Radon Census Demographic Match Tool.xls

An Excel document with hyperlinks that displays up-to-date Census demographic information for each U.S. state and county - alongside an EPA's radon zone map. This tool provides for easy county by county comparisons of radon zones and demographic data.

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The top three picks nationwide, their teacher or sponsor, and a parent or guardian win a trip to Washington D.C. The students will be honored in front of a huge crowd of supporters at the annual IAQ Tools for Schools Symposium held from January 13 to 15, 2011. I had the pleasure of attending the national award ceremony last year. As I watched the students walk up to the podium to receive their accolades, I remembered just how powerful and passionate a message becomes when we hear it from a child.

Check out past national winners and their posters in the below photo. Visit the website to see more winning posters, video and audio. Last year’s contest had submissions from 37 states totaling nearly 3,000 entries! That’s up more than 1,000 from the year before. Well done!

Don’t think you’re getting off that easy because I have a challenge: Let’s get entries from all 50 states this year! Look at the map of the poster contest participation last year and let all our blog readers know when you challenge someone from one of those states in white to submit an entry. Come on Arkansas, Wyoming, Maine; I know you have at least one child age 9 to 14 who would love to take advantage of this huge opportunity to help save a life. Don’t let them miss it, and tell those kids to get their creativity on because the deadline is approaching – October 31. Some states have earlier deadlines, so check for additional information.

About the author: Jani Palmer is a Physical Scientist in the Indoor Environments Division. She has been in the indoor air quality and industrial hygiene field for 10 years providing environmental consulting and services for school districts, industry, and public agencies.

Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed in Greenversations are those of the author. They do not reflect EPA policy, endorsement, or action, and EPA does not verify the accuracy or science of the contents of the blog.

I awoke to the 6 a.m. rally call on Saturday and quickly realized the long bike ride from the day before had taken its toll. It was the third day of the Expedition and barely awake, I tried to rationalize biking another 30 miles. As I took my first sip of French Press coffee (yum, my favorite) and saw the smiling faces of the Expedition team any doubts of the day’s success ahead faded instantly.

The plan for the day was a short bike ride to meet with St. Mary’s College professor Bob Paul, and then continue our ride to Point Lookout State Park for our final campsite.

Thanks to fellow Team members Steve and Jeremy, I improved my gear shifting along the rolling hills of southern Maryland and felt great when we finished cycling to St. Mary’s College. What a beautiful campus; imagine having class right on the river! Professor Paul told us about the St. Mary’s River Project , a state and federal funded program that studies the water quality and ecological health of the St. Mary’s River and the Chesapeake Bay. We weren’t the only ones there to learn as it was a community service day for first-year students. They were there to plant spat (baby oysters) on protected oyster beds in the river close by. I was happy to let the kids shovel the dirty spat into the water, but really enjoyed learning why this is such an important project.

The goal is to build up the natural oyster beds. The Project team works with local homeowners to grow and monitor monthly the oyster spat for twelve months. The year old spat is collected and placed onto the oyster beds and the cycle is repeated each year. Oysters are extremely important to the Chesapeake Bay. They filter the water, removing excess nutrients as well as harmful toxins, and help maintain a healthy ecosystem. One mature oyster can filter 55 gallons of water each day. Just think how much water can be cleaned from a million strong oyster bed in a year!

As I said good-bye to Professor Paul, I wondered how this program could be expanded to other areas of the Bay. What’s the best way to get marinas and other homeowners involved to voluntarily grow oysters? We learned from our listening session the night before that “Chesapeake” is Algonquin where “chesa” means enormous size or quantity and “peake” means shell. I’d like to help return the bay back to its namesake and plant more oysters!

About the author: Lisa McWhirter works in the Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water and specializes in the Underground Injection Control program. She enjoys fishing and kayaking in the Bay. The Expedition was her first triathlon, and she is excited to do it again!

Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed in Greenversations are those of the author. They do not reflect EPA policy, endorsement, or action, and EPA does not verify the accuracy or science of the contents of the blog.

Monday, September 13, 2010

Go to http://hpschapters.org/2011midyear/abstracts/ to submit an abstract.

Meeting Details:
Charleston Convention Center, Charleston, South Carolina
Sunday- Wednesday, 6-9 February 2011
http://hps.org/meetings/meeting27.html

Ringwood and West Milford Should Test for Radon, Said County Officials

Ringwood and West Milford residents will get first dibs on a free test kit to determine whether their homes are at elevated risks for radon gas.

The Passaic County Department of Health has teamed up with the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Radon Bureau in a special radon awareness program to promote testing for radon in homes. With the Radon Awareness Program, the DEP provides outreach assistance to endorse household radon testing.

"Testing is the only way to know if you and your family are at risk from radon," said Passaic County Freeholder Terry Duffy, a West Milford resident, in a press release from Passaic County. "Radon testing is easy and problems can be fixed."

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Before coming involved with EPA’s Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools program, little did I know that the everyday classroom environment can seriously affect student performance. Was that vanilla plug-in from my 7th grade math class a decoy to mask an odor problem, caused by poor ventilation? Did Fluffy the 3rd grade pet rabbit make my asthma worse?

