The chemicals known as per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been widely used since the 1950’s in products ranging from food packaging to fire fighting. The term PFAS describes over 9,000 compounds – most of them are drastically understudied, or completely unstudied in terms of health impacts. PFOA and PFOS are two of the most
MOFGA advocates for policies that reduce all farmers’ and homeowners’ reliance on pesticides, and all citizens’ exposures to pesticides in their diets and in the air and drinking water. We believe that the dramatic increases since the 1950s in childhood and adult cancer rates, as well as immune system and reproductive abnormalities, are directly related
By Judith Perry Laurie Tümer, a photographer who teaches digital imaging, writing and photography, lives and works in New Mexico and is represented by Photo-Eye Gallery in Santa Fe. For more about her work, visit www.photoeye.com/ and www.laurietumer.com. Tümer’s images, inspired by the research of Dr. Richard Fenske, provide a picture of the ubiquitous presence
Maine farmer Ken Geiser directs the Lowell Center for Sustainable Production at the University of Massachusetts in Lowell. He spoke about progress in green chemistry during his keynote at the Common Ground Country Fair. English photo. Exciting Alternatives to Hazardous Technologies Ken Geiser, director of the Lowell Center for Sustainable Production at the University of
Mike Belliveau of the Environmental Health Strategy Center said that the Center tested consumer products for toxic phthalates this year and found them in 20 of 24 products tested, including children’s toys and a raincoat. English photo. The 2008 Teach-In of MOFGA’s Public Policy Committee, held at the Common Ground Country Fair, covered ways to
By Gail Faith Edwards Copyright ©2006 by the author On the night of December 3, 1984, 40 tons of deadly methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas, black green in color, according to those who saw it, leaked from the Union Carbide India Limited Factory and swept through most of Old Bhopal, India, within a few hours. The
by Spencer Aitel Copyright 2006 by the author Following is, verbatim, the keynote speech delivered at MOFGA’s Common Ground Country Fair on Sept. 23, 2005. Aitel is a certified-organic dairy farmer in China, Maine. Opinions expressed in keynote addresses at MOFGA events are those of the speakers and do not necessarily represent the views or
Teach-In at the 2005 Common Ground Country Fair By Jean English Copyright ©2006 by the author “Home is where the harm is,” said Mike Belliveau at a Public Policy Teach-In about healthy homes at the 2005 Common Ground Country Fair. The executive director of the Environmental Health Strategy Center and organizer of the Alliance for
As Goes Cotton… by Alex Owre Copyright 2006 Eli Whitney was just trying to help. Before he invented the cotton gin in 1793, workers removed cotton seeds from the fiber by hand, cleaning one pound a day. Using his simple machine, a single person could clean 50 pounds. In just a few years, this labor-intensive
Forging New Commitments to Fighting Toxics by Sharon Tisher More than 275 participants gathered at the University of New England in Biddeford on October 24 for the largest interdisciplinary gathering focused on environmental health ever held in Maine. Organized by UNE College of Osteopathic Medicine, Physicians for Social Responsibility/ Maine, and the newly organized Environmental
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