This article was published in the Harwich Oracle, Wareham Courier, Mashpee Enterprise, Sandwich Enterprise, and Bourne Enterprise in late August.
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Funding Lost, Silent Spring Presses On Stunned by the Failure of the state legislature to include a requested $375,00 grant to expand its research on drinking water in Cape Cod and Southeastern Massachusetts in the 2013 budget, Silent Spring Institute is pressing on. “We are extremely disheartened to see that our legislators are not prioritizing research on the safety of water in the sate. This is a matter of environmental justice, and we cannot back down,” said Margo Simon Golden, President of the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Breast Cancer Coalition, which had sought the grant for its sister organization. On a positive note, Silent Spring has been able to obtain a $50,000 grant from the Massachusetts Environmental Trust and on October 2 they have scheduled a public meeting, noon to 1:30 p.m. at Barnstable Town Hall to announce the results of their latest research study into water quality on the Cape. “It is very basic to conduct research with the goal of protecting public health from carcinogens and endocrine disrupting chemicals. All citizens in Massachusetts deserve to know that their drinking water is safe, clean, and non-toxic,” Ms. Golden added. “Silent Spring Institute is the only research organization whose mission it is to investigate the link between the environment and women’s health, and they are one of the only organizations studying these chemicals in Massachusetts. “We will continue to reach out to our supporters on behalf of Silent Spring Institute. If we want to prevent breast cancer for future generations, we must take action now to reduce exposure to environmental contaminants linked to the disease.” “Laurel Schaider, PhD, who leads Silent Spring Institute’s water research program, noted that this year new wastewater management decisions are being considered on Cape Cod and Silent Spring Institute’s proposed research investigating environmental contaminants in wastewater is needed to inform wastewater management decisions to address impacts on the health of people and ecosystems for years to come. Without this funding, sufficient scientific evidence on these contaminants will be lacking. “Cape Cod communities are making important decisions about the future of wastewater management and drinking water protection, she said. |