While awareness is an important first step, studies across the fields of public health and psychology suggest that health behaviors may be primarily shaped by social determinants. These factors include individual lifestyle, community networks, living conditions, and the socioeconomic, cultural, and environmental conditions that influence the choices available to people².

No single intervention can address all of these elements, especially if its goal is simply to fill an information deficit. Recognizing this challenge, researchers are exploring approaches that move beyond simply sharing information and instead creating experiential learning opportunities that audiences can actively engage with. This shift is especially important in the field of children’s environmental health (CEH), where young people are uniquely vulnerable to environmental hazards that are often invisible to the naked eye, or difficult to understand. At the University of Georgia, researchers at the Center for Advanced Computer-Human Ecosystems (CACHE) are at the forefront of this effort, researching how immersive technologies can improve health interventions for both adults and children.

What is CACHE?

Founded by Sun Joo (Grace) Ahn, PhD, professor at the Grady College of Journalism & Mass Communication, CACHE is an interdisciplinary research hub that explores how humans interact with virtual environments and how digital technologies can be leveraged to address critical societal issues. Dr. Ahn co-directs the center alongside Dr. Kyle Johnsen, professor in the College of Engineering, and Dr. Allan Tate, associate professor in the College of Public Health. CACHE is also affiliated with the Center for Children’s Health Assessment, Research Translation, and Combating Environmental Risk (CHARTER), strengthening collaborations that use immersive technologies to advance children’s environmental health goals.

One of CACHE’s defining features is its comprehensive, in-house production capabilities. The lab is one of the few facilities in the world with resources for developing sophisticated virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR) experiences with AI-integration. While these tools are often associated with gaming and entertainment, CACHE’s primary goal is more serious: researching how immersive experiences influence attitudes and behaviors, even after users leave the virtual world.

Among these experiential technologies, virtual reality is perhaps the best known thanks to its growing commercial availability. VR experiences typically require wearable headsets (e.g., Meta Quest) and hand controllers with motion tracking technology, allowing users to interact with computer-generated environments that replace their physical surroundings. These environments simulate multiple layers of sensory information so that users can see, hear, and feel as if they are in the real world.

Why Use Virtual Reality?

CACHE relies on VR tools for research because of their unique ability to deeply engage users through multiple layers of sensorimotor information. Unlike traditional forms of communication, such as infographics or videos, VR allows people to actively experience information rather than just receive it, seeing, hearing, and feeling events as if they are happening at the moment.

One of VR’s greatest strengths is its ability to create the feeling of presence³, which is the psychological feeling of being inside the virtual world mediated through VR, rather than the physical world in which one’s body exists. Because of this immersion, users can focus intently on the virtual environment they’re experiencing and ignore outside distractions from the physical world. This reduces competing sources of information and allows content to capture a user’s attention⁴.

VR is also highly interactive. Rather than watching someone else perform a task, participants can manipulate objects in virtual environments and practice behaviors themselves. This gives users a sense of agency, especially when movements in the virtual space align with natural movements and physical expectations⁵. For example, a pilot in training can use VR to practice flight maneuvers in a realistic setting, rather than just watching videos or learning about them through PowerPoint slides. Additionally, VR materials have been shown to enhance trainees’ self-efficacy⁶, or their belief in their ability to execute behaviors or achieve goals. By practicing a task or exposing themselves to a high-stakes experience, users can reduce their anxiety and build the confidence needed to execute tasks in daily life.

Beyond improving attention and engagement, VR has the ability to generate strong emotions in users. Traditional media can describe experiences or show them via film, but virtual environments allow users to literally see a different point of view. Some research suggests that VR can even enhance empathy⁷ by simulating interactions between individuals of different social groups, providing a bystander perspective of discriminatory behaviors, or allowing a user to embody another person.

VR is equally valuable for teaching practical skills. This is because it provides a safe, controlled environment where users can repeatedly practice high-risk behaviors or train for dangerous situations without real consequences⁸. This has made VR an increasingly important tool in fields like aviation, emergency medicine, and disaster preparedness, where it may be impossible, dangerous, unethical, or ineffective to let learners experience real-world situations.

Current VR Projects and Applications

CACHE has adopted a theoretically driven, social-scientific approach to designing and implementing VR-based interventions, examining how virtual experiences shape the ways that people think, feel, and behave in the physical world. They’re currently conducting research examining the roles of virtual and mixed reality in several health translation settings, including for children’s environmental health applications.

Virtual Pets and Youth Physical Activity

One of CACHE’s original projects is the Virtual Fitness Buddy (VFB) Ecosystem, developed in collaboration with the YMCA of Metro Atlanta. This innovative, mixed reality health intervention targets young children, aiming to encourage sustainable levels of physical activity through a pre-programmed virtual pet⁹. The virtual companion, which takes the form of a dog, responds to users’ movement, measured using a Fitbit device that links to an interactive gaming kiosk. Children name and customize their virtual dog before setting self-determined activity goals. Successfully meeting these goals unlocks attributes that enhance the speed, size, and physical abilities of their virtual friend, enabling them to complete tasks more quickly, earn more points, and unlock new games. Points can also be redeemed for virtual toys and other items for the virtual pet, further incentivising engagement.

The ecosystem also incorporates several social features for motivational purposes and social support. Children can choose to share real-time fitness progress with peers using a leaderboard, encouraging healthy competition. The mixed-reality nature of the game also allows the virtual dog to praise users for meeting their activity goals or offer words of encouragement when goals are not met. When children approach the kiosk, the virtual dog evaluates real-time physical activity data from the Fitbit and provides accurate feedback and verbal encouragement, as well as delivering physical activity progress updates to caregivers. The kiosk serves as a messaging system that allows children to text and share fitness outcomes with their parents, which helps provide parental support for reaching physical activity goals.

Findings from a study involving two cohorts of parent-child pairs (ages 6-11) recruited from elementary schools and YMCA branches across the Metro-Atlanta area demonstrate that participation in the VFB ecosystem significantly increased physical activity and reduced sedentary behavior in the short term¹⁰. The intervention also helped sustain baseline levels of physical activity, mitigating the sharp decline typically observed, along with an decrease in sedentary behavior during the preadolescent years, particularly among children with a lower baseline of physical activity at the onset of the intervention. This decrease in sedentary behavior was converted into light intensity physical activity.

Disaster and Risk Preparedness

CACHE is also engaged in research on VR as a risk communication tool. One of the center’s recently completed projects involves the development of Weather the Storm, a virtual simulation funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), designed to help participants understand the life-threatening effects of hurricanes⁴ and to prepare them for future natural disasters and extreme weather events. This artificial environment places users inside a coastal home as a major storm approaches, allowing them to personally experience the dangerous effects of extreme wind, rain, and storm surge without risking their lives. Users are then offered different choices they could have taken prior to the storm to mitigate the damage to their home and protect themselves, such as purchasing flood insurance, elevating their home, or evacuating. The exercise is then repeated to show the effects of the player’s decision.

The aim of this simulation is to heighten awareness about the consequences of climate change and increase the “ocean literacy” of coastal residents, teaching them the consequences of hurricanes, how to prepare for them, and what to do in an emergency⁴, ultimately building community resilience to natural disasters. Developed and tested in partnership with Clemson University, Georgia Sea Grant, South Carolina Sea Grant, and the National Hurricane Center, this experience and accompanying educational materials are available for community events, schools, training workshops, and emergency preparedness programs¹¹.

Efficacy Perceptions of Vaccines

Recent work has also focused on enhancing perceptions of vaccine efficacy by communicating the direct and indirect benefits of vaccination. In one simulation, users first experience the threat of spreading the influenza virus after sneezing while standing in line at a popular restaurant in the virtual community. The narrative then depicts the limitations of the immune system’s natural defenses, transporting users inside of the body and giving them the interactive task of unsuccessfully distributing white blood cells against the virus. Users also witness a child and senior citizen that they sneezed on in the restaurant undergo hospitalization due to influenza, demonstrating how vaccines not only prevent individuals from getting sick, but also protect vulnerable community members.

After the hospital scene, participants travel back in time to get a flu vaccine, and are once again tasked to fight against the virus, successfully protecting their body with the new antibodies from the vaccine. The simulation concludes by transporting users back to the restaurant where they’re no longer able to spread the flu to others due to their immunization status.

A recent study evaluating the effectiveness of this intervention found that the virtual time travel component increased perceptions of vaccine efficacy and intention to vaccinate for both protection of oneself and others¹². Moreover, the interactive elements of the VR experience, including the use of handheld controllers to actively combat the virus, strengthened users’ sense of presence in the environment.

CHARTER and Children’s Environmental Health Science

Supported by CHARTER, CACHE, and the Center for Black Women’s Wellness (CBWW) used a community-based participatory research approach to co-develop a VR narrative highlighting severe environmental justice challenges in Atlanta’s westside community¹³, specifically lead soil contamination caused by a byproduct of historic steel manufacturing.

I had the opportunity to try this interactive simulation myself while attending a speaker event on redlining and health equity held by the Atlanta Regional Collaborative for Health Improvement. The VR experience began with a short tutorial on how to use the hand controls to pick up objects and move around the room. Movement was particularly important because the space I was in was small, and I wanted to avoid running into anything in my physical surroundings. After I got the hang of the controls, I was transported to a previously redlined neighborhood in Atlanta where I met Linda, a 70-year-old Black legacy resident. In the interactive storyline, I was positioned as a new neighbor joining Linda for tea, where she shared the story of six decades of environmental injustice that took place in her community. However, Linda didn’t just speak to me; instead, she transported me through time, allowing me to meet younger versions of herself and witness historical events as they occurred. While this was happening, I was also interacting with the virtual environment, making tea for us, turning on the TV, reading clips from old newspapers, and exploring Linda’s home. Despite the animated nature of my surroundings, the ability to physically interact with and touch objects made the experience feel real.

This VR project has been piloted on several other occasions, including at CBWW’s community health fair for Earth Day 2023¹⁴, which gave over 300 families and their children the opportunity to hear Linda’s story and provide feedback.

The Future of Children’s Environmental Health Communication

Immersive technologies like VR offer an increasingly powerful tool for communicating complex children’s environmental health information. The ability to simulate dangerous situations, transport users through time, and share firsthand perspectives on environmental justice issues creates memorable and personally relevant experiences that can’t be achieved with traditional methods of communication. These experiences can shape personal health behaviors, which, despite being just one layer of protection within a much broader public health response, help reduce risk at the individual and community levels.

While VR is one of the most powerful tools we have to effectively translate dense scientific information, it is not the singular solution to the challenges of environmental health communication. Public distrust, politicization, and gaps in accessing credible CEH resources and information remain major hurdles to influencing health outcomes. Addressing these challenges requires a multisectoral approach that integrates the perspectives of public health practitioners, educators, policymakers, and community members.

As CACHE’s work continues to grow and develop we may see more technology-integrated applications for children’s environmental health. According to Dr. Ahn, hyper-personalized and context-aware recommendations will soon be possible with the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence, allowing for precise and tailored guidance. Through these innovations, CACHE has the potential to make CEH information more accessible and more actionable, improving the wellbeing of children and families.

References

1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024) Current Cigarette Smoking Among Adults in the United States https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/php/data-statistics/adult-data-cigarettes/index.html

2. Dahlgren, G. and Whitehead, M. (2021) ‘The dahlgren-whitehead model of Health Determinants: 30 Years on and still chasing rainbows’, Public Health, 199, pp. 20–24. doi:10.1016/j.puhe.2021.08.009.

3. Lombard, M., & Ditton, T. (2006). At the heart of it all: The concept of presence. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 3(2), 0–0. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1083-6101.1997.tb00072.x

4. Frank, A. L., Baldwin, J., Browning, M. H. E. M., Yuan, S., & Ahn, S. J. (Grace). (2026). Learning the dangers of storm surges in virtual reality: Coastal leaders’ attitudes toward VR as a risk communication tool. Environmental Education Research, 32(3), 550–568. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2025.2465713

5. Johnson-Glenberg, M. C. (2018). Immersive vr and education: Embodied design principles that include gesture and hand controls. Frontiers in Robotics and AI, 5, 81. https://doi.org/10.3389/frobt.2018.00081

6. Chiang, D.-H., Huang, C.-C., Cheng, S.-C., Cheng, J.-C., Wu, C.-H., Huang, S.-S., Yang, Y.-Y., Yang, L.-Y., Kao, S.-Y., Chen, C.-H., Shulruf, B., & Lee, F.-Y. (2022). Immersive virtual reality (Vr) training increases the self-efficacy of in-hospital healthcare providers and patient families regarding tracheostomy-related knowledge and care skills: A prospective pre–post study. Medicine, 101(2), e28570. https://doi.org/10.1097/MD.0000000000028570

7. Seinfeld, S., Hasler, B. S., Banakou, D., & Levy, J. (2022). Editorial: Virtual reality and empathy. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 1089006. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1089006

8. Jongbloed, J., Chaker, R., & Lavoué, E. (2024). Immersive procedural training in virtual reality: A systematic literature review. Computers & Education, 221, 105124. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2024.105124

9. Ball, C., Novotny, E., Ahn, S. J., Hahn, L., Schmidt, M. D., L. Rathbun, S., & Johnsen, K. (2022). Scaling the virtual fitness buddy ecosystem as a school-based physical activity intervention for children. IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications, 42(1), 105–115. https://doi.org/10.1109/MCG.2021.3130555

10. Ahn, S. J., Schmidt, M. D., Tate, A. D., Rathbun, S., Annesi, J. J., Hahn, L., Novotny, E., Okitondo, C., Grimsley, R. N., & Johnsen, K. (2024). Virtual fitness buddy ecosystem: A mixed reality precision health physical activity intervention for children. Npj Digital Medicine, 7(1), 134. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41746-024-01133-5

11. Weather the storm: A life-saving vr simulation from center for advanced computer-human ecosystems. (n.d.). UGA x CACHE. Retrieved July 7, 2026, from https://www.ugavr.com/weatherthestorm

12. Lee, J., Wu, D.-Y., Lin, J.-H. (Tammy), Kim, J., & Ahn, S. J. (Grace). (2023). Using time travel in virtual reality (Vr) to increase efficacy perceptions of influenza vaccination. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 28(3), zmad010. https://doi.org/10.1093/jcmc/zmad010

13. Hatfield, H. R., & Ahn, S. J. (Grace). (2025). Integrating community-based participatory research into immersive narratives: Co-designing a virtual reality experience on environmental injustice. Journal of Media Psychology, 37(2), 101–115. https://doi.org/10.1027/1864-1105/a000463

14. Hatfield, H. R., Mutic, A., Barnes, M., Smith, G., & Ahn, S. J. (Grace). (2026). Translating children’s environmental health science using virtual environments: A community-based participatory research approach. Environmental Justice, env.2024.0044. https://doi.org/10.1089/env.2024.0044

The 2026 elections offer an opportunity to reset our national, state, and local priorities in support of science, public health, and a robust federal workforce to protect children’s environmental health.

We need political leaders at all levels of government who put the health of children, their future, and their families first.

Our children are our most valuable resources, yet their health and that of their families and communities have not been at the forefront of our nation’s policies and programs.

A disregard for environmental public health and equity has very real and significant social, economic, and security implications for our nation’s future.

Because when kids thrive, we all thrive.

Before You Begin: Get Ready to Vote​

Participating in elections is one of the most powerful ways to influence policies that shape children’s environmental health.

Before researching candidates and casting your ballot, make sure you are registered and prepared to vote by following these steps:

1. Confirm Your Eligibility

2. Register to Vote

3. Check Your Registration Status

4. Know Your Deadlines and Voting Requirements

5. Make a Plan to Vote

We break each step down with helpful links and resources at https://cehn.org/vote4kids/getready/

Get ready to vote!

Check Out the 2026 Voter Guide for Children’s Environmental Health

This nonpartisan resource acts as a rubric you can use to assess local, state, and federal candidates to make sure they’re keeping children at the center of their decisions.

The Voter Guide focuses on key issues that have a big impact on children’s health and well-being:

1. Democracy

2. Health and Equity

3. Climate Action

4. Clean Air

5. Clean Water

6. Toxics-Free Environments and Products

7. Safer Industry Practices

8. Support for Science

Get the Voter Guide

Use the Companion Toolkit to put the voter guide into action

This companion toolkit provides practical, step-by-step guidance to help you evaluate candidates’ records, policy positions, and commitments.

This toolkit is nonpartisan. It is designed to help voters make informed decisions grounded in science, transparency, and environmental and public health protections.

Check out the Toolkit

Join CEHN & Partners for a Vote for Kids Webinar

July 28, 4:30-6 pm ET

Parents, caregivers, advocates, community members, health care providers, and public and environmental health professionals are invited to this engaging, nonpartisan discussion on identifying and electing political leaders at all levels of government who put the health of children, their future, and their families first.