While I can’t change the past conditions, I look forward to a future where all schools can effectively manage indoor air quality and maintain a healthy learning environment. With the help of the Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools Action Kit, school staff and parents can learned on how to improve indoor air problems at little-or no-cost through straightforward activities. Use this back-to-school checklist help you get started this school year:

• Learn more about IAQ issues, related health effects, and how student performance is affected. Equip yourself with EPA’s free resources that can help you explain IAQ issues and discuss an indoor air quality management program other parents, community organizers, and your school community. Consider becoming a volunteer to help coordinate the effort.
• Build momentum for a school environmental health project. With the help of IAQ Curricula, even students can learn about the indoor air environment and how it can affect concentration, attendance, and performance.
• Help manage asthma in the school environment. Discover ways reduce student and staff exposure to asthma triggers in your school. If your child suffers from asthma, be sure to provide the school with a copy of your child’s asthma action plan.
• Encourage your school to apply for an award. If your school or school district has implemented a successful IAQ program, learn more about the EPA Awards Program.

About the Author: Brandy Angell is a public affairs specialist with the Office of Radiation and Indoor Air’s Indoor Environments Division. She joined EPA in 2009 to focus on improving children’s health in the school environment and reducing the burden of asthma. Her work recently took on new importance with the impending arrival of a son in January 2011.

Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed in Greenversations are those of the author. They do not reflect EPA policy, endorsement, or action, and EPA does not verify the accuracy or science of the contents of the blog.

It’s that time of year when many parents are sending their kids off to college. Everyone has some sort of checklist for the things they will need as they leave the family nest whether it’s books, computers, clothes, household items, etc. As parents, we hope that we have prepared our kids to be independent, to excel academically and professionally, to manage their expenses, etc. But I wonder…have we prepared them to be good environmental citizens?

Now that our children will be living on their own, will they remember to save energy and water? Will they turn off the lights when they leave the room? Will they do simple things like closing the faucet when they brush their teeth? Will they use household products safely?

How about the three R’s—reduce, reuse, and recycle? Finding new uses for common items and recycling both go a long way to reducing waste. And in this day and age of electronics, we shouldn’t forget eCycling. Taking old computers, DVD players, and cell phones to a recycling center will allow the reuse of some valuable natural resources and prevent some hazardous substances from ending up in landfills.

Undoubtedly, we shouldn’t wait till we send our kids to college to talk about environmental awareness. Appreciation of our environment and the world around us should start at a very early age. It is likely that children today have already incorporated a green lifestyle. Nonetheless, talking to your children about environmental protection is never too late.

About the author: Lina Younes has been working for EPA since 2002 and chairs EPA’s Multilingual Communications Task Force. Prior to joining EPA, she was the Washington bureau chief for two Puerto Rican newspapers and she has worked for several government agencies.

Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed in Greenversations are those of the author. They do not reflect EPA policy, endorsement, or action, and EPA does not verify the accuracy or science of the contents of the blog.

Es la época del año en la cual muchos padres están enviando sus hijos a la universidad. Todo el mundo tiene algún tipo de lista sobre las cosas que necesitan para preparar a los hijos que van abandonar el nido familiar, sea libros, computadora, ropa, efectos del hogar, etc. Como padres, abrigamos las esperanzas de haber preparado a nuestros hijos a ser independientes, a destacarse académica y profesionalmente, a ser cuidadosos con el dinero, etc. Pero me pregunto…¿los hemos preparado para convertirse en buenos ciudadanos conscientes del medio ambiente?

Ahora que nuestros hijos están viviendo por su cuenta, ¿se recordarán de cómo ahorrar energía y agua? ¿Apagarán las luces cuando dejen la habitación? ¿Harán cosas sencillas como cerrar el grifo cuando se cepillan la boca? ¿Usarán los productos caseros con cautela?

¿Qué harán acerca de las tres R’s—reducir, reutilizar, y reciclar? El encontrar nuevos usos para artículos comunes y el reciclaje ayudan muchísimo a reducir los desechos. Hoy en día con los avances en la electrónica, no debemos olvidarnos del reciclaje de efectos electrónicos.  El llevar las computadoras, equipo de DVD y teléfonos celulares a un centro de acopio les permitirá reutilizar algunos de los valiosos recursos naturales y evitar que algunas sustancias peligrosas terminen en los vertederos.

Sin lugar a duda, no deberíamos esperar a que nuestros hijos llegaran a la universidad para empezar a hablarles sobre la concienciación ambiental. El apreciar el medio ambiente y el mundo que nos rodea debe comenzar a temprana edad. Es muy probable que los niños en la actualidad ya estén incorporando estilos de vida sostenibles
aún sin darse cuenta. No obstante, el hablar a los hijos acerca de la protección ambiental nunca es demasiado tarde.

Sobre la autor: Lina M. F. Younes ha trabajado en la EPA desde el 2002 y está a cargo del Grupo de Trabajo sobre Comunicaciones Multilingües. Como periodista, dirigió la oficina en Washington de dos periódicos puertorriqueños y ha laborado en varias agencias gubernamentales.

Nota del editor: Las opiniones expresadas en Greenversations son del autor del blog. No reflejan la política, respaldo, o acción de la Agencia de Protección Ambiental de EE.UU. (EPA, por sus siglas en inglés). EPA no verifica la exactitud ni la ciencia en el contenido del blog.