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Events
5th National Farm to Cafeteria Conference
May 17-19, 2010 in Detroit, Michigan
The Ecology Center and many local environmental groups are partnering with the Community Food Security Coalition to plan and host the 5th National Farm to Cafeteria Conference in Detroit this May! Farm to Cafeteria programs are taking root in schools, hospitals, colleges, daycares, and other institutions. This conference will teach you how you can get started or scale up a program in your community.
Registration opens February 22, check out the full schedule of sessions and scholarship information, including these contest opportunities:
Dance for the Earth
Mark
your calendar for the Ecology Center's annual Earth Day celebration. Join
the eco-party with live music by the Flying
Latini Bros, great local food,
cash bar, silent auction, and more ... all for a great cause!
Downtown Home & Garden
210 S. Ashley, Ann Arbor
Saturday, April 24th
8:00-11:00 p.m.
Cost (plus cash bar with ID): $15 at the door, $12.50 pre-purchase, $10 students
Buy tickets online>>
All proceeds benefit the Ecology Center's Mary Beth Doyle Environmental Health Fund. For more information, contact Ken Kozora at ken@ecocenter.org or (734) 761-3186 ext. 120
Take Action
Tell the Senate to Get Tough on Chemical Plant Security
There are 6,300 chemical plants in the U.S. that the Department of Homeland Security considers to be "high-risk" for terrorist attacks, and many of them won't adopt safer technologies until they're forced to by law. Tell your Senators to put the safety of the American people above partisan politics and industry lobbyists by passing strong legislation requiring chemical plant security.
Ideas for Change: Sustainable Food in Hospitals
Vote by 5 p.m. (eastern) on February 25th to help the Ecology Center's idea to bring sustainable menus to hospitals make it to the next round in the Ideas for Change competition!
Change.org is currently running a competition where people can share ideas on how to address the challenges our country is facing. The top 10 voted ideas will be presented at an event in Washington, DC to members of the Obama Administration, and then promoted to Change.org's full community of more than 1 million people. The Ecology Center's idea was inspired by our Healthy Food in Healthcare work and a campaign run by our partner organization, Health Care Without Harm.
News
Slow Death by Rubber Duck: The Secret Dangers of Everyday Things
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Rick Smith, Executive Director of Environmental Defence Canada, and Bruce Lourie, President of Ivey Foundation, decided to see how easy it would be to create a toxic soup inside their bodies. Over a four-day period, they targeted seven toxic chemicals commonly found in consumer products and set about intentionally ingesting and inhaling them, measuring the results with blood and urine toxic chemical screenings.
The catch? They would only buy easy-to-find (typically brand-name) items and would only use them the way that millions of people do every day. They added a few tuna sandwiches (mercury) and canned foods (bisphenol A) to their diets, used scented shampoos (phthalates) and anti-bacterial products (triclosan).
The toxic chemical levels in their bodies multiplied - several times over for some chemicals, several hundred times for others. They had achieved their toxic soup in less than a week.
But Smith and Lourie say that that Slow Death by Rubber Duck is a hopeful book. Although it's far too easy to pollute your body, there are also easy ways to steer clear of excessive contamination. Toxic chemicals are so pervasive in our society that they're impossible to completely avoid, but some of the worst chemicals are in obvious places and reducing your exposure to those does make a difference. Also, thanks to the work of organizations around the country, like the Ecology Center's HealthyStuff.org consumer database, people are more aware and better prepared to protect themselves. The book shares stories from individuals and communities who have taken their health into their own hands and stood up to our chemical culture.
At times shocking, disturbing, and empowering - but always amusing - Slow Death by Rubber Duck is a great read for anyone who wants to understand the everyday threats around us and what to do about them.
Want to know what toxic chemicals are in the toys and children's products you buy? Email your senator and ask them to support the Children's Safe Products Act to give you a right to know about toxic chemicals in kids' products.
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Eco-Action Day: The Ecology Center's Newest Program for Schools
 Two students race to beat the clock in the Ecology Center's "Recycling Relay" at Chelsea Schools Science Night |
The Ecology Center's environmental education team launched a new program, called Eco-Action Day, at Chelsea Schools Science Night last Friday. Eco-Action Day allows a large group of students or families to explore several important actions they can take to help the earth. The participants rotate through different activity stations, each focusing on a different environmental action theme. The activities provided at Chelsea Schools Science Night included a recycling relay, composting starter demonstrations, storm water model and introduction, an investigation into how nature decomposes, and making recycled paper. Eco-Action Days are customizable; we can offer different stations based on age, grade level, and topics of interest to fit the school's needs.
