Women's issues and environmental
issues will converge in Pittsburgh in November
for a summit titled "Women Assessing the
State of the Environment (WASTE).
"Women
are typically marginalized in environmental policy
making and yet women are leaders of environmental
movements around the world," said Ellen
Dorsey, executive director of the Pittsburgh-based
Rachel Carson Institute (RCI) and one of the
organizers of the summit.
The WASTE summit will give women a chance to
develop a national agenda and pressure the US
government to pursue socially and environmentally
responsible policies, Dorsey said.
RCI is co-hosting the November 9-11 event with
the New York based Women's Environment and Development
Organization (WEDO). The summit will bring together
scholars, scientists and activists from women's
and environmental organizations nationwide. Dorsey
said one of the main goals is to advance a gender
focused program of action to shape US policy
for next year's World Summit on Sustainable Development
in Johannesburg, South Africa.
"Women are often the consumers that make
critical family choices about products that have
environmental significance," Dorsey said. "There
are special health issues, women's health issues
and children's health issues with environmental
causes, whether it's the environmental links
to breast cancer, or led poisoning and how it
affects children's development."
Themes to be discussed at the WASTE conference
include women in environmental decision-making,
environmental justice and human rights, and US
support for international initiatives on climate
change, biodiversity, and financing for development.
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