FROM THE EDITOR  As I've been working on the Healthy Homes stories for this issue, it’s become clear there’s no way to separate a healthy dwelling space from the world around it. But we Americans are messy people, generating about four pounds of trash per person, per day. A good portion of that trash is plastic — shopping bags, bottles, straws — used once, then discarded.

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GUEST COLUMN  As a society, we face a growing problem that we pay for in multiple ways. The places we feel the safest might have environmental hazards causing a major threat to our well-being. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan made the link between health and housing clear at a recent conference in Detroit, noting, “You can predict the life expectancy of a child by the zip code in which they grow up. This is wrong.” As a research group called Children’s HealthWatch states, “A safe, decent, affordable home is like a vaccine — it literally keeps children healthy.” Read More>>