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Nov 12, 2015

EPA Leads During International Lead Poisoning and Prevention Week of Action

childhood lead poisoning, lead, lead paint, lead poisoning, Lead Poisoning Prevention Week 0 Comments

By Jane Nishida

Lead exposure remains an issue of concern for children in the United States and across the globe. With the elimination of lead in gasoline, lead in paint is now a principal pathway of exposure for children. While the U.S. has long-established laws limiting paint to less than 90 parts per million, in developing countries, paint can be found to contain more than 100,000 parts per million. The health, social, environmental, and economic impacts are well-documented, and we are leading both domestic and international efforts to protect people from lead exposure.

From October 25-31, during Lead Poisoning Prevention Week, we led and participated in a range of awareness-raising events about the importance of preventing lead poisoning and what we can all do to protect our children from lead. With our counterparts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), we have been supporting community and national-level efforts in the U.S. to help solve this issue.

Internationally, we serve as the chair of the Global Alliance to Eliminate Lead in Paint (known as the Lead Paint Alliance), a voluntary, multi-sector partnership working to eliminate lead from household and decorative paint by 2020. In close collaboration with leaders at the United Nations Environment Programme and the World Health Organization, we have led progress toward this goal.

Working with industry partners and dedicated NGOs, we led the development and launch of a regulatory toolkit that will help countries without laws limiting lead in paint to determine and develop their own regulatory regime. To promote the regulatory toolkit, we have been conducting direct outreach to government, industry, and NGO leaders. At the recent International Conference on Chemicals Management, we launched the toolkit and shared pertinent information with world leaders in international chemicals management through events and exhibits. Next, we will plan and participate in an African regional workshop on regulatory development scheduled for December 2-4 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Patty Beneck of UNEP-RONA delivers remarks during the Lead Paint Embassy Briefing at Embassy Canada. Representatives from 22 countries took part in the event.

During the 2015 International Lead Poisoning Prevention Week of Action, more than 35 countries organized nearly 100 events around the world. In Washington, D.C., we took a lead role in two major international lead-related events. We signed a statement of intent with the Pan-American Health Organization and the CDC to work together on lead paint initiatives in Latin America and the Caribbean. We also organized an embassy briefing at Embassy Canada, attended by ambassadors to the U.S. and environment and science staff from 22 embassies representing all corners of the world.

We remain committed to preventing lead exposure at home and abroad. Communities around the world must become involved in solving this issue. What are some steps we can take? Parents should get their children tested. Teachers need to help educate families. The health community needs to raise awareness of the dangers of lead poisoning. And government leaders around the world can work to establish laws eliminating lead in paint. Working together, we can raise a world of lead free kids.

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Oct 16, 2015

Our Ocean 2015 Conference in Chile: EPA Launches International Marine Litter Initiative

International, our oceans 2015, our oceans 2015 conference, trash free waters, United Nations Environment Program 3 Comments

By Jane Nishida

The world’s oceans are facing many serious environmental challenges that threaten the health of all marine life, our food security, and the air that we breathe. Land-based sources of pollution, such as marine litter, wastewater, and nutrient runoff, contribute to the deterioration of our coastal waters, habitats, and oceans. Ocean acidification, as a result of increased greenhouse gas emissions, also threatens food chains and causes coral bleaching, which destroys valuable habitats for marine life. It is imperative that we work to find solutions to these problems and encourage others to take action that helps restore the health of our oceans.

Jane Nishida with Easter Island tribal leaders in traditional dress.

Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator Jane Nishida with tribal leaders from Easter Island at the Our Ocean II Conference last week.

I joined Secretary Kerry and other distinguished experts at the Our Ocean 2015 Conference in Valparaiso, Chile the week of October 5. This conference brought together different government, policy, science, and advocacy leaders to raise awareness of the many problems affecting the global marine environment, including marine pollution, ocean acidification, sustainable fisheries, marine protected areas, and issues affecting local communities. Governments, international organizations, and NGOs committed to take actions that will address specific marine problems. Marine litter, in particular plastics, is a growing global problem with 8 tons of plastic entering the ocean annually – that is 1 ton of plastic for every 3 tons of fish.

