This conference takes place from May 6-7 at the University of Waterloo’s New School of Architecture in Cambridge, Ontario, and is a must for architects, engineers, interior designers and health professionals.
Nearly 90 percent of the pollution Canadians are exposed to derives from the indoor environment. If the toxicity levels found in typical homes were charted outside, they would frequently violate environmental regulations, and are negatively impacting health:
*asthma for children under five has increased by over 160% since 1980
*childhood cancer is up 26%; testicular cancer in young men has increased 85%
*autism is skyrocketing, up 1000% since the mid-1980s
*multiple chemical sensitivity rates
It is impossible to directly link these shocking increases to pollutants in the home and other indoor environments, but to ignore them is irresponsible.
"Everyone interested in the links between human health and the indoor environments where most of us spend the vast majority of our time will find answers at this conference," says David McAuley, co-organizer of this event along with Dr. John Straube of the University of Waterloo, Civil Engineering. "Never before in Canada has a meeting brought together so many fields in the development of building products, finishes and electrical systems, as well as research and treatment of environmental illnesses.
The speakers for the two-day event include many top experts in North America:
*Dr. Lynn Marshall, Director of the Environmental Health Clinic, Sunnybrook-Women’s Hospital, University of Toronto
*Larry Gust, electrical engineer, Director of Building Biology Institute International
*Paula Baker Lapoprte, architect, author of Prescriptions for a Healthy House
McAuley points out that the lion’s share of attention has been paid to "green" building and "sustainable" architecture, energy conservation and renewable resources over the past two decades with insufficient attention on what occurs inside. "While these strategies will help to preserve our global environment, we must also look at the micro-environment inside buildings themselves, and that’s the whole purpose of this Healthy Buildings Conference."
Cost of the two-day conference and Friday evening open forum is:
$250 for professionals ($300 after April 20)
$75 for students ($100 after April 20)
For more information, please visit www.healthybuildingsconference.com or contact David McAuley at (519) 823-2441 or [email protected]