Conference
continued from page 1
everything from waste products to
cars that don’t meet American
smog standards.
This pollution, Luna said, is the
reason behind an epidemic of sick
nesses in the country, such as chil
dren being born with birth defects
and girls beginning to menstruate
at ages as young as seven years
old.
“The U.S. strip mines our
mountains, and what makes it
okay is that we’re a nameless
bunch of people who they don’t
have to have a relationship with,”
she said.
Because the Philippines does
not have enough political clout to
combat what Luna described as
the environmental racism from the
United States, she said there is lit
tle chance the problem will be re
solved soon.
“It’s on and on as we move into
the Information Age, and there’s
never going to be a catch-up game
for any of the developing coun
tries,” she said.
In a panel discussion Saturday
afternoon, Mary O’Brien, a mem
ber of the Eugene toxics board, ad
dressed the seriousness of risk as
sessment, a method to determine
how much of a certain chemical or
product can be used without
harming the environment.
O’Brien criticized the practice of
risk assessment, saying it is not de
pendable because there is no way
to know all the potential dangers
of certain substances, especially
when they are combined with oth
er chemicals.
“Risk assessment is filled with
assumptions and estimates, and
they’re dressed up to look like ac
curate numbers,” she said.
Although LaDuke said she is
fearful for the future of the envi
ronment, she also said there are
more solutions than problems.
“We’re putting up our first wind
generator on my reservation, and
they could use a lot more genera
tors in California,” she said.
LaDuke, a mother of three, said
the government could learn how
to treat the environment from the
rules her children live by.
“You’ve gotta clean up your
mess before you make a new one,”
she said. “If you don’t know how
to clean up your mess, you should
n’t be able to make a new one.”
Strength
continued from page 1
Hess sold her chiropractor prac
tice two years ago to earn her doc
torate. While in practice, Hess
treated a number of elderly pa
tients injured because an impaired
sense of balance resulted in falls,
and she decided to focus her doc
toral research on using muscle
strength training to improve im
paired balance.
She said she began by examin
ing other studies that used strength
training to improve balance in ath
letes. These studies found that by
increasing ankle strength, balance
improved. What makes her study
unique, Hess said, is that it focus
es on people who are currently
having balance problems.
Mullen said she believes that
strength training will help her and
other elderly people accomplish
more. With improved balance,
Mullen thinks she will be able to
perform everyday activities such
as shopping, cleaning house and
even walking better.
Hess said researchers in the
study will use a hydraulic plat
form that simulates slips and trips.
The participant stands on a plat
form in a harness and the platform
is set to move forward or back
ward. Four video cameras sur
round the platform, monitoring the
movement, while sensors in the
platform analyze how long it takes
the participant to regain equilibri
um after a slip or trip.
Despite having the equipment
ready to go, Hess said the biggest
obstacle will be recruiting people.
“We are looking for people who
are healthy, but balance impaired,”
she said.
Hess said the study needs six
people to begin, and her team is
using advertisements highlighting
the possible benefits of the study
in special-interest publications to
attract participants.
In preparation for the study,
Hess and her colleagues designed
a muscle strength training facility.
Equipment that was previously
used by Physical Activity and
Recreation Services in Esslinger
Hall was given to the department
for the study. After this study, the
room will be open to other re
searchers interested in strength
training.
Paul van Donkelaar, associate
professor in the department of ex
ercise and movement science, said
there is interest among other grad
uate students in using the facility.
“It opens up the possibility of re
search for other students,” van
Donkelaar said.
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