confront the environmental challenges ahead. Despite this, the global response has been "woefully inadequate," the report said. The report listed environmental issues by continent and by sector, offering dizzying and often ominous statistics about the future. Climate is changing faster than at any time in the past 500,000 years. Global average temperatures rose by 0.74 degrees Celsius (1.33 Fahrenheit) over the past century and are forecast to rise by 1.8 to four C (3.24-7.2 F) by 2100, it said, citing estimates issued this year by the 2007 Nobel Peace co-laureates, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). With more than six billion humans, Earth's population is now so big that "the amount of resources needed to sustain it exceeds what is available," the report warned, adding that the global population is expected to peak at between eight and 9.7 billion by 2050. "In Africa, land degradation and even desertification are threats; per capita food production has declined by 12 percent since 1981," it said. The GEO-4 report went on to enumerate other strains on the planet's resources and biodiversity. Fish consumption has more than tripled over the past 40 years but catches have stagnated or declined for 20 years, it said. "Of the major vertebrate groups that have been assessed comprehensively, over 30 percent of amphibians, 23 percent of mammals and 12 percent of birds are threatened," it added. Stressing it was not seeking to present a "dark and gloomy scenario", UNEP took heart in the successes from efforts to combat ozone loss and chemical air pollution. But it also stressed that failure to address persistent problems could undo years of hard grind. And it noted: "Some of the progress achieved in reducing pollution in developed countries has been at the expense of the developing world, where industrial production and its impacts are now being exported." GEO-4 -- the fourth in a series dating back to 1997 -- also looks at how the current trends may unfold and outlines four scenarios to the year 2050: "Markets First", "Policy First", "Security First", "Sustainability First". After a year that saw the UN General Assembly devote unprecedented attention to climate change and the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to the IPCC and former US vice president Al Gore for raising awareness on the same issue, the report's authors called for radical change. "For some of the persistent problems, the damage may already be irreversible," they warned. "The only way to address these harder problems requires moving the environment from the periphery to the core of decision-making: environment for development, not development to the detriment of environment." Return to Table of Contents :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: From: CNN.com, Oct. 22, 2007 [Printer-friendly version] TESTS REVEAL HIGH CHEMICAL LEVELS IN KIDS' BODIES So-called "body burden" testing reveals industrial chemicals in humans; many of these chemicals harm rats, but studies on humans are preliminary One scientist warns modern-day humans are living an "unnatural experiment" By Jordana Miller, CNN NEW YORK (CNN) -- Michelle Hammond and Jeremiah Holland were intrigued when a friend at the Oakland Tribune asked them and their two young children to take part in a cutting-edge study to measure the industrial chemicals in their bodies. "In the beginning, I wasn't worried at all; I was fascinated," Hammond, 37, recalled. But that fascination soon changed to fear, as tests revealed that their children -- Rowan, then 18 months, and Mikaela, then 5 -- had chemical exposure levels up to seven times those of their parents. "[Rowan's] been on this planet for 18 months, and he's loaded with a chemical I've never heard of," Holland, 37, said. "He had two to three times the level of flame retardants in his body that's been known to cause thyroid dysfunction in lab rats." The technology to test for these flame retardants -- known as polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) -- and other industrial chemicals is less than 10 years old. Environmentalists call it "body burden" testing, an allusion to the chemical "burden," or legacy of toxins, running through our bloodstream. Scientists refer to this testing as "biomonitoring." Most Americans haven't heard of body burden testing, but it's a hot topic among environmentalists and public health experts who warn that the industrial chemicals we come into contact with every day are accumulating in our bodies and endangering our health in ways we have yet to understand. "We are the humans in a dangerous and unnatural experiment in the United States, and I think it's unconscionable," said Dr. Leo Trasande, assistant director of the Center for Children's Health and the Environment at the Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City. Trasande says that industrial toxins could be leading to more childhood disease and disorders. "We are in an epidemic of environmentally mediated disease among American children today," he said. "Rates of asthma, childhood cancers, birth defects and developmental disorders have exponentially increased, and it can't be explained by changes in the human genome. So what has changed? All the chemicals we're being exposed to." Elizabeth Whelan, president of the American Council on Science and Health, a public health advocacy group, disagrees. "My concern about this trend about measuring chemicals in the blood is it's leading people to believe that the mere ability to detect chemicals is the same as proving a hazard, that if you have this chemical, you are at risk of a disease, and that is false," she said. Whelan contends that trace levels of industrial chemicals in our bodies do not necessarily pose health risks. In 2004, the Hollands became the first intact nuclear family in the United States to undergo body burden testing. Rowan, at just 1.5 years old, became the youngest child in the U.S. to be tested for chemical exposure with this method. Rowan's extraordinarily high levels of PBDEs frightened his parents and left them with a looming question: If PBDEs are causing neurological damage to lab rats, could they be doing the same thing to Rowan? The answer is that no one knows for sure. In the three years since he was tested, no developmental problems have been found in Rowan's neurological system. Trasande said children up to six years old are most at risk because their vital organs and immune system are still developing and because they depend more heavily on their environments than adults do. "Pound for pound, they eat more food, they drink more water, they breathe in more air," he said. "And so [children] carry a higher body burden." Studies on the health effects of PBDEs are only just beginning, but many countries have heeded the warning signs they see in animal studies. Sweden banned PBDEs in 1998. The European Union banned most PBDEs in 2004. In the United States, the sole manufacturer of two kinds of PBDEs voluntarily stopped making them in 2004. A third kind, Deca, is still used in the U.S. in electrical equipment, construction material, mattresses and textiles. Another class of chemicals that showed up in high levels in the Holland children is known as phthalates. These are plasticizers, the softening agents found in many plastic bottles, kitchenware, toys, medical devices, personal care products and cosmetics. In lab animals, phthalates have been associated with reproductive defects, obesity and early puberty. But like PBDEs, little is known about what they do to humans and specifically children. Russ Hauser, an associate professor of environmental and occupational epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health, has done some of the few human studies on low-level phthalate exposure. His preliminary research shows that phthalates may contribute to infertility in men. A study led by Shanna Swan of the University of Rochester in New York shows that prenatal exposure to phthalates in males may be associated with impaired testicular function and with a defect that shortens the space between the genitals and anus. The Environmental Protection Agency does not require chemical manufacturers to conduct human toxicity studies before approving their chemicals for use in the market. A manufacturer simply has to submit paperwork on a chemical, all the data that exists on that chemical to date, and wait 90 days for approval. Jennifer Wood, an EPA spokeswoman, insists the agency has the tools to ensure safe oversight. "If during the new-chemical review process, EPA determines that it may have concerns regarding risk or exposure, the EPA has the authority to require