This site features natural, environmentally-conscious and/or toxin free products for sale through agreements with Amazon retailers. Revenue generated is used to support ongoing pediatric environmental educational and advocacy initiatives.
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These books feature just a few of the greatest science and medicine....
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Traditional cleaning products are very strong and volatile, and can get absorbed through the skin. Have peace of mind with these Green Cleaning products.
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Natural soaps without harmful chemical additives are hard to find. Enjoy these safer alternatives....
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These natural skin moisturizers and lubricants are free of parabens, phthalates, sulfates, artificial dyes and perfumes Great for eczema and dry skin.....
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Sweating is one way our body eliminates toxins. This is why I avoid antiperspirants and prefer natural, aluminum-free deodorants like these....
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Take care of your hair naturally with these shampoos and conditioners.....
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Boost your immune system and vitality with natural food supplements....
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Here are some products that promote car safety and information on electric cars....
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Offering some First Aid Emergency Response products because it's better to be a survivor rather than a statistic....
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Allergy-proof your home with these products to reduce your exposure to dust, particulate matter, dander, insects and/or gas fumes...
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Whether for school, or for fun, your child will enjoy these children's environmental books and science experiments....
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OCEAN WAVE, WIND AND RAIN
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Access to pure water-H20- is a precious commodity. Most of us are drinking A watered beverage with chemical additives. Purified and filtered water products are safer and available right here....
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Until skin absorption studies are done, water used to bathe in should also be as chemical-free as possible....
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Here are some health and environmental videos that you can watch from your computer right now.....
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Greetings!
I am Dr. Yolanda Whyte. I have committed my life to the continuous pursuit of medical knowledge in order to help others, and save lives. I provide pediatric and environmental health consultations, and work with schools, policymakers, nonprofits, faith-based institutions and other interested parties on addressing safety, health and environmental issues.
My innovative practice model has been adapted to meet the challenges of rapidly emerging environmental threats. I improve public health by identifying individual risk factors, assessing health impacts, finding and implementing solutions, and educating others to becoming empowered and take control of their health. Feel free to contact me for more information on how I can serve your pediatric, health and environmental needs.
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UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SCIENCE CLUB GRADUATION BANQUET
On April 27th, I was invited to be one of the keynote speakers at the University of Georgia-Athens Environmental Health Science Club Banquet honoring graduating seniors and scholarship recipients. Environmental Health and Safety professionals play a very important role in preventing illness, injury and death due to environmental factors in the workplace. The topic of my presentation was on Environmental Advocacy, where I shared my experiences in environmental advocacy over the past 6 years, working with other collaborators, to influence strong public policies on pediatric, health and environmental issues.
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University of Georgia- Athens is not new to environmentalism. Their marine biology scientists played a leading role investigating the BP oil spill several years ago.
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ECOSENSE FOR LIVING SCREENING
From the Environmental Working Group:
Next Tuesday, March 26, I will join the Turner Foundation and Georgia Public Broadcasting in Atlanta for a special advance screening of the latest episode of the Emmy Award-winning EcoSense for Living series. Two new episodes of EcoSense for Living will premiere on GPB during April for Earth Month. They feature environmental experts offering useful and easy tips to help families avoid toxic chemicals in their home environment. Join us for a reception, the sneak peek world premiere and a question-and-answer session. Click here to RSVP.When: March 26 5:45 - 6:30 pm - Reception 6:30 - 7:15 pm - Introduction and screening 7:15 - 8:00 pm - Q & A Session Where: GPB Headquarters 260 14th St. N.W. Atlanta, Ga. 30318 Panelists: Ken Cook, President, Environmental Working Group Dr. Yolanda Whyte, Pediatrician and Environmental Health Expert Dr. Gerald L. Durley, Pastor Emeritus, Providence Missionary Baptist Church Please click here to RSVP.
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Here with Heather White, Executive Director of the Environmental Working Group who shared a story of how she came to realize the flame retardants in her daughter's pajamas; Laura Turner Seydel, Director of the Turner Foundation, international environmental leader, and also my friend who invited me to sit on this panel; Jennie Turner Garlington, the outstanding Host and Executive Producer of the EcoSense for Living series, provided us with practical tips on identifying hazards around us and improving our environment; and Ken Cook, President of the Environmental Working Group, who was featured in the most recent episode and also served as an expert panelist at the screening.
