Tuesday, 8 Oct 2002

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.

Only two more days until the launch of the Environmental Justice and Health Union. I am incorporating the comments of the EJHU advisory board in the first issue of Catalyst (our monthly newsletter). The biggest change is in the newsletter name. My first choice, the Union Call, was considered a bit too staid.

The advisory board is small; at present, it consists of four colleagues with whom I share many personal connections. Lynn Battle is a lead poisoning prevention activist who founded the Citizens Lead Education and Elimination Project. Michael Green heads the Center for Environmental Health, the fiscal sponsor for the Environmental Justice and Health Union. Swati Prakash is the environmental health director of West Harlem Environmental Action, a key organization in the Northeast Environmental Justice Network. And Alejandra Tres is a colleague from the Environmental Leadership Program who directs the Association of Environmental Health Accreditation Programs.

I consider the advisory board integral to the success of the Environmental Justice and Health Union. These are people whose judgment and experience I trust. They are well-connected to the environmental justice and environmental health groups that EJHU hopes to reach. They understand the importance of the problem EJHU seeks to solve, and they have varied perspectives and ideas about how to do so. I consider myself very fortunate to have their support and guidance.

Today, though, I worry about their input. They only had two business days to review the Catalyst before I submitted it to our brand-new website, which goes live today. I made some calls this morning to get any last-minute comments, but I am not sure they all had a chance to review the newsletter before it was placed on the website. When I invited them to serve on the advisory board, I promised I’d give them a week to review each newsletter. Now I’ve missed on the first try. Hopefully, I’ll be able to do better as the process becomes smoother.

I am ecstatic, though, about getting the website up and running. I have been collecting information for the site for months, and I know it contains plenty that will surprise and intrigue environmental health professionals and environmental justice activists. Of course, we still have a few glitches to work out, but I am optimistic that we can get it all squared away this week.

I have two more big tasks for the week. The first, distribution of Catalyst, requires that I track down every email address and listserv related to environmental justice and environmental health I can find. As the newsletter is the primary means to inform people about the existence and actions of the Environmental Justice and Health Union, it is critical that I send the premier issue far and wide. My second (and more fun) task is to get ready for the Environmental Justice and Health Union launch party on Thursday. So far, 20 people have made online reservations using Evite.

The common theme throughout all of these activities is electronic communication. The website, newsletter, and party invitations all depend on the web. The Environmental Justice and Health Union has little staff support. Using these electronic means promotes quick and easy communication. It also frees me to focus more on the critical task of the Environmental Justice and Health Union: gathering and organizing the information that environmental justice activists and environmental health professionals can use to eliminate environmental disease in poor, minority communities.