Climate change’s threats to human health and life are growing. Will you join our latest effort to roll back climate change?
On Friday March 11, the largest earthquake in Japanese history (8.9) hit the eastern coast of Japan, causing the shutdown of reactors at Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear station and the Tohuku nuclear station. Backup power for the Fukushima Daiichi Unit-2 reactor did not function, which has put the cooling system at risk. The cooling system keeps the extremely hot nuclear core from melting down, as well as the spent fuel rods in large pools from overheating and causing a fire.
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PSR’s Washington chapter and the national PSR staff have helped negotiate a landmark agreement to close the state’s only coal-fired power plant. PSR worked with environmental groups and Washington State officials to hammer out an accord with the plant owners. The TransAlta plant is the state’s largest source of greenhouse gases and a significant emitter of nitrogen oxide, mercury, and particulate pollution. The planned closure greatly advances the Northwest’s goal of becoming coal-free.
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The showdown in the U.S. Congress over the EPA’s power to regulate pollutants has been postponed, but recent actions by the House of Representatives make clear that the upcoming debate will be high-stakes. The House added amendments to a must-pass budget bill that would limit or revoke the EPA’s authority to regulate greenhouse gases, mercury and other air toxics, water pollutants, coal ash, and mountaintop removal wastes. Learn more »
Last week the House of Representatives passed a "Continuing Resolution" (budget bill) with amendments denying the EPA the power to regulate pollutants. The bill limited or revoked the EPA's authority to regulate greenhouse gases, mercury and other air toxics, water pollutants, coal ash, and mountaintop removal wastes. Learn more »
The U.S. House of Representatives launched a major assault on basic anti-pollution safeguards when it passed a “Continuing Resolution” on Feb. 19. A Continuing Resolution (C.R.) is a budget bill, temporarily extending government funding until Congress can hammer out a new annual budget. But this year, the C.R. was loaded down with amendments that would prohibit the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from carrying out its basic function: protecting Americans from deadly air and water pollutants. More »
You are what you eat – and what you eat could be responsible for exposing you and your family to toxic chemicals. But it’s not just what you eat. It’s the entire food production system, from pesticides and fertilizers, to antibiotics and hormones, to additives and preservatives, to food packaging materials. In this month's Environmental Health Policy Institute, experts address the question, "How does our food production system drive our exposure to toxic chemicals?"
On February 9, over 1,800 health professionals decried efforts to weaken the Clean Air Act in a letter sent by Physicians for Social Responsibility, the American Lung Association, and the American Public Health Association to the President and Congress. The letter comes as members of Congress debate eliminating the health protections established by the Clean Air Act, the landmark environmental statute that prevents an estimated 160,000 premature deaths a year.
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In a just-released report, PSR and two environmental organizations have revealed that most of the chromium that leaches from coal ash into ground and surface water takes the form of highly carcinogenic hexavalent chromium. Long known to cause lung cancer when inhaled, hexavalent chromium has been shown to cause stomach cancer in humans, and intestinal and oral cancers in laboratory animals, when ingested in water.
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PSR Wisconsin is co-sponsoring a conference to educate health care professionals about important environmental factors affecting human health and how best to use that information in primary care practice. February 18-20, 2011 in Madison, Wisconsin.
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On February 2nd, President Barack Obama signed the final version of New START and the exchange of the treaty documents occurred on February 5th in Munich, Germany. This outcome was made possible by the hard work of PSR members and our many colleague organizations working together to encourage our allies and convince skeptics about the treaty's importance. Through our 1 More 4 Zero campaign, we will continue to build support for this essential and inspiring vision, while taking important short-term steps on the road to zero.
Experts including PSR's Dr. Alan Lockwood held a press teleconference to discuss the proposed 'clean energy standard' -- a contradiction in terms if it includes nuclear and coal. Nuclear and coal are dirty at every step of the way, posing huge risks to human health and the environment.
As healthcare professionals, PSR members represent a critical voice in the effort to address global warming. And yet these voices, as well as those of the global scientific community, don’t seem to get any traction in our current political climate. In this month's Environmental Health Policy Institute, PSR experts take on the climate policy deadlock with fresh ideas about how to move the policy needle. Read essays from Steven G. Gilbert, Barbara Gottlieb, Barbara Warren, H. Steven Moffic, and Edward Maibach & Matthew Nesbit addressing the question, "How can we integrate scientific evidence into our climate and energy policy choices?
Emerging Medical and Public Health Professionals Meet in Washington, DC
April 8 - 10, 2011 at George Washington University
Register now for the biennial conference hosted by Student Physicians for Social Responsibility
The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) passed on Dec. 22 with an overwhelming vote of 71-26. On January 25th, the Russian Federation ratified New START in the DUMA, moving it to a final vote in the Federation Council of Russia. This outcome was made possible by the hard work of PSR members and our many colleague organizations working together to encourage our allies and convince skeptics about the treaty's importance. As we celebrate this accomplishment, we are also reaffirming our fundamental commitment to ridding the world of all nuclear weapons. Through our 1 More 4 Zero campaign, we will continue to build support for this essential and inspiring vision, while taking important short-term steps on the road to zero. Thank you for all your work to bring about this victory. Onward to a more peaceful, just, and healthy world!
PSR applauds the Senate's decision to move the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty to a final vote as early as Dec. 22. After months of debate and hundreds of hours of testimony, the Senate appeared ready to ratify the treaty which will reduce U.S. and Russian arsenals.
We know that toxic chemicals in consumer products have the potential to cause negative human health effects. What if we tried to address toxic chemicals at the most primary level of prevention – by preventing them from being invented? Scientists are beginning to explore the ways in which technology and research can shepherd in a decidedly new chemical era, one that does not compromise human health. This month, read how expert contributors to the Environmental Health Policy Institute Evan Beach, Mark Dorfman, Steven G. Gilbert, Lin Kaatz Chary, Mark Rossi, and Jennifer Sass answer the question: “How can innovations in technology and research reduce exposures to toxic chemicals?”
The US Senate voted to allow consideration of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START). The strong bipartisan vote provides New START supporters with a sense that the Senate will eventually provide advise and consent for ratification of this vital treaty. Much work left to be done over these next few crucial days. It remains a good time to contact your Senators to let them know you support ratification of New START. Make a call to your Senators now.
It was reported in the Portland Press Herald that Maine’s two Republican Senators, Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, had announced that they would vote for the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. The senators joined a large bipartisan group backing the treaty. Roger Fenn of PSR/Maine was quoted as saying "Their endorsement is proof that Sens. Collins and Snowe have heard Maine people who have urged for support for ratification."
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Support PSR in asserting a strong medical and public health voice for the prevention of nuclear war and proliferation and to slow, stop and reverse toxic degradation of the environment and global warming. Your tax-deductable contribution will ensure that we have the resources necessary to work towards a healthy, just and peaceful world for present and future generations. Thank you!
Seizing an opportunity to shape a policy with nationwide implications for health, PSR mobilized its network to urge the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to adopt strong, health-protective regulations for the disposal of coal ash.
PSR individual members, board members, chapter leaders and national staff joined forces to support rigorous federal regulation of this toxic waste. Individual members submitted comments via email, and high-level PSR representatives gave testimony in person at six of the EPA’s eight coal ash hearings across the country. Read more »
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