People often ask if we feel hopeless working in places where environmental crises have such enormous impacts on communities. The scale of the challenge is massive, and the issues are inextricably tied to poverty, injustice, and factors largely outside our control. But doing this work every day is uplifting, because we work with people who want to be part of the solution to problems. It’s hard to lose hope when you’re surrounded by it. From our TIFO office in Moscow, Idaho, to the Great Basin of Nevada, and the mountains and deserts of Central Asia, among many other places, every day brings good people together to help others.
Horrifying things are happening in the world, and we suffer through the news. Every. Darn. Day. But working with our team and partners makes it easier to face. Don’t take my word for it – read on for stories of hope and change, of using science and compassion to connect across cultures and solve problems. And remember:
It is not given to us to know which acts or by whom will cause the critical mass to tip toward an enduring good.
Clarissa Pinkola Estes
In gratitude and hope,
Casey
Since our last newsletter (two days after we sent it in fact), we received official notice of the termination of our EPA funds for our collaboration with the Shoshone-Paiute Tribe (SPT). In April, with the support of SPT, we submitted an appeal. We hold onto hope that our legal system will prevail and that the EPA will recognize the alignment of our grant with the Administration’s priorities for both critical mineral development and obligations to sovereign Tribes, including the Sho-Pai. Several court cases have been successful in restoring frozen funds, thanks to the efforts of Lawyers for Good Governance, the Environmental Protection Network, and the Southern Environmental Law Center, among many others. TIFO and SPT are committed to continuing to work towards our goals on the Seven Generations project.
Despite the termination of our funding, we have updates to share.
Whitney Schroeder was recently in Duck Valley, continuing conversations on how to prioritize project activities. She engaged with students at the Owyhee Combined School alongside Racheal Thacker of SPT’s Tribal Environmental Protection Program (TEPP). They visited five classes of 8th- to 11th-grade students to share the Seven Generations project with them and engage in environmental education activities. Whitney and Racheal developed an interactive game called “Polluter Platoon,” inspired by the classic social deduction game called “Mafia,” where players take on secret roles and work together to identify the hidden polluter causing environmental harm. Through teamwork, strategy, and deduction, students learned about environmental pollution and accountability in a fun and engaging way. There were also presentations and a related activity about the air quality monitors that were recently installed on the reservation as part of our project. Students and residents can use these to develop an understanding of air quality issues and trends.
This summer, we’ll be working with TEPP and local students to test the garden soil in the senior citizen center. The Tribe recently learned about a hydrocarbon plume under their existing school that resulted in extensive contamination and likely contributed to reports of elevated cancer rates on the reservation. Owyhee leaders were successful in lobbying the State of Nevada to fund the construction of a new school, but concerns about other impacted areas remain. This is a great opportunity for TIFO and TEPP to engage students in environmental science, support local priorities, and help the Tribe make informed decisions that protect the health of their community
Update from the field! The Partnership for Environmental Health (PEH) project kicked off in May, with over 10 team members from TIFO, the Environmental Health and Pollution Management Institute (EHPMI), and the Human Health Institute (HHI) working in Kazakhstan and Georgia to collect data on soil and water contamination. TIFO, EHPMI, and HHI are partnering to assess heavy metal contamination from past industrial activities, develop estimates for remedial actions, and propose environmental health intervention options. Casey Bartrem, Marina Steiner, and Bryn Thoms traveled to Shymkent, Kazakhstan, and Kutaisi, Georgia, joining partners to gather data on soil and water contamination in the scorching heat and pouring rain.
The results from this joint effort are still coming in, so we’ll have a lot more to share in the next newsletter. However, we want to emphasize the severity of the situation in both Shymkent and Kutaisi, where contamination levels would warrant an emergency response in countries with greater resources. Despite the fact that these problems have been recognized for decades, children and families continue to be exposed to dangerously high levels of heavy metals in their environment. This 2014 video from Al Jazeera about the lead contamination in Shymkent, formerly the largest lead smelter in the Soviet Union, highlights the urgency of the crisis. The situation remains critical more than 11 years later. We had the privilege of meeting one of the local researchers interviewed in the video, and we look forward to building collaborations across government, university, and NGO partners in both countries. More to come!
Welcome, Steven Melle: TIFO Project Support Intern
Steven Melle joined us this summer as a project support intern. Steven is a senior at WSU studying environmental science. He first heard about TIFO last year when Casey presented at a meeting of WSU’s Environmental Sustainability Alliance (ESA) club. “I thought the project was really interesting and very important. Helping others by improving the environment is the reason I wanted to study environmental science. So, when I heard that TIFO was looking for a summer intern, I knew I had to join the team…I can't wait for what the rest of the summer has in store for me.” Steven says it has been a great experience working on so many projects and learning what it takes to be part of such a dynamic team. He finds it rewarding to know that his work at TIFO has the potential to change lives. We’ve been grateful to Steven for his hard work and excellent technical skills. He is doing an excellent job with data entry and mapping while field teams generate sampling data each day (sometimes in different languages!), which means we have updated maps that we can use to inform our daily field work. We’re so lucky to have him join the TIFO team!