additional testing," she said. EPA records show that of the 1,500 new chemicals submitted each year, the agency asks for additional testing roughly 10 percent of the time. The EPA has set up a voluntary testing program with the major chemical manufacturers to retroactively test some of the 3,000 most widely used chemicals. Trasande believes that is too little, too late. "The problem with these tests is that they are really baseline tests that don't measure for the kind of subtle health problems that we're seeing," Dr. Trasande said. In the three years since her family went through body burden testing, Michelle Hammond has become an activist on the issue. She's testified twice in the California legislature to support a statewide body burden testing program, a bill that passed last year. Michelle also speaks to various public health groups about her experience, taking Mikaela, now 8, and Rowan, now 5, with her. So far, her children show no health problems associated with the industrial chemicals in their bodies. "I'm angry at my government for failing to regulate chemicals that are in mass production and in consumer products." Hammond says. "I don't think it should have to be up to me to worry about what's in my couch." Return to Table of Contents :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: From: San Francisco Chronicle (pg. M1), Oct. 5, 2007 [Printer-friendly version] EXPOSED: THE POISONS AROUND US By Steve Heilig Book Review of: Exposed -- The Toxic Chemistry of Everyday Products and What's at Stake for American Power, by Mark Schapiro (Chelsea Green, 219 pages, $22.95). Recently, many Californians have received dramatic mailings from a group named Californians for Fire Safety warning that if legislation banning some fire-retardant chemicals is passed, we would all be at much greater risk of burning to death in fires. Among the omissions in this literature are that the "Californians" are actually chemical- industry lobbyists, that firefighters themselves support the proposed legislation and that the chemicals in question have already been banned elsewhere because of concerns about health problems such as increased cancer, birth defects and reproductive problems. This last point, that we in the United States allow use of substances deemed too toxic in other nations, especially European ones, is the primary focus of San Francisco journalist Mark Schapiro's "Exposed." And while environmental science underlies the book's argument, it is notable that Schapiro's perspective is more a business one than otherwise. His startling message is that by lagging behind on environmental innovation, American industries are jeopardizing their financial future. And since money talks, he may have produced a book with more eventual impact than a crate of dire environmental warnings. Public health researchers at UC Berkeley "estimate that forty-two billion pounds of chemicals enter American commerce daily, enough chemicals to fill up 623,000 tanker trucks, a string of trucks that could straddle the globe three times, every day," notes Schapiro. Further, "fewer than five hundred of those substances have undergone any substantive risk assessments." At the same time as this massive post-World War II production has taken place, research has demonstrated health hazards even or even especially, in some cases, at very low doses. And children, fetuses and pregnant women are especially vulnerable. Schapiro's previous book, "Circle of Poison," demonstrated a quarter century ago that American chemical companies exported pesticides banned here, causing health hazards in poorer nations. Now the flow of risks is reversing. "In one industry after another, a new double standard is emerging: that between the protection offered Europe's citizens, and those afforded to Americans," Schapiro writes. And ironically, although we like to think of our nation as more advanced in such arenas, it is now fair to ask: "Is America itself becoming a new dumping ground for products forbidden because of their toxic effects in other countries?" Consider cosmetics. A survey of common products "found hundreds of varieties of skin and tanning lotions, nail polish and mascara and other personal-care products that contain known or possible carcinogens, mutagens, and reproductive toxins." Contrary to common assumption, most cosmetics are not effectively tested or regulated for their health effects. European authorities, however, started to demand toxicity information before multinational companies could continue to market their products there, and this development did garner corporate attention and action. Chemicals put on the European Union "negative list" were removed from products without seeming to hurt the bottom line. Back at home, however, such as when a Safe Cosmetic Act was proposed for California just last year, chemical lobbyists convened en masse in Sacramento to argue that there were no risks from the chemicals used. "They (the cosmetic companies) are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to lobby against laws in the United States that they've already agreed to in Europe," says a representative of the Breast Cancer Fund in San Francisco. Of course, the industry agreed only under duress and when the regulatory writing was already on the wall. But no bankruptcies of European cosmetic companies have occurred because of such healthier standards, and as another advocate notes, "I don't notice European women looking any less stunning than they'd looked before." The example of cosmetics can be seen as one of voluntary exposure, although consumers would seem to have a right to know exactly what they put onto or into their bodies. But Schapiro provides similar case studies of other chemicals or categories of substances, such as phthalates used in plastics, persistent organic pollutants including pesticides, and genetically modified foods, where much of our exposures occur even if we do not actively use a product. Meanwhile, federal agencies we might expect to protect us, such as the Environmental Protection Agency, have been "eviscerated from within" by the current administration. The advent of the European Union has tilted balances of power in many ways, including how "chemical politics" now take place. When the EU developed far-reaching new regulations to reduce exposure to harmful substances, American chemical lobbyists swarmed across the Atlantic to fight them. But EU markets are now bigger than those in America, and as one diplomat there states, "We are not going to ask the United States for permission." This is true even when the White House weighs in on behalf of the chemical lobby, as was shown when a leaked memo indicated that such lobbyists were drafting letters from our ambassador to the EU, "an extraordinary glimpse into the routine merging of U.S. governmental and private interests," as Schapiro notes. "U.S. environmental policies are not sparking innovation; they are fighting it," Schapiro holds. The EU economies are now growing faster than that of the United States; our balance of trade in chemicals has become negative for the first time. European experts calculate that their new safer chemical policies will "be repaid many times over by its benefits." "Europe is looking at the future," Schapiro concludes. "This is not utopian; it's more like a realpolitik for the twenty- first century." How ironic then, that shortsighted, self-serving perspectives in what was once the New World have become outmoded, and put Americans at risk not only in terms of our health but also our economic future. So, yes, as the "fire safety" advocates advise, we probably should call our elected leaders. But read this book first. Steve Heilig is on the staffs of the Collaborative on Health and the Environment and the San Francisco Medical Society. Return to Table of Contents :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: From: New York Times, Oct. 28, 2007 [Printer-friendly version] PARENTS RAISING CONCERNS OVER SYNTHETIC TURF By Jeff Holtz Last school year, Patricia Taylor noticed something worrisome after her son Liam, 12, would play soccer at the Bedford Middle School in Westport, Conn., on a synthetic turf field made with rubber granules from recycled tires. Mrs. Taylor said Liam would come home with the tiny particles in his cleats, in his clothes and in his hair. "I just looked at him and said, 'What the heck is that?'" she said. "Kids are tracking it back home, into washers and dryers, on the rugs and in their tubs. It's not just staying on the field. It's migrating." The turf is the latest in artificial playing surfaces, and its use has risen in the last decade at schools, colleges