Collaborative for Health and Environment

01/09/2026

Register here: https://www.healthandenvironment.org/che-webinars/97099

Join us January 27 for our first CHE-Alaska webinar of 2026.

This Alaska Collaborative on Health and the Environment (CHE-AK) webinar will examine how state and local policy initiatives are shaping the future of chemical safety and public health protection.

🗓 January 27, 2026
🕓 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. AKT
🎙 Speakers: Pamela Miller (Alaska Community Action on Toxics) and Gretchen Salter (Safer States)

The webinar will also highlight the importance of research, organizing, and cross-state collaboration in building durable policy solutions that protect vulnerable communities and promote healthier, safer environments for all.

Register here: https://www.akaction.org/webinars/2026-1-27/

01/07/2026

"In the News" about environmental health:

Last month, a new peer-reviewed research study of 11,000 births in New Hampshire revealed that drinking water contaminated with PFAS probably increases the risk of infant mortality.

“I don’t know if we expected to find effects this big and this detectable, especially given that there isn’t that much infant mortality, and there aren’t that many extremely low weight or pre-term births. . . but it was there in the data.” - Derek Lemoine, study co-author and economics professor at the University of Arizona.

🌱To read the full article, visit

Study of 11,000 births in New Hampshire shows residents’ reproductive outcomes near contaminated sites

12/29/2025

CHE is firmly committed to protecting scientific integrity and combating misinformation in the environmental health field.

Before the year ends, we invite you to consider a gift (of any size!), to help us meet our year-end fundraising goal.

Please visit https://secure.givelively.org/donate/commonweal/collaborative-for-health-environment-eoy-2025

12/24/2025

from all of us at CHE!🎄🕎 We are so thankful for the CHE community, and it has truly been a gift to work with you as our organization continues to grow and thrive after 20+ years. We’re extending our warmest wishes to you and your loved ones this holiday season! 🎁💚

12/22/2025

This holiday season, our Amplifying Voices series highlights the founders of CHE, who continue to be dedicated to bringing people together to promote environmental health.

In honor of Commonweal’s 50th anniversary next year, we are celebrating Dr. Michael Lerner, who co-founded Commonweal in 1976, and Steve Heilig and Dr. Ted Schettler, who were part of CHE’s core group when it was founded in 2002.

“At our first open meetings, most attendees eagerly signed on to our consensus statement. Once our website was up and we began presenting the concise webinars with leading researchers and other figures that have remained our organic bread and butter, that spiraled into the thousands . . . CHE has fostered numerous interdisciplinary collaborations that have advanced disease prevention and health promotion.”

12/19/2025

Did you know that the same mechanisms that make a pesticide effective against pests can also pose health risks to humans?

The most effective way to reduce pesticide exposure is to reduce overall use, and to support and incentivize shifts to safer and more sustainable pest control measures.

To learn about the different types of pesticides, health impacts, and ways to reduce your exposure, check out our newly updated resource page here:

Summary of health effects of pesticides

12/17/2025

This year, CHE has elevated its content to reach communities around the world. From having our first bilingual webinar to launching our new user-friendly website, CHE made sure to connect with its audience in different ways.

With your support, we'll continue our work for years to come. We invite you to consider a gift (of any size!) today, to help us meet our year-end fundraising goal.

Please visit https://secure.givelively.org/donate/commonweal/collaborative-for-health-environment-eoy-2025

12/16/2025

✨ NEW Science Snippet: Plastics & artificial turf ✨

Ryan Johnson, Senior Researcher for Habitable, discusses the plastics crisis in our built environment, focusing on artificial turf as a specific example. He highlights changes that we can make to reduce plastics in this sector.

"The amount of plastic in just the turf carpet that would be used to cover a standard NFL field is roughly equivalent to 700,000 plastic water bottles."

🔗Watch the full Science Snippet here:

Ryan Johnson, Senior Researcher for Habitable, discusses the plastics crisis in our built environment, focusing on artificial turf as a specific example. He ...

12/15/2025

12/13/2025

NEW BLOG: What is the role of advocates in environmental breast cancer research?

This blog is the fourth in a series about an ongoing study that examines how environmental exposures to chemical mixtures may contribute to breast cancer risk. The study is led by Dr. Kimberly Badal from the University of California, San Francisco. In addition to collaborating with other researchers, Dr. Badal’s study prioritizes collaboration with breast cancer research advocates.

🌱To read the full blog post, visit https://www.zerobreastcancer.org/en/blog/what-is-the-role-of-advocates-in-environmental-breast-cancer-research

Zero Breast Cancer

This blog is the fourth in a series about an ongoing study that examines how environmental exposures to chemical mixtures may contribute to breast cancer risk (the first blog explains the study, the second explains non-targeted analysis, and the third explains DNA methylation). The study is led by D...

12/10/2025

At CHE, we work closely with scientists and policy-makers to find ways to amplify research in ways that help people make informed decisions and advocate for a safe and healthy environment.

With your support, we'll continue our work for years to come. We invite you to consider a gift (of any size!) today, to help us meet our yearly fundraising goal.

Please visit https://secure.givelively.org/donate/commonweal/collaborative-for-health-environment-eoy-2025

12/08/2025

✨ NEW Science Snippet: Impacts of Fracking in North & South America ✨

Fernando Cabrera, Coordinator of Observatorio Petrolero Sur, discusses the health and environmental impacts of fracking in Argentina and the expansion of these activities and associated harms, calling for protection of the affected communities.

Fernando Cabrera, coordinador del Observatorio Petrolero Sur, analiza los impactos del fracking en la salud y el medio ambiente en Argentina y la expansión de estas actividades y los daños asociados, llamando a proteger a las comunidades afectadas.

🔗Watch the full the full Science Snippet here:

Fernando Cabrera, Coordinator of Observatorio Petrolero Sur, discusses the health and environmental impacts of fracking in Argentina and the expansion of the...