New Look – Rachel’s Democracy and Health News

No longer “Rachel’s Environment and Health News” but now “Rachel’s Democracy and Health News”, this progressive online newsletter now has the goal:

. . . to connect the dots to reveal the root causes of declining human health, the destruction of nature, and the inequalities and injustices that are rising like flood waters around us all. Who gets to decide? How do the few control the many?

Over the years, I’ve found REHN to be a useful resource, both in terms of spotlighting important trends and in framing the progressive perspective with regard to environmental health. I’ve not agreed with everything they’ve published, but reading their articles has helped shape my views of the conflict between the precautionary principle and “sound science” in environmental health. And, you cannot doubt Peter Montague’s passion and conviction when he writes about environmental health hazards from chemical substances in commerce. The articles are polemics and unabashedly so.

The introductory issue of the new RDHN showcases a report prepared by a team from Boston University and University of Massachusetts Lowell, and published by the Lowell Center for Sustainable Production titled Environmental and Occupational Causes of Cancer: A Review of Recent Scientific Literature. There’s a blog post on this in the future (so many projects, so little time), because I’m particularly interested in the contrast with the perspective regarding significant causes of cancer presented in Doll and Peto’s landmark paper, The causes of cancer: quantitative estimates of avoidable risks of cancer in the United States today.

The second issue tackles risk assessment, something I do for a living, with “The Emperor of Risk Assessment isn’t Wearing Any Clothes”. In my little forum here, I will be offering a counterpoint, because while I’m not blind to the possible abuses of risk assessment, I am also aware of its potential benefits for informing decision making about chemical hazards. There is a lot of value in this article, and it will require some time for the deconstruction to tease it out. Look for it soon.