Speakers:

• Nsedu Obot Witherspoon, MPH- Executive Director, Children’s Environmental Health Network

• Anne Mellinger-Birdsong, MD, MPH, FAAP- Health Advisor, Mothers and Others for Clean Air

• Mike Schade- Senior Director of Programs and Strategy, Toxic-Free Future

• Abre’ Conner, Esq.- Director, Environmental and Climate Justice, NAACP

• Moderator: Garrett Smith- University of Miami School of Law student and CEHN Carol Strobel Policy & Health Education Intern

Register for the Webinar

Health impacts of lake recession

The negative impacts of lake recession extend beyond wildlife habitat loss. Communities living nearby receding lakes can be exposed to poor air quality as newly exposed sediments from receding lakebeds become airborne particulate matter (PM), including dust. In cases like the Great Salt Lake⁴ and the Salton Sea⁵, dust can carry toxicants such as pesticides and heavy metals, which made their way into lakes from surrounding agricultural or industrial activities.

Children are especially vulnerable to air pollution because their lungs and other organs are still developing. They also breathe more air per pound of body weight than adults, meaning they carry an increased risk of exposure to pollutants. Children also have more life ahead of them than adults do, allowing more time for early life exposures to manifest into chronic conditions.

Challenges Posed by Complex Environmental Exposures

Throughout their daily routines, people can inhale, consume, or contact environmental toxins that come from multiple sources. For example, a person might be exposed to pesticides through their work in agriculture, to tobacco smoke from living with a smoker, and to hormone disrupting chemicals from eating food cooked with plastic cookware. Therefore, people who are exposed to air pollution from receding lakes likely experience this environmental health threat in addition to other environmental exposures. This means that pollutant exposure caused by receding lakes becomes a part of each person’s exposome⁶, the accumulation of factors including environmental exposures that impact a person’s health across their lifespan.

When people are exposed to toxicants from many sources, it can be difficult to know which pollutants are causing specific health impacts. This complexity makes it harder for researchers to understand what is causing harm. It also makes it all the more difficult to hold polluters accountable.

These challenges are especially clear in Imperial Valley, the arid desert region that is home to the Salton Sea. Imperial Valley has a long history as an agricultural and geothermal energy hub, and is now seeing development tied to lithium extraction and data centers. Together, these industries create a complicated context in which to understand the impacts of the receding lake.

Keeping this layered pollution landscape in mind, this article examines children’s environmental health risks posed by the receding Salton Sea, before highlighting the challenges community members are facing as new development projects move into the area. It also provides recommendations and resources to help individuals reduce exposure to airborne pollutants and protect themselves and their loved ones.

Environmental Health Impacts of the Receding Salton Sea

In 2019, a team of researchers including Dr. Jill Johnston, Co-Director of the Southern California Center for Children’s Environmental Health and Research Translation (SC-CEHRT), published a research paper titled The disappearing Salton Sea: A critical reflection on the emerging environmental threat of disappearing saline lakes and potential impacts on children’s health⁷. To better understand the potential impacts to children’s health posed by receding saline lakes, the authors looked to earlier studies on other shrinking lakes, including the Aral Sea (a lake in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan) and Owens Lake (a California lake whose drying was once the primary cause of large particulate matter in the United States). One key finding was that as lakes recede, previously submerged lake sediments become exposed to air and break down into breathable PM, increasing the risk of harmful air pollution exposure. The paper acknowledges that little is known about the potential long-term health effects caused by exposure to airborne lake sediments or the toxicants that can be carried by them, but highlights that other studies have linked dust storms to cardiovascular-related deaths, asthma hospitalization, and decreased lung function.

In February of this year, a team of researchers from SC-CEHRT, the University of Washington, and Committee Civico Del Valle published a study⁸ that found PM exposure near the receding Salton Sea was related to the reduced lung function of pediatric residents. The study followed a cohort of nearly 500 elementary school-aged children over approximately one and a half years and conducted periodic lung function assessments, working in collaboration with local schools. Dr. Johnston, a co-author of this study, said the opportunity to work with local schools was “a huge benefit and asset to the study as we were able to provide information back to the school district and they were able to help guide and inform key questions that we asked the kids.”

In order to compare participant’s lung function to their PM exposure, participants’ addresses were paired with the nearest California Air Resources Board’s Air Quality Monitoring Information System. While children both with and without asthma diagnoses were adversely impacted by PM exposure,children with asthma were more impacted. This is especially significant as one in four children in the cohort had asthma. High rates of wheezing and bronchitis symptoms were also present across the cohort.

When asked if she had any hopes for how this study could support Imperial Valley communities going forward, Dr. Johnston said, “We hope this information can be used to inform mitigation efforts around the Salton Sea, as well as protective actions for the schools such as indoor air filtration systems or indoor gyms that can help reduce the amount of pollution kids are exposed to, especially during high dust event days or high air pollution days.”

Layers of Risk in Imperial Valley

High rates of asthma, wheezing, and bronchitis in the study cohort reflect broader health patterns in the surrounding community. According to CalEnviroScreen⁹, the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA)’s environmental health screening tool, some communities directly south of the Salton Sea —including Westmorland and Brawley— rank above the 90th percentile in the state for rates of asthma and cardiovascular disease. CalEnviroScreen data also show that communities living near the Salton Sea experience a variety of disproportionate environmental health risks including PM 2.5 exposures, nearby pesticide use, groundwater threats, and nearby hazardous waste generators and facilities.

These burdens are compounded by economic hardship. Unemployment rates are high in these communities, with Imperial County’s 2025 unemployment rate being 18.6%¹⁰, the highest in the state¹¹. Economic adversity can make it harder for families to access healthcare and maintain safe, healthy living environments. It can also lead to toxic stress¹² and instability, which can compound the adverse impacts from toxic exposures.

Resource Extraction and Data Center Projects

In addition, the Imperial Valley’s geothermal and lithium resources (Imperial Valley is now nicknamed Lithium Valley for the roughly 18 million metric tonnes of lithium¹³ stored underneath the Salton Sea) have made it an attractive location for industrial projects. This includes proposed coupled geothermal and lithium extraction projects and two large data centers. These projects would bring billions of dollars¹⁴ of investment to the area, which is understandably appealing to the county and many of its residents. However, as pointed out by Dr. Pedro Alonso Colio, a Nurse Practitioner and professor in San Diego State University’s School of Nursing within the College of Health and Human Services, the area has experienced false promises of job growth in the past. Solar power projects promised to bring employment opportunities, which turned out to be fleeting once construction was completed.

There is also concern about the environmental impacts of these projects. In 2024, two civic engagement/environmental non-profits teamed together to file a lawsuit against Imperial County and the developer of a proposed lithium extraction and geothermal power plant project, alleging that the proposed project’s California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) review was not sufficient. In September of 2025, the non-profits published an environmental health impact report, which emphasised that the water demand of the project could contribute to the recession of the Salton Sea and increase local communities’ exposure to dust and toxic spray from the contaminated lake¹⁵. The case was overturned and is now in the California Courts of Appeal where the plaintiffs have continued to argue that the CEQA review included inaccuracies and omissions¹⁶.

More recently, a proposed 1 million square-foot (over 17 football fields) AI data center was green-lit by Imperial County¹⁷. The data center is planned to be built on unincorporated, industrial zoned land just outside of the City of Imperial’s border. While the proposed site is adjacent to residential neighborhoods, its status as an unincorporated and industrial zoned plot has allowed Imperial County to grant the developer permission to proceed without CEQA review. The City of Imperial filed a lawsuit against the data center developer and the County of Imperial, saying that the project should not be exempt from CEQA review¹⁸. According to KPBS¹⁹, San Diego’s public radio station, the community has also been heavily involved in resisting the data center: over 2,000 community members signed a petition against it and city council meetings have been flooded with protestors. “Our people are informing themselves,” resident, teacher, and community organizer, Katya Olivas, said in a recent interview with KPBS, “They are educating themselves, not only in facts of the consequences this data center could have, but on the lived experiences of US residents throughout the whole country.”

Both of these projects have the potential to require tremendous amounts of water. However, without thorough environmental review, the exact amount of water required remains largely unknown. This is especially important in Imperial Valley, where Imperial Irrigation District (IID), the local utility, is allotted a finite amount of Colorado River water per year, part of which it already diverts to San Diego and Los Angeles¹⁵. Because the primary source of Salton Sea water is agricultural runoff, further diversion of IID water to non-agricultural sources could exacerbate the Salton Sea’s recession, adding to the existing environmental health burden faced by Imperial Valley’s communities.

Individual and Community Action

In an era marked by intense deregulatory efforts at the federal level, state or local regulations are even more crucial to uphold standards of transparency and precaution. One recent state-level push for transparency is a 2026 bill²⁰ passed by the Utah State Legislature that will soon require new data centers to disclose their anticipated water usage to their water provider. Under this bill, operational data centers will be required to submit an annual report, which must include water reduction efforts and water usage, to the Utah Division of Water Rights. This bill was sponsored by a Utah Representative who has claimed²¹ that protecting the Great Salt Lake is always at the forefront of her mind. However, the bill does not mandate specific water conservation measures or quotas. This is especially significant in light of the 15 new data center projects that have been welcomed to the state of Utah since 2021²².

Organized push-back at the community level becomes critical when transparency and thorough environmental planning are not achieved at the federal or state level. As Olivas noted, there is tremendous will and political power within communities, not just in Imperial Valley, but across the country. As an example, this past January, over 2,000 residents of Greenleaf, Wisconsin unified against a proposed data center in their rural, agricultural area that is home to families, including those with young children. Community members initially connected through a Facebook group created by Jayne Black, a community organizer with Mom’s Clean Air Force²³. Through the Facebook group, people shared resources, organized an informational meeting, and attended a Village Board meeting to elevate their concerns. This strong collective action resulted in the developer withdrawing their proposal.

Unfortunately, the issue of lake recession is likely to continue progressing due to climate change and high water demands from development projects. The health impacts of lake recession, which primarily result from airborne dust from the exposed lakebed, can be especially harmful to children whose lungs are still developing and who breathe more per pound of body weight as compared to adults. In areas such as Imperial Valley, where the environmental health burden is already high, it is especially important for lake recession to be addressed and for residents to be aware of what they can do to limit their environmental health risks.

Individuals should not have to shoulder the burden of identifying and mitigating the negative health impacts of environmental hazards in their area. However, as Jayne Black and Julie Carter, a Greenleaf resident and mom, highlighted in their discussion together²⁴, getting involved in local government even before concerns arise can help protect your community. Meaningful ways to engage can include reading local meeting minutes, encouraging transparency between local officials and residents, and connecting with neighbors. There are increasingly more resources and organizations emerging to help people, including parents and caregivers, do just that. For free access to some of these, please refer to the list below.

Environmental Health Resources

• Children’s Environmental Health Network Resources

  • Includes resources for child care providers, health care professionals, parents, families, and caregivers.

• CEHN Eco-Health Child Care Resources (english)

  • Air Quality Fact Sheet

• CEHN Eco-Health Child Care Resources (spanish)

• Mom’s Clean Air Force Fact Sheet: AI, Data Centers, and Air Pollution

• University of Southern California Environmental Health Centers, DIY Air Filter Infographic

• Oregon State University ASPIRE Center - Wildfire Smoke: Steps to Create a Clean Room

Community Organizing Resources Around AI Data Centers

• Healthy Climate Wisconsin Toolkit for Community Action

• Earth Center Indiana Data Center Community Organizer Toolkit

• New Mexico Environmental Law Center Data Center Fact Sheets (Spanish and English)

• NAACP Frontline Framework Community Guiding Principles

References

1. Abbott BW, Baxter BK, Busche K, de Freitas L, Frie R, Gomez T. Emergency measures needed to rescue Great Salt Lake from ongoing collapse. Brigham Young University; 2023. https://pws.byu.edu/GSL%20report%202023

2. University of California, Riverside. Why the Salton Sea is turning into toxic dust. Published October 6, 2022. https://news.ucr.edu/articles/2022/10/06/why-salton-sea-turning-toxic-dust

3. United Nations Environment Programme. Lakes around the world are in decline. Here’s why – and what can be done about it. Published August 27, 2025. https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/lakes-around-world-are-decline-heres-why-and-what-can-be-done-about-it

4. Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Health in All Policies Initiative. Public health impacts of a drying Great Salt Lake: Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment v Utah Department of Natural Resources. Bloomberg American Health Initiative; 2024. https://americanhealth.jhu.edu/sites/default/files/2024-12/JHU_2024_HealthNotes_EarthJustice_FINAL_12.3.pdf

5. Zhou Y, et al. Environmental exposure and health risks from dust emitted by the drying Great Salt Lake. Environ Health Perspect. 2024. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12788894/

6. DeBord DG, Carreón T, Lentz TJ, Middendorf PJ, Hoover MD, Schulte PA. Use of the “exposome” in the practice of epidemiology: a primer on -omic technologies. Am J Epidemiol. 2016;184(4):302-314. doi:10.1093/aje/kwv325. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5025320/

7. Johnston JE, Razafy M, Lugo H, Olmedo L, Farzan SF. The disappearing Salton Sea: A critical reflection on the emerging environmental threat of disappearing saline lakes and potential impacts on children’s health. Sci Total Environ. 2019;663:804‑817. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.01.365. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969719304164

8. Guo F, Kamai EM, Eckel SP, et al. Particulate matter levels and children’s lung function in a rural cohort near a drying saline lake. Environ Epidemiol. 2026;10(1):e455. doi:10.1097/EE9.0000000000000455. https://journals.lww.com/environepidem/fulltext/2026/02000/particulate_matter_levels_and_children_s_lung.7.aspx

9. California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment. Draft CalEnviroScreen 5.0 Results Map. Published 2025. Accessed March 10, 2026. https://journals.lww.com/environepidem/fulltext/2026/02000/particulate_matter_levels_and_children_s_lung.7.aspx

10. California Employment Development Department, Labor Market Information Division. Imperial County Profile. https://labormarketinfo.edd.ca.gov/cgi/databrowsing/localAreaProfileQSResults.asp?selectedarea=Imperial+County&selectedindex=13&state=true&geogArea=0604000025&countyName=

11. California Employment Development Department, Labor Market Information Division. Monthly Labor Force Data for Counties: December 2025 – Preliminary. Report 400‑C. January 23, 2026. https://labormarketinfo.edd.ca.gov/file/lfmonth/2512pcou.pdf

12. Center on the Developing Child. Toxic Stress. Harvard University. Accessed April 3, 2026. https://developingchild.harvard.edu/key-concept/toxic-stress/

13. In-Depth Features. The Race to Make This Dying U.S. Lake the ‘Saudi Arabia of Lithium’. Wall Street Journal. Published February 2024. https://www.wsj.com/video/series/in-depth-features/the-race-to-make-this-dying-us-lake-the-audi-arabia-of-lithium/F1FE5DF2-DC21-415E-A6F5-4460D25022CC?mod=WSJvidctr__pos6

14. Black, Lester. California Community Panics as $15 billion in Data Centers Planned. SFGate. Published February 2026. https://www.sfgate.com/california/article/california-data-centers-21331191.php

15. Blair, James, et al. The Devil is in the Details: Environmental Health Impacts of Hell’s Kitchen Lithium and Power Project. Comite Civico del Valle and Earthworks. Published September 2025. https://earthworks.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/The-Devil-is-in-the-Details-Report.pdf

16. Carstens, Black, & Minter, LLP, Law Office of Jordan R. Sisson. Appellants’ Opening Brief: Comite Civico Del Valle & Earthworks v. County of Imperial (Case No. B085747). California Court of Appeal, Fourth District, Division One. https://earthworks.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/2025-09-11-Appellants-Opening-Brief-Final.pdf

17. Rainey, James. Should a Town with an ‘Inferiority Complex’ welcome a giant data center? Los Angeles Times. Published January 29, 2026. https://www.latimes.com/california/newsletter/2026-01-29/essential-california-imperial-data-center

18. Calexico Chronicle. Court: Imperial’s CEQA Claims are Insufficient to Challenge Data Center. Published February 11, 2026. https://calexicochronicle.com/2026/02/11/court-imperials-ceqa-claims-are-insufficient-to-challenge-data-center/

19. Suzuki, Kori. Environmental Costs Spark a Movement Against Massive Imperial Valley Data Center [YouTube Video]. KPBS Public Media. Published January 26, 2026.

1. Koford, J. Data Center Water Transparency Amendments, H.B. 76, Utah State Legislature. Published 2026. https://le.utah.gov/~2026/bills/static/HB0076.html

2. Winslow, B. Utah Legislature Seeks to Force Data Centers to Report Water Use. Fox13. Published November 20, 2025. https://www.fox13now.com/news/great-salt-lake-collaborative/utah-legislature-seeks-to-force-data-centers-to-report-water-use

3. EnviroLink News Team. Utah’s Great Salt Lake Revival Clashes with Data Center Boom as Water Wars Intensify. EnviroLink. Published January 21, 2026. https://www.envirolink.org/2026/01/21/utahs-great-salt-lake-revival-clashes-with-data-center-boom-as-water-wars-intensify/

4. Kimmel, Julie. Life Under Threat: Wisconsin Farming Community Takes Down AI Data Center. Moms Clean Air Force. Published January 29, 2026. https://www.momscleanairforce.org/life-under-threat-wi-data-center/

5. Moms Clean Air Force. Climate Coffee Break: Mom Helps Lead Community to Stop a Data Center [YouTube Video]. Published February 25, 2026.

