TOPIC ALERT:
Gulf Oil Spill (continued, 2 experts)
EXPERT ALERTS:
GULF OIL SPILL:
Following are additional experts who are available to discuss health-related issues surrounding the Gulf oil spill. To view the original Topic Alert, see: http://budurl.com/spillexperts
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**1. Carl Hacker, Ph.D., J.D., associate professor of ecology and health law at The University of Texas School of Public Health, with expertise in urban ecology and the relationship between environmentally acquired lead and birds: "There will be an immediate ecological impact wherever the oil comes ashore. We have seen news clips of the fish, crabs and birds receiving lethal coatings of oil spewing from the wellhead, and now washing on shore. This impact would include the loss of grasses that make up the wetlands along the coast. These grasses convert carbon dioxide in the atmosphere using energy from the sun into chemicals that provide energy to other organisms. The grasses serve as food, as well as a foraging surface for numerous animals, including, for example, snails and crustaceans. These animals, in turn, provide food for fish, mammals and birds, which are a part of the food web of a coastal wetland. Humans are a part of this food web, as we rely on it to provide the crabs, shrimp, oysters, and fish we consume and on which some rely for their livelihood. How long the effects of this well blowout will last is hard to imagine or forecast. A coastal wetland is an ecosystem, an assemblage of plants and animals with their physical environment. Although we know an ecosystem can be destroyed and recover in time, we do not know what the ecosystem will look like when it returns. It is likely that many of the species that formed the coastal wetland will be lost. The relationship among the plants and animals that make up the ecosystem will certainly change. We have no experience with estimating how long it will take for this coastal wetland to recover, or indeed whether it will recover. If it does recover, it will most certainly take a very long time." News Contact: Rob Cahill, [email protected] UTHealth Media Hotline: +1-713-500-3030
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**2. David Ropeik, risk communications expert, instructor at the Harvard Extension School, and author of "How Risky Is It, Really?" can discuss the ongoing BP oil spill and how the government, BP, and the public are reacting to the economic, political and environmental risks of the spill: "We have evolved an instinctive system for perceiving danger, which worked fine when risks were simple but doesn't work so well now when risks are more complex. That can make you more afraid than you should be, or not afraid enough. The gap itself is a risk, and realizing that is the first step toward thinking about any risk a little more clearly. When a large-scale event like the oil spill comes along, the scale of it alone magnifies how scary it feels." In light of the ongoing and worsening extent of the BP oil spill, Ropeik provides expert analysis of the public, government, and corporate response to the catastrophe, and can advise on how we should be reacting, based on his theories of risk perception. He is based in Concord, Mass. News Contact: Julia Baxter, [email protected] Phone: +1-212-904-3020
EXPERT ALERTS:
**1. CONSUMER ISSUES: AVOIDING 'E-TROUBLE': HOW ELECTRONIC INFO CAN BE USED AGAINST YOU. Judah Lifschitz, co-president of Shapiro, Lifschitz & Schram, a Washington, D.C., law firm: "A week ago, former hedge-fund titan Arthur Samberg agreed to pay nearly $28 million to settle insider-trading allegations. The case was going nowhere for several years when, in an unlikely twist, the divorce of a former Microsoft employee gave the SEC the break it needed -- the employee's soon-to-be ex-wife uncovered e-mails from their home computer that proved to be the critical link the SEC needed for a successful case. This high-profile case is a perfect example of how seemingly innocuous and/or confidential e-mails can be used in litigation with devastating consequences. Most people are unaware of how often electronic information - whether it be e-mails, voicemails, texts or other forms - ends up in the hands of attorneys during litigation and used in unexpected ways." Lifschitz is available for an interview or to write an article on how to avoid what he calls "e-trouble" - when electronic information is discovered and used against you or your company by an adverse party in litigation. News Contact: Michelle King, [email protected] Phone: +1-205-639-1098 Website: http://www.slslaw.com
**2. HEALTH: PROSTATE CANCER AND THE FATHER'S DAY GIFT YOU NEVER THOUGHT ABOUT GIVING. Dr. Michael Diefenbach, professor of urology, Mount Sinai Medical Center, can discuss the help your dad or husband needs: "About 217,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer each year, and 32,050 die from it. With a death rate of 28 percent, it is one of the highest cancer death rates. If you're a man, you face a high risk of ultimately getting prostate cancer, and the little-known secret is that men are often lousy at making decisions about their treatment, which can add to needless distress and side effects. But it is not only the man who is affected by the disease. Prostate cancer is a family disease, and the spouse is usually heavily involved in his care and has to cope with the physical and emotional changes of their partner. Women often make calls to doctors, setting up appointments and learning about the disease and treatment options. Also, most men follow the recommendation of the first specialist they're seeing, even though other options might exist. The current study funded by the National Cancer Institute explores innovative ways to inform patients and help them make choices about their treatment." News Contact: Tom Peric, [email protected] Phone: +1-856-874-0049
**3. HEALTH: WAS THE WHO RIGHT TO CALL H1N1 A PANDEMIC? Joan Nichols, Ph.D.; infectious-disease expert; associate director, Galveston National Laboratory; and associate professor, Departments of Internal Medicine and Microbiology & Immunology at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) in Galveston, Texas, is available to discuss the continuing challenges to how the World Health Organization handled the 2009 H1N1 threat: "By classifying H1N1 as a pandemic, the WHO made the right decision at the right time and helped scientists, policymakers and the public control the virus -- a key element in preventing the deadly flu pandemic many feared. Calling it a pandemic was accurate, as pandemics are based on the spread of the virus and the overall number of people infected, not the virulence of the illness. That action mitigated the spread of a truly novel and deadly flu." News Contact: Brianne O'Donnell, [email protected] Phone: +1-212-220-4444
**4. HEALTH: WHO'S HANDLING OF H1N1: ADVISERS' TIES TO PHARMAS DAMAGE CREDIBILITY. Howard Brody, M.D., Ph.D., internationally renowned medical ethicist and director of the Institute for the Medical Humanities (IMH) at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) in Galveston, Texas, is available to discuss the criticism of the World Health Organization's handling of the H1N1 threat, including advisers' ties to pharmaceutical companies: "A problem in trustworthiness exists when the WHO, or any public health agency, develops guidelines based on so-called 'experts' who are paid consultants of drug companies. There is an argument that the best people become paid consultants, so when you ask the best people for advice, you're bound to include such paid consultants. That is incorrect and could force anyone who wishes to be viewed as a true expert into the arms of commercial marketers, making the problem worse in the future." News Contact: Brianne O'Donnell, [email protected] Phone: +1-212-220-4444
PROFNET is an exclusive service of PR Newswire. To submit a request for experts: http://budurl.com/profnetquery To consult the ProfNet Experts Database: http://profnet.prnewswire.com To contact ProfNet by phone: +1-800-PROFNET, ext. 1 To share a thought on Expert Alerts: [email protected]
/PRNewswire -- June 11/
1. Consumer Issues: Avoiding 'E-Trouble': How Electronic Info Can Be Used Against You 2. Health: Prostate Cancer and the Father's Day Gift You Never Thought About Giving 3. Health: Was the WHO Right to Call H1N1 A Pandemic? 4. Health: WHO's Handling of H1N1: Advisers' Ties to Pharmas Damage Credibility
SOURCE ProfNet