I was proud to be able to announce a new joint partnership between EPA, the United Nations Environment Program’s Caribbean Environment Program , and the Peace Corps to expand our Trash Free Waters strategy to the wider Caribbean region to help reduce land-based sources of marine debris. Trash Free Waters is a collaborative, stakeholder-based approach to mitigate marine litter by using regional and local strategies that reduces and prevents the amount of trash entering the waterways, and ultimately our oceans.

With EPA as the national technical focal point to the Land Based Sources Protocol to the Cartagena Convention in the wider Caribbean, this partnership will help national governments take action to prevent trash from reaching their waters. Peace Corps Volunteers will complement this strategy by providing support from on-the-ground projects in local communities that will help reduce litter and plastic trash from entering waterways and the ocean.

Jamaica and Panama will be the first countries to pilot a Trash Free Waters program to address marine litter in the wider Caribbean. I met with the Foreign Ministers of Jamaica and Panama who were enthusiastic and noted the importance of this program in raising public awareness to the problem of marine debris. We are also working with the Peace Corps in both countries to help incorporate the Trash Free Waters approach into their programs so that the volunteers will be able to develop marine litter reduction and prevention projects in local communities. We hope to be able to share success stories of our initial pilot work in Jamaica and Panama at the next Our Ocean Conference in Washington, DC in 2016. Our Trash Free Waters is playing an important role in getting trash out of our waterways and our oceans in the U.S. and globally.

Oct 5, 2015

Border 2020 Commitments and Accomplishments: National Coordinators Meeting

2016 Border Indicators Report, Border, border 2020, environmental stewardship, Mexico, tribes, u.s. mexico border 2 Comments

By Jane Nishida

The United States-Mexico border region is one of the most dynamic in the world. Today, the border is home to over 14 million people. Approximately 90% of the population resides in cities, while the remaining population is found in small towns or rural communities. Over 430,000 of the 14 million people in the region live in 1700 colonias, neighborhoods in Mexican cities without jurisdictional autonomy or representation. There are 26 U.S. federally-recognized Native American tribes, many of which share extensive cultural and family ties with indigenous peoples in the border region of Mexico.

In late September my team and I joined EPA’s Region 6 Administrator, Ron Curry, and Region 9 Administrator, Jared Blumenfeld, at the National Coordinators meeting under the Border 2020 U.S.-Mexico Environmental Program held in El Paso, Texas. This was the first National Coordinators meeting for the new Border 2020 Program. Together, we reexamined the goals, objectives, and operations of the program as we renewed our bi-national partnership.

During the working sessions, we discussed strategies to reach program goals and maximize resources throughout the two-year work plan. These sessions focused on the five goals of the Border 2020 program – air pollution reduction, improvement of access to clean and safe water, enhancing joint preparedness for environmental response, materials and waste management and clean sites and enhancing compliance assurance and environmental stewardship.

Not only was it an exciting opportunity to hear about the important projects along the U.S.-Mexico border, we also committed to continuing the strengthening of our partnership and collaboration with the ten border states, 26 U.S.-border tribes and indigenous communities, local governments, industry, and the public, and to define a new course of action for making a visible difference for our border communities.

EPA and the Border Health Commission (BHC), one of the exciting partnerships, are working together on important issues to improve the environment and public health in the U.S.-Mexico border region. We have established Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Units (PEHSU) along the border to improve children’s health by enhancing educational and consultative services to communities. Our new 2015-2016 agreement has identified public health and environmental leadership, building environmental health capacity, and strengthening institutional resiliency and accountability as priority areas.

Next year is an important one under the Border 2020 Program because we start the mid-term evaluation of the Program and we plan to develop and publish the 2016 Border Indicators Report. These important milestones would help ensure that our border collaboration translates into environmental benefits for the inhabitants of the United States-Mexico border region.

Sep 9, 2015

EPA at GLACIER Summit

Alaska arctic, Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, Alaska Regional Response Team, arctic, climate, climate change, community health, Glacier, global 0 Comments

Last week I led our delegation to GLACIER, the Conference on Global Leadership in the Arctic: Cooperation, Innovation, Engagement and Resilience, in Anchorage, Alaska. The U.S.-hosted conference convened foreign ministers of Arctic nations and key non-Arctic states with scientists, policymakers, and indigenous communities from Alaska and the Arctic to highlight opportunities and challenges in addressing climate change in this fragile region. The conference also included public sessions on a range of issues including strengthening emergency response, development of renewable energy, and community health.

