Environmental & Public Health

Fellow Story

Reflections on the World Ocean Summit: a scientist in the melee

The 2014 World Ocean Summit was held last week at the chic Ritz-Carlton in Half Moon Bay, California. Together, global leaders discussed the current international dimensions of the global blue economy. The Switzer Environmental Network, namely Jessica Switzer and the folks at Blue Practice, provided the basically-unparalleled opportunity to attend the Ocean Summit.
March 4, 2014
Fellow Story

Bradman reappointed to California Scientific Guidance Panel

Asa Bradman, 52, of Berkeley, has been reappointed to the California Scientific Guidance Panel, where he has served since 2007. Bradman has been co-founder and director of the Center for Environmental Research and Children’s Health at the University of California, Berkeley since 1998.
February 4, 2014
Fellow Story

Fruin says more time on the road makes you inhale more pollutants

A recent study conducted by the Keck School of Medicine, Los Angeles has found that people who commute by road inhale more pollution while driving than during the entire day. The research was conducted in Los Angeles, where an average driver spends 1.5 hours behind the wheel. This 90 minute period is responsible for the person’s intake of 33 to 45 percent of his total exposure to diesel fumes and ultrafine particles (UFP), said the study report.
January 23, 2014
Leadership Grant Grant

The Health Impacts of Fracking

The Center for Environmental Health, based in Oakland, California, received $30,000 to help fund Sue Chiang's work in a new programmatic area for the organization. Sue, the Co-Director of CEH's Pollution Prevention Program, will play a lead...
January 22, 2014
Fellow Story

Hansen says 'everything' in response to West Virginia water crisis worrisome

In addition to multiple concerns related to the CDC’s safety standards, methodology, and transparency, Hansen said he feels much of the blame falls on the state and the long history of lax oversight this incident exposed.
January 20, 2014
Fellow Story

Hansen's tweets on water safety in West Virginia picked up by local media

Evan Hansen, an environmental consultant with the Morgantown firm Downstream Strategies, has been wondering for several days about whether the health studies and water-sampling efforts included the other constituents of Crude MCHM. Posting his thoughts on Twitter, Hansen said the distinction between the two substances is important. "Are water tests in area being done for all constituents of Crude MCHM or just for 4-MCHM," Hansen posted. Read more
January 20, 2014
Fellow Story

Mapping tool, policy analysis of West Virginia crisis

From 1996 Switzer Fellow Evan Hansen, whose West Virginia-based firm Downstream Strategies offers environmental consulting services with a core belief in the importance of protecting the environment and linking economic development with natural resource stewardship:
January 17, 2014
Fellow Story

Responding to crisis in West Virginia, organizing relief effort

From 2000 Switzer Fellow Jen Osha, who is coordinating an effort to bring bottled water to West Virginia residents whose water supply was contaminated by the chemical leak at Freedom Industries last week:
January 16, 2014
Fellow Story

Morello-Frosch finds high correlations of indoor and outdoor industrial pollutants

A team of scientists came to Richmond in 2006 to conduct a new kind of study, one that would try to answer residents' questions of which outdoor pollutants were coming indoors. At 40 homes in Richmond and 10 in nearby Bolinas, which has no heavy industry, equipment monitored pollution levels outdoors and indoors. The results were striking. The outdoor levels around Richmond homes were almost double the levels around Bolinas homes, and the chemicals moved indoors. Vanadium and nickel in outdoors air were among the highest in the state.
December 31, 2013
Fellow Story

Earth Overshoot Day!

Hello all: I just received an important notice from the Global Footprint Network (based in Geneva). Today, 20 August 2013, is “Earth Overshoot Day.” It’s the approximate date that humanity’s annual demand on nature exceeds what Earth can renew in a year.
August 20, 2013