Dr. Sandra Steingraber, cancer survivor, ecologist and author, will present Contaminated without Consent: How Chemical Pollutants in Air, Food, and Water Violate Human Rights at the University of Illinois at Springfield on Wednesday, April 19, in observance of Earth Day. Earth Day, in its 38th year, is recognized on April 22 as a day to raise awareness for environmental issues affecting our health and the health of our planet, and as a way for people to celebrate the planet and encourage responsibility for it.

Dr. Steingraber is an internationally recognized author of the book Living Downstream: An Ecologist Looks at Cancer and the Environment focused on environmental links to cancer and reproductive health. According to background information about her book, it was the first work to bring data on toxic release together with data from U.S. cancer registries. She has a new book called Having Faith: An Ecologist's Journey to Motherhood. In addition, Dr. Steingraber was named Ms. Magazine's Woman of the Year in 1997. In 1998 she received the Jennifer Altman Foundation's first annual Altman Award for inspiring and poetic use of science to elucidate the causes of cancer as well as the Will Solimene Award from the American Medical Writers Association for excellence in medical communication. The Sierra Club calls her the Rachel Carson for our times.

This presentation is free and open to the public. You can also see a live webcast of the presentation at LIVE WEBCASTS FROM UIS, on April 19, 2006 at 7:30 p.m.