Health Promotion Strategies

12/30/2025

https://theconversation.com/rfk-jr-wants-to-scrutinize-the-vaccine-schedule-but-its-safety-record-is-already-decades-long-271408

12/28/2025

A new public health threat “Feel free”: have you ever heard of it or seen it for sale?

12/28/2025

Important

12/26/2025

Not good

This is very bad news.

A data center in Morrow County, eastern Oregon, has been linked by local officials and residents to a surge in rare cancers, miscarriages, and serious organ damage.

Former county commissioner and cattle rancher Jim Doherty began investigating after noticing unusual medical conditions across the county’s roughly 45,000 residents. Testing of 70 household wells found that 68 exceeded federal nitrate limits in drinking water, with Doherty reporting multiple miscarriages, kidney removals, and a non‑smoker who developed a cancer typically associated with smoking. Initially blamed on industrial megafarms, the pollution was later tied to the combined impact of agricultural runoff and wastewater from Amazon’s 10,000‑square‑foot data center, which has operated in the county since 2011. The facility, which relies heavily on groundwater for cooling, is accused of intensifying nitrate contamination throughout the local aquifer.

According to the reporting, megafarms in the area generate millions of gallons of nitrate‑laden wastewater that seep into the ground, while Amazon’s massive water use for chip cooling is said to “supercharge” the problem by drawing in contaminated groundwater, concentrating it through evaporation, and returning even more toxic water back into the system. In some cases, water from the data center reportedly contained nitrate levels eight times above Oregon’s safety threshold. Amazon denies that its operations have any meaningful impact on water quality, emphasizing that it does not add nitrates and uses only a small fraction of the overall water supply. However, residents and activists, including Oregon Rural Action executive director Kristin Ostrom, compare the slow and unequal response to the crisis to Flint, Michigan, arguing that politically and economically powerless communities are bearing the brunt of the health consequences.

References (APA style)

Wilkins, J. (2025, November 29). *Amazon data center linked to cluster of rare cancers*. Futurism.

12/12/2025

Measles cases in the U.S. are at their highest levels in decades due to declining childhood vaccination rates.

Vaccination prevents measles. Parents: You can protect your children from measles by making sure they are vaccinated on schedule.

Learn more: on.nyc.gov/measles

11/17/2025

Pretty important!

12/02/2024

❄️ 🧊 🥶 Warming Centers Are Open for the Season

💒 💒 Churches in Liberty, Monticello to Be Open 7 Nights a Week

NOW OPEN:

📌 United Methodist Church, 170 North Main Street, Liberty

📌 St. John’s Episcopal Church, 15 St. John Street, Monticello
These facilities will remain open to anyone from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. every night through mid-April
2025.

“While last winter was relatively mild, we continue to have significant usage of both shelters,” noted Sullivan County Health & Human Services Commissioner John Liddle. “The shortage of affordable and supportive housing inventory in the County continues to increase the number of people who utilize the warming centers during the colder months.”

Warming centers in Sullivan County exist to protect unsheltered individuals from the cold of the
winter. Staff are experienced and trained in working with people who have complex and severe service
needs. These locations offer people more than a place to sleep, and human service providers from
across the County chip in to help those in need gain access to medical care and other social service
benefits.

Warming centers also give the vulnerable a place where they can feel safe. The Liberty warming center
is directly across the street from the Village of Liberty police station, and once again the Monticello
warming center will provide onsite security.

Deputy Social Services Commissioner Giselle Steketee added, “We’re very fortunate to have such strong community partners. The teams at the United Methodist Church and the Federation for the Homeless have been exceptionally reliable and supportive.”

04/01/2024

03/29/2024

The Catskill region is home to diverse communities, ecological areas and critical resources, including the Bashakill Wildlife Management Area located along the Route 17 corridor🌞🌻🌷

The New York State Department of Transportation along with Governor Hochul's administration and the Federal Government are proposing a $1 billion expansion project that could widen 30 miles of Route 17 in Sullivan and Orange County. Instead of a highway expansion, Catskill Mountainkeeper and our allies urge New York to develop an alternate vision for the Route 17 corridor’s transportation and economic needs aligned with State and Federal climate laws. Stand with us and show NYSDOT that we have strength in numbers! Use the the link below to make your voice heard🗣🔗



Photo credit: Jackie Broder 📸

01/15/2024

Lifestyle Health and Wellness by Atiya Jordan An Inaugural Night of Sexual Healing: Honey Pot Debuts New Sexual Wellness Collection

12/17/2023

11/23/2023