Environment
Section Newsletter
Spring 2010

The National Pesticide Information Center (NPIC)

Mosquito and tick season is here! Do you or your clients have questions about repellents or pesticides, including disinfectants and/or weed killers? The National Pesticide Information Center (NPIC) offers FREE science-based information about pesticides, including safe use practices and potential risks to humans, animals and the environment. Our specialists are skilled risk communicators, and they are available to answer questions for anyone, in over 170 languages, seven days a week from 6:30 a.m.- 4:30 p.m. PT. As public health professionals, you are welcome to call and request free NPIC brochures, and to make referrals to NPIC, any time!

1-800-858-7378 (PEST)

Bookmark our website (www.npic.orst.edu), which is updated frequently and also available in Spanish (www.npic.orst.edu/es). Check out some of our timely topics below. 

Choosing and Using Inset Repellents

http://npic.orst.edu/repel.html 

Insect Repellent Locator (Choosing a repellent for your situation)

http://pi.ace.orst.edu/repellents/

 Pesticide Fact Sheets (Check out our new DEET fact sheet!)

http://npic.orst.edu/npicfact.htm 

NPIC is funded through a cooperative agreement between the Oregon State University and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

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The Membership Committee

1.  The Environment Section is sponsoring an ORIENTATION SESSION FOR NEW SECTION MEMBERS on Sunday afternoon, 2 - 3:30 p.m., right after the Opening Session.  The orientation will include discussions with Section leaders about opportunities for involvement in the section and APHA as a whole, how the Environment Section works with APHA to promote important environmental health issues, and opportunities for you! Meet them and other members of the Section and get your questions answered.

2.   Look for the Environment Section's booth at the new featured APHA Section Central in the Expo near the Everything APHA village. Meet Section volunteers along with our sister section colleagues and find out what we are up to.  Let us know what you want from your Section!  We need volunteers to staff the booth.  To volunteer, send an e-mail to Barbara Glenn, Environment Section Membership Committee Chair, at glenn.barbara1@gmail.com.

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The Climate Change Committee

The Global Climate Change & Health Topic Committee of the Environment Section met via conference call in May to discuss a wide array of committee activities currently under way.  For instance, a Google group now keeps members up-to-date on relevant topics and committee information, enables discussions, and provides a community bulletin board. Furthermore, the committee is busy preparing for the November conference in Denver.  Members are working on bringing together a session on "Indicators of Climate Vulnerability and Community Resilience," and on developing a joint workshop with the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder. The committee was also briefed on federal-level climate change and health policy developments. Finally, the topic committee member database will be getting an update after members participate in a short survey, available at: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/NVSY2FJ.  Those not already involved, but who are interested in working with the committee or who have trouble accessing the survey, should contact Emily Senay (emily.senay@mssm.edu). Thanks, everyone - and to Chris Rea, an Ohio State University doctoral candidate who's been a fantastic help to the Committee in organizing outreach activities. Hope to see you all in Denver!

-Emily Senay and Kim Knowlton, Topic Committee Co-Chairs

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Program Planning Comittee

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Environmental Section 2011 Legacy Project

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Committed to Engaging Students in the Environment Section

The Student Involvement Committee is looking forward to an excellent set of poster and oral presentations at the APHA Annual Meeting in Denver this November! We thank the various senior Section members who served as peer-reviewers of the dozens of abstracts submitted from students of public health, urban planning, environmental science and policy from throughout the United States and even from a few European nations. The "top 10" and one alternate have been contacted and given a month (between 4/30-6/4/10) to submit a revised abstract, if more research data available since February submission, for consideration by judges at the Student Poster Achievement Session in Denver. If you are interested in being a poster session judge (we have two confirmed so far), please contact Derek Shendell at derekgshendell@yahoo.com . We continue to encourage Section members to solicit donations from U.S. schools of public health for the funds supporting scholarships for students to help defray costs of attending the Annual Meeting. We encourage students to apply for the Section Travel Award; contact Rebecca Gluskin at rtg230@nyu.edu for more information. The Student Involvement Committee is looking for scholarship application reviewers to help select the best students for the award. We received a record number of applications this year and can use all the help we can get.  Please contact Rebecca Gluskin if you are interested in helping out. We are looking forward to a great pool of applicants!

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Climate Change Webinar Series

Hundreds of people dialed in to learn about climate change adaptation strategies for public health practitioners during the fifth Webinar in the six-part Climate Change and Health Series hosted by the CDC. Moderated by Dr. George Luber, Associate Director for Climate Change at CDC, participants from across the country heard from Dr. Kristie L. Ebi, Executive Director, Technical Support Unit for Working Group II of the IPCC and Dr. Kim Knowlton, Senior Scientist, Health & Environment Program, NRDC.

