I wish all of you reading this blog here were sitting with me as I write. Together we would mourn this week’s release of the report, Exposure Investigation: Biological Monitoring for Exposure to Herbicides in the Highway 36 Corridor. The report contains vague statistics about ways the government can “normalize” pesticide detections in our bodies.
We are your David in a world of Goliaths!
Feisty. Tenacious. Grassroots. These are words our members have used to describe us. I offer proof that we are living up to that reputation! In the span of just 9 days, Beyond Toxics has made its mark in towns across the state: in Portland, Salem, Triangle Lake, Selma and Eugene!
Exposures to Air Pollution in Medford, Oregon
Executive Director Lisa Arkin and I made the three hour drive to Medford, Oregon to give an Asthma Care Workshop. A long trip for us, but well worth it. Last summer, UNETE, a farmworkers’ advocacy organization, invited us to collaborate with them in doing a workshop (see our pictures from the workshop) for the people they serve.
Hide and Seek: What is the forest industry trying to hide?
As a result of an Register-Guard guest editorial last month, I sparked a firestorm of controversy proposing something simple and obvious: we should speak up if our government tries to convince the public not to worry about finding dangerous pesticides in the bodies of children who live in rural Oregon.
The Human Tongue As An Air Monitoring Station
It sure is lucky for the owners of Seneca Biomass that our tongue can’t collect toxic emission data admissible in a court of law. If there was a monitor as sensitive as the human tongue--or as sensitive as the lungs of an asthmatic child, we wouldn’t have any trouble proving the case that their biomass plant in West Eugene is fouling our air.
OTA is now...Beyond Toxics!
An organization that decides to change its name undertakes an exploration of their intentions, desires and aspirations. That is why I am thrilled by the name chosen by our Board of Directors, staff and members : Beyond Toxics!
“Living Downstream” in Deadwood, OR
In late August our organization hosted an event in Deadwood, OR at their community center where we showed the film “Living Dowstream”, a documentary based on the book written by Sandra Steingraber, a biologist and author, whom you may recall came to Eugene earlier this year to speak about environmental health, pesticides, and human rights.
Has the government sprayed poisons on your route home today?
When you drive home today, will you be putting your health at risk?
That is the question Beyond Toxics put to the Director of Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) yesterday in a one-on-one meeting.
Our new report assesses the environmental impact of pesticides on five state highways
A new report, released in late August, provides Oregonians with an assessment of the environmental impact of pesticides on five state highways.
