Recommended Sites
Visit these organizations to learn more about the interface of the environment and our health:
American Academy of Environmental MedicineFinding doctors who don't poo-pah you if you suspect that exposures are causing health problems can be a bit of a challenge. Docs affiliated with AAEM won't brush your theory aside! The AAEM website has a searchable database to find environmental doctors.
Birth Defects RegistryThe Birth Defects Registry is a nonprofit that does far more than its name implies, including providing lots of healthy baby resources, and the Baby Green Genes Marketplace, a site that points you to hundreds of the greenest and cleanest products on the market!
Collaborative on Health and the Environment
The Collaborative(aka CHE) is a nonprofit partnership of individuals and organizations working collectively to advance knowledge and effective action to address growing concerns about the links between human health and environmental factors. Their toxics database is a searchable archive that highlights the connections between particular contaminants and the diseases and disorders they are associated with.
This site is run by Environmental Health Sciences, a not-for-profit organization founded in 2002 to help increase public understanding of emerging scientific links between environmental exposures and human health. They aggregate and syndicate news on their website (and you can find some of today's stories linked on the Toxic Burden home page and the Toxic Burden Blog.
EWG has been a leader in identifying a number of the problems associated with environmental toxins. They have a great database for searching cosmetics and personal care products to help find the least toxic alternatives, a national tapwater contamination database that will help you learn about drinking water quality in your community, a safe-fish list and tuna calculator, and an auto-asthma database you can use to check your car's emissions.
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
NIEHS is a division of the National Institutes of Health. Their mission is to use our knowledge about environmental sciences to understand human biology and human disease. They publish Environmental Health Perspectives, the leading peer-reviewed journal on envirnomental health topics. They also have the Toxnet database, which is invaluable for learning more about specific chemicals.
Physicians for Social Responsiblity
Founded in 1961, Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR) soon made its mark by documenting the presence of Strontium-90, a highly radioactive waste product of atmospheric nuclear testing, in children’s teeth. This finding led to the Limited Nuclear Test Ban treaty that ended atmospheric nuclear testing. Since then, PSR has brought the medical and public health prospective to advance environmental health and protect today’s and future generations from the effects of pesticides and mercury and to promote renewable energy solutions and energy security.