Group Marks National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

For nearly a decade, the fastest growing HIV/AIDS population has been women and the Pittsburgh based group, Educating Teens About HIV/AIDS, is hoping three events this month will do something about it. March 10th is National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. Educating Teens About HIV/AIDS will gather some 100 women tonight to show a documentary, hold a discussion and draw up a wide sweeping action plan. “Encourage each of us to encourage each other to be cognizant of what is going on and to protect themselves…. and what we can do individually to prevent HIV/AIDS, to encourage other people to become educated about HIV, to encourage everyone to work with teens and young adults,” says Educating Teens About HIV/AIDS Project Director Albertha Graham.

Later this month Graham and her group will take their message to younger women with the 11th annual HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. Graham says in the past as many as 300 teens have come to the daylong event. This year’s event will be held March 29. Graham says to help accommodate teens that cannot get away from school that day they are holding a second event the night before. Registration for both events is still open. Graham says the region’s youth seem to be open to talking about HIV/AIDS, “The tricky part is getting adults involved in the process, understanding the need to educate our students and our teens and the more we work with teens the more we realize they are receptive and they really don’t want to contract the disease.” Graham says teens seem to be a bit less afraid of HIV than they were a few decades ago. She says to help combat that, her group usually brings in a person living with AIDS to talk about how hard it is to live with the disease.

Heinz Endowments to Work Harder on Bad Air

A report released today by the Heinz Endowments finds that while the region’s air may be better than it has been in the past, it still lags behind much of the nation. Study author John Graham says there is no doubt the region’s air quality is better than it was decades ago but the improvements have not been as fast as they could have been. “I looked [at data] over the course from 1999 to 2009, at the beginning of that period there were two monitors in this region out of 11 that were in the worst 10-percent of monitors nationwide for annual PM2.5 pollution, by the end of the decade there were actually six,” says Graham. That means even though air quality improved in southwestern Pennsylvania it improved more in other places.

Graham says power plants may be a big reason why the region has lagged, “In some respects the power plants here in western Pennsylvania have not made the same reductions as other places in the country.” Facilities in Ohio and West Virginia are reducing emissions at rates twice as fast as plants in this region according to Graham.

Endowments President Robert Vaught says the report debunks the myth that the pollution is all blowing in from other states. It finds about half of the region’s pollution is from local sources. “Now inside that there is a piece of good news because it means that if at least half is generated here, this is a portion that we can then begin to try to control ourselves,” says Vagt.

In reaction to the report the Heinz Endowments plans to launch a new effort focused on air quality. Grants will be made to press for more federal oversight, more monitoring and greater public awareness not only of the problem but also of what individuals can do to make a difference. Vagt raised his hand at the news conference announcing the effort and admitted he was a target. I drive into work every day rather than taking the bus he says.

Heinz Endowments Environment Program Director Caren Glotfelty says the Endowments has been making grants for air quality issues in the past but the results have clearly not been what is needed. She is quick to not blame the organizations getting the grants. “These groups have been working in a difficult environment for a long time, culturally and politically,” says Glotfelty, “They have been pushing a boulder up hill for all of the time.” Glotfelty says part of the initiative will be to launch a new section of the Heinz Endowments website. Panels will also be formed to dive into the numbers and look for solutions. The web content will go live later this month and the process of pulling together stakeholders has already begun.

The full report can be found here.

Council Mulls Spay Neuter Law

Pittsburgh City Council President Darlene Harris has introduced legislation that would provide free spay and neutering for any dog or cat owned by a city resident. Over the last three years, Harris has been able to set aside $170,000 in capital improvement money and animal care and control funds to bankroll the effort. She says spaying or neutering one animal can result in 55 dogs or cats not being born.

City residents will be able to begin applying for the service March 1st. There is a limit of 5 per household, which is also the limit on the number of animals allowed by city code in one home. Harris says she expects there to be a waiting list that will be handled on a first-come-first-served basis. She contends the money will eventually turn into a cost savings for the city when the population of stray dogs and cats falls. She say it costs the city $197.00 every time it has to pickup a stray dog or cat. “It took time to get like this without a spay or neutering program but this is the only way, 100 percent, to be able to stop these unwanted births,” says Harris.

By way of example, Harris tells of a feral cat colony on the Northside where animal control collected and then spayed and neutered more than 70 cats. She says the workers realized that the stray cats all resembled a pet cat that lived in the neighborhood. The animal care and control crews were able to convince the owner of that pet to have that cat neutered. She says that helped to greatly control the neighborhoods cat problem.

The city has negotiated deals with area vets and groups such as Animal Friends to do the work for less than they would normally charge. Harris hopes to be able to spay or neuter 3,925 dogs or cats through the program this year. She says she will look for a way to continue to fund the spay and neuter program in the 2012 budget.

Applications to have a pet spayed or neutered will be available on the city’s web page. Harris says they are still looking for more veterinarians to help perform the work.

ACHD: Clairton Air is Bad But not as Bad as an EPA Study Shows

A report released this week by the US Department of Environmental Protection finds the risk of getting cancer based on air quality in Clairton and Glassport is 20 times that of the national average. For those in Glassport the risk is 700 in one million and 762 in a million in Clairton. The report uses air quality data from 2002. Allegheny County Health Department spokesperson says the air quality in the Clairton and Glassport area is much better than it was when the numbers were gathered. He says the health department recently entered into an agreement with US Steel to either upgrade or remove old coke ovens from the Clairton Coke Works. In the last year the company has idled many of the ovens due to falling demand and that has resulted in improved air quality in the Mon Valley. That may give the county a glimpse of what is to come. Cole says the county is also in the process of reaching agreements with other pollution sources that blow into the valley. He says the ultimate goal is to bring all of the Mon Valley into attainment with federal air standards. Right now glass port and Clairton are considered to be out of attainment. Cole says the air quality for the 25,000 people in the nonattainment area is “unacceptable.” He says, “The air quality is not as good as it needs to be but it is getting better and it is better than it was 10, 20 or 30 years ago.”

Wagner Calls for Contraceptives to be Covered

State Representatives Lisa Bennington and Chelsa Wagner, both Democrats from Allegheny County, haves introduced legislation that would force all health plans in the state that include prescription drug benefits to cover contraceptives. She says it is a matter of empowering women and it should be seen as a public health issue. She says people also need to realize that contraceptives have uses beyond preventing pregnancy including treatment for acne and sever bleeding and cramping. Wagner admits that the measure was introduced late in the session and has little chance of passing but she says it will serve as an introduction to some members of the house and she plans to reintroduce it in January. Several other states have similar legislation.