As part of the public sessions, I chaired a panel on “Protecting Communities and the Environment through Climate and Air Quality Projects,” which included discussions of the challenges of providing clean, reliable energy in remote communities; the particular environmental and public health needs of indigenous communities; and opportunities for local and global cooperation to address black carbon in the Arctic. Black carbon is the third largest warming agent globally, and because it causes ice melt, its effect on the Arctic is even more pronounced. In addition to its impact on the climate, black carbon also affects the health of local communities, causing cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. Our panel highlighted international mechanisms and our programs to address black carbon, including our effort to reduce black carbon emissions in the largest city in the Arctic Circle.

Also showcased at the GLACIER Summit was the EPA-supported Local Environmental Observer (LEO) network, created by the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium. Alaska Native LEO members raise awareness about emerging climate change-related events and develop adaptation strategies to address environmental and public health concerns. LEO provides a critical bridge between local knowledge, traditional knowledge, and Western science. Through our two-year U.S. Chairmanship of the Arctic Council, we are supporting the expansion of this network across the polar region.

Another discussion, “Strengthening International Preparedness and Cooperation for Emergency Response,” highlighted the efforts of the Alaska Regional Response Team (ARRT). This partnership of state and federal agencies makes plans and preparations to support the EPA, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, who are responsible for responding to oil spills and hazardous materials releases anywhere in the state. The ARRT works with a special emphasis on overcoming the unique challenges of responding in the Arctic. The session emphasized working closely with communities to incorporate indigenous knowledge into response planning.

To close the conference, President Obama delivered an impassioned call for international action on climate change and to protect our shared Arctic. President Obama is the first president to visit America’s Arctic and to witness firsthand the impacts of climate change on this region. During his trip, President Obama also visited with Alaska Natives in Kotzebue and Dillingham.

I am proud to have represented EPA and the United States at this event, grateful for the hospitality we were shown by Arctic communities, and inspired by their commitment and resilience in meeting the climate challenge. My sincere thanks to all of them, and everyone who is contributing to the preservation and protection of our shared Arctic.

Oct 25, 2014

Reducing Food Waste and Promoting Food Recovery Globally

climate change, food waste, greenhouse gas, landfills, waste 0 Comments

As we approach Thanksgiving, some of you will be sitting down with family and friends over a bounty of delicious food, while others may use this occasion to donate their time volunteering in food pantries or kitchens supporting efforts to distribute a meal to those less fortunate.

An estimated one third of food available goes uneaten, much of it going to landfills where it produces methane, a potent greenhouse gas, contributing to climate change. Food waste now represents the single largest category of materials sent to landfills in the U.S. Globally, nearly one-third of the food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted, which would be enough to feed approximately 2 billion people worldwide, and accounts for 6-10 percent of human-generated greenhouse gases.

Oct 22, 2014

Protecting Children’s Health from Lead Poisoning in Paints in the US and Around the World

chemical safety, children's health, lead, lead paint, lead poisoning 2 Comments

Pictures of brightly painted playgrounds, schools, and day care centers make for cheerful spaces for smiling, laughing children. However, in many developing countries these colorful paints can actually pose a serious health threat because lead can still legally be used in paints in places where children live and play. Children are uniquely vulnerable to environmental hazards and are particularly susceptible to lead poisoning from lead in paint.

Lead poses serious, lifelong health risks to children. As lead paints deteriorate, it enters the environment and can lead to lead poisoning. Some of the potential effects include sensory, motor, cognitive, and behavioral impacts that can result in lowered intelligence; reading and learning disabilities; impaired hearing, reduced attention span; hyperactivity; delayed puberty; reduced postnatal growth; and anemia.

The economic impact of the loss of IQ due to lead poisoning is significant as well. A recent study in the Environmental Health Perspectives Journal estimated lost economic productivity due to lead poisoning to be “a total cost of $977 billion of international dollars in low- and middle-income countries”. The health, social, and economic impacts of lead poisoning are devastating, but avoiding risk from lead in paint is something that we can easily address.

