International Women's Day

March 8 is International Women's Day, an event which has been celebrated throughout the world for years; in some places, since the early 1900s, although I don't remember hearing about it until the late 1970s.  I see on some web sites that we also have International Women's Week... I guess maybe a day isn't enough.... activities need to be noticed, reported on, responded to... imitated, emulated...

In Canada, this year's theme is "Strong Women, Strong World", according to the web site of the Office of the Status of Women Canada (a federal-government organization which the current Conservative government would just love to put the axe to).  I quote:  ".. empowered women can, and do, play a fundamental role in current and future efforts to preserve and protect the world's natural environment".

Across the world there are dozens, hm, hundreds of organizations and initiatives which bring together the themes of women's issues and the environment, only only on March 8 but all year long.

I spotted an interesting web site offering women a hosting kit for making non-toxic cleaning products.  Learning collectively is not a new idea and for many people it works.  Fun events can be non-threatening and quite empowering...   Elsewhere I found the Women's Health and the Environment Network site which includes practical ideas on what individuals can do to provide a safer and more healthy environment.

Here and there I read mission statements which talk about stewardship, protection, education, research... the groups look to expand their networks to influence those with power to make changes.

Do these dedicated women have moments of discouragement, of feelings of powerlessness and despair?  They must.  I do.  I have just finished reading Devra Davis' new book, The Secret History of the War on Cancer, and I am alternating between rage and discouragement.  I thought I was pretty up to date when I read Sandra Steingraber's book on the links between cancer and the environment, Living Downstream. Devra Davis, epidemiologist and head of the Center on Environmental Oncology at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, just bravely carries on painting her grim picture of how governments, industry and the legal system are making it impossible for us to have a fair chance in being taken seriously regarding the causes of various cancers.  What she had to say about the risks of diagnostic radiation through CT scans and the lack of knowledge of technicians, emergency doctors and other answer-seeking professionals sent shivers down my spine. (Oh, and on another matter, if you are chewing gum sweetened with a sugar substitute, please spit it out.  now.)

Are projects like home-parties to learn how to make safer cleaning products just a drop in the bucket given Devra Davis' exposé?  Perhaps, but they can end up being a big and noisy drop in a bucket which can resonate loudly enough and long enough to make more citizens stand up and demand change.  Fleeting moments of awareness can lead to an eternity of bold consciousness worthy of the phrase "Strong Women, Strong World".

Happy Women's Day... and Week.