Buscando soluciones: Contaminación y salud mental en el oeste de Pensilvania

Hay muchas maneras de tomar acciones.

En Pollution's mental toll, presentamos algunas de las formas en que el cambio climático y el aire y el agua contaminados afectan la salud mental en el oeste de Pensilvania.


A continuación, se muestran formas de apoyar su salud mental y buscar soluciones a estos problemas.

Cuida tu salud mental

Si necesitas nuevas herramientas para cuidar tu salud mental, no estás solo. Hay recursos disponibles:

Servicios de crisis de salud mental del área de Pittsburgh

Encuentre un consejero cerca de usted

Servicios de terapia virtual

La Alianza de Psiquiatría Climática tiene recursos para hacer frente a la salud mental y el cambio climático, y una función de búsqueda para encontrar un terapeuta consciente del clima.

El Good Grief Network es un programa de 10 pasos inspirado en la estructura de Alcohólicos Anónimos cuyas reuniones ayudan a "los individuos y a las comunidades a desarrollar resiliencia al crear espacios donde las personas pueden apoyarse en sus sentimientos más dolorosos sobre el estado del mundo y reorientar sus vidas hacia acciones significativas . "

Visible Hands Collaborative es un equipo de psiquiatría de padre e hija de Pittsburgh que está trabajando para crear grupos de terapia comunitaria, llamados Integrative Community Therapy (Terapia Comunitaria Integrativa). Actualmente son virtuales, pero planean comenzar sesiones presenciales (gratuitas) en el Centro de Salud de Squirrel Hill.

Radical Support Collective se centra en los "líderes del cambio social": personas que están trabajando en el cambio climático y otros problemas, y que buscan entrenamiento y capacitación para evitar el agotamiento y continuar trabajando con propósito y alegría.

Tomar acción por un aire limpio

Si estás interesado en abogar por un aire más limpio en aras de una mejor salud física y mental, hay muchas maneras de involucrarse:

Reporte sobre la contaminación del aire local al Departamento de Salud del Condado de Allegheny por el internet o por teléfono (412-687-ACHD).

Descargue la aplicación Smell Pittsburgh para enviar y ubicar los problemas de contaminación del aire en la región.

Conéctese con grupos locales que abogan por un aire más limpio:

Allegheny County Clean Air Now

Breathe Project

Clean Air Council

Group Against Smog and Pollution (GASP)

OnePA

PennEnvironment

PennFuture

Conéctese con los grupos nacionales que abogan por un aire más limpio:

American Lung Association

EarthJustice

Moms Clean Air Force

Contacte con sus legisladores para hacerles saber que esta problemática es importante para usted.

Someta comentarios públicos sobre la propuesta de la Agencia de Protección Ambiental para reforzar las normas federales de contaminación del aire (el periodo para hacer comentarios está abierto hasta el 14 de diciembre del 2021).

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Tome acción por un agua potable segura.

Obtenga ayuda para pagar su factura de agua.

Conozca qué contaminantes hay en su agua potable y póngase en contacto con la autoridad local del agua para solicitar mejoras.

Póngase en contacto con sus legisladores para hacerles saber que esta problemática es importante para usted.

Conéctese con grupos locales que abogan por el agua potable:

Lead Safe Allegheny

OnePA

PennEnvironment

Women for a Healthy Environment

Conéctese con los grupos nacionales que abogan por un agua potable más segura:

Campaign for Lead-Free Water

Clean Water Action

Environmental Working Group

 Tome acción por las soluciones climáticas

Conéctese con grupos locales que abogan por soluciones climáticas:

Communitopia

Green New Deal Pittsburgh

Sunrise Movement Pittsburgh

Conéctese con grupos nacionales que abogan por soluciones climáticas:

350.org

Citizens’ Climate Lobby

Extinction Rebellion

Someta comentarios públicos sobre la propuesta de la EPA de reforzar la normativa sobre el metano para la industria del petróleo y el gas.

Fotografía del encabezado: Reunión de miembros de la Juventud de Pittsburgh por la Acción Climática en los terrenos del Conservatorio Phipps en Oakland. (Crédito: Njaimeh Njie)

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Toxic chemicals and climate change work together to harm fertility across species

In a recent review published in NPJ Emerging Contaminants, researchers examine how toxic chemicals can reduce fertility in both humans and wildlife, and how these effects are worsened by climate change.


In short:

  • Animals - including insects, fish, reptiles, birds, humans, and other mammals - are constantly simultaneously exposed to synthetic chemicals and the impacts of climate change, including rising temperatures.
  • Both of these stressors can harm fertility, and many of the impacts found are similar across species, such as effects on sperm and eggs.
  • The stress caused by these exposures also impacts overall health, harming animals’ ability to adapt to a changing environment and worsening global biodiversity loss.


Key quote:

“To build a sustainable future, we must recognize that chemicals, once released, don’t simply disappear. Instead, they contribute to the larger issue of driving humanity towards the exceedance of planetary boundaries when considered in combination with climate change and other planetary-level impacts.”


Why this matters:

While climate change and toxic endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are both individually well-established as health threats, few studies have examined the implications of the widespread simultaneous exposure experienced by humans and wildlife. Many EDCs can also impact health across multiple generations, meaning their harm continues long after the original exposure. To better tackle the issue of EDCs, the authors of this study emphasize the need for strong regulations that address chemicals by class, rather than individually.


Related EHN coverage:


More resources:


Brander, S. et al. (2026). Impacts of environmental stressors on fertility and fecundity across taxa, with implications for planetary health. NPJ Emerging Contaminants.

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