Kathy Sessions's blog

Champions in the Spotlight

Major awards are shining much-deserved light on champions of environmental health and justice. The recent winners have varied stories; there's a student, an attorney, a pediatrician, biologists, a grantmaker, and an environmental health advocate. But their common story is about people growing into powerful advocates for public health, the environment, and social equity. Read on for a healthy dose of inspiration!

Flint and Us

Catastrophes like the Flint water crisis could happen in Pittsburgh, if we ignore the needs of our community and believe that public health and prosperity cannot go hand-in-hand. Heinz Endowments President Grant Oliphant writes about why Flint matters and how the principles of p4: People, Planet, Place and Performance need to guide us in our growth as a modern city.

Flint in Focus

Clean drinking water is a health essential, but too often not people’s reality. This post explores what the unfolding story in Flint Michigan is revealing about environmental health hazards, as well as what it's catalyzing in philanthropy to improve environmental conditions for healthy living.

A Right to Know: School Environmental Health Hazards

At P.S. 51, an elementary school in the Bronx that was sited in a former lamp factory, children had been reporting assorted illnesses over the years. Testing at P.S. 51 revealed dangerous levels of toxins, but parents weren't informed for more than six months; when a report was finally released to the community, it was too technical to be properly understood. To help redress this problem, the New York State Health Foundation (NYSHealth) awarded a grant to New York Lawyers for the Public Interest to reach out to P.S. 51 and other school districts to offer training, assistance, and educational materials to help parents advocate for improvements to school siting policies and practices.

What Lies Beneath: Great Lakes fossil fuel development triggers need for more cross-boundary partnership

Rapidly escalating fossil fuel development is posing new threats to the Great Lakes region. Left unchecked, a surge in oil and gas development in the bi-national Great Lakes could reverse recent gains made in the basin, as well as threaten public safety and air and water quality. This post highlights concerns about the impacts of fossil fuel development in the Great Lakes and opportunities for funder collaboration in response.

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