Active Conscience ~ February

News, alerts, upcoming events, and opportunities to take action.

 

1. News Flash! Safer Products is launched!
2. Energy and Peace
3. Nuclear Risks in WA ~ Hanford Action Update
4. Healthy Washington ~ Eliminating Toxic Chemicals
5. Media Recommendations
6. Calendar
7. Quote of the Month

1. News flash!


Join us for Toxic-Free Legacy Coalition Lobby Day March 5, Olympia, WA
Join doctors, nurses, and concerned families from around the state as we rally at the capitol to pass new laws to eliminate bisphenol-A (BPA), a toxic plastic chemical used in kids' products. We will have free toxic toy testing in the morning, a kid’s rally on the steps of the Capitol at noon, fun kid’s activities throughout the day. Register now!

Support WPSR with the Charitable IRA Rollover
The charitable IRA legislation has been extended through 2008, offering you tax incentives for charitable gifts if you are 70 1/2 or older.
As part of the recent economic recovery legislation, Congress extended a provision that permits you to use your IRA to help accomplish your philanthropic goals.

If you are 70 1/2 or older, you may make a gift of up to $100,000 per year to Physicians for Social Responsibility from your IRA with no federal income tax impact and the gift will be counted toward your required minimum distribution. To obtain this benefit, you must instruct your IRA administrator to transfer funds directly to PSR. If you withdraw funds from the IRA first and then contribute to the charity, the tax benefits are lost.

The charitable IRA rollover, as it is called, is only available this year and next. You should consult your professional advisor before making a charitable IRA rollover gift. Simply contact your administrator for the forms necessary to transfer your desired amount to Physicians for Social Responsibility.

Our tax ID number is 91-1123316.

We hope you will act soon to take advantage of the 2008 opportunity to make a year end gift to WPSR.

 

 

2. Energy and Peace


PSR is part of Save Our Environment -- a coalition of groups working toward clean energy solutions. Our country faces unprecedented challenges. In November, unemployment reached 6.4%-- the highest level in 14 years. America is still addicted to oil. The global warming crisis goes unabated. Now is the time to Repower, Refuel and Rebuild America.

Learn more about how to Repower, Refuel, and Rebuild America here.

 

Get involved now - at the State Level:

· Join WPSR's Energy and Peace Committee in educating medical professionals on the health benefits of energy security and stopping global warming. Contact Margaret Kitchell, MD to join this committee.

· Support WPSR's Energy and Peace Committee by making a donation, or request a WPSR speaker to address your group.

· Support the 2009 Environmental Priorities
The 2009 Environmental Priorities focus on promoting a vibrant and growing green economy. To this end, three of the Priorities propose critical next steps for state-level action to meet our climate change goals. You can help by attending the Environmental Priorities Legislative Workshop, and by attending the Environmental Priorities Coalition Lobby Day, February 19.

 

A green-tinged stimulus bill
The economic-recovery bill includes green funding and drops nuclear and coal subsidies
By Kate Sheppard, February 13, 2009
"The economic recovery bill contains at least $62.2 billion in direct spending on green initiatives and $20 billion in green tax incentives, while funding for nuclear and coal projects was dropped from the final version."

In commemoration of the 55th anniversary of the U.S. "Bravo" nuclear bomb detonation at Bikini Atoll, the Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action, the Pacific Life Community, and Washington Physicians for Social Responsibility invite you to two events:

  • Nuclear Free and Independent Pacific: An International Law Perspective
    Thursday February 26 7pm    , University Lutheran Church, 1604 NE 50th, Seattle.
    Speakers include Motarilavoa Hilda Lini, Chief of the Turaga Nation of the Republic of Vanuatu and former Minister of Justice and Minister of Health; and Anabel Dwyer of the Lawyers' Committee on Nuclear Policy. Dr. David Hall of Washington Physicians for Social Responsibility will moderate the forum. Admission free, donations welcome.

  • A vigil and nonviolent direct action at the gates of the Bangor Trident nuclear submarine base on March 1.
    Gather at the Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action (GZ), 16159 Clear Creek Rd. NW, Poulsbo, WA, at 10:30 a.m., leave for the gate at noon, closing circle at 2:00.
    For directions to GZ go to www.gzcenter.org. For more information contact Anne Hall at 206-545-3562 or Sue Ablao and Jackie Hudson, 360-377-2586.

Underreported: Nukes cost U.S. $52 billion last year
By Aditya Ganapathiraju, February 2, 2009
“Nuclear weapons pose the most serious threat to human life,” Cherie Eichholz, executive director of Washington PSR, wrote in an e-mail. “The numbers are highly disturbing, as is the fact that less than 10 percent of the $52 billion went toward slowing the proliferation of nuclear weapons andtechnology.”

