Sandra Steingraber speaks in Portland, October 20

Image via WikipediaSandra Steingraber is a true hero, a fearless voice on a terribly fearsome topic.

If you missed the great documentary about her work, "Living Downstream," as part of the Salem Film Festival 2010 at Salem Cinema, make sure to find it on Netflix, and you might want to go see her in October in Portland. There are only a tiny few speakers I'd post a notice about two months early, that's how good she is. Mark your calendars now.

Sandra Steingraber Speaks on Toxic Pollution

By:

Press Release

August 3, 2011 -- The Northwest Center for Alternatives to Pesticides (NCAP) is hosting a free public lecture with renowned ecologist, writer and cancer survivor, Sandra Steingraber, PhD. The event will be held from 7 - 9 pm on Thursday, October 20 at The Old Church, 1422 S.W. 11th Avenue in Portland. This event is free and open to the public.

As an authority on the interplay between pollution and human health, Steingraber will address the link connecting toxic pollution to illnesses like cancer.

Her seminal book, Living Downstream: An Ecologist’s Personal Investigation of Cancer and the Environment compared data on toxic pollution and data from U.S. cancer registries to demonstrate a correlation. The book won praise from The Washington Post, Publishers Weekly, The Lancet, and The London Times, and was recently adapted as a documentary film by The People’s Picture Company of Toronto.

Steingraber’s other works, including the recent, Raising Elijah: Protecting Children in an Age of Environmental Crisis have won considerable acclaim for their exploration of the challenges and responsibilities communities face in a world that is increasingly polluted.

She’s won numerous awards, including Chatham College’s biennial Rachel Carson Leadership Award, the Hero Award from the Breast Cancer Fund, and the Environmental Health Champion Award from Physicians for Social Responsibility, Los Angeles. She has served as an advisor to the California Breast Cancer Research Program, provided Congressional briefings, and lectured on many college campuses.

A columnist for Orion magazine, Steingraber is a scholar in residence at Ithaca College in Ithaca, New York.

NCAP is a non-profit organization that works to protect community health and the environment through research, organizing and advocacy to promote alternatives to pesticides. They are based in the Northwest and have been active in pesticide reform efforts for over 30 years.