and sports stadiums worldwide. Supporters say it is cheaper to maintain than natural grass and softer, and therefore safer, than other artificial surfaces. But concern is growing among some parents and health officials that the rubber used in the turf can release chemicals that are potentially harmful to the athletes who play on it. Such concerns on the part of Mrs. Taylor and other parents led to a study this summer by the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station in New Haven. It found that when the rubber granules were heated in a laboratory at temperatures consistent to exposure to the sun, they emitted four organic chemicals that could irritate the eyes, skin and respiratory system. One of the chemicals is believed to be a carcinogen. The study also detected other chemicals that could not be identified without further testing. Mrs. Taylor and other parents said athletes should not be using the fields until they have been proven safe. Nancy O. Alderman, the president of Environment and Human Health Inc. in New Haven, a nonprofit group of doctors and public health officials that researches health issues and funded the study, has called for a moratorium on the installation of the fields until more studies are done. "We know the rubber pellets out-gas these chemicals," Ms. Alderman said. "The one piece we do not know is how much of these chemicals are going into people's bodies." Gordon F. Joseloff, the first selectman in Westport, where there are four synthetic turf playing surfaces at schools, agreed that more testing needed to be done, but said that the state's Department of Public Health, based on available information, saw no reason to stop using the fields. "We're open to testing in real-time conditions, not in laboratory conditions, because kids don't play in a laboratory," he said. Brian Toal, an epidemiologist with the department's environmental and occupational health assessment program, acknowledged that "the information is somewhat sketchy, and some of the studies do indicate that there are exposures." "But our estimation is the exposures are below levels that would cause a health effect," he said. Similar health concerns have been raised in Massachusetts and on Long Island. In Albany on Wednesday, State Assemblyman Steven C. Englebright, a Democrat from Long Island, introduced legislation calling for a moratorium on new fields. There are about a dozen companies that manufacture synthetic athletic turf. Sportexe, based in Dallas, made the Westport fields. Phil M. Stricklen, a chemist who is the company's director of research and development, said the fields were safe. "We see no reason for concern for the people playing on these fields," he said. Patricia J. Wood, the executive director of Grassroots Environmental Education in Port Washington, N.Y., a nonprofit group that studies the links between the environment and public health, said she had been contacted by a number of parents worried about synthetic turf. "They want answers," she said. "They want to know whether it's safe, whether they should continue to allow their kids to play on it." In Westchester, the county's Legacy Program, an open-space preservation fund, has committed close to $25 million and built eight turf and three natural grass fields, with several more planned. County health officials said they had received only a couple of calls on the fields' safety. Several parents in the county involved in the installations said the only concerns they were aware of were financial -- whether the fields, which cost $500,000 to $1 million each, were worth it. In White Plains, which has one field and is installing two more, Arne M. Abramowitz, the city's parks commissioner, said he had not heard of any health concerns. There are more than 50 synthetic turf fields in Connecticut, including in Westport, Stamford and Greenwich. In Fairfield, where the Fairfield Country Day School, a private boys school, plans to install a synthetic turf field, two neighborhood groups -- Preserve Our District and Fairfielders Protecting Land and Neighborhoods -- have filed notices to try to stop the town from issuing a inland wetland permit, claiming that the chemicals from the rubber pellets could harm the environment and potentially contaminate groundwater, said Joel Z. Green, a lawyer for both groups. A lawyer for the school, John F. Fallon, defended the school's actions, saying officials there had consulted with several experts on the field's safety. Annette Jacobson, the conservation administrator for the Town of Fairfield, said a report she prepared found no indication that the turf would adversely affect wetlands or water sources. Another hearing on the wetland permit was scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Monday at Osborne Hill Elementary School. While saying there is no need for panic, the Connecticut attorney general, Richard Blumenthal, is asking the state to spend $200,000 so the state Agricultural Experiment Station can study the issue further. "There are some serious unknowns, as far as potential heath risk," he said. "Certainly there is a need for more study and research." Dr. Philip J. Landrigan, a professor of pediatrics and the chairman of preventive medicine at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, agreed that there should be a moratorium on new fields, and said that tests should be done on the skin, urine and blood of children before and after they play on them. He also said the turf poses other dangers, besides the exposure to chemicals. "On hot summer days, temperatures as high as 130 and 140 degrees have been recorded a couple of feet above the surface of these fields," he said. Several medical journals have reported that athletes who fall on synthetic turf are more likely to sustain skin burns that put them at risk of staph infections, Dr. Landrigan said. Liam Taylor and his mother are proceeding with caution. This year, he is on the soccer team at the Hopkins School in New Haven, which does not have a synthetic turf field, and his mother refuses to let him play at any school that does have one. "My job is to protect my son," she said. "Now that there is evidence of out-gassing, he will not be exposed until the fields are proven safe." Copyright 2007 The New York Times Company Return to Table of Contents :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: From: USA Today, Oct. 29, 2007 [Printer-friendly version] GLOBAL WARMING MAY HIT KIDS HARDER, PEDIATRICS GROUP SAYS By Marilyn Elias, USA TODAY Global warming is likely to disproportionately harm the health of children, and politicians should launch "aggressive policies" to curb climate change, the American Academy of Pediatrics said today. In the first major report about the unique effects of global warming on kids, U.S. pediatricians also were advised to "educate" elected officials about the coming dangers. There's evidence that children are likely to suffer more than adults from climate change, says the report's lead author, Katherine Shea, a pediatrician and adjunct public health professor at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. "We already have change, and certain bad things are going to happen no matter what we do," Shea says. "But we can prevent things from getting even worse. We don't have the luxury of waiting." More greenhouse gases and a warming Earth will leave children particularly vulnerable in several ways, the report says: ** Air pollution does more damage to children's lungs, causing asthma and respiratory ailments, because their lungs are still developing, they breathe at a higher rate than adults and are outdoors more. ** Waterborne infections, such as diarrhea and other gastrointestinal problems, hit children especially hard. These infections rise sharply with more rain, which is expected as the climate warms. ** As mosquitoes are able to move to higher ground, the malaria zone is expanding. Kids are especially vulnerable; 75% of malaria deaths occur in children younger than 5. The report briefly mentions that mass migrations are expected as regions become uninhabitable. "Children fare very poorly in these major population shifts," says Irwin Redlener, director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University and president of the Children's Health Fund. "They're more fragile medically and nutritionally," says Redlener, who wasn't involved with the report. "They're less resilient, less likely to survive." No matter what the risks, the pediatrics academy shouldn't be sending its members out to lobby, argues Janice Crouse, director of a think tank affiliated with Concerned Women for America, a conservative public