Category: Uncategorized
Diane Wilson: The Fight Against Formosa Plastics Corporation
Diane Wilson is an award-winning environmental activist and author. She has won numerous awards for her work in environmentalism, but initially, this was something she never envisioned herself doing. In 1989, Diane Wilson was a shrimp boat captain at a fish house in Calhoun County, Texas, when a co-worker approached her with an article in their hand. What… Read more »
PFAS Action Act: Sewage Sludge Contamination
PFAS contamination via sewage sludge has impacted the lives of many farmers in Maine and across the county, so much so that a sludge crisis has ravaged multiple states. The biggest question on your mind may be, “How does this happen?.” Sewage sludge is the leftover contaminant from treating wastewater. Whenever we flush anything down… Read more »
4 Ways Plastic Bottles Harm Us In Our Day-to-Day Life
Plastic bottles are everywhere, from soda bottles to hair care products. As consumers, we tend to only think about plastic bottles once we discard them, with constant reminders of: “Don’t forget to recycle!” But do we really know how plastic bottles impact us in our day-to-day lives? Here are four essential ways: 1. TOXIC CHEMICALS… Read more »
Conversation with Nse Witherspoon, Executive Director of Children’s Environmental Health Network
Following the release of our report, “Problem Plastic: How Polyester and PET Plastic Can be Unsafe, Unjust, and Unsustainable Materials,” Defend’s Senior Communications Director, Taylor Moore, had the opportunity to chat with Nsedu “Nse” Obot Witherspoon, the Executive Director of the Children’s Environmental Health Network (CEHN). For the past 23 years, Nse has served as a key spokesperson for… Read more »
Honoring Dr. Lani Graham, an Outstanding Health Professional
A family physician, Dr. Lani Graham, MD, MPH, has devoted her career to fighting not only for the health of her patients, but also for the health of the wider human community—here in Maine, and across the nation. “I am deeply touched to be receiving this award from an organization like the Environmental Health Strategy… Read more »
Maine’s Proposal for PFAS-contaminated Sludge: A Bad and a Worse Idea
Maine faces an alarming and growing public health problem as a result of sewage sludge laced with PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), that, when spread as fertilizer on Maine’s farmland, pollutes our food, farms, and groundwater with these toxic chemicals. The state has so far failed to address the problem—and now, it’s proposing a path… Read more »
Tackling Toxic PFAS: Part II
Our recent work tackling toxic PFAS chemicals (per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances) has taken us from farm fields in rural Maine to the nation’s capital. Here’s a peek into our efforts on the state and national fronts to tackle the growing crisis of PFAS contamination in our food, water, and soil. (Read the first installment… Read more »
Tackling Toxic PFAS: Part I
Our recent work tackling toxic PFAS chemicals (per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances) has taken us from farm fields in rural Maine to the nation’s capital. Here’s a peek into our efforts on the state and national fronts to tackle the growing crisis of PFAS contamination in our food, water, and soil. On the National Front… Read more »