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How Does Indoor Air Quality Impact
Student Health and Academic Performance?
http://www.epa.gov/iaq/schools/student_performance/
Recent research suggests that a school’s physical environment
also can play a major role in academic performance. Research links
key environmental factors to health outcomes and students’ ability
to perform. Improvements in school environmental quality can enhance
academic performance, as well as teacher and staff productivity and
retention.
Number of Michigan Schools 'Going
Green' Skyrockets
http://www.publicnewsservice.org/index.php?/content/article/13846-1
Michigan's schools are eagerly taking up a challenge to be more
environmentally friendly. The Michigan Green Schools program
designates schools as "green" once students have implemented
specific changes and initiatives. During the first four years of the
program, the number of schools participating has grown from a
handful the first year to more than 550 schools in 74 counties.
Mom Returns From D.C. Determined To
Take On Childhood Obesity With A Call To Action For Parents
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2010/04/prweb3862204.htm
Barbara Flis, mom and founder of Parent Action For Healthy Kids,
was honored to be one of only 10 people invited to Washington D.C.
to provide input in developing the First Lady's "Let's Move"
initiative to end childhood obesity in a generation. Flis was the
only person at the table representing the parents’ voice. “I'm back
from D.C. and taking this opportunity to launch a Call to Action,"
said Flis. "I know parents can and will step up and use their fear
to fuel the passion it will take to make things better for our
children today and for the next generation."
After 34 Years, Congress Reconsiders
Kids' Exposure to Toxics
http://www.publicnewsservice.org/index.php?/content/article/13756-1
Children in Michigan and across the country could gain greater
protection from exposure to toxic substances if Congress approves
changes to a 30-year-old law. The "Toxic Substances Control Act,"
passed in 1976, has not had a major update. The new legislation
includes more protections for children from toxins, some of which
were not known to cause health problems when the bill originally was
written.
Healthy Home Tips: Give Kids a Green
and Healthy Start
http://www.ewg.org/healthyhometips/toxicfreechildren?utm_source=kids&utm_medium=email&utm_content=first-link&utm_campaign=hht
Babies' and children's developing brains and bodies (especially
their reproductive systems) are extraordinarily vulnerable to toxic
chemicals. And children's bodies may not metabolize and excrete
toxic chemicals as readily as adults. So it's important for our
children's long-term health that we focus on the toxic chemicals
they're exposed to, and do our best to keep them away when it
matters most.
Get The Lead Out
http://www.timesonline.com/bct_news/news_details/article/1373/2010/may/08/get-the-lead-out.html
Since the federal government banned the use of lead-based paint
in 1978, the percentage of children with high levels of lead in
their blood has plummeted, according to the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention. But more than three decades after the ban,
hundreds of thousands of children — most under age 6 — have still
shown signs of lead exposure. There are approximately 250,000
children with lead poisoning in the United States, the CDC says.
Poor and minority children are among the most affected since they
often live in older homes, where exposure to old layers of paint is
greater, the CDC reports.
Few People Know Their Name, But These
Chemicals Have Become EPA Priority
http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/ehs/news/chlorinated-paraffins
An obscure family of chemicals – important to the metalworking
industry but virtually unknown to the public – is suddenly the
subject of scrutiny from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The chemicals, called short-chain chlorinated paraffins, persist in
the environment, accumulate in human breast milk, can kill small
aquatic creatures and travel to remote regions of the globe. Since
their introduction in the 1930s, they have received little attention
from U.S. authorities. But now the EPA, in an unprecedented move,
has placed the compounds, known as SCCPs, on a short list of
worrisome chemicals that the agency may regulate because of the
risks they pose to wildlife and the environment.
Pesticides on Produce Tied to ADHD in
Children
http://news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20100517/hl_hsn/pesticidesonproducetiedtoadhdinchildren
New research suggests that exposure to high levels of
organophosphate pesticides, commonly found on berries, celery and
other produce, could raise the odds for
attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children.
Green Chemistry: Scientists Devise
New "Benign by Design" Drugs, Paints, Pesticides and More
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=green-chemistry-benign-by-design
Chemists are usually asked to invent a solution, but without
considering hazardous by-products. Green chemists now are doing both
with success, but will it take regulations to enforce the approach
broadly?
New Study Warns Consumers of Risks
Related to Bisphenol A in Food Cans
http://www.publicnewsservice.org/index.php?/content/article/14171-1
Savvy consumers know about Bisphenol A (BPA) as a component of
plastic bottles, and manufacturers now tout "BPA Free" labels,
especially for baby bottles. However, exposure to the harmful
chemical isn't limited to plastics. BPA is also found in canned
food, and a new study looks at how much exposure consumers are
getting.
EPA Takes Key Step to Address
Mercury, Cancer-Causing Toxics
http://www.edf.org/pressrelease.cfm?contentID=11032
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently proposed
nationwide clean air standards to address a range of hazardous air
pollutants discharged from industrial, commercial and institutional
boilers, process heaters, and solid waste incinerators. EPA
estimates the standards would prevent between 2,000 and 5,000
premature deaths and about 36,000 asthma attacks each year.
Drugs in the Environment: Do
Pharmaceutical Take-Back Programs Make a Difference?
http://ehp03.niehs.nih.gov/article/fetchArticle.action;jsessionid=663D3435359ADF16
280B255D4ACF3452?articleURI=info%3Adoi%2F10.1289%2Fehp.118-a210
The state of Maine experimented with drugs last year. The state
had already tested several methods for collecting unused
pharmaceuticals, with varying degrees of success. After tracking
surprisingly high concentrations of pharmaceuticals in landfill
leachate —raising the potential for eventual ground and surface
water contamination—the state decided to pursue a new tool to keep
drugs out of the waste stream.
Prenatal Phthalate Exposure Is
Associated with Childhood Behavior and Executive Functioning
http://ehp03.niehs.nih.gov/article/fetchArticle.action?articleURI=info%3Adoi%2F10.1289%2Fehp.0901470
Experimental and observational studies have reported biological
consequences of phthalate exposure relevant to neurodevelopment. The
goal of this study was to examine the association of prenatal
phthalate exposure with behavior and executive functioning at 4–9
years of age.
President's Cancer Panel:
Environmentally Caused Cancers Are 'Grossly Underestimated' and
'Needlessly Devastate American Lives'
http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/ehs/news/presidents-cancer-panel
"The true burden of environmentally induced cancers has been
grossly underestimated," says the President's Cancer Panel in a
strongly reported report that urges action to reduce people's
widespread exposure to carcinogens. The panel today advised
President Obama "to use the power of your office to remove the
carcinogens and other toxins from our food, water, and air that
needlessly increase health care costs, cripple our nation's
productivity, and devastate American lives."
Plans for New Controversial Coal
Plant Put on Hold
http://www.publicnewsservice.org/index.php?/content/article/14233-1
Reaction from conservation groups is mixed over Thursday's
announcement by Consumers Energy that the company is delaying plans
for a new coal-fired power plant in Bay County, Mich. CMS Energy,
the parent of Consumers Energy, announced Thursday that lower
consumer demand from the recession, lower natural gas prices and
increased power generation in the Midwest all led to its decision to
postpone the 830-megawatt project, which was designed to use
so-called clean-coal technology.
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