No Money for Nuclear Weapons, More Cleanup Funding in Stimulus Bill
“President Obama’s support for a world free of nuclear weapons means that business as usual cannot continue within NNSA” stated Susan Gordon, director of ANA. “DOE is decades behind in cleaning up the environmental legacy of past nuclear weapons production. Congress is sending a clear message that ‘clean up, don’t build up’ is their new tenet.”

President Obama seeks Russia deal to slash nuclear weapons
No final decision on the defence shield has been taken by Mr Obama. Yet merely delaying the placement of US missiles in Poland and a radar station in the Czech Republic — which if deployed would cost the US $4 billion annually — removes what has been a major impediment to Russian co-operation on arms reduction.

 

3. Nuclear Risks in Washington - Hanford Update


Moving into a new political era, there is considerable uncertainty in terms of how Hanford’s clean-up will proceed and it’s more important than ever that WPSR continue to exercise our unique voice. Several points of note in early 2009 are:

~ House Bill 2150 is currently before the Washington state legislature. Following I-297 being thrown out several years ago with the reason being that what the state can regulate is "hazardous waste as defined in federal law," this bill uses the federal definition and says that waste cannot be dumped on a Superfund site. The bill says you cannot dump more hazardous waste at a contaminated site on the federal superfund list until that site is in compliance.

~ The Hanford Advisory Board met in early February and WPSR was represented by Jim Trombold, MD, and Karen Bowman, RN. Given the seriousness of the economic situation and the gravity of the environmental challenges posed by Hanford, we are proud Jim, Karen and Charlie Weems, MD, remain steadfast in their work on this board.

~ The Challenge of Hanford and Health is now online. Take a look at: http://www.wpsr.org/reports/ We also have several hundred copies we can distribute to classes or other interested groups. If you would like some, please email us at wpsr@wpsr.org, indicate Hanford booklet in the subject and let us know how many you need and for what purpose you will use them. Please also remember that we have several physician experts who are willing and able to speak to groups.

The booklet is an overview of Hanford history, environmental damage, potential health impacts and cleanup progress. Thanks to Hanford Task Force members Charles Weems, MD, Jim Trombold, MD, John Abbotts, PhD, Jeanie Sedgely, and Martin Fleck for countless hours of research, writing and reviewing! The project was funded by a public participation grant from the Washington State Dept. of Ecology. Booklets are free and plentiful!


New deadlines for Hanford cleanup proposed

By Annette Cary, Herald staff writer, February 7, 2009

"Proposed new deadlines for Hanford cleanup would speed up work to protect the Columbia River from chemical and radioactive contaminants, but give the Department of Energy more time for other cleanup work...A public comment period on the proposed changes is expected to begin next month."



4. Healthy Washington - Eliminating Toxic Chemicals

Please direct comments or questions for this section to Cherie Eichholz.

Thousands urge Washington legislators to say NO to Bisphenol A (BPA); will you join them?
BPA is a hormone disrupting chemical that is linked to developmental effects in children and heart disease and diabetes in adults. When it leaches out of products, it contaminates our bodies and the environment. Studies have detected BPA in adults, in the cord blood of newborn children, and in the environment. BPA is found in baby bottles and other food containers and is a huge health risk to children and infants. This chemical has no place in children's products! Only the safest chemicals should be in the products we use in our homes. Public support is crucial for this bill to pass.

WPSR and the rest of the Toxic-Free Legacy Coalition Gears up for Lobby Day, March 5th

1. Toxic-Free Legacy Coalition Lobby Day March 5, Olympia, WA
Join doctors, nurses, and concerned families from around the state as we rally at the capitol to pass new laws to eliminate bisphenol-A (BPA), a toxic plastic chemical used in kids' products. During lobby day you will be trained on how to lobby, learn about the issues, attend a rally on the steps of the Capitol, and meet in-person with your state legislators to urge them to support legislation to phase out BPA and pass the rest of our Children's Environmental Health Agenda. Bring Your Kids... And Their Toys. We will have free toxic toy testing in the morning, a kid’s rally on the steps of the Capitol at noon, fun kid’s activities throughout the day. Register now!

2. Health Professional's Sign-on Letter
Our Sign-on letter to Governor Gregoire and Washington State legislators asks them to support legislation this session to ban Bisphenol A (BPA) in key products. You can read the letter and sign it here.
The voice of health professionals on this issue is crucial. Please sign this letter, and then forward it to colleagues. We've succeeded in banning PBDE's, and passed the strictest standards in the country last year on protecting kids from lead, cadmium, and phthalates exposure from their toys. BPA is a toxicant we need to get rid of as well. We need your help to make the Sign on letter campaign a success. Please sign on, and then pass it on.

3. Not a health professional? Please call your legislator to let them know you are concerned.
Call The number for the legislative hotline where you can leave a message for all of your legislators at once is: 1.800.562.6000. The message you will leave is: Please vote yes on HB 1180/ SB 5282 because bisphenol A is a hormone disrupting chemical with no business in baby bottles or other food containers.

