Docs Talk: Quebec's Asbestos Industry

The new Docs Talk post is asking: "Who's keeping the Canadian asbestos industry alive?"

Check it out!

CAPE is on Wikipedia!

Check out the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE) new Wikipedia page! It's a work in progress but it looks great! Otherwise visit their homepage!

Climate Change and Human Health

Check out this new video was the Norway Medical Students Association!

With under 2 weeks until the COP16 in Mexico, the NMSA is promoting their new video to support the IFMSA's push for including of health in the climate negotiations world wide! You can also sign their petition here!

The simple truth about healthy eating: A dietitian's perspectiv

Check out the latest post in the ongoing

series "Docs Talk" from the David

Suzuki Foundation!

Organic Connections Conference

The Organic Connections 2010 Conference will be held From November 21st - 23rd, 2010 at TCU Place in Saskatoon. For more information go to: www.organicconnections.ca Many consumers want more than good food. They want the assurance their food is rich in nutrients, safe from foreign additives, produced in a manner that sustains the environment and, when possible, tells the story of the farmer who produced it. That’s a tall order in this mass-produced, impersonal, adulterated food environment in which we live.

Social Accountability Fair

On October 20th, 2010, the Eco-Health Interest Group participated in the Social Accountability Far hosted by the Council of Health Sciences Dean. Check out the Social Accountability article about it HERE and an article from the Department of Sustainability on campus HERE starting at page 7!

U of S Lectures Series

Water Futures

• Oct. 25, 7 pm, STM auditorium, Frontiers in Science presents Water Futures and the Perfect Storm, a free public lecture by Howard Wheater, Canada Excellence Research Chair (CERC) in Water Security, U of S

Environmental Anthropology Lecture Series

• Nov. 1, 3:30 p,, Room 112 Archaeology Building, Naotaka Hayashi, University of Alberta, presents Living with change : social consequences of climate change in Greenland

Veterinary Microbiology 990 Seminar Series

• Oct. 22, 12:30 pm in WCVM 2105, Emily Jenkins, assistant professor, Department of Veterinary Microbiology, presents Parasites and zoonoses in a changing world

The current political thought

Here are the main political party's pages on sustainability, environment, and evergy saving policies! In no particular order:

NDP (Jack Layton - Building a Clean sustainable Economy

Conservatives (Stephen Harper) - No policy available

Liberals (Michael Ignatieff) - Environment and Energy

Greens (Elizabeth May) - Sustainability and Respect for Diversity

Ahead of the Curve

Tapping into the Prairies' Rich Leadership History Wanuskewin Heritage Park, near Saskatoon

Friday, October 29th from 9:30am to 5:00pm

The Centre for Civic Governance is organizing this conference for Municipally-Elected and First Nations Leaders in Saskatchewan as well as for community organizers and leaders and academics who are interested in building sustainable and inclusive communities.

To register, please complete the attached registration form and mail or fax it back to us. The early bird registration deadline is October 16th so be sure to submit your form before then. For more information, please phone Trevor at (306) 229-2949 or Tracey at (306) 244-4955 or visit us online at http://www.civicgovernance.ca/saskatoon2010

Environmental Open House in the College of Law!!

Green Legal and the College of Law invite you to an Environmental Open House, 1-4 p.m., Friday, October 29, inside the front entry area of the College of Law.

Join us as we celebrate the achievement of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Certification, gold level!!

Building Tours: 1 - 4 p.m.

LEED Gold Award Unveiling: 2:45 p.m.

CMA warns Canada about Climate Change!

The CMA has issued a strong position statement about the impact climate change is having on public health.

The statement, Climate Change and Human Health, was adopted by the CMA Board of Directors in August. "Climate change is increasingly recognized as a significant threat facing society and it has the potential to be one of the greatest threats to human health in the 21st century," it says. "While the damage is being done now, many of the health effects may arise only decades in the future."

New post from Doc's Talk!

Thought for food: Organic farming is good for you and the planet!

Native Plant Seed Collection Workshop

10 October 2010 - 1:00pm - 2:00pm

As part of the international year of Biodiversity, you are invited to a workshop on native prairie plant seed collection. In addition to learning about prairie plants, you will have the opportunity to collect seeds for your own garden.

For the workshop you will need to bring some envelopes (preferably reusing old envelopes) for the seeds.

All ages welcome.

