Toxic flame retardants continue to be a rising threat

Last October, a Sightline study found toxic flame retardants in the bodies of 40 Northwest women at levels 20 to 40 times higher than in Europe and Japan. There's new evidence that the threats posed by these toxic flame retardants, PBDEs, may now be eclipsing the threat from PCBs, industrial chemicals that were banned in the 1970s because of health risks. A new analysis found higher levels of PBDEs than of PCBs in 30 percent of the women in the Sightline study, suggesting that PBDEs have emerged as a major environmental and health concern. Read more about the study and solutions to our legacy of toxic chemicals.

An unhealthy relationship? Obesity and sprawl
What do bike bridges, short city blocks, and bike lanes painted blue have to do with your waistline? Recent research suggests that Oregon's emphasis on good urban design with pedestrian- and bike-friendly features has helped keep obesity in check. Sightline has been investigating the connections between sprawl and health. Read more.

Living large: The way-too-big-house
As far as North American home buyers are concerned, the prevailing attitude seems to be bigger is better. The average size of a new single-family home in the US has more than doubled since the 1950s, even as family size has gotten smaller, meaning that new homes today have three times as much living space per person than did the homes our grandparents bought. Even new technology and green building techniques can't always offset supersized houses. Read more.

Sightline profiles: Meet Linda Moulder and Jerry White, two Cascadia Stewards Council members who "walk the walk." Read more.

Events:
Indicators in Cascadia conference, Sept. 13-14, Bellevue, WA: "Driving Change and Getting Results: Exploring Approaches to Performance Measures and Community Indicators in the Cascadia Region." Sightline staffmembers will speak on using community indicators to create solutions. More information.

Peter Donaldson's Salmonpeople, Oct. 19-23, Olympia, WA: A spellbinding one-man show that reveals the interdependence of salmon and people in the once and future saga of our Northwest bioregion. Peter is a Cascadia Stewards Council member (profiled here) and has arranged for half-price tickets for Sightline members and others who profess habits of sustainability. More information.

Whose Planet Is It, Anyway? Strategies for a Green Future, Sept. 24, Seattle, WA: Foolproof's American Voices series discusses pressing environmental topics of the day with a diverse panel including Guujaaw, President of the Haida Nation, and Martha Marks, President of Republicans for Environmental Protection. More information.

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Events in Cascadia

The Daily Score
Friends for life?
Sightline explores whether sprawl erodes social networks that are critical for health.

No free lunch
Test scores are lower in areas with higher rates of free lunches.

Cascadian economics
Recent commentary on family budgets, gas taxes, and generational poverty.

Unhappy trails

For clean air, work downtown

Plan B for women's health

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