News Updates
HH News and Top Stories
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Apr202015
UW Health: Sustainability effort makes progress on Earth Day
By: HHI Admin4/20/2015 CONTACT: Emily Kumlien,(608) 265-8199, (608) 516-9154, ekumlien@uwhealth.org As Earth Day 2015 approaches, UW Health is stepping up efforts to reduce its environmental footprint and follow more sustainable practices. In the process of taking care of patients, hospitals generate a large and diverse waste stream. In 2014, environmental sustainability became a part of UW Health’s mission statement and prompted several changes. •Replacement of plastic water bottles with boxed water in the cafeteria, vending machines and catering because boxed water has a smaller... -
Apr32015
Catholics prep for Pope Francis to tackle climate in upcoming encyclical
By: HHI AdminMarianne Lavelle April 2, 2015 The Daily Climate Dan Misleh, director of the Catholic Climate Covenant, found himself facing a skeptic recently after he outlined the coalition's preparations for Pope Francis' upcoming encyclical on global warming. The woman didn't doubt the science. She just wasn't sure of the bishops. Why wouldn't U.S. bishops record messages on climate change to be played in all churches, just as they often do for annual Lenten fundraising drives, she asked. Why not distribute cards in the pews, urging parishioners to sign pledges to care for creation and the poor,... -
Apr22015
A doctor says antibiotics in meat could be harming us
By: HHI AdminErin Dacy April 2, 2015 WAAY TV Each year, 23-thousand Americans die and eight-million are hospitalized as a result of antibiotic resistant infections and it has nothing to do with prescription medication. Here are some reasons why you may want to take a closer look at what’s on your plate. It might look good, but what’s added to beef, pork and poultry has the attention of the CDC and hospitals all over the U.S.! Amy Collins, MD, Senior Clinical Advisor for Health Care Without Harm in Boston, said, “80-percent of the antibiotics used in this country are used in animal agriculture. That’... -
Mar252015
Cleveland steps up on energy efficiency challenge
By: HHI AdminKathiann Kowalski March 25, 2015 Midwest Energy News Representatives of the U.S. Department of Energy and the City of Cleveland were on hand Monday at the city’s Fire Station No. 1 to recognize local leaders in DOE’s Better Buildings Challenge. Participants in the federal program publicly commit to decrease their energy consumption by at least 20 percent over a 10-year period and to share their know-how with others. Energy efficiency is a key part of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed Clean Power Plan. Monday’s program gave kudos to both the Cleveland Division of Fire... -
Mar242015
Study links widely-used pesticides to antibiotic resistance
By: HHI AdminElizabeth Grossman
March 24, 2015
Civil Eats
This has not been a good week for glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup and other herbicides. On Friday, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that it had classified glyphosate, the United States’ most widely-used pesticide, as “probably carcinogenic to humans.”
Now, the chemical has another strike against it. A study published today by the American Society of Microbiology’s journal mBio has linked glyphosate and two other widely-used herbicides–2,4-D and dicamba–to one of the most pressing public...
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Mar222015
Indianapolis hospital campus serves as an example in sustainable building
By: HHI AdminAnnie Garau March 22, 2015 Indiana Daily Student Sidney Eskenazi grew up on the south side of Indianapolis during the Great Depression. His father died when he was 13 years old and, one week later, Eskenazi started his first job. Even during these hard times, he grew up watching his father, and later his uncle, donating food to charitable causes. This generosity inspired the young boy so that today he, along with his wife Lois, continue the trend of giving back, though on a much larger scale. In 2011 the IU alumni, who met while attending college on the Bloomington campus, gave a $40... -
Mar202015
Spring Break for Polluters
By: HHI AdminRick Hind March 20, 2015 Greenpeace On March 10th, to the applause of the chemical lobby, a bill (S. 697) on toxic chemical regulation was introduced in the Senate. What got people’s attention in Washington was the fact that the bill also had Democratic co-sponsors thanks to a full court press by the chemical lobby. Of course, not everyone who sponsors a bill ends up voting for it but if these Senate Democrats also vote for this bill it could become law. Of course outside the Beltway people were wondering why the chemical lobby (DuPont, Dow, Exxon) is urging Congress to pass legislation... -
Mar202015
Recycling Unused Medicines to Save Money and Lives
By: HHI AdminDavid Bornstein March 20, 2015 New York Times “Throughout my entire nursing career, it’s something I‘ve done,” said Kirchner, who has been a nurse for 21 years. “And each time I would think: ‘It’s such a waste. There are people out there who have to choose whether to buy medications or buy groceries.’” Lots of people, in fact. In 2012, studies indicate, about one in four American adults — perhaps 50 million people — failed to fill a prescription they needed because of the cost. Among adults who were uninsured, the figure was 43 percent. (PDF, p. 28). For older adults, who take four to... -
Mar202015
Setting a Plastics Recycling Benchmark
By: HHI AdminAlison Bryant March 20, 2015 Greenhealth Magazine HPRC and Practice Greenhealth present key results from a survey on plastic packaging and products recycling in U.S. hospitals Health care facilities in the United States generate approximately 14,000 tons of waste per day, most of which is disposed of in landfills or by incineration. It’s estimated that between 20 percent and 25 percent of that 14,000 tons can be attributed to plastic packaging and plastic products. In addition, it’s estimated that 85 percent of the hospital waste generated is nonhazardous, meaning it is free from patient... -
Mar152015
Garbage and manure combine to create powerful assets for Maine dairy farm
By: HHI AdminTom Bell March 15, 2015 Press Herald Adam Wintle sees too much of a good thing when he reads the electronic panel attached to the side of his $6 million anaerobic digestion system. An engine generates electricity by consuming 340 cubic feet of methane-rich biogas gas per minute. But another 200 cubic feet of gas is shooting up a pipe and burning off in a flare. “We’ve got a lot of excess gas,” Wintle says. “That gas could be running another engine.” The digester is essentially two enormous crockpots that cook a stew of cow manure and food waste at 100 degrees. Built just over three...