Sep 23, 2014

EPA Works to Combat Climate Change with the Help of Tribal Communities

climate action, climate change, Climate Change Subgroup, Climate Preparedness and Resilience, tribal groups 1 Comment

As world leaders discuss ways to advance climate action during this week’s UN Climate Summit, we must consider one group that has a long history of understanding changing climates – Native American tribes. Many tribal groups have been observing the ebb and flow of rivers and harvests for thousands of years, and understand how to adapt for survival. This knowledge is often called Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) and it holds a tremendous amount of value not only for indigenous groups, but for scientists and policymakers.

We are looking at how we can integrate TEK into EPA’s work, and the federal government is also making TEK an important part of the decision-making process. In November 2013, the White House Council on Native American Affairs was formed to improve coordination of federal programs and resources to support and assist tribal communities. Since then, a number of subgroups have been established focusing on specific issues, including a Climate Change Subgroup that Administrator McCarthy is leading in partnership with Secretary Sally Jewell of the Department of Interior. The Climate Change Subgroup will be looking at the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate Preparedness and Resilience, which included the leaders of two Native American communities who, in turn, held multiple engagements with tribal members across the country about their goals and needs.

Jun 5, 2014

At the Intersection of Human Health and Environmental Protection

Children' Health, environmental challenges, environmental information, Human Health, World Environment Day 1 Comment

A community’s health, safety, and productiveness is dependent on the protection of its environment. This intersection, between environmental stewardship and community growth, is one of the most important aspects of the work we do every day at EPA. That’s why one of Administrator McCarthy’s key themes is making a visible difference in communities across the country. However, it’s not just cities and towns here in the U.S. that benefit from environmental protection. Worldwide, our homes are safer, our children are healthier, and our economies are stronger when we invest in environmental stewardship.

During my time at EPA, I’ve had the pleasure of witnessing the impact of environmental protection in communities worldwide. When I traveled to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, I saw firsthand the environmental challenges that communities were facing in Africa and other parts of the world. More

May 6, 2014

Protecting Our Natural Resources – Here and Abroad

Air, Chesapeake Bay, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, ecosystem, fish, International and Tribal Affairs, Vietnam’s Ha Long Bay, water, wetlands 0 Comments

OITA PDAA Jane Nishida talks to key local and national stakeholders working to preserve and protect Vietnam’s Ha Long Bay

By Jane Nishida, Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator for the Office of International and Tribal Affairs

The Chesapeake Bay is one of the nation’s most vital resources, providing important habitat for fish and wildlife, and recreational and tourism opportunities for millions of people each year. While increased tourism and development has supported the area’s economic growth, it has brought with it a suite of environmental challenges, including nutrient pollution, loss of forests and wetlands, and air pollution stemming from increased development in the area. In my previous roles as Secretary of Maryland’s Department of the Environment and Maryland Director of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, I saw first-hand the impacts of this damage, and worked closely with local residents, stakeholders, elected officials and the federal government to begin on a major restoration and protection effort. Not only can we protect the bay and surrounding wildlife, we can ensure the continued economic benefits of tourism for the future.

Nearly 8,000 miles away from the Chesapeake Bay lies an area with similar opportunities and challenges. Vietnam’s Ha Long Bay, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is known around the world for its striking beauty and diverse ecosystem. However, as with the Chesapeake Bay, concerned citizens and government officials are seeing increased degradation and pollution as more and more people access the Bay for tourism, recreation and shipping development. More

Apr 30, 2014

EPA in the Arctic

Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortia, Alaska Native Villages, arctic, Arctic Council, Indian General Assistance Program, International and Tribal Affairs, National Strategy for the Arctic Region, Tribal Affairs, tribes 1 Comment

Ice breaking off the coast of Greenland. (Credit: Ben DeAngelo)

The Arctic is changing at a faster rate than the rest of the world. Warming air and sea temperatures mean melting ice, thawing permafrost, and unpredictable seasons. These changes in turn impact the marine and terrestrial ecosystems upon which many northern indigenous families depend for food, clothing, and shelter. My office works to engage these communities in building resilience in the face of a rapidly changing climate, while at the same time, we are working at home and abroad to address the causes of these changes.

Supporting Alaska Native Villages means taking action at home and abroad to address the impacts of global warming. EPA leads efforts under the President’s Climate Action Plan and the National Strategy for the Arctic Region to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases through domestic regulation, improve the monitoring and reporting of emissions, address sources of emissions with our international partners, and support capacity building for local governments, states, and American Indian and Alaska Native communities. More

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