policy group. "Let them issue a scientific report, and people can judge whether it has validity. For a scientific group to use children as a means of advancing a political agenda is beyond the pale," she says. Julie Gerberding, director of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, briefed a Senate committee on the health risks of global warming last week. She mentioned increasing asthma, malaria and waterborne diseases but not children's vulnerability. The Associated Press reported that Gerberding's speech was "eviscerated" by the White House, but CDC spokesman Tom Skinner denied it, adding that Gerberding said everything she wanted to say without constraint. "This is not a political issue, it's a public health issue," Shea says. "If we know the health of children and future children is threatened, we have an obligation to act." Return to Table of Contents :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: From: Science News, Oct. 20, 2007 [Printer-friendly version] TROUBLING MEATY 'ESTROGEN' By Janet Raloff Women take note. Researchers find that a chemical that forms in overcooked meat, especially charred portions, is a potent mimic of estrogen, the primary female sex hormone. That's anything but appetizing, since studies have linked a higher lifetime cumulative exposure to estrogen in women with an elevated risk of breast cancer. Indeed, the new finding offers a "biologically plausible" explanation for why diets rich in red meats might elevate breast-cancer risk, notes Nigel J. Gooderham of Imperial College London. At the very high temperatures reached during frying and charbroiling, natural constituents of meats can undergo chemical reactions that generate carcinogens known as heterocyclic amines (see Carcinogens in the Diet). Because these compounds all have very long, unwieldy chemical monikers, most scientists refer to them by their abbreviations, such as IQ, MeIQ, MeIQx, and PhIP. Of the nearly two dozen different heterocyclic amines that can form, PhIP dominates. It sometimes accumulates in amounts 10 to 50 times higher than that of any other member of this toxic chemical family, Gooderham says. Moreover, he adds, although heterocyclic amines normally cause liver tumors in exposed animals, PhIP is different: "It causes breast cancer in female rats, prostate cancer in male rats, and colon cancer in both." These are the same cancers that in people are associated with eating a lot of cooked meats. However, the means by which such foods might induce cancer has remained somewhat elusive. So, building on his team's earlier work, Gooderham decided to probe what the heterocyclic amine did in rat pituitary cells. These cells make prolactin -- another female sex hormone -- but only when triggered by the presence of estrogen. Prolactin, like estrogen, fuels the growth of many breast cancers. In their new test-tube study, Gooderham and coauthor Saundra N. Lauber show that upon exposure to PhIP, pituitary cells not only make progesterone, but also secrete it. If these cells do the same thing when they're part of the body, those secretions would circulate to other organs -- including the breast. But "what was startling," Gooderham told Science News Online, is that it took just trace quantities of the heterocyclic amine to spur prolactin production. "PhIP was incredibly potent," he says, able to trigger progesterone production at concentrations comparable to what might be found circulating in the blood of people who had eaten a couple of well-done burgers. The toxicologist cautions that there's a big gap between observing an effect in isolated cells growing in a test-tube and showing that the same holds true in people. However, even if PhIP does operate similarly in people, he says that's no reason to give up grilled meat. Certain cooking techniques, such as flipping hamburgers frequently, can limit the formation of heterocyclic amines. Moreover, earlier work by the Imperial College team showed that dining on certain members of the mustard family appear to detoxify much of the PhIP that might have inadvertently been consumed as part of a meal. The human link Three recent epidemiological studies support concerns about the consumption of grilled meats. In the first, Harvard Medical School researchers compared the diets of more than 90,000 premenopausal U.S. nurses. Over a 12-year period, 1,021 of the relatively young women developed invasive breast cancers. The more red meat a woman ate, the higher was her risk of developing invasive breast cancer, Eunyoung Cho and her colleagues reported in the Archives of Internal Medicine last November. The increased risk was restricted, however, only to those types of breast cancers that are fueled by estrogen or progesterone. Overall, women who ate the most red meat -- typically 1.5 servings or more per day -- faced nearly double the invasive breast-cancer risk of those eating little red meat each week. Related findings emerged in the April 10 British Journal of Cancer. There, researchers at the University of Leeds reported data from a long-running study of more than 35,000 women in the United Kingdom who ranged in age from roughly 35 to 70. Regardless of the volunteers' age, Janet E. Cade's team found, those who consumed the most meat had the highest risk of breast cancer. Shortly thereafter, Susan E. Steck of the University of South Carolina's school of public health and her colleagues linked meat consumption yet again with increased cancer risk, but only in the older segment of the women they investigated. By comparing the diets of 1,500 women with breast cancer to those of 1,550 cancerfree women, the scientists showed that postmenopausal women consuming the most grilled, barbecued, and smoked meats faced the highest breast-cancer risk. These data support accumulating evidence that a penchant for well-done meats can hike a woman's breast-cancer risk, Steck and her colleagues concluded in the May Epidemiology. PhIP fighters Such findings have been percolating out of the epidemiology community for years. Nearly a decade ago, for instance, National Cancer Institute scientists reported finding that women who consistently ate their meat very well done -- with a crispy, blackened crust -- faced a substantially elevated breast-cancer risk when compared to those who routinely ate rare- or medium-cooked meats. However, even well-done meats without char can contain heterocyclic amines, chemical analyses by others later showed. The compounds' presence appears to correlate best with how meat is cooked, not merely with how brown its interior ended up (SN: 11/28/98, p. 341). At high temperatures, the simple sugar glucose, together with creatinine -- a muscle-breakdown product, and additional free amino acids, can all interact within beef, chicken, and other meats to form heterocyclic amines. In contrast, low-temperature cooking or a quick searing may generate none of the carcinogens. Because there's no way to tell visually, by taste, or by smell whether PhIP and its toxic kin lace cooked meat, food chemists have been lobbying commercial and home chefs to reduce the heat they use to cook meats -- or to turn meats frequently to keep the surfaces closest to the heat source from getting too hot. The significance of this was driven home to Gooderham several years ago when just such tactics spoiled an experiment he was launching to test whether Brussels sprouts and broccoli could help detoxify PhIP. "I bought 30 kilograms of prime Aberdeen angus lean beef," he recalls. "Then we ground it up and I gave it to a professional cook to turn into burgers and cook." Professional cooks tend to move meats around quite a bit, he found. The result: His expensive, chef-prepared meat contained almost no PhIP. In the end, he says, "I sacked the cook, bought another 30 kilos of meat and prepared the burgers myself. It was a costly lesson." Once restarted, however, that study yielded encouraging data. One way the body detoxifies and sheds toxic chemicals is to link them to what amounts to a sugar molecule. Consumption of certain members of the mustard (Brassica) family, such as broccoli and Brussels sprouts (both members of the B. oleracea species) -- can encourage this process. So Gooderham's team fed 250 grams (roughly half a pound) each of broccoli and Brussels sprouts each day to 20 men for almost 2 weeks. On the 12th day, the men each got a cooked-meat meal containing 4.9 micrograms of PhIP. Compared to similar trial periods when their diets had been Brassica- free, the volunteers excreted up to 40 percent more PhIP in urine, the researchers reported in Carcinogenesis. Experimental data suggest that two brews may also help detoxify