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Home » Blog » Nurses Gear Up to Engage & Advocate for Stronger Clean Cars Standards from EPA

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Nurses Gear Up to Engage & Advocate for Stronger Clean Cars Standards from EPA

by Jessica Mengistab|Published March 1, 2023

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we.are.anhe

"Historically, people of color and those living in

"Historically, people of color and those living in poverty have born the greatest burden of exposure to environmental hazards in their communities, homes, workplaces and schools. Such exposures most often come from landfills, garbage dumps, chemical plants, factories, smelters and incinerators that are built in low income and minority communities."

"The concept of environmental justice applies to communities where there are perceived disadvantage, whether due to race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, immigration status, lack of land ownership, geographic isolation, formal education, occupational characteristics, political power, gender, or other characteristics, which puts them at disproportionate risk for being exposed to environmental hazards."

Excerpts from "Environmental Justice", an article in ANHE Environmental Health in Nursing 2nd Edition.

To read more, download your copy from our Link in Bio! #ANHE #EnvironmentalJustice

➡️ Strengthening of the Civil Rights Act to ad

➡️ Strengthening of the Civil Rights Act to address environmental discrimination.
➡️ Comprehensive implementation of EJ strategies and training for Federal Agency employees.
➡️ Equal access to green spaces and sustainable preservation of natural environments.
➡️ Grant funding to continue community involvement and support for organizations with missions rooted in health equity and civil rights.
➡️ Just and equitable transition to a clean energy economy for all communities, workers, and small businesses.

A brief overview of key provisions within the A. Donald McEachin Environmental Justice for All Act
#healthequity #environmentaljustice #PeopleOverPolluters

"More than 100 groups demand EPA conduct dioxin te

"More than 100 groups demand EPA conduct dioxin testing in areas impacted by the East Palestine train derailment"

"River Valley Organizing and more than 100 groups from Ohio, Pennsylvania, and across the country sent a joint letter to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan and other EPA leadership with expert recommendations on how to test for dioxins in East Palestine, Ohio and other communities impacted by the Norfolk Southern train derailment disaster. Although the EPA recently ordered environmental testing for dioxins in the aftermath of the Norfolk Southern train derailment, the EPA has not shared the testing plan with the impacted communities for their review and input."

Read more at https://zurl.co/InaJ or visit our Link in Bio. #ToxicFreeFuture #EnvironmentalJustice

The narrowly passed Congressional Review Act (CRA)

The narrowly passed Congressional Review Act (CRA) on President Biden’s Clean Water Restoration Rule will come to the Senate floor for a vote this week. This direct effort to eliminate necessary environmental and public health protections will undermine the thorough collection of scientific data and stakeholder input in the President’s Waters of the United States Rule.

According to the Environmental Protection Network “The CRA acts like a sledgehammer, not a scalpel. A CRA disapproval resolution can leave a chaotic tangle of regulatory uncertainty and confusion in its wake, resulting in significant harm to the public, regulated entities, and the environment.” Our leaders must #ProtectOurWaters over polluters and work to ensure that everyone, no matter their race, zip code, or income, has access to clean water. We need Congress to prioritize our families and communities over polluters by voting NO on overturning the Clean Water Restoration Rule!

#cleanwater #cleanwaterforALL #aguaesvida💦🌏

Join us & Physicians for Social Responsibility for

Join us & Physicians for Social Responsibility for a timely webinar "Cooking w/ Gas: Health Harms of Gas Stoves" on 3/14 @ 12 ET as we dive deeper into the health risks from gas appliances & how we can reduce exposure risk. ANCC credit hours provided. Register: https://psr-org.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Gnl5p6xsRl-qq6b8nQYvTQ

Please join us for the ANHE Nursing Summit on Envi

Please join us for the ANHE Nursing Summit on Environmental Health – From PFAS to Paris: Honoring our Pasts, Leading our Futures! Co-located with CleanMed 2023 in Pittsburgh, PA and co-sponsored by the Mid-Atlantic Center for Children’s Health and the Environment.