Introducing Leslie Davenport

Leslie Davenport is a leading expert in climate psychology, known for connecting climate change with mental health, resilience, and social transformation. An experienced therapist, educator, and speaker, she blends science with a human-centered approach to help diverse audiences understand and respond to the emotional impacts of the climate crisis.

With over 25 years of clinical experience and a background spanning the arts, integrative medicine, and psychology, she has developed a community-focused model that bridges mental health and climate action. Leslie is a columnist for Grist, author of multiple influential books (including children’s titles), and a contributor to landmark reports and academic works on climate and mental health.

She advises and collaborates with major climate and arts initiatives, teaches at universities, and currently leads the first Certificate Training in Climate Psychology at the California Institute of Integral Studies, while continuing to empower both adults and young people to face climate change with clarity, courage, and resilience.

I was lucky enough to speak to Leslie about her work and for her to share her advice and expertise.

Leslie, tell us a little about yourself

I’m a climate psychology educator and therapist based in the Pacific Northwest. My work sits at the intersection of emotional well-being, education, and climate action. I’ve always been a dancer (former career), and any time I can engage in creative practices, whether dance or painting, it brings me so much joy! We don’t need to choose between caring for ourselves and caring for the planet – in fact, if we divide those, we get into trouble. I believe the two are deeply linked.

What does your day-to-day life look like?

No two days are quite the same, and I’m grateful for the range. I might be training clinicians, writing, meeting with collaborators, preparing workshop materials, or responding to readers’ questions about climate emotions. I also try to build in quiet time outdoors: walking near the wild and beautiful Puget Sound, because I find that staying nourished personally is essential to doing this work well professionally. I also live close to family and offer lots of hands-on support.

How did you get into writing?

I was an accidental writer—I never set out to become an author. When I was living in San Francisco, I gave a talk on healthcare innovations that wove together spiritual and psychological dimensions with medical technology. Afterward, someone in the audience approached me and asked if I’d consider writing a book about my work. I wasn’t even sure it was real at first, but several steps later, my first book was published in 2009. The beginning wasn’t easy, but once I learned to trust the writing process, it became not only easier but deeply enjoyable. I discovered how powerful language and story can be in helping people make sense of their lives.

Most of my books have come about through invitations rather than ambition. I share my writing journey partly as encouragement to any “closet authors” out there: take the leap! Writing involves skills we can grow, and we need many voices and perspectives if we’re going to grow together.

How would you describe climate anxiety? How does it show up in adults and children?

Climate anxiety is a very natural human response to recognizing that the systems we depend on—ecological, social, economic—are under severe strain. In adults, it often appears as worry, grief, dread, guilt, or a sense of urgency and moral distress. In children, it may show up through questions about safety, sleep disturbances, irritability, stomach or head-aches, or concerns about the future. Importantly, these feelings are not signs of pathology; they are signals of care and awareness. When supported skillfully, they can become sources of motivation, connection, and change rather than paralysis.

How are today’s environmental challenges reshaping children’s emotional development and sense of safety?

Children are growing up with unprecedented access to information and imagery about environmental disruption, and with a wide range of lived experiences and awareness — from hearing news reports, to breathing hot and smoky skies, to living through evacuations or extreme weather firsthand. These layered exposures can influence their sense of predictability and trust in the future. At the same time, many young people are developing remarkable empathy, creativity, and a strong sense of justice. When caring adults engage alongside them by listening, learning, and taking action together, intergenerational alliances become a powerful source of stability and hope. With supportive relationships and constructive outlets, environmental awareness can nurture resilience and shared purpose rather than fear.

Is there a risk of overwhelming children with climate realities? How do we avoid that while still being truthful?

Yes, overwhelm is possible when information or direct impacts happen without context, emotional support, or a sense of agency. The key is to gently offer accurate, age-appropriate facts alongside simple calming practices, stories of solutions, examples of community care, and opportunities for children to participate in protecting their environment. Follow their lead and respond to their questions or concerns. Honesty paired with connection and empowerment builds trust and helps steady the nervous system.

What advice do you give adults who feel unprepared to talk with children about climate change?

You don’t need perfect answers or expert knowledge. What matters most is letting your child know that you care about the Earth as well, and that their feelings and questions are welcome. Keep the conversation open and ongoing and look for ways to care for the planet together. You can learn more with them.

Begin with curiosity and listening. Ask what they’ve heard and how it makes them feel. Acknowledge emotions before moving into explanations. It can also helpful for adults to check in with their own feelings first: when we feel more grounded, children tend to feel safer too.

What’s one common mistake well-meaning adults make when responding to children’s climate fears?

Perhaps more than anything else, we want children to feel and be safe. But moving too quickly to reassurance without first acknowledging the feeling can unintentionally minimize a child’s genuine concern. Phrases like “Don’t worry, everything will be fine” may shut down what a young person is trying to share. A more supportive response might be, “I can see this is worrying you. It matters, and I’m here with you. Tell me more.”

Emotional validation creates the foundation for constructive dialogue. It also helps children recognize that the adults in their lives care deeply -- not because they are panicked or overwhelmed, but because the well-being of the world and the child’s future truly matter to them as well. This shared sense of importance communicates steadiness and solidarity rather than alarm.

Rather than treating the conversation as something to fix or finish, adults can offer an open invitation to return to the topic over time. These ongoing, intergenerational conversations build trust, shared understanding, and a sense of partnership that strengthens resilience for both young people and the adults who love them.

How can schools support children’s mental health while addressing environmental education?

School is such a wonderful and important place to support kids around climate change. Schools can weave emotional literacy into environmental education by pairing science and civics with reflection, creative expression, and collaborative problem-solving. Practices such as classroom circles, art projects, nature-based activities, and service learning give students space to process feelings while building agency and community. Ongoing teacher support and professional development in social-emotional learning are also key. My children’s books include exercises that can be used in classrooms to bring emotional support alongside STEM learning.

What responses have your books received in the environmental and children’s health sector?

The feedback has been really encouraging. Educators, therapists, pediatric professionals, and parents often share that the books offer language and practices that make difficult conversations more approachable. Many appreciate that the tone balances realism with hope and provides concrete activities rather than abstract reassurance.

What do you hope young readers feel when they close one of your books?

A sense of being understood and not alone. I hope they feel steadier in their bodies, clearer in their minds, and connected to others who care. Above all, I want them to feel that their feelings are valid and that they have a place in shaping a better future.

What are you looking forward to? What’s giving you hope?

I’m inspired by the rapidly growing creativity and collaboration I see across generations—artists, scientists, educators, and community leaders of all ages working together in new ways. We’re being asked to evolve, to transform, to ask big questions and imagine alternatives, and it gives me real hope. So does the growing recognition that emotional resilience and collective action are partners, not opposites.

Is there anything else you would like to communicate to our audience?

Climate conversations are ultimately conversations about relationships: our relationship with ourselves, each other, and the living world. When we make space for emotion, imagination, and community, we expand what’s possible. Each small act of care, learning, or dialogue contributes to a larger cultural shift toward belonging and responsibility. We don’t have to do everything, but each of us can do something meaningful, and we can do it together.

Leslie’s expertise is invaluable, especially in tricky situations as caregivers where perhaps older generations haven’t encountered these issues.

Thank you, Leslie, for your insight!

Our May CEHN ‘Book of the Month’

‘What To Do When Climate Change Scares You’ by Leslie Davenport.

What to Do When Climate Change Scares You is a compassionate, age-appropriate guide that helps children understand climate change without becoming overwhelmed. Blending clear science with emotional support and practical coping tools, the book empowers kids to navigate big feelings like fear and sadness while building resilience, hope, and a sense of agency in a changing world.

Written by Rebecca Barry, CEHN Consultant

The Children’s Environmental Health Network is mourning the incredible loss of our Founding Board Chair, Dr. John Routt Reigart.

Dr. Reigart graduated in 1960 from Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School in Maryland. He then attended Dartmouth College, graduating in 1964 with a degree in Mathematics. While at Dartmouth, he completed his first medical school years as well and went on to complete his MD at Harvard University, graduating in 1967, followed by a pediatric residency at Boston Children’s Hospital, the teaching hospital for Harvard. He continued on as a teaching fellow at Harvard Medical School, where his legacy of mentorship began.

In 1972, Routt arrived at the Medical University of South Carolina, in Charleston. Recognizing that Charleston had a serious problem with lead poisoning, this quickly became his focus. He established one of the country’s first local lead screening programs and expanded it to the state by 1975. He was named the Director of General Pediatrics in 1987 and focused on strategic expansion of the research capacity of the division, subsequently expanding the division with academic fellowship trained faculty. He had a hand in training more than 500 residents. He also helped develop and support a general pediatric fellowship program that has trained more than 30 future pediatric research leaders.

He also recognized the importance of continuing medical education for pediatricians in private practice. He established the highly successful CME course, Frontiers in Pediatrics, in 1998. This conference is entering its 29^th year and counting every first weekend in December.

Routt was a giant in the field of Children’s Environmental Health. He held leadership roles at the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) , as well as leadership in environmental non-profit organizations, such as the Children’s Environmental Health Network and Beyond Pesticides.

At the national level for the AAP, he was Chair of the former Council on Environmental Health (now the Council on Environmental Health and Climate Change), which is responsible for developing, writing, and distributing the official policy of the AAP on environmental health topics related to children. During his 4-year term, this committee released 5 policy statements including a statement on PCBs in breast milk (PCBs are polychlorinated biphenyl compounds, an industrial chemical that persists in the environment, through the food chain, and in us), ambient air pollution, and the landmark 1993 AAP statement on lead poisoning prevention. This document established and aligned the AAP policy with that of the federal government on lead screening and management of lead poisoning. It was the culminating effort of years of work together with the AAP and CDC.

Routt held numerous roles with the EPA. During his role as a member of the Tolerance Reassessment Advisory Committee, a joint effort of EPA and USDA, he evaluated the residues of pesticides in food and helped determine the basis for the tolerances (also known as acceptable levels of exposure) for children. It required pesticide manufacturers to show safety data for pesticide residues in food, and where there was no data (which there never was), required pesticides to include a 10x times safety factor to further protect children. This formed the basis of the landmark 1991 US Law known as the Food Quality Protection Act, a rare piece of legislation that was passed unanimously by the US Senate.

In 1992, Joy Carlson, Founding Executive Director of CEHN was managing the California State Health Department’s Kids and Environment Project, along with Drs. Lynn Goldman and Richard Jackson. They wanted to expand this organization nationally and formed an Advisory Board at the initial national meeting. Routt was asked to be the Chair of that Advisory Board, and the Children’s Environmental Health Network was born. He held this position for many years helping to form the structure of CEHN and the philosophical base for its actions. CEHN is a premier Washington, DC based advocacy organization that gives children a voice. It initially focused on science based environmental education and policy development. And 34 years later, Routt’s legacy with CEHN has ensured that the issue of children’s environmental health is part of the national conversation, part of the policy, research, and education equation.

Routt had a personal impact in my professional development at CEHN and within the field. He also served on CEHN’s Science and Policy Committees providing years of guidance and advice. His passion to protect the most vulnerable could not be beat. He is already greatly missed.

CEHN will continue to move forward with opportunities to lift up Routt’s incredible legacy. One where all children are given equal opportunity to grow and thrive in communities that place their value, protection, and safety at the forefront.

Written by Nsedu Obot Witherspoon, Children’s Environmental Health Network Executive Director

With much appreciation for help from Joy Carlson (Founding Executive Director) and Dr. Jimmy Roberts (Board Chair)

It was my freshman year of college when COVID struck, and what started as a 3 week spring break, turned into a summer of quarantine and a fall full of asynchronous classes. And ironically enough for me, this was the time when I started my public health core classes. Every news headline was discussed, every paper and in-class activity reflected developing policies or mandates, and the line between school and real life became awfully blurry.

But at the time, it felt as though public health might be the most valuable degree to have going forward. Everything I learned in class was applicable to the circumstances happening around me. When my parents would ask “So what’s public health again sweetheart?” I could turn on the TV, or reference a new vaccine mandate, and it was as easy as that to explain it. Public health was in a state of revolution and I got to be a part of it.

Jump forward a couple years and I’m living in Washington DC and wrapping up a Master’s in Public Health Communication and Marketing, with a focus in environmental health communications. And again before my eyes, public and environmental health infrastructure and regulations are being transformed, but this time not for the better.

These days it seems to me that all my efforts, degrees, internships, and (fingers-crossed) a full-time job in the near future, are plagued with this uncertainty about where the progress of health in America is going. And not just my health, but the health of generations to come who will be directly impacted by the changes made in the last year.

Changes like reviving the dying coal industry, lowering accountability and oversight for polluting industries, selling off protected federal lands to be drilled, razed, and mined, and firing or pushing out the scientists, federal workers, and other public servants who dedicate their lives to better our country.

So with all that being said, what does Earth Day mean this year?

More Important Than Ever

Earth Day can be a holiday that gets lost in the shuffle of spring activities (St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, spring breaks, Mother’s Day, graduations, etc). But April 22 is a day we should take a moment to appreciate.

Some people might shrug it off and let it go by completely unnoticed. Many people will post a pretty picture of a waterfall, a sunset, or a mountain range and caption it “Earth Day 2026!”.

But this Earth Day, and likely the next couple Earth Days, are more important than ever. Earth Day is not simply about appreciating nature. It’s also about protecting nature, a value we tend to preach rather than practice. In reality, environmental protection is not as glamorous or easy as a sign that says “Don’t Litter”. Protecting nature and preserving it for future generations requires laws, regulations, and sometimes sacrifices in the way we go about our lives.

But let’s not forget that these laws, regulations, and sacrifices that so many of us fight for are inextricably tied to our health. And not in a figurative “protect your health” sense.

In a very real “every single breath you take, or sip of water you drink, or bite of food you eat” sense.

So when the Endangerment Finding is struck down, or AI data centers run rampant across our nation, or the Justice40 program is dismantled, it literally gets harder to breathe.

Our Power, Our Planet

The theme for Earth Day 2026 is “Our Power, Our Planet”, which in my opinion aptly reflects one of the things that people tend to overlook the most when it comes to the environmental movement. The Our in that slogan is crucial, because this movement extends beyond the borders of the United States.

It’s our power and our planet. All of us.

Our air and water and even soil doesn’t know boundaries or borders. They don’t care about treaties or walls or the other silly things we think divide us. If it’s contaminated over there, sooner or later, it’ll be contaminated here.

But this slogan also reflects a more positive view of our predicament, that just because progress slows in one area, does not mean it has to slow everywhere. Again, Earth Day is bigger than the confines of these 50 states. It’s a global movement, not under the control of any one person, party, or place.

The Past Can Show Us the Way

Collective action and community participation are powerful things. We all know that many voices are more powerful than one alone, but I think as a global community we forget how far we have come in the fight for a cleaner planet.

The events that led to the founding of Earth Day did not happen that long ago, but we’ve made remarkable progress in the way we treat our environment and the standards we hold ourselves and our neighbors to.

Throughout the 1900s, various environmental disasters and trends drew increasing public outcry as people began to wonder, why are we letting ourselves live like this when we don’t have to?

Love Canal, New York. Times Beach, Missouri. The Cuyahoga River fires and the near death of Lake Erie. Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring. All of these shocking (and some were frankly gross) degradations of nature awoke a national movement that has yet to disappear.

And in 1969, the tipping point.

The equivalent of 100,000 barrels of crude oil were dumped into the Santa Barbara Channel in California, which sparked the creation of the first Earth Day as well as the Environmental Protection Agency in 1970.

That was only 56 years ago.

But in that time, we’ve accomplished major environmental victories here and abroad.

In the United States, we passed the groundbreaking Clean Air and Clean Water Acts, the Endangered Species Act, the Superfund Act, and more.

The international community banded together through the Montreal Protocol to heal the ozone layer, the Paris Agreement to limit global temperature rise, and the Sustainable Development Goals to slow climate change, protect our oceans and forests, and promote global peace and prosperity.

These are not small wins.

These were massive undertakings in international relations, environmental advocacy, and honestly public willpower. Humans are notoriously fickle beings, but on multiple occasions we proved that we can work together across political and cultural divides to protect something that we all share.

Our home.

Hope in the Face of Despair

One of my favorite authors is John Green, who got his name from writing the books that defined my middle and high school years (The Fault in Our Stars, Looking for Alaska, etc).

But more recently he’s penned some truly fantastic books about health, life, and the human condition.

Last April, I was lucky enough to attend a panel interview with Green and other global health advocacy partners hosted by my university. The talk primarily centered around international efforts to fight tuberculosis, related to Green’s newest book Everything Is Tuberculosis, but something Green said resonated with me beyond global infectious disease prevention.

