Spinning Science for Profit - with Dr. Laura Vandenberg

The tobacco playbook is alive and well, as big companies with profits at stake spin science to their benefit.

This week on Green Street, Patti and Doug talk about the end of landline phone service, why you should never use a plastic cutting board, and how endocrine disrupting chemicals in consumer products can make your body do things it shouldn’t. Then Dr. Laura Vandenberg talks about her research on how big companies intentionally distort science and mislead the public to protect their profits.

Green Street Laura Vandenberg podcast

29:00

Links from the Interview

Dr. Vandenberg's web page at the University of Massachusetts: https://www.umass.edu/public-health-sciences/about/directory/laura-vandenberg

Dr. Vandenberg's study on spinning science: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33771171/

Links from the News

AT&T is doing away with landlines: https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2024/12/04/att-eliminate-traditional-landline-copper-phone-service-2029/76765766007/

Don't use plastic cutting boards! https://www.acs.org/pressroom/presspacs/2023/june/cutting-boards-can-produce-microparticles-when-chopping-veggies.html

Endocrine disrupting chemicals: https://www.ehn.org/what-are-endocrine-disrupting-chemicals-2662337230.html

Toxic Turf - with Amy Griffin

A soccer coach talks about young soccer goalies who developed lymphoma after playing for years on artificial turf.

This week on Green Street, Patti and Doug discuss the continuing presence of lead in many consumer products including spices, the city of Paris replacing parking spots with trees to improve the quality of life and address climate concerns, and President Trump’s troubling plan to re-start the Keystone XL pipeline project. Then former soccer star and coach Amy Griffin talks about artificial turf fields, their negative impact on young athletes, including alarming increases in cancer, and her growing list of young athletes who have been affected. 

Green Street Amy Griffin podcast

29:01

Links from the Interview:

The non-profit Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility is helping Amy Griffin to push back against artificial turf fields: https://peer.org/amy-griffin-amys-list-and-toxic-turf-2/

Links from the News

Lead poisoning is a problem for everyone, especially some ethnic communities: https://www.pureearth.org/global-lead-program/lead-poisoning/

The City of Paris eliminates parking spaces in favor of trees: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-11-18/paris-climate-plan-targets-emissions-by-replacing-parking-with-trees

President-elect Trump plans to re-open the Keystone XL pipeline project: https://www.ehn.org/trump-plans-to-revive-keystone-xl-2669999072.html

The Fight Over Fluoride - with Dr. Paul Connett

Delivering fluoride through public water supplies was never a good idea. Now we find out, it lowers IQ in children.

This week on Green Street, Patti and Doug talk about Trump’s environmental agenda, the alarming national drought, how AI is creating mountains of e-waste, and the fact that it's raining PFAS chemicals in Miami (and everywhere else!) Then Dr. Paul Connett, founder of the Fluoride Action Network, talks about the dangers of adding fluoride to public drinking water, new U.S. government studies showing that exposure to fluoride lowers IQ in children, and the recent court decision ordering the EPA to regulate the toxic substance. 

Green Street - Paul Connett - Podcast

29:00

Links from the Interview

Link to the Fluoride Action Network: https://fluoridealert.org/

Link to the judge's decision in the fluoride case: https://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/2024.09.24-Opinion.pdf

More information about fluoride: https://www.grassrootsinfo.org/flouride

Links from the News

What a Trump presidency could mean for environmental health: https://www.ehn.org/donald-trump-wins-us-presidency-what-that-could-mean-for-the-environment-2669621858.html

The U.S. drought crisis: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/nov/05/states-drought-climate-crisis