Chelsea Schools Science Night is part of a larger, district-wide event. Science Night brings students and their families together with a number of local community groups that provide presentations, informational displays, and hands-on activities. The Ecology Center was joined by the Leslie Science & Nature Center, Western Washtenaw Recycling, the Great Lakes Zoological Society, and many more organizations that helped to make the night both educational and engaging. The enthusiasm of both kids and parents who visited the Ecology Center's table made for a successful and rewarding debut of our first Eco-Action Day!
 Ecology Center volunteer Annie Gregory helps a student take a closer look at some live decomposers at our "Nature Recycles" activity station |
The Eco-Action Day program is an exciting addition to the Ecology Center's environmental education repertoire. Most of our school programs are delivered as in-classroom workshops where we engage a maximum of 30 students at a time, and these very popular programs usually fill up quickly each year. Eco-Action Days, on the other hand, can reach a much larger audience at one time. We are looking forward to bringing this program to many more schools throughout southeast Michigan as we work to bring a message of environmental stewardship to youth and their families.
For more information about this and other Environmental Education Programs at the Ecology Center, please contact Environmental Educator Lauren LaRocca at (734) 761-3186, extension 111, or by emailing lauren@ecocenter.orgback to top↑
Michigan House Overwhelmingly Supports a Ban on a Toxic Flame Retardant
On January 27th the Michigan House of Representatives nearly unanimously voted to phase out the toxic flame retardant deca-BDE. The deca bill (HB 4699) passed through the Michigan House, with a 94-6 bi-partisan vote, on the heels of a voluntary agreement between three major manufacturers of deca-BDE and the U.S. EPA to end the manufacture, import, and sale of the chemical. HB 4699 would close loopholes and codify this agreement into law in Michigan.
Deca-BDE is a persistent, bioaccumulative toxic chemical, which is a structurally similar to PCB's, and has been found throughout the Great Lakes ecosystem. Deca-BDE is considered a possible human carcinogen and was recently linked to neurodevelopmental problems in children. In laboratory animals, deca and other polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) have been shown to cause learning, memory, reproductive, and thyroid problems as well as cancer. Furthermore, recent research from Grand Valley State University found PBDEs in all fish of significant size caught in Michigan.
It would stop in-state sales of electronics, mattresses, and residential upholstered furniture containing the toxic flame retardant by 2011. All uses of deca-BDE other than transportation and military would be banned by 2013, and transportation and military uses would be disallowed by 2014. By contrast, the current EPA agreement is voluntary, applies only to three deca manufacturers, and does not apply to products imported with deca already in them.
This victory is the result of the hard work of the state's leading medical, health, and environmental organizations to add deca-BDE to a ban on two related toxic flame retardants. Michigan banned penta- and octa-BDE, the two other chemicals in the PBDE family, in 2004 through the Mary Beth Doyle PBDE Act -- named in honor of a former Ecology Center campaigner. HB 4699 completes the work of the Mary Beth Doyle PBDE Act by including deca.
"We need to finish the job and shut down this toxic threat to the Great Lakes and our health," stated Sarah Mullkoff, Michigan Campaigns Coordinator for Clean Water Action. "It's now in the hands of our State Senators to protect Michigan's children, fire fighters, and the Great Lakes."
The bill is now in committee in Michigan Senate, we urge the Senate to quickly take action on this important bill.
Take Action Now! Thank your State Representative for supporting HB 4699 and ask your State Senator to support HB 4699.
Childhood Environmental Exposures Continue to Elude Pediatricians
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A recent survey of 362 Michigan doctors found that pediatricians are confident managing exposures to secondhand smoke and lead poisoning, but are less confident in identifying and managing other chemical exposures in their patients.
Diagnoses of asthma, developmental disabilities (such as attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder and autism), certain childhood cancers, and certain birth defects have increased over the past 30 years. A growing body of evidence that suggests that in utero and childhood chemical exposures may be contributing to these increases. To address this concern, Regional Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Units (PEHSUs) were established in 1998 as a joint project of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There are PEHSUs located in each of the ten EPA regions as well as a PEHSU in Canada and one in Mexico.