He said “I keep learning again and again that hope is the right response to the human condition…”

“...I actually - I keep in my wallet a little note that says, the year you graduated from high school, 12 million children died under the age of 5. Last year, fewer than 5 million did. That progress, which is real and which is felt in the lives of millions of human beings and the tens of millions who love them - that progress was not natural. It was not inevitable. It did not happen because it was always going to happen. It happened because millions and millions of people, hundreds of millions of people, maybe billions of people came together to make it happen, to make the world safer for children. We decided that we were going to prioritize that, and when we prioritized it, we had tremendous success.”

What an incredible thought that is. That if we collectively decide to prioritize our planet’s health, and therefore our children’s health, we will see success. We’ve seen it before and we will see it again.

And that is what Earth Day means to me this year. It means continuing to fight for our planet, using all of the power and resources we have at our disposal.

It means hope, even in the face of despair.

Written by Anna Consolazio, MPH

Anna Consolazio is CEHN’s Fall and Spring Communication, Marketing, and Design Intern. She is graduating from George Washington University with a Master’s in Public Health Communications and Marketing. She is located in Washington, DC and is looking forward to finding a job in environmental health communications and advocacy.

Every child deserves a school that protects their health, supports their learning, and helps them thrive.

But across the United States, too many children are still learning in environments shaped by preventable risks: poor indoor air quality, aging infrastructure, lead in drinking water, mold and moisture, extreme heat sometimes coupled with higher relative humidity both outdoors and indoors, chemical exposures, and underfunded maintenance. These are not isolated building problems. They are children’s environmental health issues—and they are solvable.

Healthy Schools Day is here!

Healthy Schools Day is an opportunity to continue to build the cross-sector movement that can translate research, concern, and practical reforms into political will- and political will into child-protective action. Founded by Healthy Schools Network, this day brings together people and organizations with different networks and perspectives, all focused on the same goal—protecting children’s health in schools.

For more than 30 years, Healthy Schools Network has been working to ensure that every child has access to a safe and healthy place to learn. The national nonprofit provides policy advocacy, coalition leadership, research, and technical assistance to improve school environments across the country.

This year, Healthy Schools Network is hosting a week-long series of virtual events featuring key stakeholder and policy leaders, like Congressman Bobby Scott who recently introduced the Rebuild America Schools Act of 2026. This legislation would create a federal program for school infrastructure investment—an important step toward healthier learning environments for all children.

Thirty years ago, when people considered healthy schools, they often thought first about health care. The year Healthy Schools Network was founded, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) pioneered an expansive view of school indoor environments through its Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools kit, which covered issues such as molds, water damage, leaks, ventilation, chemicals, cleaning, and acute health effects in occupants from dirty indoor environments. Healthy Schools Network championed the kit, but took it a step further, publishing the Parent Guide to Indoor Air in Schools. This was a newly developed “literature” of how to translate adult occupational health protections into children’s environmental health protections. Since 1995, the organization has been working to address healthy schools issues through advocacy, research, and coalition building.

More than buildings

Today, even though our broader understanding of healthy schools has expanded beyond health care, people often think first (or only) about buildings: HVAC systems, aging pipes, peeling paint with lead in it or layers of older paint underneath it, broken boilers, visible moisture damage and mold, or lead in drinking water. While these issues matter deeply, modern research shows us that a truly healthy school environment is broader than what happens within four classroom walls.

Derek Shendell, D.Env., M.P.H., professor at the Rutgers School of Public Health and director of the New Jersey Safe Schools Program, encourages a more holistic view. School environmental health, he explained, includes not only classrooms, but also cafeterias, science labs, career and technical education shops, bathrooms, locker rooms, nurse’s offices, buses, pickup lanes adjacent to the main buildings and front office, playgrounds, athletic fields, and the urban or rural outdoor environments surrounding school campuses. His team refers to these as school “microenvironments”—the many spaces children and school staff move through in a single day, each with its own potential exposures and acute and chronic health implications.

Expanding our definition of a school environment also expands our definition of who healthy schools are for. Schools are not just places where children learn. They are also workplaces for teachers, custodians, cafeteria staff, bus drivers, coaches, and school nurses—whose safety and comfort, mental health, and physical health and overall wellness are deeply connected to the physical and mental health and learning of students as well as the various adults they work with including administrators and educational support professionals.

Understanding how many environments children move through in a school day, makes it easier to see just how many preventable hazards can shape their health.

Persistent hazards, preventable harms

Many of the environmental health challenges facing schools are not new. Too often, they are problems we have understood for decades but still have not solved at scale.

John Reeder, MA, of Healthy Schools Network, points to the persistent infrastructure gap in schools nationwide. Many U.S. public school buildings are now more than 50 years old, and nearing the end of their “design life.” At the same time, less than half of them have been meaningfully renovated since their opening. Aging facilities often struggle with providing adequate ventilation, filtration, temperature control, and moisture management- factors that shape children’s health every day. It is the wear and tear of these elements that allows environmental hazards to accumulate. In the American Society of Civil Engineers’ Report Card for America’s Infrastructure, school infrastructure has never received above a C and is most often rated in the D range.

Some of these hazards are legacy issues, like lead in drinking water or asbestos in aging materials. Others are emerging or newly visible. Shendell notes growing concern around fragranced and aerosolized personal care products, air fresheners, and scented cleaning products. When these are used in shared indoor school spaces at common indoor temperatures, they typically release volatile organic compounds (VOCs) into the air. These harmful chemicals have been associated with acute irritation and long-term health risks.

Climate change adds a new layer of complexity to the healthy schools landscape. More frequent extreme weather events, hotter average temperatures and colder winter days, and shifting seasonal patterns are putting pressure on school buildings and operations in new ways. Extreme heat is an especially worrisome threat- the number of classes and school days canceled due to heat is increasing quickly across the country, and about 2-in-5 or 41% of all US schools report needing updates to air conditioning systems in the majority of their buildings.

Equitable environments

For children already facing environmental injustice and disproportionate exposures in their homes and communities, schools both indoors and outdoors should provide a protective environment—not another source of preventable harm.

Not all communities have equal access to the funding, staffing, political influence, or infrastructure needed to address environmental health challenges effectively. These inequities show up in many ways: aging buildings, delayed repairs, under-resourced maintenance, unsafe siting decisions, environmental burdens in surrounding neighborhoods, and gaps in access to safe water for drinking, cooking and handwashing, air conditioning, or up-to-date environmental protections.

The climate crisis only widens these inequities. School districts serving lower-income families are more likely to be affected by climate-related events and require federal recovery support. Students of color are more likely to live in areas burdened with extreme heat and less likely to have air conditioning in their homes and schools.

Opportunities to protect children’s health

For all the challenges, schools also represent one of our greatest opportunities to protect children’s health. Children spend nearly 1,200 hours per year over 180-185 days in school on average, or the majority of their time outside the home. As Reeder put it, “These are public environments where policy can make a real difference. If we can ensure that all children spend seven hours a day in a healthy environment, that could significantly improve children’s health.” We cannot control every of the outdoor and indoor environmental conditions children encounter. But schools are one of the places where public systems should be able to protect their health.

Poor environmental conditions at schools can affect children’s health both immediately and cumulatively. They may cause respiratory symptoms, headaches, fatigue, asthma exacerbations, neurodevelopmental issues, hormone disruption, and even increased risk for serious diseases like cancer in some cases. And when school environments are healthier, children are more likely to attend regularly, engage in learning, and benefit from the opportunities schools are meant to provide. Shendell emphasized that a prevention-oriented approach could help reduce absenteeism, tardiness, and early departures—not only for students, but for the adults who support them.

We know that healthy school environments strengthen the entire learning ecosystem. If we are serious about helping every child thrive, then we must be serious about the environments where they spend so much of their time.

Prevention in practice

One of the most frustrating truths about healthy schools is most solutions are not mysterious or expensive. As Reeder says, “The good news is we actually know how to make schools healthy. We understand the problems, and we know the solutions.”

There are practical, evidence-informed actions that schools, districts, states, and federal leaders can take right now. Not every improvement requires a brand-new school building. In fact, many of the most important interventions are about everyday prevention.

In many communities, meaningful progress starts with practical, prevention-focused steps like:

• Improve air quality by maintaining mechanical heating, ventilating and air conditioning or HVAC systems, replacing their filters on time, and using advanced filtration including air cleaners with HEPA (high efficiency particulate air filter) where needed

• Prevent moisture and mold through timely repair and building maintenance

• Reduce toxic exposures by using integrated pest management and choosing safer cleaning and disinfecting products and limiting use of personal care products indoors

• Protect drinking water by testing for and eliminating lead and other contaminants Fund routine upkeep so problems are addressed before they become crises

Healthy schools need investment in everyday prevention. But those day-to-day protections do not happen in a vacuum. They depend on whether schools have the funding, staffing, time, and institutional support to keep healthy conditions in place over time. Shendell’s team’s work points to the persistent challenges beyond simple budgets, “Sometimes it’s just having a stock of replacement filters, or enough supplies or staffing to do integrated pest management rather than defaulting to pesticide use because it seems faster or cheaper. Some of the gaps are about money and material resources, but some are also about time, staffing, and flexibility.”

Investing in healthy futures—and fixing the systems around them

There is an estimated $90 billion annual school infrastructure investment gap in the United States.

Most school funding is absorbed by routine operations, leaving too little room for construction, renovation, remediation, site preparations, and environmental health needs. According to the 2025 ASCE Report, only 10% of educational spending was allocated to capital expenditures, and most of that went to new buildings—not upkeep, repair, or remediation.

Shendell and colleagues at Rutgers and partner agencies have been gathering input from school facilities directors, managers and staff about healthy school environments, and a clear theme is emerging: many of the biggest needs are not major capital projects, but routine maintenance resources plus flexible resource use if damaged due to extreme weather events.

That aligns with what Claire Barnett, MBA, founder and immediate past executive director of Healthy Schools Network, has observed over decades of healthy schools advocacy. Barnett describes the funding reality plainly, “Most of it starts at the local level. Local taxpayers foot the bill. Then the states step in to presumably level it out a little and provide more funding to the most disadvantaged communities. But it doesn’t always work well that way.”

School funding on average comes primarily from local (43%) and state (45%) sources, while federal funding contributes far less overall—about 11%—and can fluctuate significantly year to year. There have been three major federal authorizations for healthy schools over the years, thanks in large part to efforts from advocates, Healthy Schools Network, and similar groups. As Reeder points out, the federal government invests heavily in roads, bridges, airports, and water infrastructure, but has historically made very limited comparable, sustained investment in school infrastructure, despite schools being one of the country’s largest forms of public infrastructure.

Part of what makes this work so challenging is that healthy schools are shaped by many overlapping systems at once. Many aspects of schools are governed locally, but they are also impacted, to varying degrees, by state and federal authority. This can differ across states, counties, and boroughs, cities and towns, and is changing over time as governors and federal leaders take more interest in control of schools and learning systems.

Barnett describes schools as a nexus issue, “when you are in that building, the world is much larger around you and you have to be able to interact with it.” It’s very important to understand how many different agencies schools need to work with on a day-to-day basis, including education funding, public health, labor including workplace safety, environmental protection, emergency preparedness, building codes, maintenance budgets, school governance, local politics, and more.

That complexity can make action feel slow or frustrating. It can also make it easy for responsibility to diffuse. One agency oversees one issue. Another oversees another. And too often, no one is fully empowered—or resourced—to address the full picture of children’s environmental health in schools.

Barnett compared it to a “great gray battleship that moves very slowly,” but is trending in the right direction thanks to scientific research, passionate advocates and an increasingly organized healthy schools movement that began 30 years ago.

Change happens when people work together

This is why coalition-building is essential. Working together can help reach across these silos to connect science, policy, implementation, and community voice.

Recently, the Coalition for Healthier Schools, led by the Healthy Schools Network, rallied to support funding for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Tools for Schools program. Coalition members signed letters, called their representatives, and visited congressional offices. Congress ultimately included language in EPA’s appropriations report directing the agency to continue its healthy schools work.

Reeder described the win, “To me, that demonstrated the power of working together. I was very proud of the coalition and the effort.”

Because schools are largely controlled and funded at the local level, local advocacy and community organizing can be incredibly influential. For instance, voters approved an incredible 76% of all local school bond or tax measures in the 2025 elections. However, these approval rates vary widely between states. Barnett says that having “boots on the ground” that are familiar with local challenges, issues, and characters can make or break advocacy for healthy schools.

While national webinars and policy discussions are part of the week’s Healthy Schools programming, Reeder says the most powerful impact often comes from local efforts. “The best part of Healthy Schools Day is when teachers, parents, and students organize activities in their own schools,” he says, “Those local actions are what really move change forward.”

Cause for hope

Across the country, people are pushing for healthier school environments—and making progress. Advocates are protecting public health funding. Communities are supporting investment in schools. States are stepping forward with stronger policy and practice.

Shendell said he remains a “cup-half-full person” because he has seen enough small wins to know that progress is possible. He is also finding hope in the next generation. When we spoke, he shared how since COVID-19 more undergraduate students are entering public health and related allied health, science and engineering fields with a deeper awareness of indoor air and environmental quality, health, and prevention than previous generations often had.

That sense of hope is familiar at CEHN, too. Across our network, we see students and early-career professionals showing up with urgency, curiosity, and a deep commitment to collective action. They are entering this work at a difficult moment for environmental and public health, but they are not backing away from the challenge.

Children deserve better—and we can build it together

Children deserve schools that promote and enhance their physical and mental health and educational progress.

Every child should have an environmentally safe and healthy school building, campus, and community that is clean, in good repair, and designed to support their well-being.

That future requires sustained public investment, science-informed policy, stronger accountability, and broad coalitions willing to keep children at the center.

That is the work before us. And it is work worth doing.

-Written by Hannah Wilkerson, CEHN External Relations & Creative Manager

Hollis is a multifaceted writer, poet, and advocate whose work bridges literature, human rights, and children’s wellbeing with remarkable grace and purpose. Born in New York City and educated at the University of Pennsylvania and the Georgetown School of Foreign Service, she first made her mark with a distinguished career in international management consulting before turning her creative energies full-time to writing and advocacy.

Hollis’ poetry has appeared in esteemed journals such as Amsterdam Quarterly, Rattle, and Intima: A Journal of Narrative Medicine, and her debut collection, Unlikely Skylight, establishes her as a distinctive and deeply reflective voice in contemporary poetry.

More central to CEHN’s focus, she is also known globally as the author of the Counting series for young readers. This includes the Counting Kindness: Ten Ways to Welcome Refugee Children, a picture book published in ten countries and seven languages, endorsed by Amnesty International and nominated for the Kate Greenaway Medal. It also includes CEHN’s ‘Book of the Month’ Counting in Green: 10 Little Ways to Help Our Big Planet. These books take complex, sensitive issues like displacement, empathy, and environmental stewardship and make them accessible, hopeful, and empowering for even the youngest audiences.

Beyond her literary achievements, Hollis is deeply engaged in advocacy and civic life. She serves on the Human Rights Watch Global Advisory Council for Women’s Rights and the Fulbright Commission NL Board, chairs the Fulbright Commission NL Board and the Ivy Circle Board and has played leadership roles with Save the Children Netherlands, among other boards. Her dynamic career reflects a rare blend of strategic insight, creative expression, and unwavering commitment to social justice.

Dividing her time between Amsterdam and New York with her husband, Hollis writes in multiple genres, moderates discussions on literature, human rights, and education, and continues to inspire readers and communities around the world with work that invites empathy, action, and deeper understanding.

I interviewed Hollis in January 2026. I’ll let her words speak for themselves.

Hollis, tell me a little about yourself! What brings you joy - what brings you frustration?! Where are you currently based?

So many things bring me joy! Unhurried time and conversations with family and close friends (especially important since we’re scattered around the planet); travel and discovering new cultures; breakthroughs in my writing and thinking; and finding ways large and small to help other people – and the planet. As a writer, specifically, it gives me joy when my readers of any age are visibly moved by something I’ve written; when they feel seen and understood; and when they share their ideas with me.

I’m normally not easily flustered or frustrated, but we are living in trying times. Probably what frustrates me the most is when societies, leaders, and whole communities are so ignorant of history – or appear to have learned nothing from it.

Originally from New York, I have spent most of my adult life living and working in Europe. I have lived in Amsterdam for many years but am often back in NY / the U.S.

As someone who fills so many roles - author, activist, board member - What does your day to day look like currently? Do you have any routines or practices that give you calm amongst the action?

Since closing my international consulting practice and office several years ago, I work from home – and wherever work takes me. My daily schedule therefore varies a lot, depending on whether I have meetings and/or events for my various Board roles, author commitments, or as speaker/moderator. And, of course, whether or not I have a deadline! I also tend to work on multiple things at once, going back and forth or even cross-fertilizing among them. This habit would drive a lot of people crazy, but it works for me.

Unfortunately, my writing too often happens ‘in between’. I wish I could say I was at my desk writing every morning at 7am before I let the world in, but this is not the case. It’s on my list of new year’s resolutions! This much said, I’m always writing – in my head, taking note, and taking notes. I like to capture inspiration along the way so am never without a notebook or pad of paper – and I find that handwriting these notes lodges inspiration in my brain better than phone notes. This way I never have to start with a blank page. As Salman Rushdie once wrote, ‘as a writer, nothing is ever wasted’ – and I fully agree.

