| December 16, 2005 The Beat Goes On by Katy Parrish, insurgent49 Educating our youth about environmental justice issues is vital if we are going to make any progress in dealing with corporate polluters and flawed regulations that allow major industries to expose people to unsafe chemicals. Thinking outside of the box is even more important in engaging youth to participate in meaningful actions that create awareness and result in real change. Acting today is critical, especially considering the subversive tactics currently being used by the Bush administration to allow corporate interests to dominate the regulation and scientific processes that are supposed to protect people, but instead are increasing the profits of the industries represented. One very disturbing example of this is the current EPA regulation entitled: “Protections for Subjects in Human Research,” located at: http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/EPA-GENERAL/2005/September/Day-12/g18010.htm. Because the comment period for this regulation closes December 12, 2005, I would highly encourage anyone concerned about dosing humans with pesticides to read this regulation thoroughly and submit your comments before the deadline. Up front, the regulation reads like a primer for protecting children and pregnant women; however, buried in the last of the 30 pages of the regulation under “Subpart D,” there are several sections that will allow: Children who "cannot be reasonably consulted," such as those that experience cognitive impairments or developmental disabilities or orphaned newborns may be subject to experimental testing. With permission from the institution or guardian in charge of the individual, the child may be exposed to chemicals for the sake of research. 70 FR 53865 Section 26.408(a) reads that "The IRB (Independent Review Board) shall determine that adequate provisions are made for soliciting the assent of the children, when in the judgment of the IRB the children are capable of providing assent...If the IRB determines that the capability of some or all of the children is so limited that they cannot reasonably be consulted, the assent of the children is not a necessary condition for proceeding with the research. Even where the IRB determines that the subjects are capable of assenting, the IRB may still waive the assent requirement..." Testing upon abused or neglected children without a parental consent form. 70 FR 53865 26.408(c) says, "If the IRB determines that a research protocol is designed for conditions or for a subject population for which parental or guardian permission is not a reasonable requirement to protect the subjects (for example, neglected or abused children), it may waive the consent requirements..." Chemical studies on any children outside of the U.S. 70 FR 53864 26.401 (a)(2) reads, "To What Do These Regulations Apply? It also includes research conducted or supported by EPA outside the United States, but in appropriate circumstances, the Administrator may, under § 26.101(e), waive the applicability of some or all of the requirements of these regulations for research...") This regulation violates the Nuremberg Code, an international treaty that mandates the consent of test subjects is "absolutely essential," that the test subject must have "legal capacity to give consent" and that they must be "so situated as to exercise free power of choice." According to Andrew Schneider of the San Francisco Chronicle, “The Environmental Protection Agency's new rules on human testing, which the agency said last week would categorically protect children and pregnant women from pesticide testing, include numerous exemptions, such as one that specifically allows testing of children who have been "abused and neglected." The rules were revised under intense criticism from environmental groups, scientists and members of Congress after the disclosure that subjects in some earlier pesticide studies were unaware of what they were being exposed to and, in many cases, did not know why the testing was being done. One study would have used $2 million from the chemical industry to measure the pesticide consumption of infants in low-income households in Florida.” Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-CA), in an interview with the Baltimore Sun, said, "For the first time in our nation's history, the EPA has proposed a program to allow for the systematic and everyday experimentation of pesticides on humans. Moreover, the proposed program is riddled with ethical loopholes." It seems like every time I turn around, I witness an assault on our planet in the name of corporate profits. Despite that, I am hopeful. Thanks to several local efforts to create community awareness about environmental issues and to engage the youth in Anchorage in the environmental justice movement, progress is being made to clean up and stop the exploitation of Mother Earth. Some of these include: Alaskan Community Action on Toxics (www.akaction.org) is sponsoring the first Alaska Conference on Health and the Environment in the UAA Consortium Library, Room 307, December 1st and 2nd, 2005. The Collaborative on Health and the Environment (CHE - www.cheforhealth.org) seeks to raise the level of scientific and public dialogue about the role of environmental contaminants and other environmental factors in many of the common diseases, disorders, and conditions of our time. ACAT is also collecting signatures for the Alaska Child Health Protection Act to support placement of the initiative on the November 2006 ballot. The Alaska Children’s Health Protection Act will protect children from the harmful effects of pesticides. Voters will then be able to require schools, both public and private, and licensed child care facilities to use the healthiest, least dangerous alternatives to pesticides first, with pesticides used only as a last resort. It’s time to carry these protections to school children statewide and to children in child care. For more information, call 222-7714. Alaska Youth for Environmental Action AYEA is a high school environmental education and leadership program of the National Wildlife Federation. The mission of AYEA is to inspire, educate, and take action on environmental issues facing our communities. AYEA members achieve this mission through hands-on projects and skills training events on a local and statewide level. AYEA has members in over ten communities throughout Alaska. Students can join AYEA as individuals or start AYEA clubs in their schools and communities. Any teen interested in helping the environment is welcome! For more information email ayea@nwf.org or call 907-339-3907. Anchorage AYEA meetings are held every other Wednesday from 5-6:30pm at the Alaska Center for the Environment, 807 G Street, Suite 100, Anchorage. EnviroBeat The brainchild of local performing artist Yngvil Van Guttu will incorporate the healing power of percussion with the renewable promise of recycling into a fun way to teach youth about the environment using a creative, hands-on, arts experience. In collaboration with the Municipality of Anchorage, Alaska Litter Prevention Recycling, Alaska Junior Theatre and Rare Earth LLCare, this project will feature the world renowned Canadian performance group Scrap Arts (www.scrapartsmusic.com) for a set of four master classes in Anchorage.
Local youth will collect scrap, build percussion instruments, participate in master percussion classes, investigate the benefits of the recycling process, learn about the junk we need to keep out of our landfill and present several community performances. The culmination of the local effort will be a community performance on Earth Day. This project hopes to “encourage improved Anchorage recycling by sharing why recycling sounds good!” Scrap Arts will perform at the Atwood Theatre, in the Performing Arts Center, February 7-9th at 10 am and noon for local schools and February 10th at 7:30 for the general public. Enviro Beat workshops to be held in January: January 15, 22 and 29 EnviroBeat workshops in February (Scrap Art master classes at the PAC): February 1,2,3 and 6. March and April workshop and perfromance schedule TBA If you want to be part of the EnviroBeat workshops, call: Yngvil at 244-3186. Or, if you want to donate metal or other great-sounding scrap, call Marieke at230-1529 or email yguttu@yahoo.com Our youth are our hope for the future. Empowering them with the knowledge that their voices and energy are exactly what we need to save this planet is one of the most powerful strategies we have to affect real change. Nurturing their creative souls while tapping their intellectual brilliance are the most powerful weapons we have in battling the current arrogance and total disregard for the consequences of corporate globalization. Invite a youth in your life to check out the environmental justice opportunities available and smile to yourself knowing you were instrumental in teaching a youth how to save the planet. Katy Parrish is a freelance writer and media activist who can be reached at takebackthemedia@hotmail.com. |
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2005
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Reserved. in-sur-gent (in sur'jent), n. 1. a member of a group which revolts against the policies of its leadership. |
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