Registration link is in our Link in Bio! #ANHE #EnvironmentalJustice

Calling on nurses!! Join ANHE’s Executive Direct

Calling on nurses!! Join ANHE’s Executive Director Katie Huffling and members of environmental justice communities from across the U.S. next Wednesday, March 22nd at 11:30am ET at the House Triangle in front of the U.S. Capitol. On World Water Day Representatives Grijalva and Kamlager-Dove along with Senators Duckworth and Booker will offer a press conference on the community driven EJ4ALL Act and the key features that will ensure health equity, address cumulative impacts, and foster just transitions across the country.

#EJWednesday #environmentaljustice #healthequity

Yesterday morning, the Biden administration approv

Yesterday morning, the Biden administration approved the super polluting Willow project in Alaska – betraying his climate and environmental promises. #FloodthePhones of the White House T-Th from 11am-3pm EST (202) 456 1111

The Willow oil drilling project would

❌ Lock in irreversible climate pollution for the next 30 years
❌ Threaten wildlife, ecosystems, and communities in Alaska's western Arctic
❌ Jeopardize and undermine the President's own stated climate goals

#StopWillow #PeopleOverProfit #KeepItInTheGround

We’ve updated our handle to @we.are.anhe which w

We’ve updated our handle to @we.are.anhe which was formerly #envirohealthnurses

We’ve also added a Link in Bio feature where you can directly access our linked pages and articles!

Stay tuned for more news and upcoming events. We appreciate your support for #ANHE 😊

ANHE Spotlights: How Nurses are Leading Change - L

ANHE Spotlights: How Nurses are Leading Change - Lisa Harris (she/her)

Lisa Harris, PhD, MBA, MSN, NEA-BC, RN is an ANHE Nurse member who participated in the Environmental Health Nurse Fellowship program and the Health Equity and Anti-Racism (HEAR) Leadership training. Lisa recently received an award for her work coordinating the undergraduate baccalaureate science nursing program at Thomas Jefferson University’s College of Nurses with a focus on environmental health.

Q - Tell us about how you got involved with the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments (ANHE)

A - I participated in the inaugural ANHE Environmental Health Nursing fellowship program and the Health Equity and Anti-Racism Leadership Training program. I have taken what I learned in these programs and am working with several colleagues and the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee to look at how we can incorporate both environmental health and anti-racism into the curriculum at all levels of nursing education.

I use the ANHE website and the ETextbook in several of my classes, in case studies and simulation experiences. The resources are wonderful and I know that I can always reach out to anyone of the ANHE staff and will receive a quick and helpful response.

Q - What would you tell nurses who are interested in environmental health work?

A - I would tell new nurses wanting to get involved in environmental health and ANHE to participate in one of the many programs offered and to utilize the resources, then to look in their own workplaces to see where they can make changes. Nurses have strong voices and we can use our voices to make real changes in our workplace, in our communities, and especially in policy. And I would tell them that you’re not alone! There are so many nurses ready to support you and to help you start that fire of passion for environmental health.

Learn more about Lisa’s work and connect with her on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-whitfield-harris-phd-mba-msn-nea-bc-rn-7148a911/

Learn more about the #ANHE Environmental Health Nurse Fellowship Program in our Link in Bio! #EnviRN #EnvironmentalJustice #envirohealthnurses

"Diesel death zones" labeled for their unhealthy l

"Diesel death zones" labeled for their unhealthy levels of soot, smog, and various hazardous air pollutants linked to birth defects, lung damage, and numerous other health complications are also home to approximately 45% of U.S. residents. Residents who are overwhelmingly black, brown, indigenous, low-income and historically overburdened. Solutions start with recognizing the historical inequities, followed by demanding protective safeguards from our Federal Agencies. Submit your comment to EPA demanding stronger standards on soot pollution. *link in bio*

#EJWednesday
#SolutionsforPollution
#CleanAirNow

ANHE Spotlights: How Nurses are Leading Change - D

ANHE Spotlights: How Nurses are Leading Change - Daniel Smith (he, him, his)

Daniel Jackson Smith, PhD, AGPCNP-BC, CNE is the Co-Chair of the ANHE Global Nurses Climate Change Committee and a Weingarten Endowed Assistant Professor in the Fitzpatrick College of Nursing at Villanova University

Q - How did you get involved with ANHE?

