Year: 2000

Asthma is a disease that affects millions of people in the U.S. Although scientists are not sure what causes it, they do know that many of the things that can trigger an attack are found in the environment around us. Those with asthma can control their household environment enough to reduce attacks, or at least their severity. But it’s hard to do the same outside. However, a study is underway to look at how a neighborhood’s environment affects asthma. It might one day lead to neighborhood groups taking action to reduce the kinds of airborne things that trigger asthma attacks. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham has the second report in our series on asthma:

Transcript

Asthma is a disease that affects millions of people in the U.S. Although scientists are not
sure what causes it, they do know that many of the things that can trigger an attack are
found in the environment around us. Those with asthma can control their household
environment enough to reduce attacks, or at least their severity. But it’s hard to do the
same outside. However, a study is underway to look at how a neighborhood’s
environment affects asthma. It might one day lead to neighborhood groups taking action
to reduce the kinds of air-borne things that trigger asthma attacks. The Great Lakes Radio
Consortium’s Lester Graham has the second report in our series on asthma:

It’s unclear why, but African American children in poverty-
stricken urban areas tend to be especially vulnerable to
asthma. Jennifer Pickett is the asthma program manager with
The American Lung Association of Michigan.

She says the rate of asthma among white children in rural
areas is also a problem, but in urban areas such as Detroit,
there seem to be more things to aggravate the disease.

“Specifically in an urban area, you have the higher concentration
of pollution, more ozone in the atmosphere. And that’s very dangerous as we
know. It’s an irritant to the respiratory tract. Again, everything that
becomes airborne in a city can affect the asthmatic.”

Since school-age children spend a good part of their day at
the school, when researchers decided to test the air in city
neighborhoods, it seemed to make sense to put air quality
monitors on top of elementary schools. Tim Dvonch
is a researcher at the University of Michigan. He’s working on a
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and
Environmental Protection Agency study of asthma in urban
areas. He says the air monitors will test for dust, ozone, and
soot, or what the researchers call particulate matter,
which might be a key to the increase in asthma. Dvonch says
regulations have made smokestack emissions cleaner but
asthma rates continue to increase. Dvonch says it’s possible
what’s left in the emissions might be more dangerous.

“The larger particles are being removed from smokestacks and not
being emitted into the atmosphere. This is resulting in a lower mass
concentration, but what’s actually leaving is a higher percentage of fine
particles. And the fine particles are the ones we’re concerned about in
terms of respiratory disease. Those are the ones that actually penetrate all
the way down into the human lung and can cause respiratory effects.”

The particulate matter comes from diesel trucks, cars, and
coal-fired power plants as well as some manufacturing
smokestacks. Dvonch says the study will monitor the air at
two elementary schools year round. The study also
monitors the air in the children’s homes. And for a couple of
weeks at a time, the kids keep back packs with them day and
night, sampling the air around them. Dvonch says the
researchers will then start cross-referencing
that data with a diary of asthma attacks the kids and their
parents keep.

“So, basically what we’re doing is we want to get a true measure of
their exposure with this personal sampling device. And to help us figure out
where in the day they’re being exposed, we’re making measurements outdoors
in their community as well as indoors inside their home to try to get an
assessment of where the majority or the different percentages of the
exposures are actually coming from in the course of their typical day.”

Researchers know that targeting the causes and sources of
asthma attacks is important not only because the health of
the children is at risk, but also because the costs to the
community are high and long-lasting.

“Apparently it’s the largest reason for absenteeism in the schools.”

Katherine Edgren is another University of Michigan
researcher. She also heads up a Detroit area program called
Community Action Against Asthma.

“So, it has a lot of really serious effects. I mean, kids are
missing school, so they aren’t benefiting from what they might be learning
in school. A lot of people are using emergency rooms to address, you know,
serious symptoms. There have been deaths from asthma, which is in this day
and age there are ways to treat asthma and it’s really a terrible shame to
see children dying from asthma.”

Across the country, the number of days of school missed
because of asthma has been rising during the last several
years. Asthma attacks in school have become such a problem
that a bill was recently introduced in the Michigan
legislature that would allow school children to carry their
inhalers with them. Medications are usually kept with the
school nurse or teacher.

