One of the Most Important Resources for Parents & Children
December 1, 2007 by Jennifer
Plenty of people don’t believe in global warming. Many don’t believe that toxins can and do harm our children. If environmental issues were less serious though we might not have a need for places like the Centers for Children’s Environmental Health and Disease Prevention Research. There are 14 centers total right now but that number has grown quickly from the original 8 started in 1998.
The goal of the Children’s Centers is to address the fact that children are extra vulnerable to the negative effects of environmental exposures. Each of the current centers researches environmental risks along with how to reduce that risk. Some centers are funded in part by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) while a couple are funded in full by the EPA.
Why do the Centers matter to you and your family? Each of the centers looks at exposure issues that can harm your children such as lead, pesticides, mercury, PCBs and more. The centers compare these risk’s roles in childhood disorders like autism, learning disabilities, and asthma. The centers go in-depth as explained by the EPA:
“The Children’s Centers employ integrated multidisciplinary approaches to understand the complex risk factors that impact children’s health from the molecular and cellular level up to the systems level. Several of the Centers are conducting pioneering research investigating the role of gene-environment interactions in childhood diseases. The Centers are also developing innovative ways to investigate the role of environmental stressors. Most of the Centers focus on economically disadvantaged populations and communities of color.”
If you’re interested in how your child’s health is affected by environmental pollutions than the centers should be on your frequent reading to-do list. Right now at the center’s main site you can find an immense amount of research plus a news section that’s updated semi-often; although some of this news seems to be routed to the EPA’s homepage. You can also visit each of the centers individually for center specific news.
Coming up later today — more resources that combat environmental risks for kids and the winner of the Downsizing Your Home With Style Contest.
Coming up in December — Lifestyles Channel-wide events and more green winter fun.
Thanks for the resources. I don’t have kids, but I am interested in this topic.
Another great resource that follows along these lines is http://www.buildgreenschools.org. You can find some studies there about how green schools are healthier for children.