A - I’m a primary care nurse by training. Nursing is my second go around. My first degree was in biology and Spanish and that is really where my interest in the environment was solidified. I grew up on a dairy farm so I’d always kind of known that the environment was important, but it wasn’t until I did environmental toxicology work during my bio program that I really made the connection between human health and the environment.

When I became a nurse, I knew I did not want to work at the bedside but wasn’t sure what options there were so I went straight into a PhD program. Through that program, I worked a couple days a week in a primary care clinic and began exploring opportunities around climate change and health.

And then one of my mentors, Lisa Thompson, was like, “You need to get involved with ANHE,” and it has just kind of organically grown. I was involved tangentially at first… I would go to some of the research meetings and some of the climate change meetings, and through ANHE I met my current mentor, Ruth McDermott Levy at Villanova. Then the Global Nurses Climate Change Committee announced that they were looking for a new co-chair, and here we are a year and a half later.

Q - Tell us about your current work.

A - I am currently doing a community-based participatory research (CBPR) study in Norristown, PA. We’ve partnered with a local latinx organization, CCATE. We’ve done focus groups and the true CBPR of letting the community members drive the research question. They want to know how their personal exposure to lead through soil, water, and paint is associated with their personal blood levels, so we’re doing a community-based sero-survey in the spring, and hopefully some intervention work down the road.

Q - How has ANHE supported you in your work?

A - ANHE has given me very... (continued in chat)...

Want to translate your intetest in environmental a

Want to translate your intetest in environmental and public health into collaborative work with a supportive and continuously evolving network of nurses? Check out our "how to get involved" presentation! *link in bio*

#allianceofnursesforhealthyenvironments
#nursesinspirenurses
#PublicHealth
#climateaction
💙🩺🌍

"Across the Nation, Black Americans have the highe

"Across the Nation, Black Americans have the highest risk of dying from particulate matter or soot exposure on a per person basis."

Join ANHE on Friday at 2pm ET for a roundtable discussion in honor of Black History Month that dissects the unequal health impacts of pollution on African-Americans in Arizona and across the US. Hear from health experts and community leaders on how nurses can engage on protective rules from EPA that will ensure cleaner air, support #healthequity, and further the #EnvironmentalJustice movement. Registration link in bio.

#EJWednesday #SolutionsforPollution #cleanairNOW
#BlackHistoryMonth ❤💚🖤

Artist credit: @arrrtaddict Transportation @secre

Artist credit: @arrrtaddict

Transportation @secretarypete Buttigieg made stops in Atlanta and SK Battery America facility in Commerce, GA to announce major steps the Administration is taking to expand the electric vehicle charging network. In addition to expanding the workforce, clean transportation will have wide reaching public health benefits by improving air quality.

Stay tuned in the coming months for some of the work ANHE will be engaging in on transportation!

For #blackhistorymonth, our partners @blackmillennials4flint, @actonclimateus, and @environmental_defense_fund are hosting a hybrid episode of Green Table Talk on the topic "We Shall Overcome: A History of the Fight Against Legacy Pollution in the Black Community". In observation of Black History Month, we will highlight the history of the EJ movement, uplifting Black leaders who paved the way, lessons learned, and the need for intergenerational organizing.

Learn more and Register here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScfIm3OUbcRGR2J9jZoinaF-kvdYQctY5PIZKp4wiaWhqOo-w/viewform

#environmentaljustice #energyjustice #energyjusticenow

Today, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg vis

Today, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg visited Georgia to highlight progress on implementing the historic infrastructure law and how the Biden-Harris Administration is working to build the next generation of jobs that will clean up the polluting transportation sector. Stay tuned over the few months for updates on ANHE's work highlighting the health benefits of clean transportation!

🚗🌎🩺

#cleancars #EVaccess #healthequity #EnvironmentalJustice #EJWednesday

Sacremento, CA –Late last week the oil industry’s referendum to overturn Senate Bill 1137 qualified for the 2024 ballot. SB 1137 was signed into law by Governor Newsom in September 2022 in order to create a 3,200 ft buffer between toxic oil and gas drilling and the places where people live, learn, work, and play. Shortly after Governor Newsom signed this bill into law, the oil industry filed a referendum to overturn this critical public health protection.

