I am happy to kick off Teresa Heinz Kerry's blogtour promoting the “Conference on Women’s Health & the Environment” held in Pittsburgh on April 20th.

Teresa Heinz Kerry’s two marriages bring together two American political traditions, the Republican Heinz family and the Democratic Kerry family, and shows how good people in both parties have common ground. Teresa herself is of Portuguese descent and grew up in Mozambique. To those who think French is the most romantic of the Romance languages, to my mind Portuguese is a much more beautiful and romantic language, though also a bit sad and wistful. Educated in South Africa and Switzerland, Teresa is fluent in 5 languages. She received the Albert Schweitzer Gold Medal for Humanitarianism in 2003 in recognition for her philanthropy through the Heinz Family Philanthropies which also sponsors the conference.

Much of her philanthropic effort has focused on two areas: the environment, and women’s health and economic security. To most Americans, environmental issues and women’s issues tend to be put in separate conceptual boxes. We have an environmental movement and a feminist movement and the two are not perceived as intersecting. But in Europe, particularly in the European Green movement, these issues are conceptually much more closely linked. I once was able to hear my mother, an Anthropology professor and one-time coordinator of Women’s Studies at California State University Northridge, speak on the link between these two movements, presenting them as, in essence, the two areas where traditional, patriarchal attitudes have most glaringly failed, leaving problems and inequalities that are among the most difficult issues of the modern world. The way I look at it, human society from the development of agriculture on has been understandably obsessed with fertility: the fertility of our crops and our families. This obsession has led both to the success of our species in thriving practically everywhere on earth, but also has led to what amounts to unacceptable treatment of both the land that sustains us, and one half of our species--women. Industrial poisoning of our water supplies and fish stocks, global warming, overpopulation, domestic violence, unequal pay for equal work, laws limiting a woman’s right to control her own fertility, and many, many other issues that make headlines today are at least in part a result of the patriarchal and agricultural obsession society has had with fertility for some 10,000 years. Not to say there aren’t other aspects to these issues, but the cultural mindset that dominates the world is one where both the environment and women are resources to be exploited for the benefit of the species and are not often valued for themselves.

Since 1996, Teresa Heinz Kerry brings these two issues together in an annual conference called the “Conference on Women’s Health & the Environment,” held at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh.

This year’s conference is Friday, April 20th, and there is no cost to register.

UPDATE: REGISTRATION IS NOW CLOSED! THE CONFERENCE HAS FILLED UP.

But don't fear! There will be a SECOND conference in Boston in the fall.

You can see the conference agenda and speakers list here.

In preparation for this year’s conference, Teresa is participating in a blogtour, a relatively new concept where she participates in a series of mini-interviews with bloggers around the country on the subject of women’s health and the environment. I am happy to be the first stop on her blogtour and I want to thank Teresa Heinz Kerry for stopping by.

mole333: The connection between the environmental movement and women's rights is explicitly recognized by the European Green movement, but the two issues are generally thought of separately in American politics. Could you comment on your view on the connection between these movements in America historically and why in America the connection is less explicit than it is in Europe.

Teresa: It is important to remember that the European Greens, a political party – with a specific view on a myriad of topics. In the U.S., while there are environmentalists of all ages and political persuasions, there is no formal political equivalent. Rather, the U.S. environmental effort has been to focus on specific issues and candidates, to assess whether candidates for political office work for or on behalf of the environment on those issues each of us cares deeply and/or passionately about. For many of us, there is a realization that we must address the issues of climate change and toxins now. Whether such an effort requires a formal political movement will only forestall the action that needs to occur, and we cannot allow ourselves to be focused on nuances instead of specific actions. Here, time is our enemy, not our friend.

We have an opportunity now, more than ever, to reach out to women across the U.S. - across all political, religious and all socio-economic groups to come together for a common goal – the future as it pertains to our children, grandchildren and beyond. Women have long been this nation’s nurturers – willing to take the kind of risks that many others have been afraid or unwilling to do. One need only think of Rachael Carson.

Rachel Carson was, in the truest sense of the word, a prophet. She foresaw the future, urged people to act, offered them a better way, and found herself embraced by some and reviled by others for the clarity of her vision and voice. Ridiculed by corporations and vested interests for daring to connect the dots between environment degradation and human health, Rachel Carson stood fast.

She outpaced scientists, government regulators and community activists in sounding the alarm on the harmful effects of man-made chemical compounds on human health and the environment. She was so far ahead of her time that many Americans are only now coming to appreciate the power of her writing as they search for solutions to the environmental problems we face today.

To me, this is what each woman has a chance to do. We may never all be exactly like Rachael Carson, but imagine how quickly we could change the debate in the U.S. on global climate change, clean water, toxins, etc.