I need to create – and I need to move. Writing, especially if I can ‘get in the zone’ and stay there, is one of the best ways I know to find calm in the storm. The same goes for walking – whether long, brisk city walks or meditative nature walks. I also do all kinds of workouts regularly, from Pilates to yoga to my own routines, and I dance and choreograph. After many years of doing mostly modern and jazz dance, I’ve started ballet classes again and love the exacting rigor of it.

Your book Counting in Green: Ten Little Ways to Help Our Big Planet invites kids to explore simple environmental actions. What inspired you to focus on environmental health in a children’s book?

Several factors likely inspired me to write an environmentally themed children’s book. First, going back to my own childhood, when I shuttled back and forth between New York City and the suburbs. New York was much more exciting then, but also much grittier and more polluted. The air, rivers, streets and subways were filthy, and I remember moaning about the grey cloud hanging over the skyline when I crossed the bridge every week. I’m also convinced that reading The Lorax by Dr. Seuss, still one of the best books ever written about the environment, had a huge impact on me. The book haunted me – and I later gifted it to the former Dutch Minister of the Environment.

Later, my work with Human Rights Watch and in the Board of Save the Children Netherlands regularly confronted me with the painful facts and figures. And I’ve seen it firsthand. I often say that ‘children are the first and worst victims’ of conflicts – but also of climate crises and degradation. Their health, safety, and future are on the line. Children are paying the price for our negligence, denial, and short-term greed.

‘Counting in Green’ is also part of my counting book series that started with ‘Counting Kindness: Ten Ways to Welcome Refugee Children’ – with new stories underway. Each book is designed to take a complex, sensitive topic and make it more accessible, engaging, and empowering for the youngest readers. And to spark conversations, giving families and classrooms a framework for these tricky discussions – through a hopeful lens. It would have been unthinkable not to include a climate-themed book!

What has been the biggest reward and challenge you have encountered in being an author? What is something surprising that people may not anticipate?

As mentioned earlier, I love emotionally touching readers and moving them to new insights or action – whether it’s a small thing to help refugees or the planet or some creative activity inspired by what I’ve written. It’s especially rewarding when readers young or old share their personal stories, creations, or pictures with me, triggered either by my poetry or children’s stories. And it may surprise some readers (and other writers!) to know that I love tough questions – especially when they come from kids. Separately, of course, it’s a thrill every time I see my books on the shelf of a library, bookstore, or classroom. That never gets old.

The biggest challenges of being an author are

1) finding (making!) time to write; and
2) what a ‘solo’ activity writing is, since I’m usually happiest working in teams.

Aside from the craft and networking elements, this is also why being part of writers’ groups and communities is so important.

In your view, why is understanding environmental health especially important for children’s wellbeing and development?

Children are usually the most impacted by environmental issues – physically, economically, and psychologically – and face the direst consequences long term. Access to food, clean water, clean air, and environments free of toxins are especially important for children’s young, growing bodies and brains and their still developing immune systems. Climate disasters like storms, floods, fires, or droughts can leave them without a safe place to live or go to school, short term or for a much longer period. And climate change can have the less visible effects of unleashing infectious diseases, whether through more mosquitoes or unsanitary conditions – and we know young children are usually hardest hit. Climate change, both directly and directly, is also projected to be one of the main sources of displacement and migration in the not-too-distant future. This is the unfortunate but important link between the topics of my first two books…

The good news, though, is that children and young people are leading the way in holding us accountable and finding creative ways to help the planet. Children don’t have to be taught to care about the natural world around them; they already do! They’re devastated when they hear how many animal species have disappeared, when they see plastic wash up on the beach, or if the weather makes it too dangerous to play outside. They want to do something about it. They just need some support and know they can make a difference at any age. That’s what my book ‘Counting in Green’ is about.

Part of your work involves live readings, storytimes, and children’s fairs where you present Counting in Green and Counting Kindness. How do these events help deepen children’s connection to environmental and social topics?

Firstly, children find it exciting to ‘meet the author’ – to connect the physical book with the person who wrote it, now sitting in front of them – and so they will often pay special attention. More importantly, I always make my readings and story-times highly interactive: I ask them questions and get them involved from start to finish; I have fun activities and props to accompany the book; and I always give them the opportunity to ask me questions as well.

In the case of Counting in Green, for example (and you can see my downloadable activity sheet on my website), one of my favorite activities is ‘Eat the Rainbow’. As a way of encouraging children to eat less meat – better for our planet, our health, and our animal friends – I bring in a basket of colorful fruits and vegetables (either toy versions or real ones) and ask them to help me make a rainbow with them. Last year I had a teacher send me an adorable picture of her young son making a rainbow with his fruits and veggies at home after our bookstore reading.

I also usually start the discussion on the ‘2 Breezy Wheels’ spread by asking them how they got to the shop, library or school that day. Did they walk or bike? Take a bus or metro? A car? And then at the end of the reading, we’ll lay out cards with pictures of different forms of transportation and rank them from best to worst for the environment. Airplanes and cruise-ships don’t score well, even with the youngest. They get it very quickly!

For ‘Counting Kindness’, the refugee topic is even more sensitive. One of the most powerful activities I use for building empathy is the ‘backpack’, which you can also find on my activity sheet. I ask, ‘What would you bring if you suddenly had to leave home because it wasn’t safe -and everything needed to fit in a backpack?’ This starts as a discussion but often leads to follow-up activities at home or in the classroom, such as the children drawing pictures of what they would take along or actually trying to fit everything into a backpack. Needless to say, I bring my own backpack along with lots of props.

How are these events structured and what response do you tend to get from youth and their caregivers?

In the case of a reading, I start with a little introduction and ask them some questions to get them warmed up. For Counting Kindness, I gently explain what a refugee is. I then do an interactive reading with them, occasionally asking them for input along the way. Sometimes I’ll pull out a prop to make a point, like popping open the bright shopping tote that’s always tucked into my handbag. It’s like pulling a rabbit out of a hat. Well, almost. At the end of each book, I include some ‘Did you know…’ facts, so we go through those together. These facts and figures can be tough (such as the number of child refugees in the world or the number of animal species we’ve lost), but we handle them gently and through a hopeful lens.

My last question for them is ‘How many ways can you think of to go green?’ or ‘How many ways can you think of to be kind?’. I’m moved and impressed by their ideas.

Then… the activities! These are always fun, hands-on, and high-energy.

Lastly, I ask the children (and adults) if they have questions for me. I love this part.

So far, the responses have been gratitude and enthusiasm. I adapt my style and length of session to the age range and situation, but I’ve always found the groups highly engaged. And I’ve been moved to tears by some of the reactions and questions in the groups – not to mention the wonderful letters, stories, or pictures I get from the children, teachers, or parents afterwards.

What was a memorable experience from one of these events? Good or bad!

Surely my most memorable experience was doing a virtual reading of ‘Counting Kindness’ for a Teach for Lebanon school in Lebanon. The class was a mix of Lebanese students as well as Syrian and Palestinian refugees. In most cases, I’m trying to encourage children from ‘host countries’ to welcome and empathize with refugees. But in this case, I also had to make the refugee children feel seen, respected, and appreciated. That’s a special challenge and responsibility. It was heartwarming. Afterwards, the school sent me ‘before and after’ pictures of how they had finally made a proper library, ‘inspired by’ my book and reading session.

How do you integrate topics of environmental justice and health into the sessions you lead, both about your books but also wider your social justice discussion groups?

The human rights discussions with schoolchildren have been separate from my SCBWI involvement; rather with classes at the International School of Amsterdam (in addition to my classroom readings and discussions at schools in the US, UK, and elsewhere). I’d typically cover a whole range of human rights issues – adapted for their age – from modern day slavery, child labor and child marriage to immigrant and LGBTQ rights. We also discuss the Geneva Convention and Rights of the Child, which strongly feature environmental justice and rights – not just in article 24 (health, water, food, environment), but also indirectly in the other rights such as the right to a safe place to live and go to school, food, etc.

What type of response do you get from these workshops?

Again, I’ve loved the high engagement, thoughtful questions (including ones I’ll get in the days afterwards), and pictures the children send. And the teachers’ gratitude and relief that I can help them cover these sensitive issues!

But I’m honestly blown away by the questions these children come up with, even at a very young age. For example, from 9 year-olds in Amsterdam: ‘why would an older man want to marry a girl my age?’; ‘why is it illegal in so many countries to be gay?’, ‘why does the US not take part in these international bodies and treaties?’ and, most heart-wrenchingly, ‘when is this all going to stop?’.

Are you planning future books or workshop themes that continue to spotlight environmental wellbeing or children’s health in new ways? What other projects do you have lined up?

Things I care about always end up in my writing, whether it be in my children’s books, poetry, or blogs – so yes! I have several stories and poems on this theme that I hope will get published soon, one of which features a young brother, sister, and their dog teaming up to do a beach clean-up. I can’t give too much away here.

And I’m always keen to do readings and workshops spotlighting environmental issues and the impact on children.

How can people support you and your work?

The most important way people can support my work is by taking it to heart by finding ways to show kindness to our planet, to our refugees and immigrants, and to one another. At the end of each book, I also list some organizations that can help us be helpful.

It’s of course also a big help if people buy and read my books; take a few minutes to post an honest review of my books somewhere; and help spread the word. At children’s book fairs or readings, I’m thrilled when people buy several copies of my books to gift to friends or donate copies to schools, libraries or pediatricians’ offices. I donate many copies of my books, too.

Lastly, invite me to do a reading, presentation, or workshop; I love doing them! I live in Amsterdam but spend several months per year in the U.S. – and virtual sessions also work.

After speaking with Hollis about her work, I was left feeling inspired and deeply uplifted. It’s incredible to see authors like Hollis championing moral values and working to instill ambition, awareness and positivity in young people.

Hollis was kind enough to craft a poem for CEHN. We hope it resonates with you as deeply as it does us.

Article written by Rebecca Barry

Literary materials by Hollis Kurman

I spoke with Tausha Bonner-Johnson, the Policy and Advocacy Manager at New Voices for Reproductive Justice (Ne Voices). New Voices is a Reproductive Justice organization that supports and builds power for and alongside Black women, Black queer folks, and Black marginalized communities through leadership development, community care, resourcing, and mutual aid. Their work improves children’s well-being by supporting the social and physical structures that children live within.

New Voices "Defend Our Kin" leadership development cohort of 2025

Children’s Environmental Health Through a Reproductive Justice Lens

New Voices defines children’s environmental health as the ability for families to safely live, rest, and thrive in the places they love. Within a reproductive justice framework, this means more than access to healthcare; it includes the right to raise children in environments free from harm, pollution, and neglect.

“Our environments include not just the climate,” Tausha explains, “but our bodies, our schools, our workplaces, our community interactions and our places of worship.” These spaces, she emphasizes, should be safe, accessible, and free of toxins and pollution.

When communities are burdened with polluted air, unsafe housing, or contaminated water, families are denied the full ability to nurture, protect, and sustain the next generation.

Environmental Threats Black Children Continue to Face

Across the country, Black children are disproportionately exposed to environmental hazards created by decades of disinvestment and policy decisions. Tausha points to pressing issues such as lead exposure in Cleveland, the fight for clean water in Pittsburgh, and housing conditions where lead, mold, and structural neglect remain common. How can a child thrive in an environment that makes them sick? How can we dismantle the social structures that put Black children at a higher risk of these harmful exposures?

These threats are the predictable outcomes of environmental racism; systems that more often place harmful infrastructure and polluting industries in predominantly Black neighborhoods while disinvesting from resources for repair and protection. The outcomes of these inequities can show up in children’s lives as asthma, developmental delays, learning challenges, and chronic illness.

Environmental injustice, in this way, becomes a reproductive justice issue because it directly shapes whether children can grow up healthy and whether families can envision safe futures for them.

Environmental Racism and Intergenerational Harm

The impacts of environmental racism extend beyond the current generation- shaping the lives of future children as well. Exposure to toxins like lead or polluted air can affect cognitive development, long-term health, and economic stability. These are patterns that ripple across families and communities over time.

New Voices confronts these intergenerational harms by calling for accountability from governments and corporations responsible for environmental damage while also supporting families with the tools and resources they need to sustain themselves. Tausha emphasizes that justice requires both systemic change and community investment; holding power accountable while strengthening the capacity of families to care for one another. She emphasizes the importance of not criticizing communities, but instead meeting them where they are. This means acknowledging the structural and socioeconomic constraints that they are under, listening to how best to support them, and working together to develop realistic solutions.

New Voices voter canvassers in Philadelphia canvass the Germantown neighborhood ahead of the 2024 Presidential Election.

Black History Month as a Tool for Truth-Telling and Action

This month serves as a powerful entry point to connect history, policy, and present-day conditions affecting Black children. New Voices uses this month to uplift the Black champions of the present. They shine a spotlight on the current changemakers, leaders and organizations doing incredible work in the racial justice sector now. Recognizing the contributions of historical figures is of high importance, but New Voices feels we should be keen to showcase today’s successors. This all works to empower Black communities further.

Supporting Families, Caregivers, and Community Power

Parents and caregivers are central to New Voices’ environmental health work. Their lived experiences guide campaign priorities and ensure that advocacy reflects real conditions on the ground. New Voices supports families through community care, mutual aid, and leadership development, recognizing that caregivers are often the first to notice when something is wrong in a child’s environment.

The organization engages families by hosting gatherings, sharing information through social media, and providing tools like phone and text scripts that help community members advocate for safer housing, better water quality, and healthier schools and childcare settings.

Face painting at New Voices 20th Anniversary event in Philadelphia

Centering Youth Voices in Environmental Justice

New Voices also emphasizes the importance of youth leadership in environmental justice work. Centering children and young people means shifting them from being people we talk about to people who help shape solutions, policies, and accountability.

This approach moves beyond symbolic inclusion. It recognizes children and youth as experts in their own lived experiences and invests in leadership development that builds shared power across generations.

Policy, Accountability, and Building a Healthier Future

Protecting Black children’s environmental health requires strong policies that address unsafe housing, environmental hazards in schools, and unequal exposure to pollution. New Voices works to advance and defend policies that protect children while holding institutions (including governments, school systems, and corporations) accountable for environmental harms that disproportionately impact Black communities.

Looking ahead, Tausha envisions a future where Black children no longer have to fight for basic safety. In that future, health, opportunity, and protection are built into the environments where children live, learn, and play. It is not just about removing pollution, but about creating spaces where Black children can fully thrive and imagine expansive futures without environmental harm shaping their lives.

Moving Forward Together

Supporting children’s environmental health through a reproductive justice lens means meeting kids where they are and acknowledging the realities they face because of the color of their skin and the neighborhoods they live in. It requires educators, policymakers, and communities to confront environmental racism honestly and commit to solutions rooted in equity and care.

This Black History Month, New Voices reminds us that protecting Black children’s health is not a new fight, but it is one that demands renewed and continuous attention, accountability, and collective action.

Written by Rebecca Barry

For many families facing a childhood cancer diagnosis, this question echoes in their minds relentlessly. It is underscored with grief, confusion, and potential regret. Could they have prevented or mitigated the onset of the cancer? What caused this tragedy? Understandably, they reach out to their oncologist for answers.

For Dr. Omar Shakeel, this question became the compass guiding his career into the field of childhood cancer prevention and survivorship.

Dr. Shakeel is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Hematology-Oncology at Baylor College of Medicine and a pediatric oncologist at Texas Children’s Hospital. He also leads the Long-Term Survivor Clinic, which focuses on education and lifestyle guidance for survivors and their families on how they can remain healthy following their cancer treatment.

From Clinical Curiosity to Environmental Prevention

“From very early on, I noticed that families didn’t just want to know about treatment, they wanted to understand why their child got cancer and what could be done to prevent it.”

Dr. Shakeel began his fellowship training in 2017, which saw him become well versed in pediatric oncology. During his training, he began to look at the existing research on environmental toxicants and cancer incidence and outcomes. He examined how exposures - from medical radiation to household chemicals - might influence pediatric cancer development and long-term outcomes. This introduced him to a community of oncologists and researchers investigating the impacts environmental exposures - a community of which he is now very much at the heart of.

The rising rates of childhood cancer are concerning and remain unexplained. Since 1975, childhood cancer rates have increased even though survival rates continue to improve. This can’t be explained by genetics alone - it must have some relationship to our environment. There is now growing evidence that several environmental hazards are associated with childhood cancer risks and negative health consequences for childhood cancer survivor

Bringing Environment Into the Clinic

Now, Dr. Shakeel is part of an international movement to put environmental health at the heart of cancer care and prevention.

He is a program partner with the Childhood Cancer & the Environment Program (CCEP); a national initiative of the Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Units (PEHSU) network aimed at educating clinicians, families, and caregivers about how the environment can influence childhood cancer risk, treatment outcomes, and survivorship.

