|
December 2003 | Volume 2, Number 3
Promoting
the Environmental Justice
& Health Union mission, Catalyst identifies training,
research, policies, events, and funding opportunities that
foster partnerships to eliminate environmental disease in
low-income communities of color within the United States. To do
that, Catalyst depends on information submitted by an advisory
board of environmental health professionals and environmental
justice activists as well as our readers.
|
|
TOOLBOX
Daily Updates
Two sources of free daily environmental health and environmental
justice news have recently become available. Environmental
Health News promotes public awareness of links between
environmental exposures and human health. Google
News Alerts searches hundreds of newspapers for the
term you choose and forwards links each day to articles including the term
that have been published .
Computer donations by zipcode
TechSoup has created a computer
donation search by zipcode tool that enables non-profit
groups to identify local companies that donate computers.
Health disparities research
A survey
commissioned by The Harvard Forums on Health found sharp
differences by race regarding whether health disparities
are believed to exist. Such differences are one of the challenges
identified by Physicians for Human Rights to ensuring
equal treatment. The American Public Health Association
is seeking stories until December
31 about community efforts to reach that goal while
George Washington University researchers conclude that community
health centers are critical to eliminating disparities.
|
|
ADVISORY
BOARD
Lynn Battle
Executive Director, Citizen's
Lead Education & Poisoning Prevention (Birmingham, AL)
Michael
Green
Executive Director, Center
for Environmental Health (Oakland, CA)
Swati
Prakash
Environmental Health Director, West
Harlem Environmental Action (New York, NY)
Alejandra
Tres
Executive Director, Association
of Environmental Health Academic Programs (Portland,
OR)
The Environmental Justice and Health Union is an independent
project of the Center for
Environmental Health
|
|
|
The Next Step...
The environmental health of children is receiving
increasing attention. From the Institute
of Medicine report on environmental hazards in premature
birth that found preterm births are increasing and have
taken a disproportionate toll on African Americans to the
EPA
report documenting environmental contaminants in mothers
and children and childhood diseases that may be influenced
by environmental factors, the evidence of widespread impacts
of environmental contaminants on children is becoming stronger.
In response, a National Children's Study is under development.
On December 16, the committee developing the study will
meet in Atlanta to discuss the environmental
justice dimensions of children's environmental health.
The value of collaborating
with community groups to ensure the environmental health
of children is becoming more evident and a Children's
Environmental Health Network provides research, policy,
and educational expertise.
Bringing environmental health and environmental justice
activists together to promote the environmental health of
children remains a challenge. However, the increasing interest
and resources available to address health disparities offers
a new way to bridge the gap. Addressing the problems facing
children is also a first step to eliminating the environmental health threats
identified by older
people in communities of color.
|
|
PARTNERSHIPS
Children's Environmental Health Network
The Partnership
for Children's Health and the Environment is a collaboration
of more than ninety groups nationwide promoting children's
environmental health under a set of guiding
principles.
|
|
ENVIRONMENTAL
HEALTH
Presidential politics
President Bush promotes poor environmental policy. Organizations
ranging from the League
of Conservation Voters to the Children's
Environmental Health Network to Center
for Free Market Environmentalism have all found the
President's policies likely to harm human health. Such policies
have also threatened the
ability of federal employees to perform their jobs. Organizations
such as Environment
2004, Natural
Resources Defense Counsel, and Grist
Magazine are tracking the impacts of the policies and
the alternative ideas of other presidential candidates.
Health equity and racial justice
The Praxis Project has recently published an outstanding interview
with leading health equity and racial justice
scholars that provides insights into future directions for health disparities research and action.
|
|
ENVIRONMENTAL
JUSTICE
 West Oakland
Residents, activists, and students
examined the impact of air pollutants from diesel vehicles
and industrial facilities on the human health residents
in the western region of Oakland, CA. The Pacific Institute,
which included resident in the research design, research
implementation, and solution identification, identified
solutions to diesel
pollution that is supported by the county
health disparities plan.
|
|
OTHER
REPORTS OF INTEREST
Funding
Environmental justice and health funding in excess of $1,000,000
is identified in each issue of Catalyst
as well as on the Environmental
Justice and Health Union Funding site. Recent reports
by Grantmakers in Health identify additional funding
resources for health
disparities and environmental
justice.
Brownfields awry
Contrary to popular belief, a dissertation on brownfields
out of the University of Missouri concludes that though
blight is more likely to be located in poor and minority
communities, the most
blighted communities are usually not candidates for
brownfield redevelopment.
|
Return to EJHU or Catalyst
homepage
|
|
|
CLOSING DATES
December 1
Norman Foundation
Up to $20,000
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
December 1
Alston/Bannerman
Fellowship
$15,000
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
December 15
NIH
conference support
Up to $150,000
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
December 18
EPA
EJ small grant (Rocky Mountains)
Up to $20,000
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
December 18
EPA
Regional Geographic Initiative (Northwest)
Up to $50,000
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
January 1
Petra Foundation
Up to $7,500
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
January 6
Leadership
for a Changing World
$100,000
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
January 6
EPA Environmental
Education
Up to $125,000
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
January 13
Burdick
Program for Rural Interdisciplinary Training
Up to $750,000
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
January 15
Nina Pulliam
Charitable Trust - Arizona and Indiana
Up to $100,000
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
January 15
Cox Charitable
Trust - New England
Up to $60,000
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
January 15
New England Grassroots
Environment Fund
Up to $2,500
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
January 30
Grassroots
Intern Program
$5,000
|
|
EVENTS CALENDAR
December 3 - 5, Atlanta GA
Environmental
public health conference
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
December 15 - 17, Atlanta, GA
National
children's study assembly
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
|
|
SUBSCRIBE and PROVIDE
The
Catalyst
is an online newsletter sent monthly to Environmental
Justice & Health Union members.
Groups with annual budgets of less than $200,000
receive free EJHU
membership. The EJHU website (www.ejhu.org) includes
information for activists and professionals about training,
research, and policies, EJHU membership, and past issues of
Catalyst.
If you want to provide information to be considered for inclusion in Catalyst, include a contact name, website, and e-mail address. Please forward the information to ejhu@ejhu.org
or the following address:
Max Weintraub - Director
Environmental Justice and Health Union
528 61st Street, Suite
A
Oakland, CA 94609
|
|
