Rebuilding the Unity of Health and the Environment: Houston Metropolitan Area
Sponsored by
The Institute of Medicine's Roundtable on Environmental Health Sciences, Research, and Medicine

January 23, 2004
8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Wildcat Golf Club
12000 Almeda Road, Houston, TX 77045

Preliminary Agenda
Friday, January 23, 2004

8:00 a.m.                       Registration

8:30 a.m.                       Welcome

The Honorable Paul Rogers, J.D., Chair, Roundtable on Environmental Health Sciences, Research, and Medicine, Partner, Hogan & Hartsen

8:35 a.m.                       Goals and Objectives

Lovell Jones, Ph.D., Roundtable Member, Professor, M.D. Anderson Medical Center

8:45 a.m.                      What is Environmental Health?

Lynn Goldman, M.D., M.P.H., Vice-Chair, Roundtable on Environmental Health Sciences, Research, and Medicine, Professor, Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health

9:10 a.m.                     Environmental Health Challenges in Houston

Ken Sexton, Sc.D., M.B.A., Professor, University of Texas, School of Public Health, Brownsville

9:35 a.m.                     General Discussion

9:50 a.m.                    Break

Panel 1: The Natural Environment

Moderator:                    Jim Lester, Ph.D., Director of Environmental Group, Houston Advance Research Center

10:05 a.m.                     The Natural Environment and Human Health: An Urban, Particularly Houstonian Perspective

Winifred J. Hamilton, Ph.D., S.M., Director, Environmental Health Section, Control Research Center, Baylor College of Medicine

10:20 a.m.                    The Natural Environment: Planning for the Future, Looking at the Past

 James Blackburn, J.D., Partner, Blackburn & Carter, LLP

10:35 a.m.                    Public Policy and Flooding: Impact on Health

Kevin Shanley, President, Bayou Preservation Association

10:50 a.m.                     Drinking Water: Quality or Quantity

Roger Hulbert, Senior Assistant Director, Water Production, City of Houston

11:05 a.m.                     Effects of Indoor and Outdoor Air Quality on Upper and Lower Airway Diseases and Comorbidities

Stuart Abramson, M.D.Associate Director for Clinical Research, Children’s Asthma Center, Texas Children’s Hospital

11:20 p.m.                     Air Quality, Particulate Matter, and Environmental Health

Ramon Alvarez, Ph.D., Environmental Defense

11:35 p.m.                     It's Time to Retreat

Cath A. Conlon, Founder and Executive Director, Blackwood Educational Land Institute

Jackie Hall, The Hall Group

11:50 p.m.                     Respondent: what are the next steps?

LaNell Anderson, Director, Texas Bucket Brigade

12:00 p.m.                     General Discussion (Q & A)

12:20 p.m.                     Lunch (provided)

Panel 2: Social Environment

Moderator:                    Nestor Rodriguez, Professor, University of Houston (invited)

12:50 p.m.                     Social Environment: Challenges for the City of Houston

Stephen Klineberg, Ph.D., Professor of Sociology, Rice University

1:15 p.m.                      Cultural Diversity: what Houston's Communities Say about the Environment

Beverly Gor, Ed.D., R.D., President of the Asian American Health Coalition, Associate Director of Community Relations, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center

1:30 p.m.                       Respondent: Adressing the Emerging Social Needs in Houston 

Angelina Esparza, RN, BA, BSN, Past President, Houston Hispanic Health Coalition

1:40 p.m.                       General Discussion (Q & A)

2:00 p.m.                       Break

Panel 3: Built Environment

Moderator:                    John Porretto, Roundtable Member, President, Sustainable Building Solutions, Inc.

2:15 p.m.                       Overview of the Built Environment and Its Impact on Health

Samuel Wilson, M.D., Roundtable Member, Deputy Director, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

2:35 p.m.                      Brownfields and Environmental Justice

Martina Cartwright, Esq., Environmental Health Law Clinic, Texas Southern University

2:50 p.m.                       From Neighborhoods to National Scene: Air Pollution, Exercise, and Vulnerable Population

Anthony J. DeLucia, Ph.D., Past Chair, American Lung Association

3:05 p.m.                       Transportation: Urban Sprawl, Public Transportation, and Health

Katherine Pernot, Associate, Gulf Coast Institute

3:20 p.m.                       Reducing Urban Temperature, Improving Outdoor Air Quality, and Reducing Heat-Related Mortality

Hashem Akbari, Ph.D.,  Staff Scientist, Leader Heat Island Group, Lawrence Berkley National Laboratory

3:40 p.m.                       Environmental Health in Industry: Partnerships and Responsible Care

Carol Henry, Ph.D., D.A.B.T., Vice President for Science and Research, American Chemistry Council

3:55 p.m.                     Green Buildings and Environmental Health: Building Healthier Buildings

Brian Yeoman, M.A., Senior Research Scientist, Houston Advance Reserach Center (HARC)

4:10 p.m.                       Respondent: Are we making progress or are these isolated cases?

Jane Laping, M.P.H., Executive Director, Mothers for Clean Air

4:20 p.m.                       General Discussion (Q & A)

4:40 p.m.                       Summation

4:45 p.m.                       Adjourn