This event is being held by the Saskatchewan chapter of the UNESCO YAG, First Nations University of Canada and the Saskatchewan RCE ESD.

Event Website: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=165866846763110

Saskatoon Garlic Self-Sufficiency!

10 October 2010 - 10:00am - 2:00pm

On October 10th we will be planting our way to City Hall -- that's right, we're planting enough garlic to make Saskatoon garlic self-sufficient by 2012. The October 10th day of action will give us a huge head start in growing 100% safe, healthy, and delicious garlic locally instead of importing the bulk of it from half-way across the planet. Come join us for a really fun day outside . . . and, of course, there will be great food!

How to Get Involved Planning the Event: Please call WAM organiser Daniel McLaren at 306-262-5882 to get involved.

Event Host: We Are Many (WAM) is an innovative, award-winning youth-run arts and environmental organisation with a focus on practical outcomes. Right now we're working on a tap water station for outdoor festivals, an urban agriculture co-op, and a world-record bike ride, among other (exciting!) things.

White Coat, Black Art (Podcast)

The next episode of White Coat, Black Art (Saturday September 18), takes a tour of one hospital that's leading the way in becoming green without increasing the risk of hospital-acquired infections. Check it out!

Wind power and human health: No evidence of direct harm

Hey EHIGers!

Check out this great series from the David Suzuki Foundation called "Docs Talk". It's written by Canadian doctors and has been a great of example of how we can use social media and our blog to share ideas and connect with other like minded individuals!

The Heat is On (Conference)

October 1 and 2, 2010,
University of Toronto
Sponsored by Physicians for Global Survival, Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment and the University of Toronto International Health Program

Click here for info!

Film Screening: The Antarctica Challenge

September 21st, 7:00 pm, Broadway Theatre, Saskatoon, SK

This breathtaking documentary brings viewers to one of the most beautiful places on earth, one where the extreme effects of climate change are easily observed. The film will be followed by a Q&A led by Alexis Schafer, a U of S grad student who is studying climate change in the Antarctic. Tickets are $7/$10 (Broadway Theatre member/non-member). This event is sponsored by Road Map Saskatoon.

Climate Change Conference 2010, University of Toronto

Want to take an unflinching look at the world’s climate challenges as explained by climate scientists? Find out about the boldest initiatives to meet our emissions targets. Hear the latest directions in global negotiations. Explore some ethically challenging solutions with potentially extreme side effects.

Climate Change Conference 2010 is three full days (August 13-15) of climate challenges, questions and solutions, with no spin and no sugar-coating.

http://www.ccc-2010.ca/

EcoCare Conference Canada

EcoCare is the only conference in Canada to speak directly to the link between healthcare and the environment, and presents both practical and innovative ways to encourage and inspire ecological stewardship within the Canadian Healthcare Sector.

http://www.ecocarecanada.ca/conference/2010/index.htm

Environmental chemicals and cancer

Check out the new entry in the Docs Talk blog by the David Suzuki Foundation! This month's entry is from Kristan Aronson, a professor in the Division of Cancer Care and Epidemiology, Queen's Cancer Research Institute, a member both of the Department of Community Health and Epidemiology and the School of Environmental Studies, Queen's University. She conducts research on environmental and genetic influences on cancer, and feels privileged to teach human health research methods to undergraduates and graduate students.

Happy Earth Day EHIG!

Did you know that Earth Day is 40 years old this year? Many people assume that with the new wave of young environmentalists Earth Day is a new revelation, but it has actually been around longer than many of us!

Use today to kick start some green activities by your family and friends: take public transport or ride your bike to work and school, choose a meatless lunch and dinner, and watch the sunset instead of your TV or computer.

Check out this cool way to encourage more people to take the stairs than the escalator:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lXh2n0aPyw

Nutana Film Festival - Exploring Permaculture in Our City

This May the Nutana Community Association and Rooted is hosting a film festival at the Broadway Theatre. Admission is free for everyone!

Schedule:
May 4th 7PM Dirt
May 11th 7PM The End of Suburbia
May 18th 7PM The Garden
May 25th 7PM Mad City Chickens

Check out www.nutana.ca for more information.

Earth Day, April 22, 2010

Celebrated every April 22, Earth Day is the largest, most celebrated environmental event worldwide.

More than 6 million Canadians join 1 billion people in over 170 countries in staging events and projects to address local environmental issues. Nearly every school child in Canada takes part in an Earth Day activity.

