Restoring the Ecology of Health in the Anthropocene’s “Polycrisis”
Co-hosted by the Science and Environmental Health Network (SEHN)
The microbiologist and humanist René Dubos said that “each civilization creates its own diseases,” but it’s also true that every civilization can create the conditions for its own health. Today we are confronting a slew of public health threats including: the climate crisis, chemical and plastic manufacturing, food and economic insecurity, oil and gas extraction, and water shortages arising from fracking and data centers. This panel featuring three of the most renowned public health visionaries of our era will explore how we can empower communities with scientific knowledge, legal tools and organizing strategies, (including the precautionary principle) to stop the further toxification of our environment and restore our ecosystems to foster conditions conducive to health. Hosted by Carolyn Raffensperger, MA, JD Executive Director of SEHN. With: Ted Schettler, MD, MPH, a physician and SEHN’s Science Director; and Sandra Steingraber, Ph.D., a biologist and SEHN’s Senior Scientist and bestselling author.
March 27th | 4:45 pm to 6:00 pm
Panelists
Carolyn Raffensperger
Executive Director
Science and Environmental Health Network
Carolyn Raffensperger, Executive Director of the Science and Environmental Health Network, which, since 1998 has been the leading proponent in the U.S. of the Precautionary Principle as a basis for environmental and public health policy, was formerly an archeologist but, horrified at the destruction of the lands in which she was working, went to law school and became an activist to protect ecosystems and future generations. A co-convener of the historic 1998 Wingspread Conference on the Precautionary Principle and the Women’s Congresses for Future Generations held in 2012, 2014, and 2026, Carolyn co-edited Precautionary Tools for Reshaping Environmental Policy (2006) and Protecting Public Health and the Environment: Implementing the Precautionary Principle (1999).
Ted Schettler
Science and Environmental Health Network
Science Director
Ted Schettler MD, MPH, the Science Director of the Science and Environmental Health Network, who has a medical degree from Case Western Reserve University and a master’s degree in public health from Harvard, is the author of: The Ecology of Breast Cancer and the co-author of several books, including: Generations at Risk: Reproductive Health and the Environment; In Harm's Way: Toxic Threats to Child Development, and: Environmental Threats to Health Aging. He has also published many articles in peer-reviewed journals and has served on advisory committees of the U.S. EPA and the National Academy of Sciences.
Sandra Steingraber
