The National Alliance for Hispanic Health (NAHH) has recently partnered with Environmental Countdown (ECD) to create an innovative video and mobile pollution-monitoring program called the Health and the Environment Action Network (HEAN). The initiative will provide community participants with the technology they need to measure and videotape local environmental hazards and community-based organizations with the hard data they need to formulate sensible responses.
At various sites around the country, youth volunteers will receive Eco-Pacs, complete with mobile pollution sensors, GPS devices, and video cameras. These students will take measurements of three types of air pollution (carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, and sulfur dioxide) and two types of water pollution (dissolved oxygen and pH levels) at various locations throughout their communities. Each time they do so, they will use their GPS devices to record their exact location. Participants will also record instances of environmental hazards on short videos and post them on this website.
After collecting the Eco-Pacs, NAHH and ECD will analyze the data and produce reports and Google Earth maps detailing the specific environmental problems facing these communities. HEAN will then work with local community-based organizations to formulate strategies for dealing with these environmental hazards. At the same time, HEAN will establish a Mobile Action Network, allowing community members to receive pollution and environmental health updates via text messages to their mobile phones.
Special thanks to the local organizations that are making this happen, including the Brownsville Community Health Center in Brownsville, TX, UPROSE in Brooklyn, NY, the Community Health and Social Services Center in Detroit, MI, and Salud Para La Gente in Watsonville, CA.
Environmental Countdown (ECD) is a video community dedicated to creating awareness about the urban environmental crisis and highlighting environmental activists and solutions. ECD is a force for community empowerment, encouraging organizations and individuals to document and post videos about the problems and solutions in cities around the country and the world. The ECD community provides a forum for sharing information about urban environmental problems and success stories so that geographically dispersed activists and a diversity of socio-economic groups can learn from each other, work together and better improve their communities.