heterocyclic amines. In test-tube studies, white tea largely prevented DNA damage from the heterocyclic amine IQ (SN: 4/15/00, p. 251), and in mice, extracts of beer tackled MeIQx and Trp-P-2 (see Beer's Well Done Benefit). The best strategy of all, most toxicologists say, is to prevent formation of heterocyclic amines in the first place. In addition to frequently turning meat on the grill or fry pan, partially cooking meats in a microwave prior to grilling will limit the toxic chemicals' formation. So will mixing in a little potato starch to ground beef before grilling (see How Carbs Can Make Burgers Safer) or marinating meats with a heavily sugared oil-and-vinegar sauce (SN: 4/24/99, p. 264). References: Cho, E., et al. 2006. Red meat intake and risk of breast cancer among premenopausal women. Archives of Internal Medicine 166(Nov. 13):2253-2259. Abstract available at http://archinte.ama-as sn.org/cgi/content/short/166/20/2253. Felton, J.S., et al. 1995. Reduction of heterocyclic aromatic amine mutagens/carcinogens in fried beef patties by microwave pretreatment. Available at http://www.llnl.gov/str/pdfs/UCRL-JC-116450.pdf. Gooderham, N.J., et al. 2007. Mechanisms of action of the carcinogenic heterocyclic amine PhIP. Toxicology Letters 168(Feb. 5):269-277. Abstract available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.toxlet.20 06.10.022. Lauber, S.N., and N.J. Gooderham. 2007. The cooked meat-derived genotoxic carcinogen 2-amino-3-methylimidazo[4,5-b]pyridine has potent hormone-like activity: Mechanistic support for a role in breast cancer. Cancer Research 67(Oct. 1):9597-9602. Abstract available at h ttp://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/67/19/9597. Murray, S.,... and N.J. Gooderham. 2001. Effect of cruciferous vegetable consumption on heterocyclic aromatic amine metabolism in man. Carcinogenesis 22(September):1413-1420. Available at http:/ /carcin.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/22/9/1413. Steck, S.E., et al. 2007. Cooked meat and risk of breast cancer -- Lifetime versus recent dietary intake. Epidemiology 18(May):373-382. Abstract available at http://www.epidem.com/pt/r e/epidemiology/abstract.00001648-200705000-00016.htm. Taylor, E.F., et al. 2007. Meat consumption and risk of breast cancer in the UK Women's Cohort Study. British Journal of Cancer 96(April 10):1139-1146. Available at http://www.nature.com/bjc/jour nal/v96/n7/full/6603689a.html. Walters, D.G.... N.J. Gooderham, et al. 2004. Cruciferous vegetable consumption alters the metabolism of the dietary carcinogen 2-amino-1- methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5-b]pyridine (PhIP) in humans. Carcinogenesis 25(September):1659-1669. Available at http://carcin.oxfordjourn als.org/cgi/content/full/25/9/1659. Further Readings: Raloff, J. 2007. Concerns over genistein, part II -- Beyond the heart. Science News Online (July 7). Available at http://www.scie ncenews.org/articles/20070707/food.asp. ______. 2007. Concerns over genistein, part I -- The heart of the issue. Science News Online (June 16). Available at http://www.sciencene ws.org/articles/20070616/food.asp. ______. 2006. Pesticides mimic estrogen in shellfish. Science News 170(Dec. 16):397. Available to subscribers at http://www.scien cenews.org/articles/20061216/note12.asp. ______. 2006. No-stick chemicals can mimic estrogen. Science News 170(Dec. 2):366. Available to subscribers at http://www.scie ncenews.org/articles/20061202/note16.asp. ______. 2006. Meat poses exaggerated cancer risk for some people. Science News Online (March 25). Available at http://www.scien cenews.org/articles/20060325/food.asp. ______. 2005. Beer's well done benefit. Science News Online (March 5). Available at http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20050305/food.asp. ______. 2005. Carcinogens in the diet. Science News Online (Feb. 19). Available at http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20050219/food.asp. ______. 2004. How carbs can make burgers safer. Science News Online (Dec. 4). Available at http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20041 204/food.asp. ______. 2004. Uranium, the newest 'hormone'. Science News 166(Nov. 13):318. Available to subscribers at http://www.sciencenews.or g/articles/20041113/note14.asp. ______. 2001. Fire retardant catfish? Science News Online (Dec. 8). Available at http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20011208/food.asp. ______. 1999. Well-done research. Science News 155(April 24):264-266. Available at http://www.sciencenews.org/pages/sn_arc99/4_24_99/b ob1.htm. ______. 1998. Very hot grills may inflame cancer risks. Science News 154(Nov. 28):341. Available at http://www.sciencenews.org/pages/s n_arc98/11_28_98/fob3.htm. ______. 1996. Another meaty link to cancer. Science News 149(June 8):365. Available at http://www.sciencenews.org/pages/pdfs/da ta/1996/149-23/14923-13.pdf. ______. 1996. 'Estrogen' pairings can increase potency. Science News 149(June 8):356. Available at http://www.sciencenews.org/pages/ pdfs/data/1996/149-23/14923-03.pdf. ______. 1995. Beyond estrogens: Why unmasking hormone-mimicking pollutants proves so challenging. Science News 148(July 15):44. Available at http://www.sciencenews.org/pages/pdfs/data/1 995/148-03/14803-15.pdf. ______. 1994. Meaty carcinogens: A risk to the cook? Science News 146(Aug. 13):103. ______. 1994. Not so hot hot dogs? Science News 145(April 23):264-269. ______. 1994. How cooked meat may inflame the heart. Science News 145(March 12):165. ______. 1994. The gender benders. Science News 145(Jan. 8):24. Available at http://www.sciencenews.org/pages/sn_edpik/ls_7.htm. Smith-Roe, S.L., et al. 2006. Induction of aberrant crypt foci in DNA mismatch repair-deficient mice by the food-borne carcinogen 2-amino-1- methyl-6-phenylimidazo [4,5-b] pyridine (PhIP). Cancer Letters. 244(Nov. 28):79-85. Abstract available at http://dx.doi.org/10.101 6/j.canlet.2005.12.002. ______. 2006. Mlh1-dependent responses to 2-amino-1-methyl-6- phenylimidazo [4,5-b] pyridine (PhIP), a food-borne carcinogen. (Abstract # 514). Toxicologist 90(March):105. ______. 2006. Mlh1-dependent suppression of specific mutations induced in vivo by the food-borne carcinogen 2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo [4,5-b] pyridine (PhIP). Mutation Research/Fundamental and Molecular Mechanisms of Mutagenesis 594(Feb. 22):101-112. Abstract available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.mrfmmm.2005.08.011. Sources: Janet E. Cade UK Women's Cohort Study Centre for Epidemiology and Biostatistics 30/32 Hyde Terrace The University of Leeds Leeds LS2 9LN United Kingdom Eunyoung Cho Channing Laboratory Department of Medicine Harvard Medical School 181 Longwood Avenue Boston, MA 02115 Nigel J. Gooderham Biomolecular Medicine Imperial College London Sir Alexander Fleming Building London SW7 2AZ United Kingdom Susan Elizabeth Steck Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics Statewide Cancer Prevention and Control Program Arnold School of Public Health University of South Carolina 2221 Devine Street, Room 231 Columbia, SC 29208 Copyright 2007 Science Service Return to Table of Contents :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Rachel's Democracy & Health News (formerly Rachel's Environment & Health News) highlights the connections between issues that are often considered separately or not at all. The natural world is deteriorating and human health is declining because those who make the important decisions aren't the ones who bear the brunt. Our purpose is to connect the dots between human health, the destruction of nature, the decline of community, the rise of economic insecurity and inequalities, growing stress among workers and families, and the crippling legacies of patriarchy, intolerance, and racial injustice that allow us to be divided and therefore ruled by the few. In a democracy, there are no more fundamental questions than, "Who gets to decide?" And, "How do the few control the many, and what might be done about it?" As you come across stories that might help people connect the dots, please Email them to us at firstname.lastname@example.com. Rachel's Democracy & Health News is published as often as necessary to provide readers with up-to-date coverage of the subject. 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I've made it no secret I loathe the very idea of self-driving cars. The techie nerds can wax poetic about how mapping and apps and laser-guided whatever will ensure our streets will be safer, cleaner, less congested places where human error is no longer a factor in the 40,000 car-caused fatalities in the US each year.
