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Healthy kids need a healthy environment
It's not fair that we leave our descendants to pay with their health and security for the environmental damage we created, knowingly or unknowingly. (Credit: Peggy Olive)
Peggy Olive is Scientist Emeritus at the British Columbia Cancer Agency. Her research focused on the use of DNA damage as a way to predict patient response to cancer treatments. She is involved with the Suzuki Elders, a voluntary association of self-identified elders working with and through the David Suzuki Foundation to mentor, motivate and support other elders and younger generations in dialogue and action on environmental issues. Docs Talk asked Dr. Olive to share her thoughts on the intergenerational dimension of environmental health issues.
Docs Talk: What motivated you to volunteer as a Suzuki Elder?
Dr. Olive: In November 2009, I awoke to hear CBC's Vancouver morning-show host Rick Cluff announcing a meeting to be held that day at the Vancouver Public Library. The Suzuki Elders were hosting an Elders and Environment Forum. Although I'd been a volunteer with the David Suzuki Foundation since retiring earlier that year, I hadn't known about this group, so I attended the meeting, which led to my joining the Association of Suzuki Elders with the intention of motivating myself and others to action on critical environmental issues. We've recently organized a successful second forum, and our membership is growing.
Continue reading »Does eco-friendly hair dye exist?
Yes. There is such a thing as eco-friendly hair dye! (Credit: DesolationSmile via Flickr)
Whenever I see that guilty look on the faces of friends or coworkers, I know they've purchased makeup containing Dirty Dozen ingredients or they're about to have their hair dyed.
Jen, owner of Clover Earthkind Hair Salon filled me in on eco-friendly colours. (They do exist!)
What hair dye chemicals should be avoided?
Avoid ammonia, petrochemicals, sulfates, phthalates, parabens and P-phenylenediamine.
It's difficult to find permanent colours that are free of PPD. PPD-free products can use aminophenols, but if you're allergic or sensitive to PPD you may also be sensitive to those, too. Find a hairdresser educated in the prefixes of these chemicals!
Continue reading »Science literacy is good for society
Some moms and dads fear questions such as "Why is the sky blue?" and "Why is the moon out during the day?" (Credit: Kristin Brenemen via Flickr)
Kids ask questions. Sometimes adults feel inadequate if they don't have ready answers. But when I became a teacher, I learned quickly that there's nothing wrong with saying, "I don't know." Teaching children how to learn is more useful than feeding them facts.
Many parents, though, believe they must appear infallible in the eyes of their children. A U.K. survey found that some moms and dads fear questions such as "Why is the sky blue?" and "Why is the moon out during the day?" Math and science queries were the biggest stumpers.
Researchers questioned more than 2,000 parents before The Big Bang U.K. Young Scientists and Engineers Fair. Many respondents admitted to "furtive researching to save face before answering their child."
Spreading climate messages in the Year of the Water Dragon
More than a decade ago, Chinese New Year was mostly an immigrant affair in Canada. New Canadian families from Hong Kong, China, Taiwan and other parts of Asia would typically celebrate at home or in Chinese restaurants in Vancouver's Chinatown and Richmond, or in Markham, Richmond Hill and Scarborough in the Greater Toronto Region.
Today, Chinese Canadians no longer hold the monopoly on Chinese New Year celebrations. It has now become an intercultural festival for all Canadians to share and enjoy. At the David Suzuki Foundation, the Year of the Water Dragon, which only comes once every 60 years, is shaping up to be a busy year of public engagement, especially with Canada's Chinese language media like Sing Tao Daily and Fairchild Media Group.
Continue reading »Beware of pinkwashing: A new film reminds us it's what's inside that counts.
There is something wrong when a company that promotes itself as a champion in the fight against breast cancer refuses to remove cancer-causing substances from its products.
Environmentalists have learned to beware of corporate greenwashing — deceptive marketing campaigns that exaggerate the extent to which a company or product is environmentally friendly, sometimes to distract attention away from the less green aspects of the company's operations. Some classic examples of greenwashing involve companies spending more on advertising their green credentials than on actually greening corporate practices.
A new National Film Board documentary exposes a twin evil: "pinkwashing." This term describes "a company or organization that claims to care about breast cancer by promoting a pink ribbon product, but at the same time produces, manufactures and/or sells products that are linked to the disease" (see: thinkbeforeyoupink.org).
In the new movie, Pink Ribbons Inc, appearing in theatres this weekend, Montreal producer Léa Pool critically examines the explosion of the "pink ribbon" brand. A growing number of companies and products are involved one way or another in raising or donating money for breast cancer research. Now there's not necessarily anything wrong with that — it's a worthy cause to be sure and beneficiary organizations do important work. But there is something wrong when a company that promotes itself as a champion in the fight against breast cancer refuses to remove cancer-causing substances from its products.
Continue reading »Action still needed on air quality (Gasp! Fraser Institute has it wrong)
As Canada's population ages and becomes more vulnerable to the effects of air pollution. (Credit: Fanboy30 via Flickr)
If we're to believe a new report from the Fraser Institute, Canadians can breathe easy when it comes to air pollution. According to the conservative think tank, air quality in Canada has generally improved since 1970, so why worry about it?
Here's why.
There is no "safe" threshold for exposure to key pollutants. Current levels of air pollution take a toll on human health. The Canadian Medical Association estimates that in single year air pollution in Canada is responsible for 21,000 deaths, 11,000 hospital admissions, 92,000 trips to the emergency room and 620,000 doctor's office visits. The associated economic costs are pegged at $8 billion and rising... up to $250 billion by 2031 as Canada's population ages and becomes more vulnerable to the effects of air pollution.
Continue reading »A David Suzuki Foundation moment in history: the Declaration inspires a symphony
For the past 20 years, the Declaration of Interdependence has inspired people around the world to live lighter on the Earth. You only have to look at the comments people leave after signing the Declaration to know its words resonate deep within. But 10 years ago, it gave rise to something particularly special: a symphony.
The story began when the Tohuku University Choir from Sendai, Japan commissioned Finnish composer Pehr Henrik Nordgren to compose a symphony in honour of its 40th anniversary. For two years, the choir searched for lyrics to accompany it, until someone happened upon a copy of the Declaration that David Suzuki and Tara Cullis had written for the 1992 Earth Summit with the help of Raffi Cavoukian, Wade Davis and Guujaaw.
Continue reading »
