Conference Focuses on Women's Health and The Environment

Toxins in household products, pro-active preventive health care and environmental pollution were among the topics discussed at the day-long Women's Health and The Environment Conference held at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center on Wednesday.

About three thousand people, mostly women, attended the free conference and heard from speaker and organizer Teresa Heinz, Surgeon General Regina Benjamin and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson.

Teresa Heinz spoke of her tumultuous year which included a breast cancer diagnosis and treatment. She also spoke of the importance of preventive medicine.

Surgeon General Regina Benjamin spoke about her experiences as a primary care physician in rural Alabama and her focus on combating obesity with preventive care and medicine. She said one of the first steps in taking care of ourselves is taking care of the environment we live in. "While we can't move all Americans out of polluted environments, we can clean up the environment," she said.

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson spoke about climate change, the thousands of potentially toxic chemicals in household items, the need to test and regulate them and the purchasing power women possess.

Other speakers talked about urban gardening, environmental chemicals and breast cancer and air pollution.