That is why I wanted to start a blog tour, to find other women and men across the U.S. who are willing to take a stand, fight for a better environment, cleaner air and a better life for all generations to come. Today, we may not be as organized as the Europeans, but an American style grassroots effort focused on one or two important environmental issues, could launch an effort that even the right wing could not stop!

mole333: One issue that is often pushed aside when environmental issues are discussed is the question of population growth. Yet this issue is a critical part of both the issue of women's rights and environmental stability and is often specifically brought together by international organizations like the Global Fund for Women and Engender Health. Where do you consider the issue of population growth fitting in to women's rights and the environmental movement in the future and how can environmentalists better address this issue?

Teresa: Europeans living with denser populations in smaller spaces and generally with less land around them feel these limitations acutely and are therefore more readily responsive to remediation policies on all sorts of chemical and toxin issues as well as those of population. Also, it is important to note that in some countries governments are incentivizing parents to have more children because of the concern about their negative birth rate.

By contrast, here in the U.S. most of us have been blessed with grace, outdoors and indoors. We have a bountiful nature and generous capacity. Thus, we have not had to come to terms with population and environmental concerns in the same way.

However, these issues definitely exist when you look at the nexus of heavily populated inner cities, high asthma rates for children, etc.

My goal has been to have an impact on educating women about the important nexus between the environment and women’s health. Explaining the impact of global climate change; how toxins are impacting our lives, our children’s lives and the lives of future generations yet unborn. One reason I wrote the chapter on “toxins” in the book my husband and I just published, This Moment on Earth, and why John and I believe the environment should be discussed during kitchen table conversations, is to focus on who today’s heroes really are, the actions they have each taken, and the obstacles and opportunities we all face.

This is also the reason our foundation started the Women’s Health and Environment conferences in 1996 – to give women a forum where they can come, listen, ask questions and gain something more than they knew when they walked in the door. Our foundation covers 100% of the costs so that no woman ever has to decide whether her funds should be spent on something else or someone else.

mole333: The issue of overpopulation has become an almost forbidden topic in the environmental movement in some nations (including America and India) because it became viewed as either a racist or classist issue. Yet the ability of a woman to control her own fertility and limit family size is central to bringing equality to women, making population issues central to many organizations addressing empowerment for women. How can population issue so central to women's rights and the environment be addressed without seeming either racist or classist?

Teresa: The so-called racial component is in fact cultural and religious as it is part of different races, countries and histories. It may be viewed as racial by some, as religious interference by others. And, the question of family and family size should never be dictated. It should be personal and responsible and that means helping women to make their own decisions is certainly important.

Our job is to ensure that every parent – male and female decides with a full knowledge of the responsibility, both moral and financial, of how to nurture these children so that the outcomes are always wanted and cherished children. That requires education, appropriate intervention, particularly for younger teens, and support services.

As we struggle as a nation to address and ultimately answer for ourselves the questions posed to me, my goal is to increasingly ensure that we must bring all women into the conversation.

mole333: I want to thank you for entertaining our questions here on Culture Kitchen. And most importantly, thank you for your work with the Women's Health and The Environment conferences since 1996, work which links two issues that are intimately related, yet too often considered in isolation.

You can hear more about Teresa Heinz Kerry and the Conference on Women’s Health & the Environment by visiting the other stops on her blogtour. Each stop will feature different questions and a different perspective. Here is the schedule of upcoming interviews:

4-15. Light Up The Darkness http://www.lightupthedarkness.org/blog

4-16 Democracy Cell Project http://www.democracycellproject.net/blog/

4-17 A Dem Fine Woman http://www.demfinewoman.com

4-18 The World Women Want/Big Green Purse

http://theworldwomenwant.com/blog.htm

http://www.biggreenpurse.com

4-19 John Kerry Is My Hero http://www.johnkerryismyhero.com

4-20 Democratic Daily http://blog.thedemocraticdaily.com/

4-21 Post Carbon http://postcarbon.org/blog/3475

4-22 The Unofficial Kerry Blog http://kerryblog.blogspot.com/

4-23 Culture Kitchen (yep, we get two interviews with Teresa!) http://culturekitchen.com/

4-24 We Love John Kerry http://www.welovejohnkerry.com

4-25 Violet Voices http://www.meredithefken.com/blog

4-26 Cocking A Snook http://cockingasnook.wordpress.com/

4-27 VB Dems http://www.vbdems.org

4-28 Tough Enough http://www.toughenough.org

4-29 Liberal Values http://liberalvaluesblog.com/

4-30 Freedom’s Fire http://freedomsfire.blogspot.com