Environmental challenges abound as our daily actions pollute and degrade the fragile environment that humans and wildlife depend on to survive.

For more information visit http://www.earthday.ca/pub

Green Drinks

The next Green Drinks will be this Friday the 9th at Amigo's!

Start Time: 5:30 till whenever
Location: Amigo's - 632 10th Street East

We will be in the back room, after you walk in to the open area take a left, head down the narrow hallway and take a left.

PS. Minors are allowed in Amigo's during dinner hours

Food, Inc. Documentary

Come join EHIG and PHIG in a screening of the popular documentary Food, Inc!

Where: HLTH B442
When: Friday, March 26th, 2010 @ 12:30 pm
Who: Health science students and ANYONE else!

Bring your lunch and an open mind ;)

David Suzuki Foundation - Docs Talk

Check out this new article by an awesome ER physician in Ottawa!

Is Climate Change Getting You Down?
Posted: 18 Mar 2010 11:16 AM PDT
By Dr. Courtney Howard

Visit http://beta.davidsuzuki.org/blogs/docs-talk/is-climate-change-getting-you-down/

Food, Inc.

EHIG and the Public Health Interest Group (PHIG) would like to invite Health Sciences students to a screening of the popular Food, Inc. Documentary on March 26th starting around 12:30 pm. Room location is TBA but save the date and bring your lunch!

Synopsis:
In Food, Inc., filmmaker Robert Kenner lifts the veil on our nation's food industry, exposing the highly mechanized underbelly that has been hidden from the American consumer with the consent of our government's regulatory agencies, USDA and FDA. Our nation's food supply is now controlled by a handful of corporations that often put profit ahead of consumer health, the livelihood of the American farmer, the safety of workers and our own environment. We have bigger-breasted chickens, the perfect pork chop, herbicide-resistant soybean seeds, even tomatoes that won't go bad, but we also have new strains of E. coli—the harmful bacteria that causes illness for an estimated 73,000 Americans annually. We are riddled with widespread obesity, particularly among children, and an epidemic level of diabetes among adults.

Ensuring Nuclear Safety In Canada

Thursday March 25th 7:30 pm at the University of Saskatchewan Neatby-Timlin Theatre Room 241. The speaker is the President /CEO of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, Michael Binder.

World Water Day

World Water Day is March 22, 2010 and is a means of focusing attention on the importance of freshwater and the sustainable management of freshwater resources. The Eco-Health Interest Group is having a water conservation challenge to celebrate World Water Day. To participate in the challenge send a short email to ecohealthinterestgroup@gmail.com by March 26 with details on what you did to conserve water. Everyone who sends in an email will be entered in a draw to win great prizes! Check out http://www.wateruseitwisely.com for great ideas to reduce the amount of water you use.

Implementing the Climate Change Policy Revolution in British Columbia

The Johnson-Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy is pleased to present the 2010 Tansley Lecture:

Implementing the Climate Change Policy Revolution in British Columbia

Presented by Jessica L. McDonald, Executive Vice-President, Western & International Development, HB Global Advisors Corp. and former Deputy Minister to the Premier, Government of British Columbia (BC)

Thursday April 8, 2010
Canadian Ballroom, Ramada Hotel
Regina Saskatchewan
5:00 ~ 9:00 p.m.

Online Registration Required:

*Corporate/Group Tables $400.00 + GST
Individuals $45.00 + GST
Students $25.00 + GST

To register, please visit the JSGS website and complete our online registration form: https://jsgs.ohmedia.ca/form/190. The registration deadline is April 5, 2010.

Code Green: AMSA's Climate Change Policy

Hey EHIG, check out the Australian Medical Student's Association's website concerning Climate Change! They have lots of interesting links and a short video!

http://www.amsa.org.au/content/code-green-amsas-climate-change-policy

World Water Day - March 22 - University of Saskatchewan Events

Educational booths in the Arts Tunnel
-Oxfam
-Sask environmental society
-Sask watershed authority
-Turning the tide bookstore
-Better than Bottled (come visit us for the chance to win a SIGG water bottle)

Come learn about international water issues, personal water use, saskatchewan's water supply, bottled water, and more!

FREE screening of Blue Gold at 4:00pm in St. Emmanuel Chad, U of S (GSA commons) with introduction by Alina Seigfried on her 25 Liter/day water conservation challenge!