That kind of legislation might be a good first step, but
government officials are beginning to realize they cannot
simply work on helping kids deal with the results of the
disease. There’s growing pressure on government
to further restrict the pollutants and other man-made things
that aggravate asthma.

So if the air quality study finds manufacturing plants in the
neighborhoods are causing the problems, local agencies and
organizations involved in the study’s program could then
approach the factories and ask for changes. If
that doesn’t work, they’re prepared to go to government
regulators or the courts for a remedy.

For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, this is Lester Graham.

A large study is underway to see what environmental factors triggerasthma attacks in children. One place researchers are studying is anurban area where asthma occurrences have increased. The Great LakesRadio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports:

Transcript

A large study is underway to see what environmental factors trigger asthma
attacks in children. One place researchers are studying is an urban area
where asthma occurrences have increased. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium
reports.

The study, funded by the National Institute of Environmental
Health Sciences and the Environmental Protection Agency, is
not only looking at asthma triggers, but trying intervention
in the home as well. In a couple of Detroit neighborhoods,
researchers are beginning to help about 300 families
with children who have asthma. Since dust mites, cockroach
feces, and other allergens trigger asthma attacks. Families
are being given special vacuum sweepers, cleaning supplies,
and other help. Sylvester Foote is the head of one of the households.

“They come out and brought some mattress covers and some pillow covers.
I put everything on. That’s pretty much it as far as the material things
that they brought to my home.”

Beyond material things Sylvester Foote says he and his
grandson Quinzell are getting information about how to
manage Quinzell’s asthma. Researchers will test the air in the
different families’ homes and neighborhoods to learn
what triggers asthma attacks.

For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, this is Lester Graham.

In the last 20 years, the occurrence of asthma has jumped dramatically in the United States. Researchers are trying to find out why, but first they’re trying to show families how to manage their children’s asthma before it kills them. In the first of a three-part series on asthma, the Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports on a new study that’s helping some of those families while looking for the causes of their children’s asthma:

Transcript

In the last 20 years, the occurrence of asthma has jumped dramatically in the United
States. Researchers are trying to find out why – but first they’re trying to show families
how to manage their children’s asthma before it kills them. In the first of a three-part
series on asthma, the Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports on a new
study that’s helping some of those families while looking for the causes of their
children’s asthma.

Nationwide between 1980 and 1994 the number of reported
asthma cases increased by 75-percent. In some states the
number of cases of asthma diagnosed in children has more
than doubled in five years. Children who live in urban areas
seem to be the most susceptible. In Detroit, the results of one
questionnaire revealed nearly one in five school children had
symptoms of asthma. Many of those cases go untreated.

Sylvester Foote remembers vividly his grandson Quinzell’s first serious asthma attack.

“I rushed him out there and took him to a doctor. Seemed like he
was getting ready (pause) to pass away! I mean, he was just gasping for air.
Very frightening. Very, very frightening.”

Sylvester Foote’s family is one of 300 families in the Detroit area that are participating in a project funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the Environmental Protection Agency.

The first part of the project is to try to educate people about asthma, and to help them reduce the things that trigger
asthma. It’s not known what exactly causes asthma. What is known is
a lot of the things that trigger asthma and many are found in
poverty-stricken, older, urban homes. Things such as cockroach feces,
allergens such as dust mites, and second-hand tobacco smoke can all cause asthma attacks. Katherine Edgren is a researcher at the University of Michigan who also
heads up community action against asthma. She says the
project starts where the children live.

“We’re actually going into the homes of families. We’ve done things
like give families a vacuum cleaner. Give them bedding covers to address
things like dust mites. And giving them cleaning supplies so they can deal
with some of these triggers. We’re also giving them information about
asthma, making referrals as necessary and giving them support and
information about asthma.”

Sylvester Foote says getting that information has meant some
changes in his house to try to protect Quinzell.

“Since I stopped having smoking in my home, he seems to have less
asthma attacks. I try to keep him away from grass cutting because that seems
to make him a little uncomfortable as far as his breathing is concerned. I
don’t do any kind of sweeping or dusting while he’s in the house. So, I can
see a noticeable improvement since I’ve been doing all these things.”

(clinic sounds)

Quinzell and his grandfather are with several other families
at a clinic at the University of Michigan. The families are
learning more about asthma and some of the tests being
conducted on their children. They’re taking it
seriously. Already two children who were part of this group
have died before their disease was managed. Quinzell seems
enthusiastic about the things he’s learning about asthma
research, even though he’s had to go through some tests,
including one where he has to breathe into a machine to
determine how much air his lungs can hold. This test helps to
determine just how bad his asthma might be.

