It has long since come to my attention this past year that my needs for joy, peace, and love in this world has shifted Justice to the forefront.
As I immerse myself deeper into relationships with people that devote their lives to buffering us from the harmful effects brought to this world, the less I can ignore it. Once I have witnessed the life on the Rez (from the school systems, to man-camps stealing women and children, to the “health care,” to drilling and mining…) Gawd, I will try to stay off of this soapbox and save it for another day. The summary is that this world is suffering and other people have been subject to the suffering more than I have. I could tell you over and over again what I have witnessed are stories that will lead both of us to tears. But this, this is not what this article is about.
Connecting Women’s Health To Earth’s Health Is Essential To Save Us From Killing Our Planet, Our Women, And Our Children.
The past year, I cannot help but to obsess with the idea that the Women’s Health issues that walk into my door so frequently are directly related to toxin exposure, drilling and extraction of natural gas, oil, and/or mining. Literally, as we are penetrating and raping Mother Earth, we are creating less fertile women in the world. This has consumed my philosophical mind and my emotions. If you will, it is clearly Soul Stirring shaking me awake.
I get depressed. I get anxious. I feel small. I feel split when I try to balance out running a business, being a Doctor, a healer, and still contribute to the cause. After this weekend, on my drive over the snowy mountains, I could not help but to remember those soul-lifting days where my personal body could take a beating without a flinch at Standing Rock. As I was making the long drive on little sleep, I remembered… All of the actions I took in order to provide care to people are acts of necessary defense. The fact is if we do not stand for our water, air, and land rights in a righteous way the people in charge are going to cause the Earth more harm than good.
How Is The Fracking And Oil Industry Related To The Most Common Diseases We See In Women?
It is well documented that Petrol used in plastics/aluminum (that we eat out of?!?!) contains Phthalates (I hate spelling that), BPA, and BPS in plastics cause infertility, cancer, and thyroid issues.
Quick Pause
Before you get too anxious!! Know that every little step counts toward your health & the ripple of daily action steps make huge waves. You can find an ebook in each of my programs to check into how to convert your kitchen & home over to dramatically decrease daily exposure to many of these chemicals.
The Most Common Symptoms if you live around Fracking sites/are exposed to toxic chemicals:
- Increased Fatigue
- Infertility & Disrupted Menstrual Cycles (including acne, hair loss, hair growth, cysts)
- Digestive Disturbances (including frequent nausea)
- Joint Pain
- Feeling Weak / Tired
- Sleep Disturbances
- Forgetfulness & Memory issues
- Muscle Aches / Pain
- Sleep Disorders
- Depression & Severe Anxiety
- Irritation in Airways / Shortness of Breath (this is particularly noted in fracking sites)
- Tension / Dizziness
The Oil Industry
The issue with the fracking industry is that they are protected by the law to have “trade secrets” in their composition of fluids. Whaaat?! FracFocus.org is a great website to go to if you are curious, yet they are not able to obtain the complete list because of these “trade secrets.” (eye roll)
What About The EPA?
We can’t even trust them for our health. In Spring 2016, The Partnership for Policy Integrity teamed up with the Toxic Substances Control Act to check the EPA in their health efforts from data reports of illness. It just so happened that the EPA had passed 105 new chemicals reviewed for new gas extraction. 88 were literally deemed unsafe because of negative health effects & symptoms. Yet still, all 88 were passed. The EPA didn’t know that they would be checked by someone else. The fact that this “Protective” Agency passes 88 unsafe compounds without taking the time to research health affairs is unnerving. Did I mention 88 out of 105 😉 … I mean, really?! We are not talking 10% of the chemicals proposed, we are talking over 80%!
Most Health Studies Are Not Designed To Protect Us, The People. The Truth Of Scientific Studies & The Time Gap That Can Kill Us.
Not only are State Public Health affairs in bed with large industries that bring in loads of green (not the good kind), but it is extremely difficult to attribute disease statistics to fracking and oil sites without longitudinal (at least 15-year studies). In Flower County Texas, a huge ass fracking site, breast cancer reports have increased while other counties in Texas report a decrease in breast cancer incidences.
As the public health and PSE (Physicians, Scientists, and Engineers for Healthy Energy) struggle to keep up with the ever-evolving advancements of the oil and gas industry with their research, the gap to care for the people with current health concerns grows. As a culture, our reliance on the scientific method is beautiful and tends to discount patient-centered care. Independent of the fact that research is often funded by the un-renewable resource industry to skew results using poor methods of measurement, our people are suffering. The damages are continued to be committed despite the fact that we have perfectly simple access to solar, wind, and water energy.
Why Are We Not Moving Toward Sustainable Resources?
Because who makes these decisions have invested in un-renewable resources that are raping Mother Earth. And they also happen to be invested in companies that create the research and determine to fund.
It is up to you, to us, to make our daily actions and vote with our dollars. It is up to us to invest in what we believe in.
I never thought I could see the day where I would have lasers aimed at my chest as I walked to provide medical care, where guns would be aimed at me for pure intimidation, where private mercenaries hired by the Oil Industry would infiltrate in at such extreme war tactics to waste money on behalf of oil that was to be exported to China.
Where I could face those hired & militarized by the oil company to violently extract prayerful (true) warriors, medics, and elders out of the camp on behalf of the oil company. I will never forget that moment where I physically felt and saw that the police hired, private agents hired were not neutral. They were never neutral, they were only there to protect those invested in the pipeline. I am not claiming that these people were evil. They were often lost also trying to feed and protect their families. They were often fed conspiracy stories that we have hired protestors and that we were violent. In fact, most people at camp were not even protestors, they were working together in the community for a common vision: Protection of the water & lands.
There is an uprising at the moment to demand our basic human rights to be healthy, happy, and free from dis-ease. The standard medical system is not designed to keep us at optimal health & neither are the standard environmental practices. It is up to you to take health into your own hands, with a bit of guidance. I invite you do decide what you can do to take charge of your personal steps, where your personal health can allow you more empowerment to be the best version of you. We need people like you in the world to be healthy, happy & full of life in order to save this planet. To learn more about the impact of the environment on fertility, read about Causes of Infertility here.
The Indigenous Women have taught me so much. I continue to thank you.
The Indigenous Plants still serve to heal us, despite our environmental destruction.