A Chemical Reaction Screening

If you are free on March 16th, Irina has recommended a cheap and educational night out. The Canadian Cancer Society and the Saskatchewan Environmental Society is screening a documentary called A Chemical Reaction at the City Hospital on March 16th. It is about the Hudson vs. SprayTech and ChemLawn case regarding the use and sale of cosmetic pesticides. Admission is by donation.

http://saskatchewanenvironmentalsociety.blogspot.com/2010/02/chemical-reaction-saskatoon.html

Pocket Mulch

Tune in every Wednesday and Friday at 6:30 PM to 90.5FM CFCR Saskatoon’s Community Radio for up-to-date on environmental happenings around the world and in Saskatoon, as well as interesting environmental issues in the news. To listen to Pocket Mulch, check your dial at 90.5FM or on the web at http://www.cfcr.ca/

Saskatchewan Eco Network’s 5th Annual Environmental Film Festival

“SEE THE CHANGE, BE THE CHANGE”

Dates: March 5-7th Saskatoon, SK

Locations: Two venues; Neatby-Timlin Theatre at the U. of S. and The Roxy Theatre on 20th Street

Schedule of Events:

March 5th 7-9:30pm @ The UofS Neatby-Timlin Theatre– Environmental Activist Awards, Screening of the Film “No Impact Man” and a “Green Gala” at Browser’s at the Memorial Union Building on campus.

March 6th 12-9pm @ The Roxy Theatre- Workshops by Rooted and Oxfam, presentation by Engineers Without Borders and the screening of environmental films “In Transition”, “Taking Root” and “Black Gold” along with various local and international shorts.

March 7th 12-6pm @ The Roxy Theatre – Programming includes the screening of the films “End of the Line” and “H2OIL”.

Tickets are by donation $10 suggested for waged, $5 for students and low income.

For More Information go to: http://econet.sk.ca/filmfest/films2010.html

Or contact the Saskatchewan Eco Network @ (306) 652-1275.

Life & Health Sciences Research Day - March 12th, 2010

Everyone is welcome to attend this conference featuring over 100 scientific posters from graduate students, residents and post-doctoral fellows displaying current, cutting edge research in life and health science.

10:30 - 11:30 Keynote Speaker Dr. John Giesy (Quance Theatre) Professor and Canada Research Chair in Environmental Toxicology “Perfluorinated Chemicals (PFCs) in the Environment: Anatomy of an Environmental Issue”

Dr. John P. Giesy is currently Professor and Canada Research Chair in Environmental Toxicology in the Department of Veterinary Biomedical Sciences and Toxicology Centre at the University of Saskatchewan

Docs Talk: A blog on your health and the environment

How is climate change a health issue? How do our energy choices impact health?

Why are health professionals concerned about pesticides?

Docs Talk brings you a medical perspective on current environmental issues and the implications for your health. Docs Talk is a joint project of the David Suzuki Foundation and the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment.

http://beta.davidsuzuki.org/blogs/docs-talk/

MUG RUN Challenge

The Bio Club and ESSA have teamed up to bring you the 2nd annual Mug Run Challenge, from February 22-26th. We know you all want to include simple, environmentally sustainable choices in your day - and this week, we're giving you prizes and free cookies for making those choices! (Scroll down if you really want to know about the cookies).

All you have to do is bring your own reusable mug and your free Mug Run card whenever you buy hot beverages on campus this week. Participating businesses will stamp your card, which you can turn in once it's full for a chance to win prizes! Turn in as many cards as you want, but keep in mind the deadline is this Friday afternoon.

Where to get Mug Run Cards: all food service outlets on campus, Treats, Browsers', Le Crepe Bistro, and the Arts Tnnel on Monday Feb 22nd and Wednesday Feb 24th.

How to win prizes: turn in your completed MugRun cards by Friday afternoon at the ASSU office to be entered in a draw for great prizes.

What about the free cookies?!?!?
On Wednesday, February 24th, all food service outlets on campus (except Browsers', Treats, Le Crepe Bistro, Tim Horton's and Starbucks) will give a free cookie to MugRun cardholders.

Check out the facebook event for more information: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/event.php?eid=328161622600&ref=ts

Stay awesome, everyone! And remember, as great as cookies and prizes are, the Mug Run Challenge is ultimately about making choices that reduce our impact on the environment. Don't put your mug away after the 26th, and make sure to explain to your friends and family why you participated in the 2nd Annual Mug Run Challenge!