Sorry, but I don't buy it. This is another Titanic – smaller, sinking slower, but sinking everywhere all at once. We don't need Green Cars or Smart Cars. We need better transit, we need more bikes. We need to start fucking walking.
I've read so many goddamn CityLab and NextCity and HuffPoGreen articles about how self-driving cars will rescue us from the consumer dystopian future we're so sure will come to pass I could puke. Apparently, somebody out there has had a similar reaction.
Published all in one afternoon, the fine folks (or folk?) behind the Queen Anne Greenways Twitter account mercilessly mocked the zeitgeist hype of driverless cars, hilariously imagining all the ways these computer-controlled autos could – and likely will – actually fail.


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Policies finalized for the 2021 Medicare Inpatient Prospective Payment System call for increasing inpatient payment rates by 2.9 percent, reducing Medicare disproportionate share hospital payments, and collecting median Medicare Advantage charge data.view more »
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view more »
Rule includes a net increase in IPPS payment rates of 0.9 percent, Medicare DSH cuts of $1.2 billion in FY 2016, and updates to the HAC Reduction, Hospital VBP, IQR, and EHR Incentive programs.view more »
Comments caution CMS about Medicare DSH payment cuts and urge CMS to ensure measures and methodologies used in quality reporting programs are adjusted for sociodemographic factors.view more »
AHRQ-funded study shows heart disease drives readmissions overall, while orthopedic conditions drive readmissions to the same hospital. Original admission from the ED also drives same-hospital readmissions.view more »
May 29 webinar will focus on quality reporting program proposals, impact of changes to HAC Reduction Program and Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program.view more »
The national provider call will cover alignment and goals for a number of Medicare pay-for-performance programs, including the Inpatient Quality Reporting Program and the Value-Based Purchasing Program.view more »
The rule includes provisions on several topics, including a payment update, Medicare disproportionate share hospital cuts, Medicare payment for short inpatient hospital stays, and the Readmissions Reduction Program.view more »
Socioeconomic factors affect health and health care outcomes. Medicare's Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program must account for this to avoid unfairly penalizing hospitals that care for large volumes of vulnerable patients.view more »
America's Essential Hospitals supports legislation, which seeks to ensure hospitals are not unfairly penalized for patients' sociodemographic challengesview more »
Address sepsis and readmissionsview more »
Recent journal articles explore socioeconomic status, accountable care organizations, and other issues relevant to essential hospitals.view more »
Recent journal articles explore interventions to reduce readmissions, uncover barriers to recovery for vulnerable adults, decrease emergency department utilization, and more.view more »
The interactive toolkit and guide aim to address the unique clinical and socioeconomic characteristics of Medicaid patients that can lead to readmissions.view more »
An examination of a recent study highlighting the challenge of providing financial incentives fairly based on outcomes and hospital characteristics.view more »
A recent study published in Health Affairs found that California essential hospitals were more likely to be penalized than other California hospitals under the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program, despite lower 30-day risk-adjusted mortality rates.view more »
NQF board adopts recommendation to assess sociodemographic risk adjustment of certain quality measures during a trial period.view more »
Recent articles from Health Affairs, the Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety, the Journal for Healthcare Quality, and The New England Journal of Medicine explore efforts to reduce readmissions and infection rates, improve patient safety, and more.view more »
Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital recognized an opportunity to lead the way by developing a comprehensive, systems-based care transitions program to give patients proper care and the tools they need to stay out of the hospital.view more »
Recent journal articles curated from Health Affairs and the New England Journal of Medicine highlight payment reform programs and strategies and the impact of socioeconomic status on readmissions.view more »
CMS is inviting interested stakeholders to review and comment on a hospitalwide all-cause unplanned readmission hybrid electronic clinical quality measure.view more »
Comments cover topics such as Medicare disproportionate share hospital payment cuts and risk adjustment for socioeconomic status.view more »
The bill would require the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to consider socioeconomic status of hospital patient populations in its calculation of penalties under the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program.view more »
The letter addresses the unintended consequences for essential hospitals of the current readmissions penalty methodology and asks federal agencies to work with Congress.view more »
Boston Medical Center has released an update to Project RED, their toolkit focused on discharge safety and reducing hospital readmissions. Included is a new chapter that provides guidance to hospitals on how to best integrate family caregivers into the discharge plan.view more »
America's Essential Hospitals joins the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in recognizing the recent accomplishments of hospital engagement networks and other safety and quality initiatives. Federal officials announced May 7 that the initiatives have decreased patient harm by 9 percent and readmissions by 8 percent.view more »
Legislation expected next week from Rep. Jim Renacci (R-OH) would help ensure Medicare's Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program does not unfairly penalize hospitals that care for vulnerable patients. The association offered support for the bill, which would protect hospitals whose patients might experience higher readmission rates due to socioeconomic conditions.view more »
The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services launched a pilot program that aims to prevent avoidable rescue-care visits by automatically notifying patient-centered medical homes when a patient enters the health care system and better engaging discharged patients in their follow-up care.view more »
The federal Partnership for Patients initiative will support for a third year the association's Essential Hospitals Engagement Network (EHEN), one of 26 such networks nationally working to reduce nine hospital-acquired conditions by 40 percent and 30-day readmissions by 20 percent by the end of 2014.view more »
Penalties will disproportionately fall on hospitals serving a high number of dual eligiblesview more »
Learn innovative ways to guide patients across the care continuum safely and efficiently.view more »
Hospitals that treat a large share of low-income patients receive add-on payments to the amount designated by IPPSview more »
How to develop a Medicaid Support Programview more »
Innovative, team-based programs to keep patients from coming back to the hospitalview more »
Rule finalizes several inpatient prospective payment system provisionsview more »
An electronic medical record–based model helped Parkland reduce readmissions and costsview more »
SFGH's Care Management Program offers focused care coordination and health coachingview more »
Highlights from the America's Essential Hospitals 2013 Annual Conferenceview more »
Rule includes proposed formula to make Medicare DSH reductions under ACAview more »
Rule proposes several inpatient prospective payment system provisionsview more »
Learn how to redesign internal processes to improve medication reconciliationview more »
UT Health Northeast sharply reduces readmissions by analyzing possible causes and identifying specific areas in need of attention and resources, including staff follow-up efforts and patient discharge instructions.view more »
A review of the INTERACT toolkitview more »
A look at the Transitions Care Program at St. Luke's Treasure Valleyview more »
Harbor-UCLA shared successes and challenges with cutting readmissions using BOOST toolsview more »
This session reviewed key driver diagrams and highlighted an electronic risk assessment model – derived from clinical and nonclinical factors – that helps predict which patients are at risk for 30-day readmission within 24 hours of admission.view more »
Truman Medical Centers employed a strategy that integrated diabetes care across all inpatient and outpatient departments, designated physician champions, and used data to identify high-risk patients.view more »


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On May 25th we will be convening at the statehouse to lobby for Progressive Massachusetts' legislative priorities. With two months left in the legislative session, there is still much unfinished business. More details will be announced next week, but for now, see our legislative agenda for more information.
