10/17/13

The Endocrine Disruption Exchange (TEDX) has developed a new search page for the TEDX List of Potential Endocrine Disruptors that includes 14 different categories to identify the uses and sources of exposure for each chemical.  You can also see a short tutorial on how to use the searchable list.

http://www.endocrinedisruption.org/enews/2013/10/08/tedx-list-of-potential-endocrine-disruptors/

10/16/13

EARTH SCIENCE WEEK UPDATE 
American Geosciences Institute Vol. 11, No. 10: October 2013
http://www.earthsciweek.org/ 

IN THIS ISSUE…
* Act Now to Win Award for Earth Science Teaching
* Classroom Activities Now Searchable Online
* Esri Blogs for Educators Mapping Out GIS Science
* Contest Winners to Be Announced Next Month
* Celebrate Earth Science With NASA Resources
* Post Your Photos Online From Earth Science Week
* Thanks to Earth Science Week’s Generous Sponsors
* Nuclear Regulators Tout Geoscience Careers Online
* Geologic Map Day Boosts Mapping Education
* National Fossil Day Event in DC Cancelled


SELECTED LINKS:

Classroom Activities Now Searchable Online

Ever wish you could go online to search for a classroom activity tailor-made to match the Earth science topic you’re teaching? Visit the continually updated Earth Science Week Classroom Activities page for more than 120 free learning activities, most of them contributed by the leading geoscience agencies and groups that are Earth Science Week partners.

Activities are organized and searchable by various criteria, including specific Earth science topics. To find the perfect activity for your lesson, just click on “Search Classroom Activities.” Search by grade level and science education standard. Maybe most useful, you also can search among 24 categories of Earth science topics, from energy and environment to plate tectonics and weathering.

This updated, database-driven resource is ideal not only for supplementing a prepared curriculum, but also for generating activities that address in-the-news events such as fossil discoveries and volcanic eruptions. See the Classroom Activities page athttp://www.earthsciweek.org/forteachers/classroomactivities.html.


Esri Blogs for Educators Mapping Out GIS Science

How can you explore the Earth Science Week 2013 theme of “Mapping Our World”? Start with longtime program partner Esri. Leading the charge to incorporate GIS (geographic information system) technology and mapping software in Earth science education, Esri is blogging to provide educators with useful resources and information during Earth Science Week 2013.

The first of the recent blog posts, issued just a few days ago, focuses ways that Esri is providing curriculum support for Earth Science Week, including related activities, lessons, data, and web maps (http://gisandscience.com). In addition, another recent blog on “Story Maps” shows how cutting-edge technology is revolutionizing the ways we create and use maps (http://blogs.esri.com/esri/esri-insider/).

GIS technology - which can illuminate features such as local geology, watersheds, and roads - can require some training before it can be used effectively. To learn more about GIS and Esri, see http://www.esri.com.


Celebrate Earth Science With NASA Resources
 
Throughout Earth Science Week 2013 and beyond, students of all ages can join NASA in celebrating the importance of maps to represent complex phenomena about our planet. A wealth of educational resources, blog posts, and other items can be found online (http://nasaesw.strategies.org).

For example, a new “Mapping Our World” sampler resource is available in both English and Spanish (http://nasaeswespanol.strategies.org/ciencias-terrestres-recursos-educativos-nasa-espanol/). And you are invited to participate in social media events to interact with NASA Earth explorers, see how they use mapping technologies in their research, and learn ways to use real data and images (http://nasaesw.strategies.org/events/).


See more: http://www.earthsciweek.org/

10/11/13

The IPM Practitioner’s 2013 Directory of Least-Toxic Pest Control Products
is now available online. This Directory lists more than 2,000 products such as baits, traps, pheromones, microbials, biocontrol agents, and other materials needed for IPM.
 Contact information is provided for more than 600 national and international suppliers. The Directory can be found at the following link http://www.birc.org/Directory.htm

Please contact me if you have any questions,
William Quarles, Ph.D.
Bio-Integral Resource Center
PO Box 7414
Berkeley, CA 94707

10/10/13

Chemicals of concern demystified by Jim Stanislaski AIA / October 2, 2013  http://www.architects.org/news/chemicals-concern-demystified

 http://www.architects.org/news/practice


Photo by June Lee. Taken December 6, 2012 at BSA Space-hosted forum, Road Work Ahead.

On September 24 at BSA Space, the BSA Committee on the Environment (COTE) hosted a lively roundtable discussion regarding how chemicals in the built environment affect human health. 

Moderated by Andrea Love AIA of Payette, the panel included experts with diverse backgrounds, experience, and opinions. Breeze Glazer of Perkins+Will gave a designer’s perspective, Paula Buick of Payette offered insights as a former intensive care nurse, Melissa McCullough of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute spoke from an owner’s and industrial hygienist’s point of view, and Meredith Elbaum summarized her work with the Health Product Declaration Collaborative.

Some of the toughest questions of the evening included these: As nonscientists, how do architects translate the often confusing data on building materials and design the safest possible environments for human health? How do we keep up with changing materials? For example, reading a material safety data sheet on a floor tile tells only part of the story. McCullough outlined how Dana-Farber Cancer has developed a methodical process for reviewing building materials and suggested a risk-based assessment. Glazer outlined how Perkins+Will has used organizations, tools, and frameworks such as LEED, Pharos, the Living Building Challenge, and the Healthy Building Network.

“The BSA has taken a stance on energy and many other sustainability aspects that affect our work as architects, but we [the BSA] have been largely silent on this important issue,” said audience member and current BSA president Mike Davis FAIA. Davis asked for help from the panel to draft an official BSA policy on healthy building materials as a means of showing leadership and continuing the discussion and education among designers and the larger group of stakeholders in related industries. Making a positive impact will require partnerships with multiple stakeholders, including owners, architects, interior designers, contractors, manufacturers, vendors, health experts, and chemical companies.

If you would like to help, please contact BSA COTE co-chairs Philippe Généreux AIA or Jim Stanislaski AIA.



10/7/13

Living Downstream

Renowned biologist Sandra Steingraber has made fighting environmentally induced cancers her life’s work. We hear excerpts of the documentary film, Living Downstream, which chronicles her efforts to create a world free of cancer causing toxics.
Saturday, 05 October 2013 13:17By StaffMaking Contact National Radio Project 
http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/19246-living-downstream