2019 was a great year! We accomplished so many milestones with our study including our 10 year anniversary, the passing of a new bill to lower arsenic in NH public drinking water, a feature in Dartmouth Medicine Magazine, and an interview on CBS! We also had the opportunity to celebrate our 10 year anniversary in-person with our study participants in August at our Montshire Museum. Looking ahead, we hope to ring in the New Year with a resolution: to use our platform within the Children's Environmental Health Research network to address the issue of climate change. We are happy to announce our support of ISCHE (the International Society for Children's Health and the Environment).
Children are uniquely vulnerable to the effects of climate change because their bodies are rapidly developing. Children also have faster heart rates and higher breathing rates than adults, and absorb more pollution due to their body size . The Lancet journal recently reported that failing to limit emissions will lead to health problems caused by infectious diseases, worsening air pollution, rising temperatures, and malnutrition.
“With every degree of warming, a child born today faces a future where their health and well-being will be increasingly impacted by the realities and dangers of a warmer world.” - Dr. Renee N. Salas, a clinical instructor of emergency medicine at Harvard Medical School
In the coming months we will be highlighting some positive changes we can all make to address the mounting concerns of climate change. Following the mission of ISCHE, we hope to protect children and future generations from harmful exposures through the research we produce, the policies we impact, and the services we provide.
Our recent contribution in providing research to back NH's decision to lower the acceptable amount of arsenic in public drinking water is one way we've influenced the policies in our state. Later this month we will be publishing our annual newsletter for participants in our study, which will highlight this and other exciting news from this year, including our recent feature in Dartmouth Medicine Magazine.
With so many accomplishments in 2019, we can't wait to see the possibilities that 2020 will bring us!
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