May 25, 2016 at 10am - 3pm
State House
Boston, MA
United States
Google map and directions
Boston, MA
United States
Google map and directions
Ben Wright · · 857-203-0897


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Braves pitcher Kris Medlen left in the fourth inning with a strained forearm, and the New York Mets went on to beat Atlanta 8-2 in a spring training game Sunday.
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Braves pitcher Kris Medlen left in the fourth inning with a strained forearm, and the New York Mets went on to beat Atlanta 8-2 in a spring training game Sunday.
The Mets scored seven unearned runs in the eighth inning to break open a tie game.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie was in attendance with his family while on vacation.
While facing Matt Clark with two outs, Medlen threw an off-speed pitch, grabbed his right elbow and turned his back to home plate.
He then removed himself from the game.
Medlen, picked to start on opening day, was examined by Mets physician Dr. Struan Coleman and diagnosed with a right forearm strain pending an evaluation back at the Braves' complex on Monday.
Medlen was 15-12 last year with a 3.11 ERA in 197 innings for the NL East champions.
The 28-year-old right-hander had Tommy John surgery in 2010.
"Obviously, any time a pitcher walks off the mound and meets you at the foul line, you worry about that stuff," Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "But after everything kind of settled down, we're optimistic it's nothing really major."
Gonzalez said he talked to Medlen briefly during the pitching change and again inside the clubhouse afterward.
"He wasn't in good spirits. But after he got settled down a little bit and the trainers looked at him, I thought he was in better spirits," Gonzalez said.
Medlen did not sp eak with reporters but relayed a message that he will be available Tuesday in Orlando.
Braves catcher Evan Gattis said Medlen had good stuff through three innings.
"He was executing pitches, and the next thing you know — I don't know what he grabbed — but I knew it was his arm. It's never a good sign, never a good feeling, to be out there and see a pitcher walk off the mound like that," Gattis said. "On the last pitch, he just threw a yanked
changeup — I've never seen that — and immediately there was a problem. ... He was throwing good pitches, and then it was just an out-of-the-blue kind of thing."
Mets closer Bobby Parnell made his spring debut by coming on in a familiar spot, the ninth inning, but with his team up 8-1.
The right-hander had not seen game action since last July 30 due to a herniated disk in his neck.
Parnell gave up a leadoff double to Mark Hamilton, who eventually scored an unearned run.
"It was just, throw strikes and work on your mechanics," he said. "I really wanted to know what my mechanics were going to be like in a pressure situation, in an adrenaline situation.
"I wanted to go out there and face hitters and find that.


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Transformation of the world around takes place for natural reasons and as a result of vigorous activity of the person. Natural evolution of the Earth biosphere occurs systematically and generally it is the result of space-time interaction of matter. At the same time, the human factor acts as an element of artificial acceleration of environment changing processes. Sometimes such circumstances have progressive nature if they promote positive transformation of human habitat. But it is known that negative influence of human activity on the world around is also quite widespread. What predetermines qualitative and quantitative balance of progressive and regressive tendencies in the development of human society and its interaction with a global ecosystem? It is obvious that it depends on our collective activity consisting of all acts of the society members. And on our mental values, motives and aims of behavioral acts, life and consumer preferences and stereotypes. Finally, natures of thoughts, moral and cultural character of the person predetermine orientation of creative impulses, constructive or destructive efforts. The social outlook and psychological features of society members are the key to the solution of specificity, consequences and prospects of existence of human community. In total these proceedings are some kind of a mystery of human mission on expanses of the Universe. And they form the energy of transformations based on opposition and interaction of social and biological factors, collective and subjective origins in private life of individuals and interpersonal communications. The psychological element is one of the major circumstances determining the form, substance and dynamics of evolution of human society and also its place in the world because a sentient being is clearly manifested in the world around not by its corporal expression, but by thoughts, feelings, creativity and acts.
Mission of the journal «GISAP: Psychological Sciences» is to be one of alternative and open ways of publication of author's studies in psychology, as well as sources of dissemination of the advanced knowledge about peculiarities of perception, emotionality, thinking and human behavioral activity.
The journal is focused on publication of original creative studies of scientists from around the world based on innovative and progressive approaches of authors to problems under study. In this context «GISAP: Psychological Sciences» seeks for the greatest possible promotion of the progress of psychological and the related public knowledge.
Materials with expert confirmation of high scientific quality and creative originality are published in the journal. This circumstance predetermines our intention to publish "live" materials with comprehensive author's ideas and specifics of self-expression. We publish reports capable to enrich the reader's scientific outlook with new approaches, concepts, thoughts and views on various matters of psychological sciences.
The journal is absolutely democratic and open for social interaction. During the selection of materials for publication we don't use formal qualification-based requirements or other restrictive factors. Works of a talented student and a prominent scientist can be both published in the journal. The main selection criteria: the author's originality, novelty, literacy and scientific reasonability (together it all characterizes the "scientific value" of the report).
Original studies of representatives of various countries and cultures can be published in the magazine. At the same time to ensure availability of reports for representatives of the international scientific community (where English is a traditional mechanism of international communication) English is set as the dominating language of presentation of reports.
Main materials can be published in the journal in other widespread (acknowledged as widespread) languages of international communication and also in other languages providing their understanding for a wide range of persons. In such cases materials must be accompanied by extended summaries (abstracts) in English.
The International Academy of Science and Higher Education and the open international expert community of the GISAP project sincerely hope that the journal «GISAP: Psychological Sciences» (taking into account the declared principles of its publication) will promote the development of related branches of science, mutual enrichment of national scientific schools of various countries with knowledge and experience, international ties and scientific cooperation in psychology


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Looking back at life on the farm, I am struck by how little I remember. What I do remember is the house, known to most people as 'The Big House'. I had my own special room in the Big House, a bee-proof room. It seems my allergy to beestings started very early in the piece. African honeybees, (Apis mellifera scutellata) are extreme bees; they attack, and once one bee has stung the rest of the swarm come in like kamikazes. There is a particular scent that swarming and stinging bees have. I don't know if everyone can smell it but I certainly can. According to my research, it is an alarm pheromone that smells "a bit like banana". I think that is stretching it!