Dr. Shakeel also regularly helps lead workshops, trainings, and symposiums where pediatric oncology teams learn practical tools to address environmental exposures like air pollution, pesticides, tobacco smoke, and household chemicals. Many pediatric cancer providers receive questions from families about environmental risks, yet few feel comfortable responding. Analysis from the PEHSU network shows that while 80% of oncology team members get these questions, only about 25% feel confident addressing them.

Dr. Shakeel sees this as both a challenge and an opportunity.

“Our job isn’t just to treat; it’s to equip families with information that helps them protect their children’s future,” he says. Facilitating these workshop sessions allow clinicians to feel confident discussing these issues with families and providing preventative strategies.

Survivorship: Beyond the Hospital Walls

Dr. Shakeel is especially passionate about survivorship, an area of childhood cancer which is often overlooked. He plays a key role in helping children who have beaten cancer live healthy, vibrant lives.

Childhood cancer survivors face higher risks of respiratory, cardiovascular, and secondary cancers, risks that can be worsened by environmental exposures. They are even more vulnerable to environmental harm, so preventative and protective action is absolutely key for their long term health.

“It’s not enough to cure the cancer,” he says. “We need to help survivors thrive in the world they live in by living full, healthy lives.” While it is true that we need to create safer environments overall through policy and statewide measures, there are also individual level actions that families can take to reduce their risk and protect their loved ones.

These include:

• Minimising exposure to harmful pollutants like wildfire smoke, tobacco smoke, air pollution from industrial or traffic sources

• Reducing the use of household chemical and pesticides by choosing fragrance-free, non-toxic, and natural personal care and cleaning products

• Wearing sunscreen regularly to protect from harmful UV exposure

• Supporting overall health through a healthy, whole-food-balanced diet

To support this, Dr. Shakeel and his colleagues have also proposed creating the first Pediatric Cancer Environmental Referral Service in the U.S., which is a consultative service that helps clinicians and families navigate environmental health concerns and provide counseling on protective measures throughout the care journey. This is vital in ensuring that families are not only equipped with knowledge, but also practical skills.

There are challenges to his work; funding can be scarce, and misinformation circulating in the media can be extremely detrimental. Nevertheless, Dr. Shakeel continues to relentlessly advocate for truth, transparency and optimal care for his patients and for the wider global community.

A Personal Priority

Growing up, Dr. Shakeel’s exposure to communities that were under-resourced and disproportionately affected by environmental risk motivates his work to push for healthy environments for all. And as a parent himself, raising a young daughter, he understands the necessity of having a strong accessible knowledge base of preventative and protective health behaviours to help guard the well-being of future generations of children.

“Every family wants to know how to protect their child,” he says. “When you can give them evidence-based guidance on how to reduce risks and support long-term health, that’s prevention in its most meaningful form.”

Thank you, Dr. Shakeel, for the phenomenal work you do!

Written by Rebecca Barry

Mansel Nelson, a trainer and program specialist with the Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals (ITEP) at Northern Arizona University, has spent years working alongside tribes to address these issues through education, training, and community-driven solutions. I got the chance to speak with him and learn more about the relationship between indoor air quality (IAQ), tribal communities and children’s health.

Mansel Nelson

This was especially fitting considering that January is National Radon Action Month. This time of year offers us an important opportunity to raise awareness about radon and the risks it poses, particularly in communities with a legacy of uranium mining and limited resources for testing and mitigation.

Supporting Tribal Communities from the Ground Up

ITEP is hosted by Northern Arizona University but works directly with tribes across the country. The organization has a staff of around 40 people and offers a wide spectrum of services designed to support tribal environmental initiatives.

“Our role is not to tell tribes what to do - they are sovereign nations,” Mansel explains. “We’re here to support them with training, education, and capacity building so they can make informed decisions that fit their own priorities.”

Church Radon Mitigation: Pueblo of Isleta, New Mexico, ITEP staff worked with the pueblo to investigate radon issues with Church. The Pueblo staff were able to mitigate the radon using the building HVAC system. Participants in an Indoor Air Quality training held at the Pueblo of Isleta, toured the building.

Mansel works primarily within ITEP’s internship program and as a trainer for tribal staff, delivering more than 14 different courses each year, both online and in person. He is also closely involved in youth programming, including partnerships with the Eco Healthy Child Care team here at Children’s Environmental Health Network (CEHN).

What Is Radon and Why Is It Dangerous?

Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas that forms when uranium breaks down in soil and rock. It is invisible, odorless, and tasteless, meaning people can be exposed without ever knowing it is present. Radon enters buildings through cracks in foundations, floors, and walls, accumulating indoors, especially in homes, schools, and childcare facilities.

Long-term exposure to elevated radon levels is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States and the leading cause among non-smokers. When radon gas is inhaled, radioactive particles damage lung tissue over time, increasing cancer risk. Because symptoms may not appear for decades, radon is often described as a silent or invisible health threat.

“Radon is one of those issues where people don’t see immediate impacts,” Mansel says. “That makes it really hard to keep it front and center.”

Radon and Tribal Communities: A Legacy of Uranium Mining

For several tribal nations, radon risk is closely tied to the historical legacy of uranium mining. More uranium in the soil increases the likelihood of radon coming up through building foundations.

“The Navajo Nation alone had over 500 uranium mines,” Nelson says. “Uranium is the precursor to radon, so that history still affects people today.”

Other tribes, such as the Spokane Tribe in Washington State, have also been impacted by uranium mining. While some tribes have developed radon programs, many are still in the early stages of awareness, testing, and mitigation.

Mansel reports on how community responses to radon vary widely. At Taos Pueblo in New Mexico, tribal staff were trained and successfully tested and mitigated homes for several years. There was successful prevention of exposure which likely benefitted the health of the community today. However, when trained staff moved on to other jobs, the program slowed because there was no one to replace them. “Now the community are interested in getting testing going again,” Nelson says, underscoring a common challenge: sustaining programs over time when there are competing or arguably more immediate priorities.

Policy Changes and Preparedness Gaps

Federal policy changes may soon increase attention to radon. Beginning in 2026, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will require radon testing and mitigation in buildings constructed with HUD funds.

“This will dramatically increase the demand for testing,” Mansel says. “But many tribes aren’t prepared for that, nor financially and practically equipped to take mitigation action”.

While EPA State Indoor Radon Grant (SIRG) funding has helped some communities with testing and education, radon continues to compete with many other urgent priorities.

“Radon is an issue in tribal communities,” Mansel says, “but it’s usually not at the top of the list.”

Indoor Air Quality: A More Immediate Health Crisis

While radon remains a serious concern, indoor air quality more broadly is often the most pressing issue for tribal communities - particularly for children.

“Asthma rates in tribal communities are almost double that of non-tribal communities,” Mansel says. “Indoor air quality is probably a big driver of that.”

Because most air pollution indoors is invisible, it can be difficult to motivate action. Common contributors to poor IAQ include:

● smoking indoors

● wood smoke from heating stoves

● mold caused by excess moisture

● poor ventilation leading to more concentrated air pollution

● the use of harsh or heavily scented cleaning products

There have been successes in improving IAQ. A notable shift occurred when the Navajo Nation passed a law banning smoking in casinos; while these environments didn’t have children in them, the ban raised awareness around IAQ in general. Plus, many schools have improved ventilation and cleaning practices, often directly due to ITEP programs and education. Homes, however, remain a significant challenge, likely due to lack of awareness and unknown harms around some long-standing practices like cooking and heating.

Why Children Are at Greater Risk

Children are especially vulnerable to radon and poor indoor air quality. Their lungs are still developing, they breathe more air relative to their body size, and they spend more time indoors, particularly in homes and childcare settings.

“Daycares and homes are critical spaces,” Mansel says. “That’s where testing and prevention really matter.”

Higher rates of asthma, flu, RSV, and other respiratory illnesses are common in tribal communities - and poorly ventilated indoor environments increase transmission. Keeping kids safe from a huge range of airborne illnesses and health issues means paying close attention to IAQ and putting health focused parameters in place.

Prevention Is Key

Because radon and indoor air pollutants cause harm over long periods, prevention is the most effective protection. Testing buildings, improving ventilation, reducing indoor pollution sources, and addressing moisture and mold can significantly reduce long-term health risks.

“Once lung damage happens, you can’t reverse it,” Mansel says. “That’s why prevention is so important.”

National Radon Action Month campaigns this month underscore this message, encouraging testing and awareness before health impacts occur.

Training, Capacity, and Optimism

There are 574 federally recognized tribes in the United States, yet in an average year Mansel only trains about 40 people on Indoor Air Quality. His own understandable limited capacity, combined with a lack of community engagement in some tribal areas and an overall lack of funding and resources prevents the expansion of his programs.

“Public health isn’t always a government priority,” Mansel says. “But continuing to educate at the community level will yield change in the long run.”

Nala Rain Nelson, Navajo, Mansel’s granddaughter, presented at a National Conference about her project testing radon in the Navajo community of Kayenta, AZ. Johna Boulafentis, Nez Perce Tribe, works with the New Perce tribe on radon issues.

We know that healthy indoor environments are vital for children’s health. This means areas free from or with very low levels of indoor pollution and less exposure to radon. Continuing the education and encouragement of communities and elected officials to prioritize this remains one of our key missions.

Thank you, Mansel, for your insight and expertise!

Written by Rebecca Barry

What emerged was a lively, thoughtful conversation about rewriting the environmental health narrative from the ground up; centering children, community wisdom, and real-world solutions.

Meet the Editors

Dr. Lindsay Tallon
Lindsay has spent her career working to protect children from environmental exposures such as air pollution and PFAS. She has developed children’s environmental health curricula, taught Children’s Environmental Health (CEH) principles to university students and community groups, and supported local activism in Massachusetts. Her philosophy is rooted in a simple truth: when we protect children better, we protect everyone better.

Dr. Natasha DeJarnett
Natasha’s path began in chemistry and biology, after which she had the opportunity to complete an air quality assessment inside industrial facilities. She found that there were abundant protections for the workers there. The breakthrough came when she considered that the people outside these facilities - often low-income communities and communities of color - had little protection at all. In her frequent visits to her family in Birmingham, Alabama, she witnessed asthma and environmental justice firsthand. Her work now focus on building environmental and cardiovascular health knowledge that communities can use and policymakers can act on.

Dr. Natalie Sampson
Natalie grew up in Michigan amid the industrial footprint of the auto industry, where she saw the effects of pollution on communities up close. With environmental justice training from the University of Michigan, she now works to connect scientific research with lived experience. Clear language, accessible communication, and translating research into practical, community-level impact guide her work.

The Vision: A Different Kind of Textbook

When the editors first met, they spent time stepping back and asking big questions about what the field needed. They agreed that environmental health education should be more diverse, more accessible, and more grounded in real stories and solutions.

Natasha reflected on their early conversations:
“We wanted a book that brings different voices into the room. A book that reflects the communities who face the burden; not just the academics who write about them.”

For Lindsay, children’s environmental health was non-negotiable. She emphasized that CEH shouldn’t be a niche or an optional perspective in environmental health education; it should be embedded into the curriculum from the start.

“Children are uniquely vulnerable to environmental harms,” she said, “but they also hold enormous potential as advocates and leaders. When we integrate CEH into the education system - whether in universities, community training, or professional programs - we’re preparing practitioners to think about prevention, protection, and justice from day one.”

She added that CEH concepts help students understand the broader system of environmental exposures: early-life vulnerabilities, cumulative impacts, developmental windows, and the lifelong effects of early environmental conditions.

“Teaching CEH isn’t just about kids, it’s about shaping a more protective, preventive, and equitable environmental health system for everyone.”

Each editor spoke about how CEH is not only about protecting young people but also about elevating them. Youth climate groups, CEHN and our partners, and members of the Children’s Health Protection Advisory Committee inspired their approach.

Natasha summed it up powerfully:
“Not about us without us. The people living these experiences,including children and youth, bring the insight. Their voices belong at the center.”

This philosophy shaped how the editors approached their authors, their case studies, and the real-world examples woven throughout the textbook.

Highlights from the Process

All three editors described the joy of collaborating with chapter authors at different stages in their careers. Their passion, Natalie points out, comes through in every chapter, giving students an entry point into the field that feels authentic and solutions-driven.

Lindsay described the ripple effect she sees when teaching CEH. When students learn about environmental exposures, they share that knowledge with siblings, friends, coworkers, and parents. Her community-based hikes, where groups can collectively walk, observe, and learn about environmental conditions, exemplify her approach: hands-on, curiosity-driven, and empowering.

Breaking down barriers

Creating a textbook that blends scientific rigor with accessibility meant challenging old norms. The editors noted that in academia, both students and teachers can be accustomed to dense, overly technical writing. Introducing a textbook that has a more accessible approach ran the risk of being perceived as less academically rich. The editors also wanted the chapters to display real community stories, policy implications, and practical solutions. This required contributors to step out of traditional academic patterns and embrace a more narrative, applied style.

However, the editors’ intentions of clarity and actionable knowledge triumphed. It’s had a brilliant reception so far and will undoubtedly continue to do so. Natalie mentioned that her students have already responded enthusiastically to the book’s attention to historic and current events and examples that humanize health science.

Impact: Already Making a Difference

Natalie has integrated the textbook into her courses and has received overwhelmingly positive feedback from students. They say the book feels grounded in real experiences and real communities. Lindsay and Natasha shared similar stories, noting that the combination of CEH, Environmental Justice, and practical case studies resonates widely.

From the editors’ perspective, this is just the beginning. They are already thinking about how the next edition can push further toward justice-centered framing, accessibility, and deeper integration of children’s environmental health across topics.

Sources of Inspiration

I asked each editor to share the media that fueled or influenced their thinking throughout the project, both in relation to CEH and further afield.

It’s important to draw attention to the reality that consuming knowledge about environmental health and justice isn’t only limited to the classroom textbooks. Students, their teachers, and all of us in general can learn in a variety of ways and through different platforms. This mixed approach can be key in increasing our overall understanding and making connections across topics.

Lindsay drew inspiration from storytelling around contamination and exposure, including the two podcasts ‘The PFAS Chronicles,’ that was developed by graduate students Natalie Conti and Anchal Malh as part of the textbook, and ‘This Podcast Will Kill You’ . Book wise, she referred to ‘Radium Girls’ by Kate Moore and ‘Five Days at Memorial’ by Sheri Fink. We also agreed that there were some interesting movies and shows like Dark Waters and Toxic Town that weave themes of environmental justice into their plot lines.

Natalie highlighted memoirs and narratives that illuminate powerful examples from movement leaders and activists, such as Alice Wong’s Disability Visibility and Mona Hanna-Attisha’s What the Eyes Don’t See. She also reflected on texts exploring how states can lead on environmental health. This was balanced with the reminder that we all need some escapism, too, so don’t forget to engage in some creative fiction!

Natasha turned to both fiction and nonfiction grounded in justice and future-thinking, including the works of Octavia Butler, Rooted and Rising: Voices of Courage in Climate Change by Leah Shade, and King: A Life, Martin Luther King Jr.’s biography. She expressed how faith institutions and frameworks can also provide a lot of grounding, support and opportunities to be learning environments for environmental knowledge and concerns.

Looking Ahead

The editors share a hopeful message: environmental health education must evolve, not only to explain risks but to empower action. Integrating children’s environmental health into education systems is central to that evolution. It shapes more empathetic, preventive practitioners and keeps the focus where it belongs - on the people most vulnerable and most impacted.

Their textbook is more than a collection of chapters. It is a reset button for the field. It is a call to widen the circle of expertise and encourage everyone to equip themselves with knowledge and take solution driven action - especially when children’s health is at stake.

I thank the editors for their time, knowledge and brilliant insights.

Written by Rebecca Barry

Her new book, Poisoning Our Children, forthcoming from Johns Hopkins University Press, is already drawing quiet interest in public health circles, particularly among those searching for ways to better understand and address the rising tide of childhood illnesses connected to environmental exposures.

Our conversation drifted between personal narrative, scientific inquiry, and the questions that guide her work today.

An Unexpected Journey Into Environmental Health

Kauth did not anticipate building a career in this field. She began in neurobiology as an undergraduate, then found herself drawn deeply into literature, eventually completing a PhD in Languages and Literature. For many years, she taught British literature at Benedictine University, where she still teaches today, only in a different discipline.

Her shift toward environmental health was prompted by her experience as a mother. When her daughter became ill after pesticide exposure and later tragically passed away in 2002, Kauth found herself asking difficult questions and looking closely at the research. “It changed the direction of my life,” she says. “I needed to understand what had happened, and I needed to do something with that knowledge.”

She began writing about environmental exposures on her Poisoning Our Children blog in 2013, which rapidly gained popularity and eventually moved to Substack. She then became active in the American Public Health Association’ Children’s Environmental Health Committee in 2017, where she remains a prominent member. Over time, she earned an MPH to support her growing involvement in local, regional, and national advocacy.

Pen to Page

Kauth tells me that Poisoning Our Children was a long time in the making, but not for lack of content or drive. Finding a publisher took several years. “I think it was simply a difficult topic,” she reflects. “Maybe the public wasn’t ready to look closely at environmental contributors to children’s health issues.”