Read the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environment’s response here: https://envirn.org/nurses-support-3200-ft-buffer-zones-to-protect-vulnerable-communities-in-california/

@governorgavinnewsomca #environmentaljustice #climatejustice #socialjustice #environmentalhealthnurses

ANHE Spotlights: How Nurses are Leading Change - J

ANHE Spotlights: How Nurses are Leading Change - Jill Aquino (she/her)

Jill Aquino, RN, MS is a Registered Nurse and holds both a Master of Science in Nutrition and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. Jill is the Community Coordinator at NYU Medical School in the division of Environmental Medicine.

Q - How did you get involved with ANHE?

A - In March 2020, I read an article written by Cara Cook of ANHE, Shanda Demorest of Healthcare without Harm, and Beth Schenk of Environmental Stewardship for Providence. The article was about nurses being champions for climate. And I was very passionate about the climate, the planet, and health and welfare for everybody - animals, humans, all living, breathing creatures. So I had read this article in March 2020, we all went into lockdown, and I thought, “I have to contact these three authors, these are amazing nurses, this is what I want to do. I want to be a nurse champion for the environment.” So I wrote to Cara, Shanda, and Beth. I heard from Shanda first, then Cara and Beth quickly after, and the relationship has only grown since. It was like the perfect storm where I had all of these people who were saying, “Yes, Jill, come on board. We would love to have you. We need you.”

Q - Why are you passionate about the environment?

A - If we don’t have a healthy environment we can’t have healthy people. The number one thing that ANHE has taught me is that nurses have strong voices and nurses need to use their voices. When nurses use their voices, people listen and change comes. I have taken that and I have run with it in everything I have done since joining ANHE and I use that platform on a daily basis.

Q - What are you working on now?

A - Over the summer, I was hired as the Community Coordinator at NYU Medical School in the Environmental Medicine Division to work on a five year grant with the Ramapough Lunaape Turtle Clan in Ringwood, NJ. The grant was awarded to NYU Medical School through NIEHS, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to bring the tribe back to food sovereignty as they are suffering from food scarcity. In the 1960's-1970's Ford Motor Company's largest plant... (continues in comments)

Nurses are the most trusted sources of health info

Nurses are the most trusted sources of health information to the American public and live in virtually every community. Having demonstrated their ability to adapt and engage in addressing the complex health needs of the public during COVID-19, nurses have joined together to address another growing public health threat: climate change. As the new Congress returns to Washington D.C., 42 nursing groups from across the nation have joined together in endorsing the Joint Commitment Statement on Climate Change and Health.

The Joint Commitment Statement on Climate Change and Health outlines what nurses are doing to prepare for the increasing impacts of climate change on health as well as what our profession would like to see from our elected officials in the 118th Congress. Nurses are encouraging support for the following:

🌏Declaration of climate change as a public health emergency
🌏Cutting of climate pollution 50% by 2030
🌏Enacting of cleaner car standards and transition to zero emission vehicles
🌏Ensuring Justice40 implementation is meeting stated goals
🌏Mandating active decarbonization efforts across health systems and practice settings
🌏Requiring a whole government approach to addressing the climate crisis
🌏Promoting climate health education for nurses to prepare for climate related events
🌏Support for federal dollars to research climate change and health

Read the statement here: https://envirn.org/nursing-organizations-issue-climate-demands-to-118th-congress/

Please share widely with your networks.

#118Congress #ClimateCantWait #EnvironmentalJustice #PeopleOverPolluters #ClimateAction #ClimateCrisis #NurseTwitter #NursesforHealthyEnvironments #BidenAdministration #CleanerCars #ActOnClimate #PublicHealth #SOTU

"How will this impact a child?" -Vice President Ka

"How will this impact a child?" -Vice President Kamala Harris

A conversation on environmental justice, impacts of the climate crisis, and the far-reaching benefits of transitioning to a clean energy economy.

Today, Dr. Isiah Bolden of Georgia Tech and Dr. Marshall Shepherd of the University of Georgia sat with Vice President Harris and discussed the Biden Administration's answer to "years long demands" from frontline communities across the country.

#EnvironmentalJustice #PublicHealth #ClimateJustice #SolutionsforPollition #InflationReductionAct #bipartisaninfrastructurelaw

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Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments
2901 Shepherd Street Mount Rainier, MD 20712
240.753.3729
info@envirn.org

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