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During the Q & A session of the EcoSense for Living screening, I was honored to be featured with the dynamic Rev. Dr. Gerald Durley of Providence Missionary Baptist Church in Atlanta, who is a civil rights leader and environmental justice expert who can galvanize an audience like no other. Ken Cook brought to the table decades of expertise fighting against environmental toxins. Teya Ryan, President and Executive Director of Georgia Public Broadcasting, GPB, moderated the panel discussion, asking insightful questions relating to children, business, community and international perspectives.
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The most intriguing question of the night came later from a European boy who asked "why don't Americans grow their own food?"
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There are over 80K chemicals in commerce, less than 200 have been tested and a handful banned. It's scary to think that your carpet, bed, clothes, cookware, foods, hygiene and beauty products used every day are contaminated with pounds of toxic chemicals. The only thing you can do is limit your use or exposure to these products, choose safer alternatives and contact your Senator to support the Safe Chemicals Act.
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Special thanks to Kristine Witherspoon and Taryn Murphy of the Turner Foundation, and all others involved in creating and organizing this event, and making it available to the public. We were also provided with a fine healthy food selection at the reception and opportunities for networking with other environmental advocates and experts, health proponents, dignitaries and other professionals..
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USING TREES AS A PROTECTIVE BARRIER FOR CHILDREN AT SCHOOLS
These trees positioned between the highway and the school can absorb the ultrafine particulate matter which is one of the worst types of air pollutants because it can penetrate deeply and increase the risk of cancer, autism, asthma and other health conditions.
Diesel exhaust can also increase the risk of cancer, heart and lung disease since it contains polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) , nitrous oxides, sulfur dioxides that can become a problem on their own and worsen air quality more in when combined with heavy UV rays. This creates ozone, also known as smog, and may appear as an overcast sky.
Brief exposures to these air pollutants, during recess for example, can cause dizziness and short attention span in children when they should be focused, attentive and able to retain their lessons. This can compromise their learning achievement, behavior and relationships.
Fortunately, the health effects of air pollutants are preventable. Proactive measures like planting trees, issuing smog alerts, having no idle policies, retrofitting the engines of school buses are a few of the things that groups like Mothers and Others for Clean Air are working on.
You can also protect your health through advocacy by submitting public comment on an EPA rule that will reduce air pollution from cars by reducing vehicle emissions and lowering the sulfur in gasoline. This rule will have the greatest benefit for children, seniors, pregnant women, truck drivers and those with long commutes. You can get more information from the NAACP and submit public comment through Moms Clean Air Force or Union of Concerned Scientists. The deadline is June 13, 2013.
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YOUTH LEADERS WITH ENVIRONMENTAL NONPROFITS
On March 25th, I attended a Captain Planet Party held at Ecomanor, the first LEED-certified home in the Southeast and home of Laura and Rutherford Seydel. Captain Planet hosts children's environmental activities and funds environmental projects. I had the pleasure of meeting Maya, Founder of Maya's Ideas For the Planet, a child entrepreneur who creates and sells lovely ecofriendly fashion accessories like the beautiful flower necklace she's wearing. Maya also speaks publicly and is working on environmental projects.
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I was also inspired by Carter and Olivia, Founders of One More Generation, dedicated to making sure that endangered species get to live one more generation. They speak publicly promoting environmental awareness and leadership, and were recently featured on the Steve Harvey show.
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MY PREDICTION: PORTLAND VOTES NO TO WATER FLUORIDATION
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During the week of February 10-15, 2013 I was invited to Portland, Oregon by a volunteer-run organization Clean Water Portland, to speak with residents about health concerns related to the practice of water fluoridation, since they were only hearing one side of the story being "safe and effective." They saw the video of my public service announcement featured by the Fluoride Action Network, which gave me a platform to warn vulnerable populations on a larger scale. Portland is the largest city in the nation that has rejected fluoridating their municipal water supply that is used for drinking and bathing, and they will soon vote on this measure on May 20, 2013. I spoke about the risk for babies, seniors, pregnant women and those with kidney, thyroid, bone and joint disorders. I clarified the hydrofluosilicic acid's regulation and classification by the different agencies. Clean Water Portland still needs your support, you can make a donation through their website.