Email your legislators: Eliminate BPA from baby bottles!
Send an email to your legislators and the Governor today

Recommendations:

  • A number of studies have found BPA to be linked to cancer, heart disease, obesity, reproductive failures and hyperactivity in laboratory animals. Bisphenol A is a hormone disrupting chemical and as such can have health effects at extremely low exposure levels. Read more...

  • A new study “Baby's Toxic Bottle: Bisphenol A Leaching from Popular Baby Bottles,” released by environmental health groups in the U.S. and Canada demonstrates the toxic chemical bisphenol A leaches from plastic baby bottles when heated.

  • Plastic pollution threat to health and environment. Many chemical ingredients used in manufacturing of plastic goods including benzene, vinyl chloride, ethylene oxides, xylems and bisphenol A. are linked with numerous health hazards and reproductive problems.

 

  • Toxipedia Launches IPMopedia!

    Gardeners can now easily have a gorgeous garden without using chemicals that harm themselves or the environment thanks to the new integrated pest management and green gardening resource center IPMopedia! Brought to you by Toxipedia, IPMopedia provides gardeners with the knowledge and advice necessary to create sustainable landscapes and control pests while dramatically reducing their use of harmful chemicals and pesticides. IPMopedia is funded in part by the King County's Local Hazardous Waste Management Program and partnered with organizations such as Seattle Tilth and the Washington Toxics Coalition.

 

 

5. Media Recommendations

Recommended by Bill Witherup, WPSR Artist in Residence

Bombing Civilians:A Twentieth Century History by Marilyn Young
Once armies began using hot air balloons for surveillance in warfare, it quickly occurred to them to drop "grenades and other harmful objects" on the enemy, observes Yuki Tanaka in her introduction to BOMBING CIVILIANS: A TWENTIETH-CENTURY HISTORY, co-edited with Marilyn Young. Tanaka continues, "The use of airplanes in the early twentieth century led to a drastic change in war strategy: the wide expansion of war zones to include indiscriminate attacks on civilians."
http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/01302009/profile.html


6. Calendar

February 23, 7pm

How are U.S. troops in Afghanistan and Iraq affected by trade in small arms? Why are small arms labeled "weapons of individual destruction?" How does the international small arms trade affect the war on terror? For a full speaker bio and to register, click here!

University of Washington, Kane Hall 210 $10 members/students; $15 non-members.
Co-sponsored by: UW Law, Societies, and Justice Program
Co-presented by: Washington CeaseFire, Amnesty International Group 4, Washington Physicians for Social Responsibility


March 5, Olympia, WA, Toxic-Free Legacy Coalition Lobby Day
Join doctors, nurses, and concerned families from around the state as we rally at the capitol to pass new laws to eliminate bisphenol-A (BPA), a toxic plastic chemical used in kids' products. During lobby day you will be trained on how to lobby, learn about the issues, attend a rally on the steps of the Capitol, and meet in-person with your state legislators to urge them to support legislation to phase out BPA and pass the rest of our Children's Environmental Health Agenda. Bring Your Kids... And Their Toys. We will have free toxic toy testing in the morning, a kid’s rally on the steps of the Capitol at noon, fun kid’s activities throughout the day.

 

March 7, The Public is Invited to hear Dr. David Korten, author of the recently published:
Agenda for a New Economy: From Phantom Wealth to Real Wealth speak on "Real Security, community, and the New Economy"
Saturday evening, March 7, 7pm
the public is invited to hear Dr. David Korten, renowned author and highly acclaimed speaker.

Northlake Unitarian Universalist Church, 308 Fourth Ave South, Kirkland, 98033

 

The Seattle Peace Chorus

will perform prior to Dr. Korten's presentation A free will donation will be accepted.

 

March 11, The Annual Healthy Food in Healthcare Roundtable
11-5 pm, Northwest Hospital
Presentations include sustainable food procurement on a strict budget, Green Guide for Health Credits, and strategies for waste reduction. For more information see wpsr.org or contact Holly Freishtat, WPSR Sustainable Food Specialist at holly@cultivatehealth.com

 

7. Quote of the Month

"You can’t take a building you want to weatherize, put it on a ship to China and then have them do it and send it back. So we are going to have to put people to work in this country—weatherizing millions of buildings, putting up solar panels, constructing wind farms. Those green-collar jobs can provide a pathway out of poverty for someone who has not gone to college. "
~ Van Jones, Founder of Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, and Green For All

Join WPSR's member physicians, nurses, health professionals and concerned citizens across Washington State!
Our work to create a more healthy, peaceful and sustainable Washington State and world is possible due in large part to individual supporters.

Will you make a donation to help us continue to protect the health of our children and Washington State?

If you have an event you would like to see in the next installment of the Active Conscience, please email information to idill@wpsr.org.

Receive the Active Conscience as an email each month. Sign up here to stay in the loop. Thanks for your interest!