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Voice of the Environment's mission is to educate the public regarding
the transfer of public trust assets into private, mostly corporate, hands. |
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Ukiah office:
1330 Boonville Rd
Ukiah, CA 95482
707-467-0329
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Marin office:
270 Beach Rd
Belvedere, CA 94920
415-435-2007
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For more than a decade, Voice of the Environment has stood up for the people and our communities against the avarice of corporations and the misguided policies of the corporate-dominated state. |
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 Why did the CDC and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) allow mercury exposures from childhood vaccines to more than double between 1988 and 1992 without bothering to calculate cumulative totals and their potential risks?
Why was there a corresponding spike in reported cases of autism spectrum disorders (ASD)? Why did autism grow from a relatively rare incidence of 1 in every 10,000 births in the 1980s to 1 in 500 in the late 1990s? Why did it continue to increase to 1 in 250 in 2000 and then 1 in 150 today? Why are rates of ADD, ADHC, speech delay, and other childhood disorders also rising, and why does 1 in every 5 American children have a developmental disorder or behavioral problem?
Autism has traditionally been a disease of industrialized nations, at least until recent years. But not all Western countries have autism epidemics. Autism spectrum disorder is much more prevalent in the US than in countries that removed thimerosal from vaccines.
Does mercury in vaccines cause autism in children? A definitive answer remains elusive. Other possible environmental triggers include: mercury in fish and amalgam fillings, mercury and other emissions from power plants, pesticides, PCBs, flame retardants, jet fuel, live viruses in vaccines, and more. It is plausible that any combination of the above, with or without thimerosal exposure added into the mix, might cause harm to some fetuses and infant children,
Voice of the Environment is determined to play a helpful role in an ongoing investigation to get to the bottom of the tragedy of autism. Working with the California State legislature's Blue Ribbon Commission on Autism, the M.I.N.D. Institute (UC Davis Medical Center), and myriad organizations and individuals around the country, we hope to see an end to the autism epidemic and a sharp curtailment of ASD.
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Find doctors in your area with special expertise in autism research and treatment
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April 25, 2008
Autism Risk Linked To Distance From Power Plants, Other Mercury-releasing Sources
Is the risk of autism greater for children who live closer to the pollution source?
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April 16, 2008
Canada First to Label ‘Bisphenol A’ As Officially Dangerous
ealth Canada is calling bisphenol A a dangerous substance, making it the first regulatory body in the world to reach such a determination and taking the initial step toward measures to control exposures to it.
... more
April 13, 2008
The autism alarm
What if you lived in a country where one child out of every 150 was kidnapped? There would be national outrage on all fronts, and we would see unprecedented action.
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March 27, 2008
The Next Big Autism Bomb: Are 1 in 50 Kids Potentially At Risk?
On Tuesday, March 11, a conference call was held between vaccine safety officials at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, several leading experts in vaccine safety research, and executives from America's Health Insurance Plans, (the HMO trade association) to discuss childhood mitochondrial dysfunction and its potential link to autism and vaccines.
... more
March 20, 2008
Give us answers on vaccines
By refusing to address what really happened to Hannah — by commanding parents to settle down and adhere to the nation's rigid immunization regime — officials will only drive people away from vaccines in anxiety-ridden droves.
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February 15, 2008
A Silent Pandemic: Industrial Chemicals Are Impairing the Brain Development of Children Worldwide
Fetal and early childhood exposures to industrial chemicals in the environment can damage the developing brain and can lead to neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs)—autism, attention deficit disorder (ADHD), and mental retardation.
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October 29, 2007
Autism screenings urged for all toddlers
The country's leading pediatricians group is making its strongest push yet to have all children screened for autism twice by age 2, warning of symptoms such as babies who don't babble at 9 months and 1-year-olds who don't point to toys.
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October 12, 2007
Waters and Kraus Lawsuit re Mercury Poisoning from Vaccine
The Dallas-based law firm of Waters & Kraus announced today that it has received documents as a result of the discovery process in the case of Counter v. Eli Lilly & Company, et al, currently pending in Brazoria County, Texas that come from the archives of Eli Lilly & Company.
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October 5, 2007
Mercury in vaccines
The recent Centers for Disease Control (CDC) study on the relationship between mercury exposure and developmental delays, reported in The Chronicle ("Mercury in vaccines seems safe for kids," Sept. 27) will not settle the controversy for several reasons.
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September 27, 2007
Mercury in vaccines seems safe for kids
A study of 1,047 children who received mercury-containing vaccines as infants has concluded the mercury does not cause learning difficulties or developmental delays.
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August 13, 2007
Our Assumptions About What Causes Chronic Diseases Could Be Wrong
Martha Herbert, a pediatric neurologist at Boston's Massachusetts General Hospital, studies brain images of children with autism.
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July 30, 2007
Pesticide link to autism suspected
Women who live near California farm fields sprayed with organochlorine pesticides may be more likely to give birth to children with autism, according to a study by state health officials to be published today.