Do No Harm
There is an urgent need to retrain the trainer so that medical, dental and public health professionals know key points like
- parts per million (ppm) refers to concentration, not dose
- calculating the fluoride exposure dose on every patient who consumes fluoridated water
- it the fluoride exposure dose exceeds the EPA's reference dose of 0.114 mg/kg/d, then fluoride is unsafe.
- as best, understand chemistry properties like electronegativity and molecular size
- need to conduct a health and safety risk assessment tha will identify at risk groups ike infants, pregnant women, seniors, those with diabetes and bone, joint, kidney, thyroid disease
- calcium fluoride is a mineral, not the type of fluoride (hydrofluosilicic acid) that is added to water
- dental and skeletal fluorosis represents chronic fluoride overexposure and toxicity
- ICD-9 code 520.3 to diagnose dental fluorosis
- Correctly identify images of mild, moderate vs. severe dental fluorosis
- ethics concerns, like paying vulnerable groups to expose them to a known health threat
"I didn't spend 11 years in training, $100k+in student loans, and 9 years in practice to put on a talent show. This is serious, we are dealing with human lives and chronic diseases are at record highs ."
*Special thanks to Mark Colman for the photos below and for the colossal billboard in Portland photographing residents with their statements of why they don't want fluoride added to their water.
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I was excited to meet and be interviewed by Jo Anne Hardesty on her KBOO radio show, listen to us now on Voices from the Edge and support Community Radio. Her questions were direct and to the point, we could've talked for hours. This was a great start to the week ahead.
Some of Jo Annn Hardesty's noteworthy ideas on addressing dental problems of people of color and low-income communities include:
-zoning of fast food restaurants
-eliminate food desert's in low-income communities
-provide farm fresh food in schools
-provide full dental care as part of health care reform efforts
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Portland State University hosted my presentation "Rethinking Water Fluoridation" and summarized it in their publication, The Vanguard. Click here to read what a student wrote. It would be interesting to see a study on how fluoride is incorporated into the skeleton of children of different ethnicities and genders, who have different rates of bone development and bone mineral density.
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Here with a few members of Clean Water Portland, who did a fantastic job of connecting with key stakeholders and a diversity of community sectors. This was done to make sure there was access to this crucial public health message that will soon be voted on, instead of safely managed in a medical office under a doctor's supervision where fluoride can be dosed, consumption can be carefully monitored, consumers can be screened for toxicity and adverse effects, and babies can be protected.
This was one of the best examples of community organizing I have witnessed. Emmanuel Temple Church hosted a presentation that was well attended by 300 persons. The roaring applause and standing ovation is one of my 'moments for life'. Many in the audience were fluoridation experts who have been opposing this practice for decades.
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Rick North, of Clean Water Portland, assisted with Q&A at both Portland State University and Emmanuel Temple Church, and accompanied me on several visits with key persons. He knows every detail of the National Research Council's Fluoride in Drinking Water publication, ask him anything!
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As a lifetime member of the NAACP since 2004, I was delighted to meet with members of the Portland chapter of the NAACP. They are oppose to the water fluoridation measure noting concern about the pre-existing chemical burden, and effect on babies and those with kidney disease. Here with a few members who showed tremendous support and engaged in a healthy discussion about the pros and cons of water fluoridation and the need to be more aggressive addressing dental cavities.
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Here with My Dear Friend from Clean Water Portland, who opened her home to me and was extremely generous and kind with her knowledge, time and ideas. She is a master strategist who kept me grounded, focused and on time! We were extremely busy, but able to accomplish a lot. I hope Portland residents can appreciate the tremendous time, money and energy that has gone into protecting yourself from this 1 chemical. Our bodies are overwhelmed and burdened by a high number and concentration of toxic chemicals from just about every source. Please tell your Senator to support the Safe Chemicals Act.
Access to safe drinking water is a human right, adopted by the UN Human Rights Council in 2010. It's not just about fluoride, it's about improving water quality overall without the bacteria, cysts, chlorine disinfectant byproducts, hexavalent.chromium, coal ash toxins, fracking fluids, industrial chemicals,radionuclides and anything else that compromises the quality of the water we drink and bathe in. There is really no other option but to drink purified water. I recycle my water gallon jug as I get refills at a local supermarket for 30 cents, and avoid keeping it in a hot car that will leach BPA and plasticizers from the plastic. Due to an overwhelming wealth of recommendations, I am opening up to drinking alkaline water and will do my own research.
