UPCOMING EVENTS

Lessons Learned for Environmental Justice Communities. Communities of Color in Louisiana have long maintained that they are overburdened with industrial pollution, particularly in the region known as Cancer Alley. Efforts to reduce this pollution burden have been hindered by a lack of engagement from the scientific community, as well as a general lack of science literacy among decision-makers. In this presentation, we share results from our recent peer-reviewed research to help inform industrial permitting in Louisiana, with broader relevance to other communities burdened with industrial pollution. In the first study, we evaluated whether toxic air pollution was associated with higher cancer incidence among Louisiana census tracts, after accounting for race, poverty, occupation, smoking, and obesity. In the second study, we assessed whether industrial emissions disproportionately affect communities of Color in Louisiana, and whether potential disparities might be driven by industrial infrastructure, as state regulators have suggested. We will discuss the implications of our findings for communities and decision-makers, as well as opportunities for scientists to contribute to environmental justice more broadly.

This presentation will be a comprehensive Natural Gas 101. Health Educator and Building Electrification Campaign Coordinator Linnea Bond will cover health harms from gas from extraction to use, the effect of gas on global warming, a brief history of the debate around getting rid of gas, and what we need to faze in a plan to stop using fossil fuel, both on an individual level and a city/state level. Philadelphia owns its gas supplier, as opposed to most cities where it is privately owned, so this presentation will also cover the proposed transition for Philadelphia Gas Works and the challenges to transition.

Recording of PSR Pennsylvania's May 4th webinar "Discussion about a New Book - A New War on Cancer: The Unlikely Heroes Revolutionizing Prevention" by Journalist & Author Kristina Marusic, moderated by Julie Becker, M.A., Ph.D., M.P.H.

PSR PA is proud to present this virtual, half-day conference will focus on mental health and wellbeing, climate migration and populations of concern, and social and health inequities. ​​ The speakers will include: Julie Grant, Managing Editor, Allegheny Front; Gary Belkin, MD, PhD, MPH, Founder, Billion Minds Institute; Alice Thompson, Founder, Visible Hands Collaborative; Lorna Rosenberg, Program Manager, Women for a Healthy Environment; Katherine Crowe, PhD, Clinical Psychologist, HARBOR; Zeyneb Magavi, Co-Executive Director, HEET; Esther Obonyo, PhD, Director, Global Building Network, Penn State University.

Continuing our PA Health Check Up series, “Cooking With Gas: Health Harms from Gas Stoves.” This training exposes the harmful air pollutants produced by gas stoves, their negative impacts on the human body, the exacerbated impacts on vulnerable populations, and how health professionals can help their patients reduce their risk.