DECEMBER 2002 | Volume 1, 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 poor minority communities 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

Partnership self-assessment
A free on-line partnership self-assessment tool has been created by the Center for the Advancement of Collaborative Strategies in Medicine. While most evaluations focus on programs or goals, this evaluation tool examines how well a collaborative process is working and what can be done to make the process work better.

Household environmental disease solutions
The Community Environmental Health Resource Center helps community groups document environmental health hazards in homes and develop strategies to remedy such problems.

50 years ago...

...the pesticide heptachlor was registered for use in the United States. Though heptachlor was banned in 1984, the residues of this persistant bioaccumulative toxin are found nationwide.

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 Next Step...

Recent events may give a new meaning to Black Lung disease. Asthma is twice a likely to affect and kill African-americans. Air pollution is a major trigger for asthma. While the report "Air of Injustice" found African-american communities are more likely to be near power plants that produce air pollution, EPA seeks to weaken Clean Air Act requirements that power plants prevent air pollution. Instead, EPA seems to be shifting responsibility for asthma prevention from industry to the home.

New partnerships with public health groups to prevent asthma focus on poor parental skills and indoor air quality. As asthma becomes a multi-generational phenomena in at-risk communities, such educational efforts often blame the victim rather than focus on how to eliminate poor quality housing or organize against industrial pollution. Civil rights groups with standing in such communities are silenced by payments totaling $25 million a year from companies that produce cigarettes (a major trigger for asthma in the home). Unless these practices are challenged, the disparate harm asthma poses to African-american communities will likely continue.

PARTNERSHIPS

Asthma prevention in Detroit
Detroiters Working for Environmental Justice, the University of Michigan, and a number of other groups are involved in Community Action Against Asthma. A long-term study investigating how indoor and outdoor air quality contributes to asthma, CAAA partners community and health groups to develop methods to reduce asthma at the community and household level.

ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH

Pediatric environmental health
The Association of Occupational and Environmental Clinics has established twelve regional pediatric environmental health specialty units throughout North America that can be called toll-free for clinical advice.

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE

Oral history
An oral history of the environmental justice movement consisting of interviews with various activists and scholars will soon be available for free on CD-ROM.

Aquatic survey
Environmental justice groups are being sought to participate in a survey that identifies links between water pollution and environmental disease. The goal is to create a health assessment tool that the River Network will use to provide support to such groups. Survey advisors include representatives of the Southwest Network for Environmental and Economic Justice and the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice.

State environmental justice information
Massachusetts has finalized a comprehensive policy requiring identification of environmental justice communities, outreach and risk minimization in such communities, and investment of public and private resources.

CLOSING DATES

December 2
Norman Foundation
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December 10
Joyce Foundation - Great Lakes
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December 13
Environmental Justice: Partnerships for Communication
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December 18
Environmental Justice Grants

January 7
Leadership for a Changing World
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January 15
Cox Charitable Trust - New England
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January 31
Community Intern
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EVENTS CALENDAR

December 5 - 6, San Diego CA
Race, Culture, Technology: Impact on Rural Minority Health
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December 6-7 & 13, Tucson AZ
Joni Adamson - Book signing for The Environmental Justice Reader
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December 8 - 11, Honolulu HI
Symposium on Health Disparities
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December 9 - 12, Baltimore MD
National Environmental Justice Advisory Committee
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December 12 - 13, Washington DC
Improving Racial and Ethnic Health Data
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January 7-8, San Antonio TX
Voices of Diversity in Environment and Health
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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, Executive Director Environmental Justice & Health Union 528 61st Street, Suite A Oakland, CA 94609