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This Portland musician does not want fluoridation chemicals added to his water. Check out Dr. Organik's fluoride song and video as well as this acoustic guitar fluoride song. Music has always been a great portal for disseminating information. I would love to see the rap song video on mainstream television and radio, along with the return of educational Saturday morning cartoons and Surgeon General announcements.
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Everyone was warm and welcoming, including this student journalist and volunteer with Clean Water Portland who played a great role with publicity.
Health advocates have been publicizing natural anti-cavity alternatives like
- baking soda and peroxide
- xylitol
- tea tree mouth wash
- anacardic acid from cashews
- green leafy vegetables
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I was very much supported by active and passionate Portland residents virtually and in person, including a new friend I met up with. It feels good to do the right thing, and to be bonded with others who do the right thing, which motivates you to do more right things until you've created a vicious self-sustaining cycle that will eventually revolutionize the children's environmental health field!
Thanks also to the political leaders, neighborhood associations, City Club, medical and dental professionals, health department officials and everyone else who took the time, and had the courtesy, to meet with me.
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ATLANTA BLACK NURSES ASSOCIATION'S ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SYMPOSIUM
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We invite you to join us for the
The Atlanta Black Nurses Association's
Environmental Health Symposium
February 1, 2013
Atlanta, GA
 The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, The Atlanta Black Nurses Association (ABNA) and The West Atlanta Watershed Alliance invite you to join us at our inaugural Environmental Health Symposium. We hope you'll take this opportunity to join us and learn about how energy choices impact the public health of low income and communities of color.
The meeting will be held on February 1st from 8:00am-2:00pmat the Georgia State University Institute of Public Health. More details, an agenda and RSVP information to come!
Don't forget to mark this event on you calendar!
When: February 1, 2013
8:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Where: Georgia State University Institute of Public Health
We look forward to seeing you there!
Questions? Contact
Seandra Rawls Pope,seandra@cleanenergy.org
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Speaking at the Atlanta Black Nurses Association Environmental Health Symposium on my experiences in environmental advocacy was a great way to kick off Black history month. I was invited by Seandra Rawls Pope, Diversity and Community Partnerships Coordinator for Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE) who served as the key organizer.
The health disparities and environmental injustices that disproportionately affect African-Americans are preventable, but communities need access to information that can protect them. I shared with the audiencethe conditions and occurrences that inspired me to expand my pediatric practice to include a variety of environmental awareness initiatives ranging from community outreach , lobbying, testifying, rallying, speaking publicly and forming collaborations. The symposium was well attended by nurses and other health professionals, students, environmentalists and members of the business, nonprofit and political sectors.
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THE EPA NEEDS STRONG NATIONAL AND REGIONAL HEALTH PROTECTIONS FROM COAL ASH TOXINS
On December 18th, I accompanied Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, several Riverkeepers, the Sierra Club and Southern Environmental Law Center to EPA Region 4 Headquarters to meet with Administrator Gwendolyn Keyes Fleming on establishing health protective rules for coal ash.
Coal ash is the residue that remains when coal is burned at a power plant for electricity. As a waste product, it must be disposed of in a safe and responsible manner, but instead, it is sometimes dumped into uncovered, unlined or poorly lined landfills, some over 50 years old with expired permits. It is recklessly used in drywall, dumped on school grounds, playgrounds, food crops and golf courses
Under these conditions, we can experience health effects from exposure to the toxins in coal ash, that include lead, mercury, arsenic, cadmium, radionuclides and others that
- leach into the groundwater that will eventually be used for drinking and bathing
- leach into the soil that is used to grow food crops
- fly into the air to be inhaled and absorbed through the skin
These toxins are associated with asthma, autism, cancer, liver and kidney disease and developmental disorders. They can bioaccummulate inside of us and cause ongoing and chronic effects. Trace exposures can be devastating, especially for babies who receive a greater dose at such an early time when their organs are not developed.
There is very little that individuals can do, except to drink and bathe in purified water, if possible. Therefore, the burden of responsibility lies with industries to establish safe practices that will not endanger workers and residents, and also with members of Congress, and the EPA, to create and enforce strong policies that would minimize our exposure to unseen toxins that threaten our health, work productivity, relationships and peace of mind.
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