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July 23, 2007
Bush Will Veto Mercury Ban Bill
President Bush is to veto a bill that would ban mercury in flu vaccines for children despite its known links to autism and other neurological disorders and despite the fact that he pledged in 2004 to support such a move when campaigning for re-election.
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July 19, 2007
The dangers of lead
When it comes to lead, there has been ample documentation of its ill effects on children: learning disabilities, impaired hearing, kidney damage. What's news is that it may have tremendous ill effects on public safety as well.
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July 13, 2007
The Unmedicated Mind
From lobotomies with ice picks to early antidepressants that caused brain hemorrhaging, Americans have a complicated and ever-changing approach to treating mental illness.
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July 2, 2007
The Persecution of Andrew Wakefield, M.D.
In a few weeks, Andrew Wakefield, M.D., will be defending himself against charges of professional misconduct lodged against him by British physicians running the General Medical Council of England.
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June 13, 2007
Letter to NBC News President re Autism Omnibus Proceedings
The undersigned organizations are writing to you regarding the concerns among families of vaccine-injured children across the country over NBC’s recent coverage of the Autism Omnibus proceedings.
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June 12, 2007
Hearings Provide Vaccine-Injured Children Opportunity for Justice
Today’s start of the Autism Omnibus Proceeding in the U.S Federal Claims Court has already evoked concerns over the handling and whitewashing of the Centers for Disease Control’s Vaccine Safety Datalink (VSD).
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June 12, 2007
Court to determine if vaccines cause autism
A major court proceeding has begun in Washington, D.C., for thousands of parents who claim their children's autism was triggered by vaccines.
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June 11, 2007
Vaccine claims get their day in court
Science has spoken when it comes to the theory that some childhood vaccines can cause autism. They don‘t, the Institute of Medicine concluded three years ago.
... more
Article Archive
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May 6th, 2008
Poison Ice: Melting Sea Ice Releasing Coal Plant Toxins
Elizabeth Grossman/Slate
ARCTIC OCEAN -- Over 300 miles north of the Arctic Circle, in the polar dark of a December morning, University of Manitoba Ph.D. student Jesse Carrie is out on the frozen Beaufort Sea, collecting ice samples to measure for mercury and pesticides. Lowered by crane from the deck of the icebreaking research vessel the CCGS Amundsen, and accompanied by a rifle bearer who keeps watch for polar bears, Carrie extracts ice cores and vials of frigid water. Carrie is part of a $40 million International Polar Year scientific expedition, the first ever to spend the winter moving through sea ice north of the Arctic Circle. The expedition's labor-intensive work is essential to understanding the impacts of global warming.
As the Amundsen cuts through ice across the top of the globe, Carrie and his fellow researchers are uncovering evidence of a disturbing fallout of climate change. They are finding toxic contaminants, some at remarkably high levels, accumulating in this remote and visually pristine environment. Although there are no industrial sources in the Arctic, residents of the Far North have some of the world's highest levels of mercury exposure, some well above what the World Health Organization considers safe. High levels of mercury -- a powerful neurotoxin -- are being found in Arctic marine wildlife, including ringed seals and beluga whales, both staples of the traditional Northern diet. Levels in Arctic beluga have increased markedly in recent years.
When coal is burned in power plants in the U.S., China and elsewhere, mercury is released into the atmosphere. Airborne, mercury can travel great distances before settling to the ground, or into lakes, rivers and oceans. Air and ocean currents, propelled by weather patterns and storm systems, sweep the mercury north. But the recent increases in Arctic mercury outpace and cannot be explained by smokestack emissions alone, says Gary A. Stern, a senior scientist with Canada's Department of Fisheries and Oceans, professor at the University of Manitoba and co-leader of the Amundsen expedition. Rather, signs point to global warming and other disruptive impacts of climate change.
As temperatures rise, causing sea ice, permafrost and snow to melt, the mercury that had been frozen in place is now being released, causing exposure up and down the food web. "Climate change alters exposure in the north and increases the system's vulnerability," says Robie Macdonald, a research scientist with Canada's Department of Fisheries and Oceans.
Yet the Arctic researchers are routinely recording a lot more than mercury. They are seeing synthetic chemicals such as the brominated flame retardants known as PBDE's (used in upholstery, textiles and plastics), as well as perfluorinated and chlorine compounds. And while long banned in many countries, lingering amounts of DDT and PCBs continue to turn up in people and animals in the Far North. Of concern due to their persistence and ability to accumulate in plant and animal tissue -- particularly the fat prevalent in Arctic animals -- these chemicals are also known to disrupt the endocrine hormones that regulate reproduction and metabolism. Some are considered carcinogens.
