Taking Control of Your Body
Many organizations address the intersection between women’s health and the environment. These resources can help you become more informed, practice prevention and lead a low-impact lifestyle.
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Practicing Prevention
Being a smart consumer is one of the best ways a woman can prevent environmental illness, says Tina Eshaghpour, women’s health researcher for the Women’s Foundation of California. "I always assumed if a product is on the shelf, someone has proven it to be safe," she says. "But that is not the case."
June Zeitlin: Empowering Women, Saving Lives
Attorney June Zeitlin is the executive director of the Women’s Environment and Development Organization (WEDO), an international advocacy group working to empower female policymakers around the world. Established in 1990 by the late U.S. Congresswoman Bella Abzug (D-NY) and veteran feminist activist and journalist Mim Kelber, WEDO works closely with the United Nations on women’s […]
Soupersize Nutrition
Nothing beats the aroma and taste of homemade soup on chilly autumn evenings. These days, however, market leaders like Campbell’s are not seeing their customary growth and profits. The reason may be because people are becoming more aware of what they eat, and many no longer consider typical condensed soup—loaded with sodium, and filled with overcooked vegetables, limp noodles and some type of animal-based stock—to be part of a healthy diet.
Frugal Environmental Living
It’s not easy being green, but does it also have to be expensive? It’s a question I’ve frequently pondered as my husband and I have balanced our commitment to the environment with the realities of paying for graduate school, working in lower-paying nonprofit jobs, and suffering through periodic bouts of unemployment. Over the years I’ve evolved some basic strategies to walk more lightly on the Earth without breaking our budget.
Catalog of Woes?
In 2001, American catalog companies sent out 17 billion catalogs, Environmental Defense reports. That’s 59 for every man, woman and child in the U.S., comprising 12 percent of all printing and writing paper last year. And most of them contain no recycled content. "The catalog industry is one of the most destructive and wasteful sectors of the paper industry," says Todd Paglia of Forest Ethics. A little recycled content could make a big impact, paper activists say.
Hot Rocks
The rock piles outside the Western Mineral Products plant were too good to pass up. "We all played over there," recalls Kevin Reich, who moved to the neighborhood as a sixth-grader in 1979. But the rock piles were the by-product of processing vermiculite ore mined by W.R. Grace & Company in Libby, Montana, and they’re now known to contain asbestos.
George Bush: Can’t Live With Him, Can Live Without Him
There’s hardly an issue where Bush’s rhetoric isn’t diametrically opposite to his actual policies. This is especially true in his doublespeak on women’s issues. While Bush proclaims, "the advance of liberty and the advance of women’s rights are ultimately inseparable," he pursues an ideologically motivated anti-choice agenda at the expense of women’s lives and the planet.
Flying the Dirty Skies
It has never been easier to fly. Internet-based services and third-party affiliates like Travelocity.com and CheapTickets.com now offer plane tickets at all-time lows, conveniently purchased with a simple click of the mouse. While these fares may seem like a dream come true for low-budget travelers, the resulting surge in air traffic carries with it major environmental costs.
E-LAW’s Big Impact
The nine staff members of Eugene, Oregon-based Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide (E-LAW) have a disproportionate impact around the world. Since its founding in 1989 by grassroots lawyers from 10 countries, the organization has grown into a network connecting 300 lawyers and scientists in 60 countries.