I can remember the terrifying sound when the bees swarmed. If you saw a swarm coming in, it was like a thick cloud, like a taste of Armageddon. Should two or more swarms choose the same place to hive, a fierce battle would ensue. Anything or anybody who was in the area was in danger. I can remember one year all my mum's hens were stung to death. Another year, my niece's budgies, all gone. The farm dogs too.
In the Big House only one room was more-or-less bee-proof. This was the blackboard room, which opened on to the interior courtyard on one side and into a passage on the other, so two doors. There was one gauzed window. As soon as we heard the sound of swarming bees I would be hustled into the blackboard room and all the doors and windows closed. If my younger sister was at home, she came in too. While we were confined, would draw on the blackboard with coloured chalks or play dress-ups in mum's silk wedding gown and dad's black graduation gown. If a stray bee managed to find it's way into the room it was squashed, and that's where you could smell the bee smell. This was probably not a good idea as the smell enraged other bees, which might try and get in. It is important to know how to remove a beesting without pressing the poison sac. Scraping it off with a sharp knife is the best solution and then apply bicarb of soda. Trust me, I know.
After the all clear and most of the random bees had been cleared we would be released. The bees would swarm in the chimneys and in the ceiling space. As time went on, the bees that swarmed in the ceiling space above the sun-room made plenty of honey. The honey would drip through the ceiling and make a honey puddle on the concrete floor.
I'm sad that I'm allergic to beestings because bees are one of my favourite insects. Having to carry an Epipen® is a pain in the bum. Sometimes I think it is a waste of time. I don't have a clue how to use it and it sits in a drawer in its original wrapping. I know what anaphylaxis feels like because beestings are not my only allergy. I've come round from anaphylaxis with needles stuck into me after taking antimalarial tablets and any medication with sulphates.
This blog started life as part of a writing marathon at New Norcia. It was the 20minute entry. My thanks to Liana Christensen and the members in the group for their encouragement and motivation.


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Are you stuck in a rut?
If you are stuck or in a rut, a good way to get unstuck is to change a routine. Find an accountibility friend and tell them everyday what you WILL accomplish that day. Write a note and mail it instead of emailing, read instead of watching TV, watch a funny TV show instead of listening to sad or heavy music, cut your hair, grow your hair, fix a new recipe, throw out stuff with additives, get up earlier, clean out a closet, bake, go to a new store you've never been to, walk the dog a different way. We are deeply influenced by what we do and while some routines are comforting, others lull us into feeling powerless over our lives. We are responsible for our own happiness and the way we feel about ourselves. We can change what we don't like.


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If you are still unsure about buying a HOTBIN?
Here are a 10 reasons why you can trust HOTBIN to help you compost more in 2013:
- Listen to what others say about the HOTBIN via our real customer reviews about hot composting
- HOTBIN already has over 1,700 customers. Our survey results indicate over 90% are 'satisfied or very satisfied'
- We won Grow Your Own Magazine's 'Product Innovation of the year' in November 2012
- Understand more about HOTBIN composting and why it is different – read the science here
Find out why the HOTBIN will work while other compost bins struggle – Read our blog here


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I've written before about Big Data and the democratic factor of financial markets. But in the face of a recent Business Insider article that predicts Big Data insights will be too costly for average investors, I feel it's necessary to point out a few truths that say otherwise.
1. Financial products like exchange-traded funds (ETFs) make technology and data-driven insights more accessible to more investors.
2. Advancements in data processing capabilities, and the wide deployment of graphics processing units (GPUs), are bringing high-performance computing to the masses. Data-crunching costs are coming down and will continue to do so over time. Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming almost every industry and business vertical through broader access to system automation and data analytics.
AI technologies can power smarter, faster business processes at lower costs, which will usher in a wave of market disruption by newcomers. Now that fewer people can do more with less, it's conceivable for a small startup to take on a Fortune 500 market leader.
Companies are using technology to improve report writing, job listings, customer relationship management, and numerous other functions. There are many examples out there, including the pharmaceutical industry, which is using AI to find new drugs and speed up clinical trials to bring down hefty R&D costs. Also, hiring managers and human resources professionals are starting to use AI to find the right talent at a fraction of the time and cost of traditional recruiting tools.
3. Sourcing insights from alternative data sets requires expertise and technological skill—the average person simply cannot build such models themselves. We will continue to rely on specialist firms to do this work (see sidebar) and competition will regulate the cost of obtaining such information.
Hedge funds and other asset managers will likely attempt to charge high fees and justify them due to the cost and complexity of gaining insights from alternative data. But this is a red herring to protect their interests. Investors should do their due diligence around management fees and choose investments wisely.
Find out how BUZZ Indexes provides actionable investment insights from the vast content generated across online platforms through a low-cost EFT: download our whitepaper, Predictive Insights. Powered by AI. – A Primer for Investors.
Alternative data 101
Traditional data sources that influence stock prices—news articles, historic market performance, financial statements, quarterly reports, regulatory filings—are now augmented by what's become known in the financial industry as "alternative data".
Alternative data is raw and unstructured. It can be anything from mobile phone usage to satellite imagery of parking lots to weather patterns to web traffic. Over the past decade, the growth of Big Data has created an ideal environment for turning obscure data sets into tradable information.
A specialized data tech industry has mushroomed to support demand from trading firms looking for an edge. Mining investment insights from raw and unstructured data is going mainstream.
Which begs the question, how much longer will alternative data still be considered alternative?


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Drink the water!Leave a comment
June 14, 2012 by farbolino
When traveling to a foreign country, generally one of the first pieces of advice someone gives you is "Don't drink the water!" and you think "Of course I won't, that would be stupid!"
The reality is that it's actually unsafe to drink tap water in very few countries these days, especially in capital cities. Most people would probably think that the tap water in a country like Bolivia is completely undrinkable, which is untrue. Unlike some it's more developed neighbors like Chile or Argentina, it isn't drinkable everywhere, but is drinkable in the Capital of La Paz, where the water is filtered and chlorine is added (which might not be the healthiest thing) but you certainly won't get sick from drinking it. Also take a look at your surroundings. Are you in the Andes mountains in a small village? Likely the water supply is drinkable because it's melted snow running down from the peaks. In fact, this water is some of the purest available and beats drinking tap water from any major city in the USA or Europe.
This isn't even mentioning the fact that you're saving a plastic bottle from going into a landfill somewhere, or perhaps even being burned in a field somewhere in the poorer countries. Generally in a hot climate, you need to drink 2-3 liters a day, which over the course of a year of travel is saving over 1000 plastic bottles from swing discarded somewhere.
Did I mention when you drink tap water you don't have to buy water either? Just a little tip to help save a dollar or two a day, and help keep the earth the beautiful place it is. Happy travels.