Welcome to Healthy Communities Project

Every year, millions of tons of toxic pesticides and synthetic (petroleum-based) fertilizers pollute the environment, poison our waterways and endanger public health. Our goal at Healthy Communities Project is to provide well substantiated, objective data on the risks associated with pesticide exposure and the information you need to eliminate pesticides from your home, yard and community.

A growing body of research shows that exposure to pesticides can trigger a host of diseases including cancer, neurological disorders, infertility, birth defects, and asthma. How we are affected by these exposures depends upon our individual genetics. Therefore, an important component of disease prevention is to take whatever steps we can to eliminate these potential disease triggers from both our home and surrounding environments. Eliminating pesticides is an easy thing to do to reduce our risk!

Happy Fall!

The Whitefish Bay Public Library is hosting the below film screenings that may be of interest to you. All screenings held in the upstairs community room at 6:30 p.m.

5420 N. Marlborough Drive, Whitefish Bay, WI 53217
Please call to reserve a spot!  (414) 964-4380

Bag It!  Is Your Life Too Plastic?
Thursday, September 29th 6:30 p.m.

Living Downstream
Thursday, October 13th 6:30 p.m.

A Chemical Reaction
Thursday, November 3rd 6:30 p.m.

For a full descriptions and more information, check out the Fall Film Screenings PDF infosheet.

Hope to see you there!

Posted on Wednesday, November 02, 2011

47 Schoolchildren Poisoned in Ohio Offers Evidence That Kids Are Silently Poisoned Every Day

Paul Tukey, the author of the Organic Lawn Care Manual and the producer of the film, A Chemical Reaction, recently posted this statement on his blog about a pesticide exposure incident that affected many school children.  His assessment of the situation is spot on:

Students from an Ohio middle school were evacuated earlier this month when chemical weed killers were applied to nearby fields. Ironically, the children were evacuated to a site near the sprayed fields that made at least 47 children ill.
Posted on Thursday, February 17, 2011

Film Screening of A Chemical Reaction at the Urban Ecology Center

A Chemical Reaction is a documentary film by Brett Plymale and Paul Tukey, author of the Organic Lawn Care Manual. It is the story of one of the most powerful and effective community initiatives in the history of North America. Six of Canada’s 10 provinces have province-wide bans on the use of yard and lawn pesticides. Numerous other Canadian municipalities have similar laws. This new documentary tells the story of Hudson, Quebec, the first town to enact such a ban.
Posted on Friday, November 19, 2010

EPA to Expand Chemicals Testing for Endocrine Disruption

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has identified a list of 134 chemicals that will be screened for their potential to disrupt the endocrine system. Endocrine disruptors are chemicals that interact with and possibly disrupt the hormones produced or secreted by the human or animal endocrine system, which regulates growth, metabolism and reproduction. Administrator Lisa P. Jackson has made it a top priority to ensure the safety of chemicals, and this is another step in this process.
Posted on Thursday, September 24, 2009

Harvard University Using Natural Lawn Care Practices

On September 24th the New York Times reported that Harvard University is currently maintaining 25 acres of their campus without pesticides, and is hoping to maintain all 80 acres with natural lawn care practices within two years.  They are focusing on basic soil health techniques and report that these efforts have resulted in a 30 percent reduction of irrigation, saving them two million gallons of water a year.