Welcome to Part 2 of a Three Part Series addressing hazardous materials. If you haven't yet read Part 1 (Understanding Toxic Materials in Today's Information Jungle), I encourage you to read it first. For Part 2, I've invited my friend Yevgen (referred to YS in Part 1) to explain his interest in environmental, health and … Continue reading Haz Mat Part 2: How to Know, Who to Trust, and What to Believe?
For more than a decade, one of my jobs included maintaining a curated online resource directory addressing all things environmental, safety and health. The directory was first begun as the internet powered up with few effective search engines available. And certainly no artificial intelligence! Over the years as search engines perfected what they did, this … Continue reading Understanding Toxic Materials in Today’s Information Jungle
I appreciate having worked in the academic and research world for a good part of my career. More profound for me has been my ability to remain closely connected to the World of Work and its challenges. I appreciate the science of knowing and the importance of research in helping us move ahead. And I … Continue reading Enhancing Workplace Well-Being: Essential Strategies
Okay..this was a birthday card from my sister-in-law back 13 years ago. Truth be told, the only highlights or color change I've had is thanks to nature. I was on my cell phone, parked in a little shopping center in Beaverton. It's an area of town I don't seem to go to often anymore, but … Continue reading Embracing the Fact That Change Takes a Long Time
Let me say upfront, I’m one of those. I follow the rules of the road and try to be polite as both cyclist and driver. For years I've felt a bit apologetic to drivers when cycling on streets that were narrow or curvy - as if I was cramping their style, slowing them down. I … Continue reading An apologetic cyclist no more
Last spring a friend suggested that the public needed to better understand environmental health and industrial hygiene. "Y" felt others would be interested in its relevance to daily life and living, and I would be the perfect person to write about it. I liked the idea, but was busy with job decisions, a book release … Continue reading Yes, industrial hygiene is a cool career
I’m certain it is because of Dad’s love affair with our Willamette and Columbia Rivers past and present, that I too feel tied to Oregon’s river highway stories, and those that happened at their banks. Perhaps, more than Dad, I am aware of the environmental and cultural leftovers from some of those bygone eras. It … Continue reading Portland shipyards, trades and women
This piece first appeared in Today's Caregiver on April 4, 2022. Thank you Today's Caregiver for sharing my writing with your followers. My mother died in my dining room during the pandemic. Three weeks prior, the 2021 ice storm devastated Oregon’s Willamette Valley and cut power to our home and her electric hospital bed. Yet, … Continue reading A circle of caregiving
Being an industrial hygienist in the time of the novel coronavirus is a bit surreal. Most of us IH's have gotten used to the challenge of trying to help people understand just what it is we do, once in a while apologizing for what feels like a dated job title. I know that early in … Continue reading Industrial hygiene: from science to the art of winging it
During my last in-person visit with Mom, prior to the current ban on visitors, I likened aspects of today's situation to her growing up during World War II and the Depression. While circumstances and details are vastly different, I related to her how daily life was changed and people made sacrifices then, as now. Although … Continue reading Masks and quarantines: Spanish Flu to COVID-19
Dede's Books and blog 