|
Dear Maricela,
"Climate-related environmental disasters have not let up this summer," states Dr. Perera in her interview with Science News below.
As mother nature bellows bringing forth destruction and warning, we need to heed to her call and cry out to our leaders charged to protect children’s environmental health and justice, CEHJ. Their action is urgently needed.
Although there is much to be done, we must also amplify recent environmental victories. For these are a testament that CEHJ is attainable. This summer:
- The NYC Council passed 3 bills to strengthen lead poisoning prevention.
- The Montana state court ruled in favor of a youth driven lawsuit stating that the state violated their right to “clean and healthful environment.” A landmark decision.
We must sustain and build on these efforts. Below actions we can take in the upcoming weeks in celebration of Children's Environmental Health Day. Read more on the wins in the newsletter.
To greater CEHJ wins!
| |
|
We are very happy to report that the Center has been awarded the ECHO 2 grant from the National Institutes of Health, NIH, which will help fund our work for the next seven years. ECHO is a national research study working to advance the health of our children. ECHO studies 50,000+ infants, teens, and their families, engages over 1, 200 researchers in 46 states and territories and has produced more than 900 papers.
For the last seven years, ECHO 1 allowed us to forge ahead with our research on children’s environmental health and justice, (CEHJ). Our research and that of the other scientists in the ECHO Consortium has served to safeguard CEHJ and inform both state and federal policy. We are excited to continue to build on our Center’s solid research and educations systems.
In the coming months, the Center will kick-off 2 new studies:
1) Arsenic and Rice Consumption Study will explore how different cultures prepare rice, and how their preferences of rice grains and consumption behaviors may impact arsenic exposure. This will be framed within the context of a warming climate and decreased food supply.
2) Airway Tree Study aims to investigate how environmental factors during early life may influence lung health. Previous research has shown that exposures to pollutants, allergies, viruses, and bacteria in early stages of development can affect lung health later on. This study will increase our understanding of the underlying causes of lung diseases.
| |
Climate Change & Children's Health | |
|
Wildfires have been burning in Greece this July, including this blaze outside of Athens, after days of extreme heat. These climate-related disasters especially harm the physical and mental health of children.
RIS MESSINIS/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
| |
May was National Clean Air Awareness Month and Dr. Perera continues to promote awareness and action around the causes of air pollution and climate change. Her new book “Children and the Perils of Climate Change,” has garnered significant attention, leading to in-depth interviews with esteemed experts and influential leaders in this field. Please find highlights below: | | |
|
Clinton Global Initiative Too Small to Fail Conference
On May 11, leaders from philanthropy, media, health, climate, early childhood, government and business came together at the Clinton Global Initiative Too Small to Fail Conference in NYC to discuss the implications of climate change and strategies to support young children’s healthy development. Dr. Perera was interviewed on her new book, where she discussed the latest science on the impact of climate change on children's health and brain development and touched on effective climate mitigation strategies from the community based and policy level. The conference's multi-sectorial approach to tackling climate change is a first step towards finding scalable solutions to the impacts on climate change on children’s health.
| | |
Early Learning Nation Interview
For Mother’s Day, Early Learning Nation Magazine asked researchers and advocates what’s one thing our readers can do to make the world better for mothers? Here is what Dr. Perera said:
| | |
NY Urged to Reduce "Forever Chemicals" in Water | |
|
On June 28, environmental experts from New York, including Dr. Julie Herbstman, advised the State Health Department to mirror an Environmental Protection Agency proposal and reduce the amount of harmful "forever chemicals" in drinking water to the lowest levels that tests can detect. Dr. Herbstman is a member of New York’s Drinking Water Quality Council. The council provides recommendations to the New York State Department of Health on emerging contaminants in drinking water. The aim is to maintain and improve the quality of New York’s drinking water supplies and infrastructure. The council consists of representatives from government, academia, the public, and drinking water systems who are uniquely qualified, with expertise in drinking water, water resources, environmental conservation, environmental engineering, microbiology, toxicology, and health risk assessment.