“I did it one time. I was out of breath and the lady said ‘Okay,
two more times.’ Say what?!? I was doing right back-to-back (wheezing sound)
and then I gotta blow again. I was tired.”

Not only do Quinzell and the other children in the group have
to be tested regularly, but in order to help researchers,
they’ll have to pack around monitors that keep track of the
things in the air they breathe. They’ll also keep a diary of any
breathing problems they have during the day. And dust
samples will be taken in their house. Quinzell’s grandfather,
Sylvester Foote, says he’s glad to participate in the project if
it means his grandson will be able to breathe easier. He says he
does what he can to keep the house environment as dust free
as possible, but he wishes there were a permanent
solution.

“As far as any cure’s concerned, I sure wish I know it. I’d put
it on the market today. Not tomorrow, today.”

But it appears the cure for asthma, at least right now, is in the
prevention. And since much of the air we breathe is affected
by things outside of the house, successful intervention can’t
stop at the household. It has to be taken outside. That’s a much
larger challenge that this study also tackles.

For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, this is Lester Graham.

In a recent speech in Wisconsin, vice presidential candidate andConnecticut senator Joe Lieberman described environmentalism as areligious issue. He argued Americans have a moral duty to care for theearth, and he’s not the only one making that claim. Religious groupsthroughout the Great Lakes region are beginning to feel the same way -and are calling for environmental protection. The Great Lakes RadioConsortium’s Karen Kelly has this report:

Transcript

In a recent speech in Wisconsin, vice presidential candidate and Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman described environmentalism as a religious issue. He argued Americans have a moral duty to care for the earth. And he’s not the only one making that claim. Religious groups throughout the Great Lakes region are beginning feel the same way – and are calling for environmental protection. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Karen Kelly has this report.

Andrea Prazmowski pushes a stroller through her neighborhood in Ottawa, Ontario.
She walks this way almost every day on her way to the grocery store and her son’s school. Most people she knows use their car to run errands. But Prazmowski says leaving her car behind is one of the ways she’s helping the environment.

“We’ve chosen to live in a neighborhood that’s very walkable. And we buy organically grown food and don’t use pesticides on our lawns. And so we think fairly carefully about our consuming habits.”

Prazmowski says her family also buys clothing and toys second-hand. It’s an unusual way to live in a consumer society. But Prazmowski says she was encouraged to change her lifestyle by a campaign at her church. She’s a member of the United Church, a Protestant denomination. And for the past year, she’s joined group discussions about the connection between religion and the environment. Prazmowski says she’s come to see the gifts of the earth as gifts from God.

“We as humans should be taking care of them and not abusing them but being more gentle with the earth and I believe that’s what Christ would have wanted and what Christ would have taught.”

Prazmowski’s experience reflects a shift occurring in religious groups across North America. Mary Evelyn Tucker is a religion professor at Bucknell University and the director of a Harvard forum on religion and ecology.
She says she’s not sure how many churches are involved with the movement, but she’s seen a growing number begin to view the environment as part of their responsibility.

“Especially 20 years ago, there was a sense that you had to take care of the human before you took care of the environment. There’s been a significant shift in that way of thinking to what’s called ecojustice, which is suggesting the improvement of the human condition can only come about with the inclusion of
the health of the environment. You can’t have healthy people on a sick planet.”

Tucker says that shift has led to groups like the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life. They work with synagogues in nineteen American cities,
including Chicago, Cleveland, Milwaukee and Minneapolis. They encourage both education and political lobbying. There’s also the Interfaith Global Climate Change Campaign. It’s brought together religious leaders in sixteen states. One of their goals is to get environmental issues into sermons. They also want people to change their lifestyles. And they want the churches themselves to become energy efficient. Kim Winchell directs the climate change campaign in Michigan. She remembers her first meeting with colleagues from other religious groups.

“There were Episcopalians and Methodists and Quakers and a Catholic sister and Presbyterians and we all were kind of talking the same language. You know,
that we really felt that care for the earth was an integral part of what it meant to be religious. We all felt called to do what we were doing.”

