Evergreen Citizen Elise Miller
June 2005 | Evergreen Citizen
Earth to Kids
Elise Miller keeps the eco-conversation going
By Andrew Mulholland
As one of the country’s most effective leaders in environmental health advocacy, Elise Miller is not one to overlook any small detail or victory or both.
Consider Gov. George Petaki in New York. During this year’s State of the State address, Miller was thrilled to hear Petaki announce that all state departments and agencies would use nontoxic or less toxic cleaning supplies for janitorial work protocols.
“That would have never happened five years ago,” says Miller, who runs the Freeland-based Institute for Children’s Environmental Health ( www.iceh.org ).
Miller herself has worked in the environmental health field for about 13 years, just a few years shy of the original coining of the term “environmental health.” Among other duties—a full list, to be sure—Miller has coordinated the national Learning and Developmental Disabilities Initiative (LDDI), which includes some 160 organizations and individuals. LDDI recently received a 2005 Recognition Award from the federal Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA praised Miller and LDDI for pulling together both communities and policymakers. In the last 12 months, Miller and her colleagues have organized a national meeting at the National Institutes of Health in Maryland, plus two regional meetings, in Michigan and Pennsylvania. Three more meetings are planned for New York, California and Minnesota.
We recently caught up with this month’s Evergreen Citizen fresh from a trip to Washington, D.C. and a congressional hearing that included six Republican senators represented. Here are some excerpts from our conversation with Elise Miller—hey, gotta love those initials.
EM: If the Bush White House is any indicator, these are not exactly boom times for environmental health advocates. Yet your hearing in D.C. last week drew 70 people. Plus, lots of big names were represented: Rodham Clinton, McCain, Kerry, Snow, Lautenberg.
Miller: I’m gratified that there are so many people still committed to long-term environmental health work. The strategies out there are thoughtful and impressive.
It’s good to know awareness campaigns are working. The Safe Cosmetics campaign. Health Care Without Harm. The Healthy Buildings Network.
EM: The public consciousness has been raised.
Miller: We used to mention the term “environmental health” and draw a blank. That’s no longer the case. We have been pressing hard on issues such as mercury, coal-burning emissions, safe food, safe drinking water, lead and flame retardants.
EM: You have remarked before at your Institute’s wonderful Town Hall series that national legislation is an ideal but state advocacy is where the most change can occur.
Miller: The state level is most important. You can feel good about leadership here in Washington. Even though the PBDE [flame retardants] bill didn’t past this session, there were lots of state health officials and other government leaders who were engaged and supportive of the effort.
EM: The Washington Toxics Coalition worked hard. Let’s hope it pays off next time the bill is presented.
Miller: The biggest different between the Collaborative on Health and Environment-Washington [of which Miller is chair] and an organization like the Washington Toxics Coalition is they do the advocacy and we see ourselves as the container for safe, open conversation among researchers, doctors and advocates. It’s where anybody can show up and new ideas emerge.
![[Send]](http://seattle.consciouschoice.com/sendlink/send.gif){kind=small}
Recommend this page to a friend
Top Ten pages recommended to friends:
