TerraGraphics International Foundation

TIFO prevents pollution from poisoning people. We do this by building lasting partnerships to bring positive change to people harmed by extractive industries. Real Lives We all rely on extractive industries. Every time we use a phone or computer, drive a car or charge a device, we are using resources extracted from the earth. But we are not all directly affected by the dangers of those industries. The extraction of resources from the earth affects the most vulnerable people in the world’s most vulnerable communities—at home and abroad. Every day, people in these communities face unsafe food and water, insecure housing, and a choice between health and earning a day's wage. That’s unjust.   Real Solutions By combining rigorous science with local knowledge, TIFO equips people with the education, training, and workforce development necessary to improve environmental health without sacrificing their livelihoods. When you partner with TIFO you provide solutions by - Advancing technical capacity through collaboration and knowledge exchange - Supporting health interventions for the most vulnerable populations - Providing responsible management of dangerous waste materials Join us in building a world where all communities have the knowledge and skills to protect future generations and maintain livelihoods: https://lnkd.in/g3t7A3NG

Over the past year, the TIFO team has tackled nearly 200 boxes of documents related to what is known today as the Bunker Hill Mining & Metallurgical Complex Superfund Site. Funding from the Idaho Humanities Council helped us purchase supplies, assess the collection, and begin rehousing it for eventual archiving and access by the public. The boxes are the personal collection of TIFO co-founder Dr. Ian von Lindern, and they hold important details missing from current historical narratives. At 25 years old and a recent graduate from Yale, Dr. von Lindern conducted a lead study in Idaho's Silver Valley as an employee of Idaho’s Department of Health and Welfare. This would prove to be a pivotal moment in his life, launching a lifelong dedication to protecting the health of children and the most vulnerable members of society - eventually leading to the creation of TIFO. A full and complete history with evidence demonstrating how and why the Coeur d’Alene Mining District developed the way it did is important to historians, private and public officials, and citizens to make informed decisions about how mining is done around them. Knowledge is an integral tool for people’s self-determination. When complete, this archive will provide an open resource for continued analysis and study from a wide range of humanities-centered disciplines such as history, environmental studies, and public policy-making.

We are gearing up for another TIFO family dinner at Lodgepole and have some seats still available. If you would like to find community and camaraderie (in chaotic times) over a lovely, tailor-made meal served family-style, we would love to have you join us. 🗓️ 5:30 pm March 6 🍽️ Lodgepole Lounge, Moscow, ID ℹ️ Small gathering of friendly folks gathering to learn new things, share ideas, and take comfort in one another's company. ✅ Drop into our DM's for details!

Our director, Dr. Casey Bartrem, sat down with the Idaho Statesman early this month to talk about USAID, an organization she has been contracted with - until recently - to address childhood lead poisoning worldwide. "Bartrem raised another interesting point about eliminating the work of USAID in such an abrupt manner: It’s wasteful. “The amount of waste of work that has been done,” Bartrem said. “I can speak to only lead, but I can’t imagine how many millions, or maybe even a billion, that has been wasted in work done that has just been destroyed. It’s just been thrown away. When we talk about efficiency, this is not efficient. It’s disgusting, how wasteful it is.”" Read more at: https://buff.ly/4b4txSi

We are incredibly blessed to have a board of directors with a wealth of expertise that they actively channel into informing, educating, and working to make the world a safer, healthier place for all. Recently, our board member, Dr. Philip Landrigan, a pediatrician and leading expert in environmental health, was a guest on Idaho Matters (Boise State Public Radio), speaking on the health hazards of plastics and what you can do to protect yourself. You can give it a listen here:

The Aral Sea Crisis is considered one of the worst environmental disasters in the world and is often talked about from the framework of lessons to be learned. As water resources globally are threatened by climate change, we agree that there is a lot we can take from the Aral Sea’s history in an effort to not repeat it elsewhere. However, we also agree with anthropologist and author Margaret Mead that committed people, even if small in number and resources, can change the world. Kazakhstan, a middle-income country also impacted by the loss of the Aral Sea, is making efforts to mitigate the tragedy and has seen positive results. In the last two years, they have seen an increase in water volume in the northern portion of the sea (disconnected from the two remaining arms in the southern portion of the sea, the majority of which lie within Uzbekistan) by 42%. These efforts also hold valuable lessons that highlight how systematic, transboundary efforts to conserve and more fairly distribute resources can have incredible outcomes. Read the full article here:

TIFO in action! We recently had the pleasure of meeting with several WSU students for a demonstration of our handheld XRF machine. One student even brought a sample of their garden soil to test! These students are taking a senior-level technical writing class and, as part of their coursework, working on documents for TIFO that will help us in the field and orchestrate future XRF testing options.

Synthetic chemicals and the plastics that use them have been linked to multiple noncommunicable diseases (NDCs) in children. NDCs are the greatest cause of illness and death in children today, at a rate that has been rising sharply over the last 50 years. Two key lessons have emerged from the research: toxic chemicals can cross the placenta, and children are far more vulnerable to these chemicals than adults. TIFO Board member Dr. Philip Landrigan and collaborators call for revamping current laws and restructuring the chemical industry (which is already subject to very few legal or policy constraints) to prioritize children’s health. Read more here: https://buff.ly/3WKRO9V (the site allows two free article reads a month with login)

Recent executive orders have also targeted humanitarian assistance along with DEI, climate change, and other programs. This has immediately impacted vulnerable communities, especially those on the ground supporting emergencies across the globe. Read more about these impacts and how aid leaders are trying to decipher often contradictory directives and exploring strategies for long-term solutions: https://buff.ly/4hEcNU1 Continue to take action by contacting your representatives often via email and phone calls, checking in on other organizations you support, and taking care of yourselves and each other.

TIFO in action! Casey recently presented on the “Lead-Free Future for Every Child” webinar hosted by UNICEF’s Children’s Environmental Health Collaborative. If you want to learn more about the key considerations for performing lead exposure risk assessments in resource-constrained settings (i.e., the places TIFO supports), this webinar is for you! Watch the replay here: https://buff.ly/4hryCX4 It would be inappropriate to share this news without acknowledging the events of the past weeks. Lead poisoning does not respect borders between cities, counties, states, or countries. Regardless of the current political discourse about recognizing the burdens faced by certain populations, it is undeniably true that marginalized populations are more exposed and more impacted by chemical exposures. But that doesn’t mean those individuals and communities are the only ones impacted; pollution knows no boundaries. Our global markets are nearly as permeable as the lines drawn between states. Lead in cookware, spices, chocolate, and toys appears in US stores, just as lead in air and water travels without regard for national laws. Populations exposed to lead have reduced economic growth and prosperity, higher crime rates, and more healthcare costs. Addressing these issues is not just about foreign assistance or humanitarian aid, though those are imperative activities. Addressing childhood lead poisoning is an investment in domestic security, economic stability, and prosperity for all nations. Every child, worker, and parent, every community and group, has the right to live and work in a healthy environment. History has proven to us time and again that companies rarely self-regulate. The responsibility to protect people – all people – is the clear duty of any well-functioning government. Now, more than ever, supporting environmental health initiatives is imperative for our future. To reimagine Lilla Watson’s quote concerning the current climate, supporting environmental health initiatives is not about helping others. It’s about recognizing that our ability to thrive is tied to everyone else’s.