More Information
| |
Judge rules in favor of Montana youths in landmark climate decision | |
Plaintiffs in Held v. Montana arrive at the Lewis and Clark County Courthouse in Helena, Mont., in June. A Montana court ruled in their favor on Monday. (Thom Bridge/AP) | |
|
The Washington Post
By Kate Selig
August 14, 2023
In the first ruling of its kind nationwide, a Montana state court decided Monday in favor of young people who alleged the state violated their right to a “clean and healthful environment” by promoting the use of fossil fuels…. In this case, it involved 16 young Montanans, ranging in age from 5 to 22, who brought the nation’s first constitutional and first youth-led climate lawsuit to go to trial. Those youths are elated by the decision, according to Our Children’s Trust. READ MORE
The success of Montana youths is heartening as we reflect on the 2019 Case of Juliana v. United States in which youth also held that the government’s inaction on addressing climate change violated their constitutional right to life, liberty, and property. See The Case of Juliana v. U.S. — Children and the Health Burdens of Climate Change, Renee N. Salas, M.D., M.P.H., Wendy Jacobs, J.D., and Frederica Perera, Dr.P.H., Ph.D.
| |
|
New York City Council Passes
Three CEHJ Bills
| |
|
This summer, July 2023, the New York City Council passed three bills to further strengthen Child Lead Poisoning Prevention.
Findings from the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Report to the New York City Council on Progress in Preventing Elevated Lead Levels in New York City, September 2022 prompted regulatory action. WE ACT our community partner was mentioned in the Harlem World Magazine among leaders in this effort.
NYC DOHM findings affecting our community:
In 2021, 2,557 New York City children under 6 years of age were identified with blood lead level of 5mcg/dl. A decline from 2020 when there were 2,603 children with blood lead levels of 5 mcg/dl and a 93% decline since 2005 when there were 37,344 children with blood lead levels of 5mcg/dl or greater.
-
In 2021, Asian, Black, and Latino children represented 81% of children under age 6 newly identified with blood lead levels of 5 mcg/dl or greater.
-
Children living in public housing had a lower risk for lead exposure on average than children Citywide living in private housing.
-
In 2021, 390 people of childbearing age (18-49 years) with blood lead levels (5 mcg/dL or greater). More than 80% of those pregnant (305) were foreign born. People from 6 countries represented more than 60% of all cases.
- 45% were born in Mexico.
- 19% South Asian countries of Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, and Nepal
-
7% were born in Guatemala.
| |
*Note: NY State dropped lead poisoning prevention levels from 5mcg/dl to 3.5 mcg/dL
Source: NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, NYCDOHMH Report to the New York City Council on Progress in Preventing Elevated Lead Levels in New York City, Submitted by NYDOHM, September 2022
| |
|
Dr. Marcela Tamayo Ortiz will be joining us as an Associate Professor on July 1. Dr. Tamayo Ortiz has been working with the Mexican Institute of Social Security, where she has served as the Head of the Occupational Health Research Unit since 2020. She is a professor at the National Institute of Public Health-Mexico, where she mentored over a dozen graduate students and trainees.
She holds an ScD in environmental health from the T.H. Chan Harvard School of Public Health and is a renowned expert on the effects of chemical and non-chemical exposures on maternal-child health. She has been involved in various US-Mexico NIH-funded collaborations, including long-standing partnerships with the PROGRESS and ELEMENT birth cohorts. In recognition of her contributions to the field of environmental epidemiology, Dr. Tamayo Ortiz currently serves as the chair of the Latin-American and Caribbean Chapter of the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology.
Dr. Tamayo Ortiz will collaborate with CCCEH's Community Outreach and Translation Core, she also is a team member of Little Things Matter. She loves music and is an avid swimmer, already splashing about in NYC's pools.
| |
Herlinda Bermejo joined the CCCEH Fair Start and ECHO Study team as a Research Assistant, in August 2023. She is a graduate of CUNY Baruch College with a B.A in Biology and Psychology, as well as a minor in English. Before joining the center, she worked at the NYP Hospital as a clinical research coordinator with the OPTOS study, recruiting participants to obtain retinal imaging during different trimesters. Having previously worked in the beauty industry, she is especially interested in learning more about these chemicals and their effects on pregnant women and children's health. | |
CCCEH Youth Summer Internships with New York Presbyterian | |
In collaboration with NYP Summer Youth Experience eight youths from our Center studies participated in the 5 week program. The youth worked in a variety of settings developing skills and gaining knowledge about the health field. Below we highlight Joseph C's experience. | |
|
My NYP Summer Youth Experience was something I didn't know I needed at that particular moment in my life. I was working a job where I did not see myself reaching or fulfilling my goals and felt stuck.
The NYP Summer Youth Experience brought me connections and experience that not only will go at the top of my résumé, but will also follow me throughout my life. The last place I thought I would make friends would be a hospital, but I was wrong. I got to put my social skills to work every day in a way that felt fulfilling and not draining. I was also taught by peers how to use the computers to reach nurses about their patients' needs.