The speakers highlighted essential public health efforts required to prepare for and adapt to climate change health impacts.  Given the unequivocal nature of the problem, and, from the public health perspective, the dedicated warming that is already set to occur, climate change requires an immediate and committed response from the public health community.  Adaptation to climate change will be the defining issue of the 21^st century for public health and related workers and will require coordination on multiple levels from the public health system.

Dr. Ebi pointed out that public health practitioners must view adaptation to climate change related health impacts as a form of prevention. Since health impacts are likely to vary widely across spatio-temporal scales and on levels never before seen, public health workers will be challenged in entirely new ways. The key to successfully mitigating climate-related health consequences is thorough local preparedness along with flexibility in public health planning. “Climate change is a process to be managed, not a problem to be solved,” said Dr. Ebi.

Dr. Knowlton, who is Co-Chair of the Climate Change Topic Committee of the Environment Section, emphasized the ‘here-and-now’ of climate change by opening her talk with a picture of a young girl struggling to cope with the debilitating effects of asthma.  Asthma is just one respiratory illness on the rise as the result of climate change. Record high pollen counts across the country—believed to be the result of climate change—are contributing to the problem.  Dr. Knowlton outlined essential strategies for public health practitioners to adapt to climate-related illnesses such as asthma. These include identifying vulnerable populations and locales; tracking disease and environmental trends; moving toward climate smart infrastructure and design; and public education about climate-health impacts and preparedness.

          Both speakers agreed the time for adaptation is now and that public health proponents need to get the word out that it’s about preserving the health of humans as well as the planet. The time to adapt is now; a failure to do so will be a failure of public health with potentially catastrophic consequences for human health.

          “The Climate Change: Mastering the Public Health Role” is a six-part educational series co-sponsored by the APHA, NACCHO, ASTHO and SOPHE. The series focuses on effectively communicating the health related aspects of climate change, promoting work-force development, and ensuring capacity building at local levels. The webinars are available at: http://www.apha.org/programs/environment/.

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APHA forum on Transportation and Public Health

As we all appreciate, our health is profoundly affected by our transportation decisions and options. Limited opportunities for physical activity, higher exposure to poor air quality, higher incidences of adult and childhood obesity and greater prevalence of asthma and cardiovascular disease are a few of the inequities brought by poor transportation policies. As part of our effort to enhance crosscutting activity and knowledge among various APHA members and sections, APHA is developing advocacy materials and helpful information related to the links between transportation and public health. If anyone is interested in learning more about this initiative, sharing success stories or lessons learned, or establishing a new Forum on Transportation and Public Health, please reach out to us! Interested members are asked to contact Eloisa Raynault at eloisa.raynault@apha.org. 

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APHA Environmental Public Health Update

In May, APHA launched a new website focusing on APHA’s environmental public health activities! Check out the website at www.apha-environment.org  

The site provides links to the latest APHA resources, (including two recently released Transportation Reports detailed below), and includes links to recent climate change and public health webinars as well as the audio interviews of APHA members talking about environmental public health through Story Corps, an oral history project. We hope you find our new website useful! 

Some Highlights: 

Climate Change Advocacy. APHA has been reaching out to key Senate offices to urge the inclusion of public health funding in any climate proposal considered by the Senate, as is already included in the House-passed version of the climate bill.  You can read APHA’s recent Senate correspondence about climate change legislation and send a message to your Senators urging the inclusion of strong public health provisions in any climate change proposal considered by the Senate.  

Hidden Health Costs of Transportation Reports. Check out these new publications that address how our nation’s current transportation system contributes to today’s soaring health costs and impedes progress toward improving public health. The report and an accompanying backgrounder are both available online. 

Public Health and Transportation Partners Meeting. On May 6, APHA and CDC convened a day-long meeting on transportation and public health in Washington, D.C. The goal of the meeting was to build on existing momentum and enhance strategic collaboration among public health partners in promoting transportation policy that supports public health. Ideas generated during the meeting for potential future activities include an online forum for information sharing and a national public health and transportation summit.  

National Conversation on Public Health and Chemical Exposures Toolkit.  National Conversation partners have developed a Community Conversation Toolkit to assist interested individuals in hosting local meetings to gather input on public health and chemical exposure issues. Check out the toolkit and learn more about how you can host your own community conversation to gather input on public health and chemical exposure issues.

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