That seems to be changing.

“I think many people are beginning to notice that children’s health patterns are shifting,” she says. “There’s more openness now to understanding how environmental factors may play a role.”

Once Johns Hopkins University Press offered her a contract, the writing process moved quickly. Kauth drew on years of interviews from her blog as well as newer conversations, with parents, clinicians, researchers, and experts such as reproductive epidemiologist Shanna Swan.

The result is a book that blends science, lived experience, and cultural analysis to create a broad picture of children’s environmental health today.

A Book Shaped by an Interdisciplinary Life

Kauth’s background in the sciences, public health, and humanities all show up in her approach. Her 2023 academic monograph, Environmental Legacies of the Copernican Universe, explored how Western cultural traditions frame our understanding of environmental risk and responsibility. Those themes thread into her new book as well.

She describes Poisoning Our Children as “an attempt to bring together the science, the stories, and the systems”; a way to make sense of complex issues without losing sight of the people living through them.

“It’s a challenging topic,” she acknowledges. “But I’ve tried to write it in a way that is accessible, humane, and grounded in compassion for families.”

Solutions: Individual Choices, Collective Needs

Although the title of the book suggests a hard critique, Kauth emphasizes that her solutions chapter can provide a way forward.

“There are meaningful things individuals can do to protect their own and their children’s health, like choosing safer household products, reducing unnecessary chemical exposures, and being mindful of air quality,” she says. “And at the same time, many decisions are made at a community or policy level. Families are affected by choices they don’t control.”

She mentions her work on the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Children’s Health Protection Advisory Committee (CHPAC), where she contributed to advisory letters on climate change and lead. She has seen firsthand how persistent and thoughtful advocacy can shape public awareness.

“Our voices matter,” she says. “Voting matters. Speaking up matters. But we also need to support one another. None of us can navigate environmental exposures alone, which is why collective action is so important.

Looking Ahead

Even as Poisoning Our Children moves toward publication, Kauth is already thinking about her next project - one centered fully on solutions and emerging models of environmental care. She cites Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer as a work that has inspired her, particularly its emphasis on reciprocity and interconnectedness.

And while her academic work and advocacy are rooted in rigorous inquiry, they remain deeply personal. “My experiences made me ask questions I never expected to ask,” she says. “But they also gave me a sense of purpose.”

Today, she teaches environmental health courses to impassioned students and continues to be a fierce advocate for policy and practice change in protecting children’s health.

Her hope for the book is simple. “If Poisoning Our Children helps people understand what’s happening and gives them tools to protect their loved ones, then it will have done what I hoped it could do.”

Thank you, Jean Marie, for bringing a focus to this field and pushing for change!l

Written by Rebecca Barry

I was lucky enough to speak with Dr. Paulson about his work in a recent interview (October 2025). We discussed his work, achievements, and the future in the field of children’s environmental health.

As a founding member of Virginia Clinicians for Climate Action (VCCA), and a recent recipient of the VCCA Lifetime Achievement Award, he has been instrumental in integrating climate considerations into healthcare practices and policies.

Dr. Paulson’s path began in Maryland, where he earned a degree in biochemistry before pursuing medicine at Duke University. After his pediatric training at Johns Hopkins and Sinai Hospital, he worked in pediatric care for several years before diving further into policy work. Later, he then joined the faculty at The George Washington University and Children’s National Medical Center.

Following this, he helped establish the Mid-Atlantic Center for Children’s Health & the Environment, a lifeline for families and healthcare providers dealing with environmental exposures. For several years Dr. Paulson was involved in the management of the Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Units (PEHSUs) for the eastern United States. He is very proud that this network still functions as a resource for providers, public health personnel and families confronting potential health impacts of toxins and pollution.

Dr. Paulson worked hard to span the gaps between medicine, environmental sciences, and the policy apparatus involved in environmental protection. He began walking the halls of Congress and federal agencies, and advising the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as part of its Children’s Health Protection Advisory Committee. His mission was clear: children’s health should never be an afterthought in environmental policy.

Dr Paulson told me that a huge barrier in children’s environmental health is that many people still think of children as ‘little adults,’ and therefore assume that their bodies will react the same way to environmental harms as adults do. This is simply not the case - children’s bodies are much more vulnerable to damage and harm and they aren’t developed enough to have the same defense and protection mechanisms as adults. Getting people to understand this is crucial in ensuring that children get the protection they need.

A Founding Voice in Climate Medicine

As climate change began reshaping public health, Dr. Paulson saw the writing on the wall - and the thermometer. Rising asthma rates, heat-related illnesses, vector-borne diseases. Far from abstract scientific trends, these issues were showing up in his waiting room.

That realization led him to help found Virginia Clinicians for Climate Action (VCCA), a coalition of healthcare professionals united by one belief: protecting the climate is protecting our patients.

Through VCCA, Dr. Paulson became a tireless advocate for climate justice in Virginia. He worked alongside community partners like the Virginia Chapter of the NAACP, the Virginia League of Conservation Voters alongside other environmental and justice organizations in Virginia, emphasizing how the burdens of pollution and climate disruption fall hardest on those with the fewest resources. His efforts helped train a new generation of clinicians to speak confidently and compassionately about climate and health.

While his work has had incredible success, this hasn’t been without continuous struggle. Dr. Paulson described how polluting industries, like those of large oil and gas companies, are prepared to obscure, hide and overcomplicate the data that shows the negative impacts of their activity on public health and the environment. In order to protect their profit, they are often willing to put public health on the line, and try to ridicule climate and health scientists and sway the public opinion. This makes the work of individuals like Dr. Paulson much more difficult, because they have to fight misinformation and structural barriers, which takes time away from helping children.

He shares how it feels that it is only in the last 12 months that clinicians in this field have started noticing and addressing their own and their colleagues’ mental health. Working in this current time is understandably having a heavy impact on their wellbeing. Dr. Paulson reflected on a guiding phrase, “you are not responsible for solving a problem, but you are not free to ignore the problem.” In this context, while each individual should work to resolve climate issues we face in the capacity they can, we must remember that the burden isn’t solely on one pair of shoulders. We must unite all of our resources - political science, geographical knowledge, public health, community action - to truly maximize our potential for success and a healthy future.

A Lasting Legacy

Today, Dr. Paulson’s influence continues to ripple outward. His research, his advocacy, and his mentorship have shaped how pediatricians across the country understand their role in a changing world.

Dr. Paulson has garnered a number of awards and accolades, including being elected to the American Pediatric Society on the basis of his contributions to children’s health, and in receiving the Carol Strobel Memorial Award from CEHN. His proudest moments, however, are less about awards and more about impact. Every child breathing cleaner air, every parent empowered to create a safer home, every policymaker who listens - that’s his true legacy.

I asked Dr Paulson for advice he would give to people wanting to help and create healthier environments.

“Look to whatever strength you might have; the strength of a nurse is different to that of a librarian or a schoolteacher. Figure out what portion of this huge problem it is that you want to work on. Is it regenerative agriculture? Is it protecting pollinators, working on nature preservation, or reducing air pollution? Find your niche. Find partners with whom you can work alongside in that area. Know that the goal is progress, not to solve the problem yourself. It’s only when people lean on each other and collaborate that we can see movement and progress.”

I also asked Dr. Paulson on what he envisions for the future; how can we optimize our society and prepare for a turbulent environmental and political climate?

His insight was particularly thoughtful and inspiring - instead of rallying to rebuild what we have lost or what is falling apart, let’s take this opportunity to think about if we actually want to resurrect old structures, old ways of operating, or in fact create something new.

He explains how if we don’t start preparing, planning and taking thoughtful action now, then when the time for change does come, we will be ill equipped and under prepared to cope. So, let’s start now to think about the better society we want to engineer, one that prioritizes our health, our wellbeing, our environment, and our children. Then, when the time to take action comes, we will be ready.

Thank you, Dr Paulson, for your work and for your insights!

Written by Rebecca Barry

Imagine a world where children can breathe clean air, families are not concerned about hidden additives in plastics, and communities are well-informed about environmental health. Right now, children across the country are facing these threats to their health. However, there is hope. New models of community partnership, youth leadership, and research translation are transforming how we protect children’s health and the next generation.

On Wednesday, November 5th, at the 2025 American Public Health Association (APHA) annual meeting and exposition, several representatives from the Collaborative Centers for Children’s Environmental Health Research Translation (CEHRT) presented lessons learned from these new models to protect kids’ health.

CEHRT centers panel at the 2025 APHA Annual Conference (left to right: Nsedu Obot Witherspoon, Dr. Marilyn Howarth, Dr. Leonardo Trasande, Dr. Kirsten Koehler, and Rose Hayes)

Nsedu Obot Witherspoon, MPH, Executive Director of Children’s Environmental Health Network (CEHN), moderated the session– grounding the conversation and emphasizing the unique National Institutes of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) program as critical to continued progress in protecting children’s environmental health.

Healing Homes, One Visit at a Time

Dr. Marilyn Howarth from the Philadelphia Regional Center for Children’s Environmental Health (PRCCEH) at the University of Pennsylvania opened the session by showing how community health workers can transform asthma care, even in areas where health systems are strained. Their Community Asthma Prevention Program equips community health workers to visit homes to provide education and conduct home evaluations for environmental health triggers - a model that succeeded in Philadelphia and was later expanded to Chester, a city a few miles south of Philadelphia, facing substantial healthcare challenges. Due to this program, many parents have reported reduced anxiety and have had fewer asthma flares for their children.

Dr Howarth also highlighted PRCCEH’s Environmental Health Consultation Program, which has provided clinicians in the Philadelphia metropolitan area with information on environmental health issues, and the Prescriptions for Prevention Program. The latter enhances environmental health literacy and equips clinicians and the public with guidance on linking medical and environmental recommendations.

Together, these programs highlight effective multi-pronged strategies that support replication in other communities.

Turning Classrooms into Public Health Powerhouses

If PRCCEH demonstrated the power of community health workers, the Bridging Research, Lung Health, and the Environment (BREATHE) Children’s Center at Johns Hopkins University illustrated what happens when others become partners in public health.

Dr. Kirsten Koehler highlighted the BREATHE Center’s focus on bringing air-quality education and engagement directly into classrooms. Their partnership with Medicine for the Greater Good includes the Lung Health Ambassador program in Baltimore, a youth education initiative that provides teachers with resources, leading to increased awareness, confidence, and motivation to make healthier choices.

BREATHE’s project addressed a critical issue: access to and permission for administering bronchodilators in schools during asthma-related emergencies in schools. It can be challenging for some children to carry an extra bronchodilator to school and complete the necessary medication paperwork for the nurse to administer it. Solutions include unassigned stock inhalers at schools, one-pager treatment protocols, and advocacy efforts for supporting Baltimore schools in this initiative.

BREATHEs has provided over 70 asthma emergency supplies donations to city schools and athletic trainers. Additional initiatives, such as Asthma Champs and partnerships with professional artists, reflect a creative approach to improving health literacy and demonstrate how partnership and empowerment can strengthen community health from the ground up.

Uncovering the Hidden Costs of Plastics on Children and the Economy

The conversation shifted toward policy by addressing the massive health and economic impacts of chemical exposures from plastics. Dr. Leonardo Trasande from the New York University (NYU) Collaborative Center for Children’s Environmental Health Research and Translation highlighted how harmful, plastic-related chemicals are increasingly detected in human blood and lung tissue. This includes:

• Bisphenols, often found in hard plastics and aluminum can linings

• Phthalates in food packaging

• Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or“PFAS,” which are also often found in food packaging, and

• Flame retardants are often added to plastics.

The chemicals in these plastics are linked to obesity, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and neurodevelopmental harm. His recent study estimates that plastic-related disease costs reached $249 billion in the United States in 2018 alone, driven primarily by polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs, a group of flame-retardant chemicals), phthalates, and PFAS. Dr. Trasande emphasized that once health costs are accounted for, the global plastics industry may operate at a net economic loss—a significant insight to share with policymakers.

Reducing plastics is not only a public health imperative but also an economic one.

Community Power Drives Public Health Wins

The final presentation, by Rose Hayes from the Center for Children’s Health Assessment, Research Translation, and Combating Environmental Risk (CHARTER), a collaboration between Emory University and the University of Georgia, showcased an academic approach where research and lived experience are centered in collaboration with media organizations. This approach to research translation to the public and creates a larger impact, rooted in community voice and accessible communication. CHARTER’s public scholarship initiative helps train researchers and academics in media readiness and builds relationships with trusted media outlets, creating more opportunities for strong, prevention-oriented science to enter

the mainstream. Ms Hayes discussed how CHARTER uses the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS), which is a management system designed to foster collaboration among teams, to establish clear goals for the initiative, and maintain consistent communication.

CHARTER’s center-wide community-driven structure encompasses pilot projects, virtual reality co-design, community engagement events, and youth partnerships. The Center has recently released a children’s environmental health social media toolkit that will soon be publicly available. It features over 60 health-literacy-reviewed short-form videos and graphic social media posts covering topics such as heat safety, air quality, and safe household cleaning. These efforts show how modern public health communication can meet communities where they are—on the platforms they use every day—while ensuring accuracy, clarity, and equity.

Progress Toward a Healthy Generation

The CEHRT program has developed or supported innovative and varied research translation products and strategies to inform policy and practice. They are forming strong, trusting, and shared power relationships within their communities. These initiatives and contributions are critical to protecting children’s health and achieving health equity.

Join us in moving this work forward—by sharing these insights, supporting evidence-based policies, and standing with the growing movement to safeguard children’s health. Stay connected and subscribe to the CHERT newsletter, where you can view recent research, resources, upcoming events, and more!

Together, we can build a healthier future for every child.

Key Takeaways

• Community partnerships can improve children’s health - from home visits to school-based programs

• Children can be powerful health leaders - when given tools and support

• Plastics carry enormous hidden costs - for children and the nation

• Partnerships matter - it is essential to establish meaningful partnerships to achieve shared goals and create a greater impact.

Written by Annette Diaz

The holiday season can be full of magic for kids; crafts, celebrations, activities and delight! As caregivers, we want our little ones to have the absolute best time, but also to keep them as healthy and well as possible. Take a look at some of our top tips!

1. Choose Eco-Safe Decor

Avoid single-use plastic decorations like tinsel, synthetic garlands, and balloon displays. These often end up in landfills or waterways, harming wildlife.

Try instead:

• Homemade paper chains or origami ornaments

• Decorations made from natural materials (pine cones, cinnamon sticks, dried citrus)

• Reusable LED string lights

• Fabric garlands or bunting

Safety tip: keep small decorations out of reach of toddlers to prevent choking hazards, and secure string lights away from climbing areas.

2. Practice Gift Safety and Sustainability

Holiday gifts can pose safety risks through small parts, hazardous materials, or sharp edges. They also generate piles of packaging waste.

Responsible gift ideas:

• Books, puzzles, or wooden toys with non-toxic finishes

• Experience gifts (museum passes, craft classes, dance lessons)

• DIY kits with compostable or recyclable packaging

Avoid: plastic toys - young children often put these in their mouths, which means they are ingesting microplastics.

Gift-wrapping choices:

• Recycled kraft paper, newspaper, or fabric wraps (furoshiki style)

• Reused gift bags and ribbons

Skip glitter—it is microplastic.

3. Make Green, Kid-Safe Crafts

Holiday crafts can be both eco-friendly and non-toxic with the right materials.

Craft safely with:

• Natural or homemade playdough (flour and water can be a great base!)

• Vegetable-based dyes or watercolors

• Paper scraps, cardboard boxes, and fabric remnants

Avoid: solvent-based glues, plastic glitter, and aerosols. Always supervise scissors and small items.

4. Choose Planet-Friendly Festive Foods

Food is central to celebrations, and holiday menus can be kid-friendly and sustainable.

Tips:

• Prepare finger-foods with fresh, seasonal ingredients

• Use reusable plates and utensils rather than disposables - stainless steel cutlery is better than plastic!

• Portion wisely to reduce food waste

• Never heat food up in plastic - this causes harmful chemicals to leach into the food and drink

Encourage kids to help with simple tasks like measuring ingredients or washing produce - this builds independence and teaches food values and safety practices.

5. Plan Safe Outdoor Activities

Outdoor holiday fun allows kids to connect with nature, can be inexpensive and allows them a chance to exercise!

Ideas:

• Nature walks to collect leaves or pinecones for crafts

• Backyard scavenger hunts

• Snow play or leaf-pile jumping (depending on climate)

• Outdoor ball games, tag, obstacle courses etc!

Dress kids appropriately for weather, ensure paths are safe, and keep hot drinks at safe temperatures. Try to incorporate nature where possible and play away from roads with heavy traffic to avoid breathing in harmful fumes.

6. Reduce Fire and Electrical Risks

Holiday lights, candles, and fireplaces bring warmth but require caution. Some scented candles also contain harmful chemicals that aren’t good for us to be breathing in.