After the experience, I feel empowered to use the skills I gained and ready for my next job. I felt that I was allowed the space and freedom to use my creativity and apply my personal strengths with social, physical, and mental assignments. I enjoyed making connections of all walks of life and ages. Rarely did I feel like I couldn't help or contribute because of my lack of experience.
In my internship, I gained knowledge of medical terms and abbreviations that I would previously pretend to understand when watching Grey's Anatomy, as well as got a better understanding of how workers of the medical field function.
My communication skills grew as I was assigned to greet and have conversations with emotionally vulnerable people and to provide a caring ear to listen to their concerns and problems.
I also learned different ways a group can successfully achieve goals and work. For example, I learned about the part I had to play as a member of the medical team and how I could contribute. I also learned different ways the team worked together to resolve challenges that arise when caring for patients. I am also glad that I connected with my directors who offered to serve as references for future work.
-Joseph C
| |
Community Outreach & Translation Core | |
Futures Ignite Outreach Day | |
CCCEH's EHJ Advocates table at the Futures Ignite Annual Summer Youth Block Party. Skarlette Troncoso and Jaslynn Montilla had an opportunity to describe Center research, distribute materials and meet fellow environmental advocates. | |
CCCEH EHJ Advocates connecting with local environmentalists. | |
Columbia University's Dr. Stephanie Lovinsky-Desir, MD Associate Professor of Pediatrics in Environmental Science and her team present their student lead research. Future's Ignite Youth collaborated with Columbia MPH students to track air pollution in their immediate surroundings. | |
|
High school interns visit the
Center’s Molecular Epidemiology Laboratory, the METlab & Dr. Pearson's Lab
| |
|
Youth observations:
The young women were impressed by the different paths their hosts experienced before coming to Columbia in pursuit of environmental science and justice careers, "they were so knowledgeable and passionate about their work", Lela and Emmy agreed and ".... it is nice for us to meet Dr. Schilling, a woman and a respected lab Director.
We enjoyed learning about the element tellurium, understanding
" -omics" and more on arsenic and mercury. We knew we were chatting with amazing detail-oriented scientists when Dr. Glabonjat told us the machine that processes the metals identification takes "3 minutes and 36 seconds".
| |
After visiting with Dr. Pearson, Emmy shared, "...visiting the lab helped me see how my "AP chemistry class translates to life and career." Lela was especially impressed to learn, that the aftermath of wild fire led Dr. Pearson to continue at his college internship because "he really wanted to learn about how animals manage distress after the fire..that was cool ...so is that what led him to study the impact of complex environmental stressors during development and across the life course like it says on his bio?" | |
|
Children's Aid Society
Salome Ureña Parent Group
| |
|
Air Pollution and Safety Session
To meet the needs of our community partners, Anabel Cole, CCCEH's Community Outreach Coordinator, met with over 25 women from the Children's Aid Society/Salome Ureña Group based in Washington Heights to address the health risks New Yorkers could face as a result of the Canadian wild fires. The session addressed air pollution, air quality, risks to young children and elderly and safety measures. In addition to providing NYC DOH resources, the group was taught how to make a Corsi-Rosenthal box filter, which uses easily accessible items to build a home-made effective air filter. See links below to make your own.
| |
|
Las Hermanas De Apoyo Mother's Day Event
CCCEH research workers Anabel Cole and Diurka Diaz attended a Dominican Mother's Day celebration sponsored by Las Hermanas de Apoyo, a community-based group providing education and support services to women in northern Manhattan and in the Dominican Republic. The event featured presentations by a Gynecologist, an Emergency Medicine Physician, and CCCEH team of Children's Environmental Health & Justice educators. The presenters spoke about the importance of prenatal care and family planning, identifying emergencies during pregnancy, and reducing harmful environmental exposures.
| |
There is an uptick in COVID cases in Washington Heights. Use masks in crowded settings. Vaccine information.
We are a closely connected city -all neighborhoods stay safe.
Information provided by Cheyenne Morrillo, NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, CCCEH Community Advisory & Stakeholder Board member.
NYC Vaccine/Booster Finder /
| |
Uptown United Summer Block Party | |
|
Julie Herbstman, PhD
Director, Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health
Frederica P. Perera, DrPH, PhD
Director of Translational Research and Founding Director
Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health
Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health
mailman.columbia.edu/ccceh
| | | | |
