Posted December 8, 2011 by Gina Solomon in Health and the Environment, Solving Global Warming
As a health professional, I knew that disasters could have devastating impacts on the physical health and psychological well-being of the people who lived through them. But it was only when I went to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina that...continued→
Posted November 22, 2011 by Gina Solomon in Health and the Environment, Moving Beyond Oil
Last night, our recent scientific paper on Gulf seafood safety was featured on Anderson Cooper's 360*. It's a nice piece, and is worth watching, since it highlights the ongoing crisis in the Gulf fisheries, and the ongoing disagreements about seafood...continued→
Posted November 4, 2011 by Gina Solomon in Environmental Justice, Health and the Environment
The Martin family lives in Maywood, California, just minutes from Los Angeles. They are dealing with chronic illnesses and a history of lead poisoning. Now they are trying to learn more about what might be affecting their health, and whether the...continued→
Posted October 12, 2011 by Gina Solomon in Health and the Environment
October is National Seafood Month, so it’s a good time to reflect on seafood safety. I have been raising concerns for years about this issue, since it’s an important and delicate balancing act for doctors and consumers. On the one...continued→
Posted September 29, 2011 by Gina Solomon in Curbing Pollution
Anyone who saw the famous movie Erin Brockovich is familiar with hexavalent chromium, or 'hex chrome'; it's the carcinogen that polluted the town water supply in Hinkley, California and triggered the David vs. Goliath fight between sick community members (aided by Erin...continued→
Posted September 22, 2011 by Gina Solomon in Environmental Justice, Health and the Environment
Successful environmental health programs are on the chopping block in this year's budget. President Obama has proposed major budget cuts to the Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC) National Center for Environmental Health, including asthma prevention programs, funds to track and investigate lead...continued→
Posted August 25, 2011 by Gina Solomon in Health and the Environment, Solving Global Warming
Like most people on the East Coast, I’m anxiously watching the approach of Hurricane Irene, a swirling knot of wind and rain taking dead aim at New York City, where I’m currently visiting my family. I had been hoping to...continued→
Posted August 10, 2011 by Gina Solomon in Health and the Environment, Solving Global Warming
Mosquito and ticks carry a variety of infectious agents, including those that cause malaria, West Nile, Dengue Fever and Lyme disease. NRDC recently launched a new website with climate maps of the United States. One of the maps shows the areas...continued→
Posted July 27, 2011 by Gina Solomon in Health and the Environment
Today, the State of California took an important step toward protecting people from cancer-causing chromium in drinking water. After a decade of study, public review, meetings, and scientific analysis, the California Environmental Protection Agency (Cal/EPA) released a final Public Health Goal (PHG) for hexavalent...continued→
Posted July 14, 2011 by Gina Solomon in Health and the Environment
On Tuesday, my colleague, Dr. Sarah Janssen, attended a hearing of a California scientific panel that identifies reproductive toxicants. The panel unanimously rejected a chemical industry petition that would have eliminated the National Toxicology Program as an authoritative agency for...continued→
Posted June 24, 2011 by Gina Solomon in Environmental Justice, Health and the Environment
Just recently I wrote a blog on scientific advances in biomonitoring. The advances in exposure science, however, don’t just involve biomonitoring. Microsensor and nanosensor technologies, the development of new direct-reading instruments, Smartphone-connected technologies, and advances in portability, availability, and simplicity...continued→
Posted June 22, 2011 by Gina Solomon in Health and the Environment
Society is on the cusp of major advances in exposure science. These advances will have the effect of generating large amounts of information about what chemicals we are all exposed to (and what gets into our bodies), democratizing the collection...continued→
Posted June 14, 2011 by Gina Solomon in Health and the Environment
Antibiotic misuse in livestock has galvanized young physicians to come help NRDC work on this issue. Michael Turken, a 4th year medical student at UCSF (about to be Dr. Turken!), is working with us to investigate the links between antibiotic...continued→
Posted June 8, 2011 by Gina Solomon in Health and the Environment
I get nauseated when people use obfuscation cloaked in science to confuse people about issues that relate directly to their health. This morning when I read the testimony of a consultant to industry who is using a Senate committee hearing to...continued→
Posted May 31, 2011 by Gina Solomon in Health and the Environment
During the past month, I have been privileged to have a talented young physician, Dr. Julia MacIsaac, working with me at NRDC. Dr. MacIsaac is a specialist in internal medicine who is pursuing subspecialty training at UCSF in occupational and environmental...continued→
Switchboard is the staff blog of the Natural Resources Defense Council, the nation’s most effective environmental group. For more about our work, including in-depth policy documents, action alerts and ways you can contribute, visit NRDC.org.
