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The Clean Air Act, our only regulatory tool to cut carbon emissions and prevent catastrophic climate change, is under attack. To protect our nation's health, we need your help!

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Environment and Health

PSR’s Environment and Health Program addresses an array of environmental health issues relevant to health professionals and concerned citizens in the United States and around the globe. We invite you to join the growing constituency of health professionals who are bringing a critical voice to the forefront of environmental health decision-making. 

Curbing global warming...
Heat waves, intense drought, disease outbreaks, and flooding -- this is the forecast given by the world’s most renown climate experts who now warn that unless action to curb global warming is taken within the next ten years, we will pass a “tipping point” beyond which devastating consequences will become unavoidable. The need for mandatory controls on emissions of the heat-trapping gases that drive global warming is urgent. Drawing on the expertise of medicine and public health, PSR is dedicated to fighting for laws and regulations that protect human health from the dangers of global warming by reversing the current trends of increasing emissions and rising temperatures.

...and reducing toxic pollution.
Each year, the tens of thousands of chemicals that permeate our environment exact an immeasurable toll on public health. From acute poisonings to chronic diseases, the effects of exposure to toxic chemicals vary widely and are particularly dangerous for certain groups, such as pregnant women and their developing fetuses. PSR brings the voice of medical and public health professionals to the forefront of environmental health decision-making and fights to protect today’s and tomorrow’s generations from toxic degradation of the environment.

Action Alerts

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Resources

  • Coal's Assault on Human Health

    Physicians for Social Responsibility has released a groundbreaking medical report, “Coal’s Assault on Human Health,” which takes a new look at the devastating impacts of coal on the human body. Coal combustion releases mercury, particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, and dozens of other substances known to be hazardous to human health. This report looks at the cumulative harm inflicted by those pollutants on three major body organ systems: the respiratory system, the cardiovascular system, and the nervous system. The report also considers coal’s contribution to global warming, and the health implications of global warming. Read more »

  • Hazardous Chemicals In Health Care

    Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR) in partnership with American Nurses Association (ANA) and Health Care Without Harm (HCWH) have released the “Hazardous Chemicals In Health Care” report, detailing the first investigation ever of chemicals found in the bodies of health care professionals. The inquiry found that all of the 20 participants had toxic chemicals associated with health care in their bodies. Each participant had at least 24 individual chemicals present, four of which are on the recently released Environmental Protection Agency list of priority chemicals for regulation. These chemicals are all associated with chronic illness and physical disorders. Read more »

  • Birth Defects & Other Reproductive Disorders

    Every day, pregnant women are exposed to toxic substances that can be harmful to their babies. Potential effects include physical defects, learning disabilities, and other disorders. This pamphlet suggests some easy things you can do to protect your baby’s health. Read more »

In the Spotlight

  • January 7, 2010
    Healthy People, Healthy Planet
    Greater Boston PSR's Dr. Dick Clapp (a professor at the BU SPH) and speaker Jill Stein MD at Boston University Medical School taping of Healthy People, Healthy Planet for University of Delaware Nursing School course.