Tips:

• Use LED lights; they produce no fumes and are usually more energy efficient

• Never leave candles or fireplaces unattended

• Keep flammable decor away from heat sources

Final Thoughts

Creating magical holiday memories doesn’t mean sacrificing safety or environmental care. With thoughtful choices that incorporate natural decor, responsible gifts, safe craft materials, mindful food habits, and eco-conscious traditions, families can celebrate joyfully while protecting children and the Earth they’ll inherit.

A greener holiday is not only safer, it’s more meaningful. Happy, sustainable celebrating!

Dr Joellen Russell, however, is working to change this - and she is undoubtedly making waves. From being a Super Bowl social media sensation, to shaping the minds of the student population, Joellen is educating and advocating for children’s environmental health far and wide.

I was lucky enough to get to speak with Dr. Russell about all things oceanography, climate, and kids’ health. Her passion, enthusiasm and expertise was hugely inspiring.

The Ocean Doctor from the Arctic Circle

Dr. Russell grew up about 30 miles north of the Arctic Circle, where the sea was both neighbor and teacher. It embodies a vast, icy belt circling Antarctica, the least-visited, most mysterious part of our planet.

Living in a small village during her early years, she recounts walking to school with her brother, both armed with a flashlight to guide them in pitch black Arctic mornings and evenings. As a child, she saw vast sheets of ice drifting across the water, both dazzling and daunting. When the weather would change, she wondered - where did they go? What happened to the ice? The stories told to her by her elders, about the permanence of this icy climate, was different to what she was witnessing herself. It was this curiosity that set her on a path to a career in oceanography and climate science.

Fast forward a few decades: she’s now a Distinguished Professor at the University of Arizona, leading massive climate modeling efforts and heading the Southern Ocean Carbon and Climate Observations and Modeling (SOCCOM) project - a global collaboration using robotic floats to track how the ocean absorbs heat and carbon. Joellen speaks with passion and pride about her work; “as a climate scientist, I get to work on the most exciting and challenging issue of our time, one that affects every person on the planet.”

Her career reads like a mix of adventure novel and science fiction: polar expeditions, AI-powered floats drifting beneath Antarctic storms, supercomputers simulating ocean winds.

From Ocean Currents to Asthma Rates

At first glance, the Southern Ocean seems a million miles away from the nearest pediatric clinic. But Dr. Russell’s work has made it impossible to ignore the connection.

The ocean acts like Earth’s lungs, absorbing 90% of the excess heat and a huge portion of the carbon dioxide that humans emit. When those “lungs” get stressed, the whole system suffers. More trapped heat means hotter cities, dirtier air, longer allergy seasons, and worsening conditions for children - especially those with asthma, heart disease, or limited access to clean air and water.

In short: what happens in the deep sea doesn’t stay there.

The same wind shifts that Dr. Russell models in Antarctica influence wildfire smoke in the U.S., crop yields in Africa, and the intensity of hurricanes battering coastal schools. Her work helps scientists and policymakers understand and predict how a disrupted ocean translates into direct risks for children’s physical and mental health.

Living in Arizona with her two boys and her partner, she describes how the scorching weather is impacting her own community. With temperatures reaching over 100 degrees F, burn wards become full and hospitals struggle to care for those suffering with the impacts of extreme heat. It’s not only the intensity of the heat, but the duration too, that makes it particularly debilitating. Public pools are so full that they have to turn people away, already having reached their capacities. More shade structures and splash pads are having to be built to provide some temporary relief to the baking community.

The impact is no less pressing on children, either. If anything, Dr. Russell highlights, it’s worse, because children themselves aren’t aware of the signs of heat stress and exhaustion. Not only can their bodies not regulate heat like adults can, but they haven’t yet learned how to protect themselves or understand when they are suffering severely and need intervention. This puts even more pressure on their caregivers to be extremely vigilant and proactive.

Climate Change, Pediatric Medicine, and the Missing Link

Russell’s work illustrates how increasingly often, climate science and healthcare are talking about the same crisis. Doctors see the symptoms: heat exhaustion, respiratory illness, trauma from floods or storms.Climate scientists like Russell see the mechanism: the buildup of greenhouse gases and the shifting circulation of the global ocean.

Her research has quietly reshaped how medical and public health experts approach prevention. You can’t truly protect children from asthma, malnutrition, or displacement without understanding the environmental systems that drive those outcomes. And thanks to oceanographers like Russell, those systems are finally visible - measurable, predictable, actionable.

Science Moms

This vital information should be available to everyone, Dr. Russell tells me, so that’s exactly what she has set out to make a reality. Dr. Russell is one of the co-founders of Science Moms, a group of climate scientists who are also mothers, working to make climate science more relatable and emotionally resonant for everyone.

During the COVID 19 pandemic, this incredible group of women came together and began sharing their climate knowledge online. This group makes their knowledge accessible and actionable, driven by the values that we all hold - protecting our children’s futures. The Science Moms share what’s happening with our changing climate, why it poses a risk, and what we can do about it.

Joellen recounts the early days of science moms, where the women were somewhat hesitant. Operating in largely male dominated science sectors, and with little social media knowledge and experience, they were unsure about taking on an online presence. How would their reputation as scientists be impacted by posting online? Would being seen as a ‘mother’ negatively impact their careers?

Little did they know that there was no cause to worry; with over 106k followers on Instagram, and even a recent ad in the SuperBowl, the Science Moms have clearly been well received!

What underlies their success? Perhaps it’s the warm maternal presence that makes their videos relatable and non confrontational. Perhaps it’s the way in which knowledge is presented in an understandable way, bridging the gap between expertise and action. Perhaps it’s because the underlying motivations of their videos isn’t a marketing practice or personal gain - it’s to protect kids’ health and ensure they can lead the fulfilling lives that they deserve.

So what can we do? How can we make changes in our everyday lives to cope with the climate crisis?

Joellen shares three key steps:

1. Swap! Make climate healthy swaps wherever you can. Swap from fossil fuel power to electrified non fossil fuelled power. Swap from buying brand new clothes and items to using more vintage and thrifred goods. Everything helps!

2. Share! Climate friendly tips, practices and tricks; share them all through your community.

3. Speak up! Call your elected officials, speak to your local representatives, even community leaders and community groups. There is power in voicing your concerns about climate change and making yourself heard!

Joellen tells me how we know that people are prepared to take positive action - there is clear evidence we are on the right track. Despite having a similar sized economy to China, the U.S. produces significantly less emissions, and this continues to reduce. All of this is motivated by choice, not legislation, because we continue to see progress despite the administration rolling back policies on climate protection.

It’s up to us to keep this moving in the right direction. Staying informed, aware and taking climate friendly action where possible can help to protect children’s health - now and in their future. If in doubt, ask (a science) mom!

Written by Rebecca Barry

Article Title:

The effects of plastic exposures on children’s health and urgent opportunities for prevention

Leonardo Trasande et al. Lancet Child Adolesc Health. 2025 Nov.

Authors:

Leonardo Trasande , Aleksandra Buha Đorđević, Marina Olga Fernandez

Background:

Over the past several decades, plastics have become deeply embedded in daily life worldwide: in food packaging, toys, personal care products, building materials, medical devices, and myriad single-use products.

Many plastic products incorporate additives (such as phthalates, bisphenols, flame retardants, and stabilisers) and non-intentionally added substances that can leach or migrate under certain conditions (e.g. heating, abrasion, UV exposure).

When plastic materials degrade (mechanically, chemically, or via environmental processes), they can release microplastics (particles < 5 mm) and even nanoplastics (very small plastic fragments) into air, water, food, and dust.

Children’s Unique Vulnerabilities

Children are more vulnerable to chemical exposures than adults are for several reasons:

• Higher exposures per body weight: Children eat more, drink more, and breathe more relative to their size, which increases their exposure dose per kilogram.

• Developmental sensitivity: During critical windows (in utero, infancy, early childhood), organ systems (e.g. brain, endocrine, immune, reproductive) are developing rapidly and are more sensitive to disruptive influences (Including chemicals).

• Children’s detoxification systems aren’t as well developed as adults: This may reduce their ability to safely clear or detoxify chemical burdens.

• Longer latency: Early exposures may manifest as diseases later in life, so children have a longer lifetime risk of chronic outcomes.

• Behavioral factors: Hand-to-mouth behaviors, crawling, and close contact with floors or surfaces increase contact with dust and surfaces carrying plastic particles or additives.

Evidence of Health Effects Linked to Plastic Exposures

The recent research by Trasande et al. (2025) synthesises a growing body of evidence linking plastic-derived chemical exposures with adverse outcomes in children (and across the life course).

Some key findings:

• Adverse birth outcomes: Associations have been documented between prenatal exposure to plastic additives (e.g. phthalates, bisphenols, per‐ and polyfluoroalkyl substances) and outcomes such as preterm birth, reduced birth weight, and small for gestational age.

• Metabolic and obesity risks: Plastic-related chemicals may act as “metabolic disruptors,” contributing to obesity, insulin resistance, and cardiometabolic disease.

• Neurodevelopmental and neuroendocrine effects: Associations have been observed with lower IQ, attention deficit disorders, autism spectrum disorders, structural brain changes, and thyroid disruption.

• Reproductive and hormonal effects: In both sexes, exposure to bisphenols, phthalates, and related chemicals has been linked to altered timing of puberty, reduced sperm quality or fertility, and hormonal dysregulation.

• Other systemic effects: The review also highlights links to immune dysfunction, inflammation, asthma, and potential impacts on the respiratory and cardiovascular systems.

The authors note that the evidence is increasingly “robust and rapidly accumulating,” indicating that plastic exposures should no longer be viewed as merely theoretical risks but as real contributors to childhood disease burdens.

The Plastic Paradox in Child Health

A key tension (or “paradox,” as Trasande et al. describe) is that plastics are deeply entwined with modern health care and child welfare. Plastic is indispensable in many medical devices (ventilators, feeding tubes, infusion sets, protective equipment) that save lives, including of premature infants

Therefore, while minimizing unnecessary exposures is critical, the current goal shouldn’t be zero plastic but safer and more judicious use.

Gaps and Challenges

• Mixture exposures and cumulative effects: Real-world exposures are complex mixtures, and interactions or synergistic effects across chemicals are poorly understood.

• Data gaps and monitoring: Many regions lack robust biomonitoring or exposure data, especially among vulnerable populations and low-income settings.

• Regulatory and policy lag: Existing regulatory frameworks often lag behind emerging scientific evidence and may not adequately account for low-dose or nonmonotonic effects of endocrine-active chemicals.

• Equity and environmental justice: Disadvantaged populations may bear disproportionate exposure burdens (e.g. living near industrial sites, using more plastic packaging).

Moving Forward

The research highlights relatively low-cost actions clinicians and families may adopt (e.g. reducing plastic packaging, avoiding heating food in plastic, choosing safer alternatives).

Beyond individual behaviour, the authors call for support for global and national policies to reduce nonessential plastic production, stricter chemical regulation, and integration of health goals into plastic governance.

Written by Rebecca Barry

The Department of Environmental and Occupational Health (EOH) at Indiana University School of Public Health Bloomington (IU SPHB) has officially launched the nation’s first PhD minor in Children’s Environmental Health (CEH) -a pioneering program designed to train the next generation of scholars to address one of the most urgent challenges of our time: protecting children from environmental harms.

The launch marks a major milestone in public health education and represents the culmination of years of work led by Dr. Michelle Del Rio in collaboration with Dr. Cecilia Obeng, Director of SPHB’s Maternal and Child Health Research Institute. With strong support from EOH’s department chair, Dr. Patricia Silveyra, and faculty colleagues, the pair co-developed two graduate-level online courses in CEH. The success and growing enrollment in these courses laid the groundwork for the development and approval of the new PhD minor in CEH, now recognized as a pioneering advancement in public health training. These accomplishments build on 12 competencies and corresponding performance indicators for CEH professionals developed by the American Public Health Association’s (APHA) Children’s Environmental Health Committee.

APHA CEH Committee (left to right), Leyla McCurdy (Chair), Lindsay Tallon (Curriculum Workgroup Co-lead), Michelle Del Rio (Curriculum Workgroup Co-lead), delivering a pre-conference workshop at the 2025 National Environmental Health Association Annual Education Conference, Phoenix, AZ.

Dr. Del Rio was kind enough to share her insight on CEH and the new courses. An Interdisciplinary Environmental Health Scientist, Dr. Del Rio has dedicated her career to understanding how environmental exposures interact with social and structural determinants of health—and translating that knowledge into real-world interventions. “Complex children’s environmental health issues require multi-strategic approaches,” Del Rio explains. “We need interventions that operate at multiple levels - individual, community, environmental, and policy - to prevent harmful exposures before they occur.”

A Career Rooted in Passion and Purpose

Dr. Del Rio’s journey into children’s environmental health began while she was a doctoral student at the University of Texas at El Paso. In 2018, a travel scholarship from the American Public Health Association (APHA) led her to the organization’s Annual Meeting, where she first met Leyla McCurdy, founder and chair of the Children’s Environmental Health Committee (CEH Committee), and became engaged with the committee. The committee’s mission to protect children from environmental hazards deeply resonated with her.

At her very first CEH Committee meeting, Del Rio joined a workgroup focused on building capacity in CEH—a space that would later define her career. Collaborating with renowned environmental pediatrician Dr. Ruth Etzel, she helped identify a critical gap in public health professional training: the lack of standardized competencies in children’s environmental health.

Together with CEH Committee members, Del Rio co-led the development of 12 core competencies and corresponding performance indicators for CEH practice—benchmarks now widely recognized in the field.

From Idea to Impact: Creating the First CEH PhD Minor

After earning her PhD and transitioning into academia, Del Rio joined IU SPHB, where she saw an opportunity to translate her experience into education. Working alongside Dr. Cecilia Obeng, Director of SPHB’s Maternal and Child Health Research Institute, Del Rio co-developed two graduate-level online courses in CEH.

The first course was launched in Spring 2025, with the PhD minor in CEH approved for Fall 2025. It is the first program of its kind in the United States, offering rigorous, interdisciplinary training that blends environmental science, epidemiology, health communication, and policy.

“Our goal is to build capacity in children’s environmental health nationally,” Del Rio says. “By training future researchers, educators, and policymakers, we’re equipping them to develop solutions that protect all children - especially those most vulnerable.”

Leading Research with Communities at the Center

Dr. Del Rio’s current research focuses on low-level lead exposure among older U.S. children, an often-overlooked group in lead studies. Her team uses mixed methods to understand exposure pathways, with a strong emphasis on community engagement.

“CEH challenges can best be resolved through collaboration,” she notes. “We need to recognize each other’s talents, share resources, and co-create solutions with communities.”

Her community-centered approach extends beyond research. Del Rio mentors students through programs such as the International Society for Children’s Health and the Environment’s Research to Action Fellowship, where doctoral trainees and early career scientists learn to communicate complex science effectively.

Facing Today’s Environmental Health Challenges

Dr. Del Rio highlights climate-related health impacts as some of the most pressing threats facing children today. Extreme heat, worsening air quality, droughts, floods, and food insecurity contribute to conditions such as asthma, diarrhea, and malnutrition - the leading causes of death globally for children under five.

She credits several organizations that she has worked with for their contributions in advancing CEH, including:

• The Children’s Environmental Health Network, which connects professionals and informs decision-makers.

• The APHA CEH Committee, chaired by Leyla McCurdy, and dedicated to bringing together public health professionals to address CEH challenges.

• The International Society for Children’s Health and the Environment, a network of mentorship and resources.

• The Break the Cycle of Children’s Environmental Health Disparities Program, led by Dr. Leslie Rubin and dedicated to CEH research.

• The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Children’s Health Protection provides resources and is a regulatory agency.

Del Rio encourages early-career professionals and advocates to engage directly with these organizations, emphasizing that “participation allows you to learn, contribute, and amplify collective impact.”

A Model of Purposeful Work and Balance

Behind her professional achievements, Dr. Del Rio’s daily routine reflects discipline, intentionality, and care for both her work and her well-being. Her mornings begin with group exercise and writing sessions, followed by research, teaching, and mentoring throughout the day. She balances these commitments with time spent with her husband and their five dogs, ending each evening with reflection, prayer, and reading.

Currently, she’s reading Air & Light & Time & Space: How Successful Academics Write by Helen Sword and recommends Escape from the Ivory Tower by Nancy Baron—books that reinforce her passion for science communication and effective academic writing.

Looking Ahead: Building a Healthier Tomorrow

Dr. Del Rio’s long-term goal is clear: to develop a holistic, preventive approach to children’s environmental health - one that informs policy, empowers communities, and ensures that every child grows up in a safe, healthy environment.

“I hope my work helps protect children before they’re exposed to harm,” she says. “And I hope it influences decision-makers to create projects and policies that maximize health opportunities for all—proactively and equitably.”

With the launch of the new CEH PhD minor, that vision is one step closer to reality. Through her leadership, collaboration, and unwavering commitment to public health, Dr. Michelle Del Rio is shaping a new era of education and research—one where science, community, and compassion work hand in hand to safeguard the health of future generations.

Written by Rebecca Barry