Alaskan polar bears, for instance, have some of the highest levels yet found in Arctic mammals of hexachlorohexane (HCH), a pesticide used to kill fungi on food crops. Carrie's ice samples, collected hundreds of miles from any agricultural sites, contain HCH. Polar bears also have some of the highest recorded levels of perfluorinated compounds, chemicals used in waterproofing and in fire and stain retardants. Indigenous people in both the Canadian and Greenland Arctic have some of the world's highest exposures to these persistent pollutants.
In the summer of 2007, Arctic sea ice reached a record low. Scientists monitoring the 2008 winter ice pack suspect this year's summer ice may also be remarkably low. As David Barber, Canada Research Chair in Arctic system science at the University of Manitoba, puts it, "Well over a million years of all ecosystems evolved to take advantage of this ice cover." With markedly less substantial sea ice cover, the hemispheric system is being thrown off balance, prompting changes that are increasing the load of contaminants in the Arctic.
As Stern explains, increased snowmelt, runoff and erosion in the Mackenzie River Basin are also now washing naturally occurring mercury into the Beaufort Sea. At the same time, disappearing sea ice leaves more water exposed to sunlight, increasing the growth of marine microorganisms and tiny plants like algae. This accelerates the process that turns mercury into its highly toxic form called methylmercury, which accumulates in marine mammals and fish traditionally eaten by residents of the Arctic. "These changes are happening much faster than anticipated," Stern says one morning on the Amundsen.
Decreasing sea ice is changing other dynamics of the Arctic ecosystem. Seasonal climate changes are pushing some animals farther to find food and prompting some to alter what and when they eat. "With climate shift changing availability of ocean nutrients, some birds that used to fly 50 miles to eat now have to fly 100," says Macdonald. "This means storing more fat, magnifying -- or concentrating -- the contents of the fat, resulting in stress to both birds and their chicks." Because fat cells serve as a reservoir for many contaminants, when broken down to release energy, the toxics are also released, exposing animals from within.
In addition, says Macdonald, "Migrating fish bring with them the contaminants they've hoovered up in the ocean. When the fish spawn, they release the contaminants." Similarly, fish-eating birds can take up these pollutants that they then excrete. It's possible, he says, that animals themselves might be adding to the transport of contaminants.
"The food web is quite important in terms of where contaminants are found," says Derek Muir, a senior scientist in aquatic ecosystems research with Environment Canada. Warmer temperatures and shorter ice seasons -- in lakes as well as the Arctic Ocean -- could alter what happens at the bottom of the food web in ways that affect how contaminants move up the food ladder, he explains. "Warming," says Muir, "could deliver more contaminants up the food chain to top predators, and result in high levels of contaminants in very remote areas."
Because top predators are important traditional food for Arctic people, humans are at the top of the food web. "There is absolutely no doubt of exposure of pollutants with harmful effects to some groups," says Eric Dewailly, professor of social and preventive medicine at Laval University, who works with the International Network for Circumpolar Health Research. There are local sources for some metals and pollutants, but most of the persistent organic pollutants in the Arctic come "100 percent from the outside," he says. Dewailly notes that because people are exposed to mixtures of contaminants, it's hard to isolate the precise impact of a single one. However, studies are now being conducted in Canadian Arctic communities to investigate links between contaminants and cardiovascular, neurological,
Climate change is having another hazardous effect on indigenous people. Warming temperatures have caused changes in ice conditions and migration patterns that determine where people hunt and fish. In some northern communities, these changes have begun to push people toward greater dependence on supermarket food, which in remote Arctic villages can be extremely limited.
Research by Grace Egeland, Canada Research Chair in nutrition and health at McGill University, shows that traditional Arctic foods tend to provide more protein, vitamins and minerals than typically available local market food, which is usually higher in carbohydrates, fat and sugar. "These people are feeling so many pressures of transition that they're now at risk," says Egeland of the Arctic's indigenous communities. "There's a human right to food without elevated contaminants," says Egeland. "Based on what we know now, why wait to count the adverse events. Why wait until it's too late?"
But what kind of action should be taken? Can the brakes be put on the cascading impacts of climate change? "If we could slow it down we would," says Barber of the shrinking sea ice. "But we can't do that now; there's too much inertia in the system."
Can we reduce the impact of the pollutants? "We can control persistent organic pollutants," says Muir. It's well documented that when hazardous chemicals -- including mercury -- are taken out of use, environmental levels decrease. And if affected populations are sufficiently healthy, they will recover.
Yet the key to controlling these pollutants, says Muir, is knowing which are persistent, toxic, likely to climb the food web and travel long distances. Muir explains that of the 30,000 or so chemicals now in wide commercial use, only about 4 percent are routinely monitored. Environmental and health impacts of about 75 percent of them have not been studied at all. Meanwhile, these invisible substances are moving to and through the Arctic. And what happens in the Far North, says Stern, may well presage what's to come farther south. "It's the canary in the coal mine," he says.
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Voice of the Environment is a 501 (c-3) not-for-profit Montana-based corporation formed in 1991.
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