The survey of Michigan pediatricians, published in the January/February 2010 issue of the Mount Sinai Journal of Medicine, found that although almost all pediatricians reported a patient affected by an environmental exposure, very few of them knew about or had referred a patient to the PEHSU network. Physicians in this survey indicated that while they have great confidence in managing cases of second hand smoke exposure and lead poisoning, they were much less confident in managing cases of pesticide, air pollution, PCB, mercury, and mold exposures. These same physicians also indicated a desire for more training in pediatric environmental health and would refer patients to a clinic that specialized in pediatric environmental health issues.
The survey was mailed to pediatricians in Michigan to assess their self-reported confidence in identifying and managing childhood exposure to chemicals commonly found in the environment; the results were studied by a team of researchers led by Dr. Leo Trasande. The responses were anonymous and the physicians were not compensated for their participation.
These findings are consistent with similar studies of pediatricians in New York, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. These results suggest that there is a need for additional training opportunities for pediatricians in practice to learn more about pediatric environmental health and that information about the existing PEHSU network should be better disseminated.
Learn more about the PEHSU network for the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
The Mount Sinai Journal of Medicine article is entitled, "Translating Knowledge about Environmental Health to Practitioners: Are We Doing Enough?" and is available online.
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Consumer Tips
Beat the Winter Heat Loss
 energyQue.com/Flickr |
by Anne Berggren, Ecology Center Volunteer
Between this winter's weather and the current recession, we are all aware of--and probably appalled by--the cost of household energy. What can you do about it?
According to my sources: Lots.
And, because energy rebates from your local gas and electric company may be available, along with state and federal tax breaks, you might end up paying less than expected to reduce your energy bills and your carbon footprint.
First, consider getting an energy audit for your home. Many energy companies provide audits for a nominal fee. In Michigan, for example, DTE charges $25 and gives out energy-saving gadgets such as faucet aerators and wall-switch insulators to make up for the fee.
If you can't get a semi-free audit and can't afford to hire one of the many energy audit companies that charge for their services, you can use the EPA's do-it-yourself audit on its Energy Star website. Once you enter your energy costs for a year, room measurements, number of windows and doors, and other information such as the ages of your appliances, the site will make calculations for you. Laurence Berkeley Laboratory also offers a web-based home energy audit tool.
I got an energy audit last fall from Recycle Ann Arbor. After collecting the information they needed about my house and my heating and cooling habits, the auditors put a large fan in my front door and sucked the air out of the house to find the weak points in the building shell. It was an impressive process that resulted in very specific suggestions: add insulation to the exterior walls (the house had been built in 1920 and the original insulation had sunk to pretty much nothing) for a savings of $215 per year; affix a gasket and latch to the attic hatch to create a tight seal; install a chimney balloon above the fireplace damper; add weather stripping to a north-facing door.
Even without an audit, you can locate the cold spots in your house and try to figure out why they are cold. For instance, if the insides of your kitchen cabinets are cold and they're on an outside wall, you need more insulation in your walls. If you can feel cold air coming in through a door, you can fit weather stripping around the doorframe and install a sweep on the bottom of the door. If a cold draft is coming in through your windows, you may want to press rope caulking around them and then peel it off in the summer in order to open the windows. If the upstairs rooms are chilly, check the insulation in the attic. Look for gaps around the chimney and places where pipes, cables, and wires come into the house and seal these tightly.
If you're in the market for a furnace, replacing your old heater with a new, highly efficient one would pay for itself quickly and earn you utility rebates and tax credits. If you're not ready for that purchase yet, attend to your old furnace by having it cleaned and changing the filters as needed. Also, if a room that you use often is cold, you might consider a space heater. Using a monthly electric bill, you can figure out what you pay for each kilowatt hour and then use this formula to calculate the cost of such a heater: wattage (usually 1,500 watts) x .001 x cents per kWh = cost per hour. The convection heater in my TV room costs me 22 cents per hour.
Watch out for these common, and potentially costly, energy myths:
For more tips, check out the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy.
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EcoLink -- February 2010
An online publication of the Ecology Center
Comments and questions are welcome.
Please send to EcoLink Editor
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