ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH RESOURCES

• Environmental Scorecard
  • Get an in-depth pollution report for your county, covering air, water, chemicals, and more.
• EnviroMapper
  • The tool combines interactive maps and aerial photography to display facility-based information from the Envirofacts Warehouse.
• Asthma, Traffic and Air Pollution - Environmental Defense Fund
  • "Asthma is one of the leading causes of school absenteeism, accounting for over 14 million missed school days annually." 
• Collaborative on Health and the Environment (CHE) - Toxicant and Disease Database
  • A searchable database showing 180 human diseases and the chemical contaminants they are linked to.
• Children's Environmental Health Network (CHEN)
  • "Protecting the Fetus and the Child against Environmental Hazards" 
• Eartheasy Non-toxic Home Care
  • Non-toxic cleaning guide.
• The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics
  • Protect your health from chemicals used in cosmetics that are linked to cancer, birth defects, and other health problems.
• Sustainable Resources Center
  • Lead issues, healthy homes, and energy use

*For more information on mitigating the effects of industrial pollution, contact US to find our about our CHATS (Community Hazard Awareness Training) program. To learn more about this program, and express your interest please click here.

ORGANIZATIONS

The organizations listed below are resources for information on environmental, health, and educational issues on the topic of environmental justice.

• Alliance for Healthy Homes
  • This organization works to prevent and eliminate hazards in homes that can harm the health of children, families, and other residents. These hazards include lead, mold, carbon monoxide, radon, pests, and pesticides.
• Clark Atlanta University Environmental Justice Resource Center
  • Led by renown author and environmental justice researcher Dr. Robert Bullard                
• Deep South Center for Environmental Justice
  • Headed by Dr. Beverly Wright, leading scholar on environmental justice issues
• LeapDetroit
  • Lead Elimination Action Program is a lead poisoning prevention program for zip codes 48213 and 48214
• National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
  • The mission of NIEHS is to reduce the burden of human illness and disability by understanding how the environment influences the development and progression of human disease.
• People Organized in Defense of Earth and her Resources
  • Also known as PODER, this organization, based in Austin, Texas, is one of the leading examples of grassroots environmental justice work.
• SouthWest Organizing Project
  • Important Latin-led organization for economic and environmental issues
• United Parents Against Lead
  • A parent organization for the prevention of lead poisoning and environmental hazards 
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Environmental Justice
  • Home for federal activity on environmental justice
• West Harlem Environmental Action (WE ACT)
  • WE ACT for Environmental Justice is a vigorous advocate for and a significant monitor of the Northern Manhattan environment. 
• Detroit Urban Research Center 
  • The URC engages in research that strengthens the ability of partners to develop, implement, evaluate and disseminate health promotion, disease prevention and health services programs aimed at reducing health disparities and addressing health concerns identified by the communities involved. 
• Coalition of Black Trade Unionists - Community Action and Response Against Toxins (CARAT) Teams 
  • Along with other safety and environmental allies, C.A.R.A.T. Teams help to educate and monitor issues such as illegal waste dumping and hauling in poor communities.

GREEN BUILDING/ENERGY EFFICIENCY RESOURCES

• Building Performance Institute Inc.
  • BPI offers training, certification, accreditation and quality assurance programs for performance contracting.  
•  Department of Environmental Quality
  • Green Building and Waste recycling
• Energy Office Community Energy Project Grants
  • Grants for energy education and demonstration projects.
  • Contact: John Sarver (517) 241-6280, jhsarve@michigan.gov.
•  Energy Star - "Change the World, Start with Energy Star"
  • Join with millions of others to take small, individual steps that make a big difference in the fight against global warming. 
•  EcoWorks
  • A Detroit-based nonprofit with over thirty years of providing services at the intersection of community development, sustainability, and social justice.
• Green Architecture & Design
  • Tree Hugger - "Sustainability made simple."
• Green Communities (Enterprise) Online Trainings
  • Free online training sessions on high performance building
• Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC)
  • Community Assistance Team programs in Brownfield Redevelopment Financing Tools
• Rebuild Michigan Energy Services
  • Technical support for public building energy efficiency.
  • Contact Tim Shireman of the Energy Office at (517) 241-6281, tashire@michigan.gov.
• SRP Home Energy Manager
  • Interactive house demo shows you where and how energy is used in the home.
• Climate Reality Project
  • The mission is to catalyze a global solution to the climate crisis by making urgent action a necessity across every level of society.                                          

FUNDING RESOURCES

• Ford Foundation - Program in Equitable Development
  • The Ford Foundation works to ensuring that future generations can live in just, prosperous communities and benefit from a sustainable environment will require a collective commitment to confronting inequality.
• Kresge Foundation - Environment
  • The Kresge Foundation help communities build resilience in the face of climate change.
• Enterprise Foundation - Green Communities
  • Green Communities provides funds and expertise to enable developers to build and rehabilitate homes that are healthier, more energy efficient and better for the environment -- without compromising affordability. Green Communities also assists state and local governments to ensure their housing and economic development policies are smart and sustainable.  

POLICY/RESEARCH

• Green Recovery: A Program to Create Good Jobs and Start Building a Low-Carbon Economy - Summer 2008

  • Green Recovery Report from PERI UMASS

• Green Economic Recovery Program: Impact on Michigan

  • Summer 2008 Green Recovery Report from PERI UMASS

• Green Collar Jobs: An Analysis of the Capacity of Green Businesses to Provide High Quality Jobs for Men and Women with Barriers to Employment (pdf) - 2007

  • Case Study of Berkeley, CA

• Community Jobs in the Green Economy (pdf) - 2007

  • Apollo Alliance & Urban Habitat Report