Many Jewish and Christian leaders quote the Book of Genesis as the basis for their actions. In it, God sees all that he made, and declares it
good. He then calls the people to be faithful stewards of his creation. Traditionally, Christians and Jews interpreted this to mean that the earth’s resources belonged to humans, and their needs came first. For many, that interpretation has fallen out of favor. But not for critics like Michael Barkey of the Acton Institute, a conservative think-tank. He argues environmental advocacy doesn’t belong in the church.

“Many religious leaders who have a great respect in their communities begin to speak on issues they’re not fully informed about. The dramatic picture that’s presented is misleading and as long as religious leaders fail to get the full information before they speak, the consequences of these policies can be quite harmful.”

But for environmentalists like Kim Winchell, it’s an exciting time. She says bringing the environment into religious communities is a powerful tool.

“I think in our society there’s an awful lot of apathy or the sense that I’m only one person, what can I do? And I think the role of religion is to help people feel a sense of hope, that they can make a difference even with what little thing they do, and that they really ought to be making a difference as God’s people on earth.”

Winchell says many people are worried about the environment – and they’re looking for some kind of guidance. She believes – for religious leaders – this may be a calling. For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Karen Kelly.

Scientists at Ohio State and Cornell universities say they’ve found anatural way to prevent strawberry plants from rotting. Researchers areusing honey bees to spread a natural fungicide, and they say theirmethod works better than commercial sprays. The Great Lakes RadioConsortium’s Natalie Walston has details:

Transcript

Scientists at Ohio State and Cornell Universities say they’ve found a natural way to prevent strawberry plants from rotting. Researchers are using honeybees to spread a natural fungicide, and they say their method works better than commercial sprays. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Natalie Walston has details.

(Bee sounds)

The symbiotic relationship between bees and many plants is one of the miracles of nature… honeybees rely on the plants for nectar, while the plants rely on the bees for pollination. Here’s how it works — as bees buzz from flower to flower, tiny grains of pollen cling to their legs. That pollen is then deposited on other flowers, completing pollination. Scientists have observed this process for years. But it was not until very recently that they came up with the idea to use this process to help stop the spread of a deadly mold that attacks strawberry plants. Ohio State University Assoc Prof Joe Kovach was the lead researcher on the project.

“There’s a disease of strawberries called grey mold. And, one of the things we learned is the best time to control this disease is during the bloom period. And, we’re trying to find alternative methods to pesticides. So Kovach, along with researchers at Cornell University, decided to try to harness the power of bees to stop the mold. They took a naturally occurring fungus called trichoderma, which eats the mold. And, they placed trichoderma spores on a tray in front of the bee hives”

“As the bees exited the hives, they kind of walked through this foot bath of spores. And, as they visited the flowers, we, uh, wanted to see if they could deliver enough to the flowers, and, if they’d delivered enough to give us control. And, essentially, it works.

Kovach says in their experiment, they were able to reduce the number of infected strawberry plants by 72 percent. That’s compared to 40 percent when the same fungicide was only sprayed on the plants.

“If you put it right where the flower is, and, right where the disease occurs, and you’re not, when you spray out this biological control agent, you’re spraying it out on leaves, you’re spraying it on the ground, so you’re wasting a lot. Whereas the bees deliver it right to the source.

This type of pest-management agriculture, known as integrated pest management, or IPM, has been producing results since the beginning of farming. That’s according to Cornell University IPM program assistant director Kurt Petzold.

“A lot of times people think that, uh, the only thing farmers do is spray pesticides to control pests. and, uh, what we try to do is encourage farmers to think about other tactics, too. we might release a natural enemy that would attack a pest, an undesirable pest.

Petzold points out there are drawbacks to using living creatures for pest management. Sometimes weather is a factor. If it’s cold, bees won’t deliver the fungicide. Also, Petzold says using bees to spread trichoderma could affect honey production.

“I think the one concern the Environmental Protection Agency has is the fungus that’s being delivered to the strawberries to control the undesirable fungus could wind up in the bees honey. And, it’s unknown whether that has any, uh, effect on consumers of the honey.

While it’s still undetermined how trichoderma affects humans, OSU researcher Kovach says the health of the hive is not in jeopardy. Kovach’s bee delivery technique, meanwhile, is still awaiting approval by the Environmental Protection Agency. For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Natalie Walston.