I want to ride my bicycle!

Bicycles, a “micromobility” option, are a great alternative to cars and other fossil fuel transport (LoBasso, 2019). Global temperatures are increasing and expected to climb further if no changes are made, with temperatures rising as much as 3 degrees by 2030 (LoBasso, 2019). The small spike in temperature will be responsible for extreme weather events like droughts, wildfires, and floods. In 2015, a study was conducted by the Institute for Transportation, which demonstrated that carbon dioxide emissions from urban passenger transport may decrease by 11% by 2050 if switched to alternative modes of transportation. Additionally, there could be savings of…

Total Worker Health: Shift Work and Sleep

OHSU studied the impact of shift work on sleep, understanding that adequate and high-quality sleep is imperative to health and well-being. Researchers were interested in the interplay of not only how much sleep we get but also when we sleep to investigate how lack of sleep relates to and places shift workers at risk for chronic diseases, such as hypertension, stroke, CVD, T2DM, obesity, decreased immunity, cancer, anxiety, and depression (Jehan et al., 2017). …

Tackling biodiversity: What if we released all cows into the wild?

The aim is to find an action or set of actions that reduces the impact to within the uncertainty range or boundary (Rockstrom and Willet, EAT Commission). The EAT Commission suggests shifts away from animal sources and toward diets rich in plant-based foods. Those opposed to initiatives like these seem to always ask what are we going to do with all the animals if we are not eating them? This is an important question as more than 820 million people still lack sufficient food and many more consume either low-quality or too many foods (Rockstrom and Willet, EAT Commission). But…

“When radium was first discovered in the late 1800s, headlines nationwide hailed it as “a substitute for gas, electricity, and a positive cure for every disease.” Johns Hopkins was using radium to treat cervical cancer since the early 1900s (Skloot, 2011). By the 1940s there was evidence to support that radium was safe and effective in treating invasive cervical cancer. In her biography The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Skloot outlines the process of the radium treatment for invasive cervical cancer: thin glass tubes filled with radium, called Brack plaques, were sewn into the cervical tissue after cervical dilation, then…

“Toilet-to-Tap” is a concept that demonstrates a circular economy, where “all the resources coming into our cities are recycled after they are used.” We are already using recycled materials in every day household items, such as toilet paper, glass, and food scraps. In Portland, there is a Jewish market and deli on NW Glisan, with a recycled interior of reclaimed lumber supplied by ReBuilding Center. The same thinking can be and has been applied to drinking water. Water is one of the most necessary resources on Earth with clean drinking water accounting for less than 1% of the total water…

My boyfriend and I live on Northwest Naito Parkway in Portland OR. The map shown below is the street on which I live. The darker red, orange, and yellow map (left) is Traffic Proximity, and the lighter map (right) is the Low-Income Population National Percentiles. According to the EPA, I live in the 80–90th percentile of traffic proximity with nearly 1200 vehicles driving by my apartment complex daily. Simply, we live on a busy street. Additionally, the apartment complex is aptly named after its neighbor, the Portland Union Station. At regular intervals throughout the day, more often due to COVID-19…

Formaldehyde is a colorless gas with a pungent, suffocating odor at room temperature and is readily soluble in water at room temperature ((US Environmental Protection Agency, 2020). Formaldehyde and goods containing this chemical reportedly account for more than 5% of the yearly US gross national product, which is about 500 billion dollars (Zhang et al., 2010). Formaldehyde is a known carcinogen and is of particular concern for those exposed to it in their homes and occupations. Healthcare workers such as nurses and pathologists, embalmers, and manufacturers are at particular risk due to occupational exposure. Public awareness of formaldehyde rose in…

I shadowed at Central City Concern, Imani Center in Portland, Oregon two years ago during a pre-health clinical experience. The Imani Center at CCC provides culturally specific and responsive Afrocentric approaches to the Black community of Portland. While there, I perused the literature on display at the center. A book caught my eye: Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome by Dr. Joy DeGruy. Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome is a condition resulting from multi-generational oppression of Africans and their descendants. …