We’re grateful to our partners in the Ministry of Health of Karakalpakstan for capturing highlights of our meetings with officials during our short visit in May. Marina and Casey spent hours with partners reviewing datasets, reviewing government research priorities, and charting a path forward for analyzing their water quality monitoring data and developing additional projects to understand health risks associated with water contamination.
Marina was featured by the University of Idaho for her reasearch exploring the causes of poor drinking water in Uzbekistan.
Read the full article here: https://www.uidaho.edu/news/feature-stories/uzbekistan-clean-water-project.
May and June were filled with fieldwork! In addition to team members who kicked off the PEH project in Kazakhstan and Georgia, visited partners in Duck Valley and Uzbekistan, and taught in Armenia, TIFO volunteer Jerry Lee spent six weeks in Georgia and Moldova working with MSF to better understand environmental health risks in the region and support MSF in expanding environmental health in their operations globally. We are beyond grateful to Jerry (and others in our TIFO Expert Network!), who generously gave his time and expertise to communities around the globe. More to come on next steps on our partnership with MSF in expanding environmental health programming around the world.
Where do we even begin to describe our whirlwind week in Boise? First, with gratitude, because we could not have done it all without the support and encouragement of so many. Our first thanks go to the team that put together the 34th Annual Pacific Northwest Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) Conference. Next, we are so grateful for the small cohort of Moscow volunteers who gave their time and expertise to help us refine some of our presentations and pave the way for impactful sessions. Thank you to the Idaho Conservation League, Save the South Fork Salmon, and Idaho Clinicians for Climate Health, who joined forces to host two community meetings, one in Boise and one in McCall. And thank you to all of you, whose contributions in various forms make our work possible!
The first day of the conference was truly a TIFO and SPT takeover, from the plenary address by SPT Chairman Brian Mason to four TIFO and one SPT-led sessions, culminating in the SPT panel. We are so proud of the TIFO team and honored to work alongside the amazing team at SPT. The highlight of the conference was the panel of Marissa Snapp (SPT Tribal Environmental Protection Programs (TEPP)), Chris Cleveland (SPT Fish and Game), Racheal Thacker (SPT TEPP), and Hattie Conklin (Owyhee Community Health Facility). They spoke powerfully about the environmental and social realities SPT faces and what they are doing to support and empower the next generation.
The proposed H.R. 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, stands to impact the environment, our Tribal partners, and frontline communities. TIFO is not anti-mining, but we know mining can be done in a manner that respects the health and safety of people and the environments in which we live, work, and recreate. We’ve been carefully monitoring the development of the bill, and this information is the most current we have available. While there are numerous concerns across the political spectrum regarding the bill, the following are a few key points that could impact TIFO’s work. You can use these to quickly voice concerns with your representatives. The bill passed in the Senate and now heads back to the House for approval before it can be signed into law.
This bill will:
- Significantly weaken the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and other safeguards.
- Speeds up the environmental review process, reduces the scope of review, and reduces Tribal and public input.
- Expands “categorical exclusions,” allowing more projects to bypass NEPA entirely. An example would be an extractive project getting fast-tracked without any environmental review.
- Decreases the value of charitable deductions for high-income taxpayers and discourages corporate giving by setting new floors for itemized deductions and corporate contributions.
- These provisions are estimated to reduce resources for nonprofit organizations by at least $81 billion over 10 years.
- This is happening at a time when nonprofits face enormous financial challenges and reduced funding opportunities at the state and federal levels.
We drafted language you can use and customize when reaching out to your representative.
TIFO Family Dinner
5:30 - 7:30 PM
Thursday, July 10
1075 Snow Road,
Moscow, ID
Email whitney @ terrafound.org if interested in joining us for a casual, home-cooked dinner in a beautiful garden setting.
Earth Gives: Save the Date
October, 7
View TIFO Earth Gives profile
Earth Gives Day was developed to catalyze greater impact by and through 501c3 environmental, climate, and climate justice organizations (currently only ~2% of all giving).
TIFO Annual Celebration
5:30 - 9:30 PM
Friday, October 17
1912 Center
412 E 3rd St
Moscow, ID
Join us for food, fun, and live music by Jon & Rand Band as we celebrate another year of TIFO accomplishments and our Palouse community. (Event admission is free.) RSVP here.
BOISE: Dr. Ed Galindo Book Signing
5-8 PM
Thursday, Nov. 6
Rediscovered Books
180 N 8th St
Boise, ID
Join us for a book signing event with TIFO Board Member Dr. Ed Galindo. Talk with the author and kick off your summer reading with two incredible stories. We will have both of Ed's books - Children of the Stars and Dance of the Salmon - on hand. Learn more about Dr. Galindo here.
- Soil and water systems graduate student travels to Uzbekistan to help determine scope of water quality issues. University of Idaho.
- Supreme Court narrows scope of environmental reviews. Washington Post.
- Senate Expected to Pass a Major Tax Package Directly Impacting Nonprofit Organizations. Council of Nonprofits.
- Environment and Health. SKMA.