March 11, 2015 3:53 PM EDT
I am an advocate for bringing more public attention to the critical issue of childhood lead poisoning. It is the number one environmental health threat to children. Lead present in paint, dust, and soil is possibly our most significant toxic waste problem in terms of the seriousness and the extent of human health effects. Lead poisoning is more dangerous than some forms of cancer—yet it is virtually ignored by the American public. Read more >
February 20, 2015 5:15 PM EDT
Believe it or not, I wasn’t always an environmentalist. In fact, I didn’t know about composting or environmental justice until I was 19 years old. I often tell people with a precarious smile that it was my undergraduate studies at the University of Colorado at Boulder that turned me into the person I am today. But my journey to full-blown New Age hippy didn’t start with “save the whale” protests or “save the rainforest” campaigns. It began with environmental justice. Read more >
December 9, 2014 4:16 PM EDT
The buzzing sound of a hand-held nebulizer has become background noise at my clinic. It sounds like a hive of bees moving noisily. Everyday children and adults in South Los Angeles get asthma treatments at community clinics because of exacerbations, also known as asthma attacks. I am a family physician with over a decade of work at community clinics in the poorest areas of Los Angeles. Read more >
November 13, 2014 5:10 PM EDT
I have been a public health nurse for over 35 years! When I say it like that, sometimes I feel and know that I am getting old, very old. But it also makes me realize that I have accumulated a vast amount of experience and expertise, particularly when it comes to the community’s perspective on their health and environment and their resulting needs towards achieving a healthy community. Read more >
October 24, 2014 9:23 AM EDT
I remember growing food in the third grade during garden club at Twin Oaks Community Garden in D.C. I grew onions, collard greens, and mustard greens. I’d bring my harvest home for my family to eat. My mother taught me how to wash them. My pencil legs towered over running water as we removed each stem from the leaves before dunking them into cold water. My greens tasted better than the canned Glory Greens my family bought, like the expensive loose leaf ones in the produce section of the grocery store. Read more >
