Sandra Steingraber

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Sandra Steingraber
Sandra Steingraber (2008)
Sandra Steingraber (2008)
Born1959
Tazewell County, Illinois, United States
OccupationBiologist, science writer
Alma materUniversity of Michigan
Period1996 to the present
Subjectecology, cancer, fertility, pregnancy, toxicology
Notable worksLiving Downstream
Website
steingraber.com

Sandra Steingraber (born 1959) is an American biologist, author, and cancer survivor. Steingraber writes and lectures on the environmental factors that contribute to reproductive health problems and environmental links to cancer.

Early life

Steingraber was adopted as an infant. She grew up and spent most of her childhood in

organic agriculture from a young age.[2]

In her 20s, Steingraber developed bladder cancer.[3] In several of her books, she describes an apparent cancer cluster in her hometown and within her family.[4]

After her cancer went into remission, Steingraber completed her undergraduate degree in biology from Illinois Wesleyan University. She worked for several years as a field researcher, eventually earning her doctorate in biology from the University of Michigan. Steingraber also holds a master's degree in English from Illinois State University.

Career

Steingraber has been on faculty at

University of Illinois, Radcliffe/Harvard, and Northeastern University, and served on President Bill Clinton's National Action Plan on Breast Cancer.[5]

Activism

Living Downstream

In her 1997 book, Living Downstream, Steingraber blends anecdotes and descriptions of industrial and

Her work Living Downstream: An Ecologist Looks at Cancer and the Environment, reflects the ideals that

adducts
and detectable levels of o-toluidine and aniline."

"To the 89 percent of Illinois that is farmland, an estimated 54 million pounds of synthetic pesticides are applied each year. Introduced into Illinois at the end of World War II, these chemical poisons quietly familiarized themselves with the landscape. In 1950, less than 10 percent of cornfields were sprayed with pesticides. In 1993, 99 percent were chemically treated," (page 5).

Living Downstream is the basis for a documentary by The People's Picture Company[7] that chronicles Steingraber's struggles as a cancer survivor and her contributions as an ecologist and cancer prevention activist.

On March 18, 2013, Steingraber was arrested along with nine other protesters for blocking the entrance to the Inergy natural gas facility near Ithaca to protest "the industrialization of the Finger Lakes." After refusing to pay a fine, Steingraber and two other members of the "Seneca Lake 12" received 15-day sentences. Steingraber served 10 days in the Chemung County jail in the city of Elmira before her release.

On October 29, 2014, while participating in the civil disobedience campaign, called We Are Seneca Lake, Steingraber was arrested again with nine other protestors at the gates of Crestwood Midstream (formerly Inergy) for trespassing and blocking a chemical truck, which resulted in an additional charge of disorderly conduct. On November 19, in the Town of Reading Court, she was sentenced to 15-days in jail after refusing to pay her fine. She served 8-days in the Chemung County jail and was released. Steingraber detailed her experience in an Ecowatch article, "Why I am in Jail."[8]

Unfractured

Steingraber was the subject of the 2018 documentary, Unfractured.[9]

Personal life

Steingraber lives in

art restoration specialist, with their two children.[10][11] In July 2019, Sandra Steingraber announced in an essay that she was gay, timing her announcement to coincide with LGBT STEM day.[12]

Bibliography

Awards and honors

References

  1. .
  2. ^ Sandra Steingraber. "The Ecology of Pizza". Archived from the original on September 8, 2006. Retrieved August 31, 2006.
  3. ^ a b Sandra Steingraber. "About the Author". Archived from the original on January 30, 2009. Retrieved November 27, 2009.
  4. .
  5. ^ Eco Mama. "Sandra Steingraber". Retrieved November 27, 2009.
  6. ^ Easton, Thomas (2009). Sources: Environmental Studies. Vol. 3. p. 157.
  7. ^ "PPC - Welcome!".
  8. ^ Sandra Steingraber. "Sandra Steingraber: Why I am in Jail". EcoWatch.
  9. ^ Mikulka, Justin (January 12, 2018). "Unfractured: A Documentary on Activism, Family and the Fight Against Fracking". DeSmogBlog. Retrieved September 30, 2018.
  10. ^ "Sandra Steingraber Arrested with Local Residents and Students in Blockade of Watkins Glen, NY Natural Gas Storage Facility" (Press release). Our Future is Unfractured. March 18, 2013. Retrieved March 10, 2014.
  11. ^ Steingraber, Sandra. "Bio". Sandra Steingraber. Retrieved March 10, 2014.
  12. ^ "Always Knew I Was Adopted; Just Found Out I'm Gay". Terrain.org. July 5, 2019. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
  13. ^ a b c Sandra Steingraber. "About the Author". Retrieved February 16, 2014.
  14. ^ The O'Mama Report. "A Talk with Dr. Sandra Steingraber". Archived from the original on May 27, 2009. Retrieved November 27, 2009.
  15. ^ The Breast Cancer Fund. "Breast Cancer Fund's Annual Heroes Tribute – A History". Archived from the original on February 22, 2014. Retrieved February 16, 2014.
  16. ^ "Sandra Steingraber: Her Body, Their Chemicals". Retrieved October 19, 2010.
  17. ^ "The Heinz Awards: Sandra Steingraber". The Heinz Awards. Retrieved August 26, 2016.
  18. ^ "Alumnae Environmentalists Win Heinz Awards", Harvard Magazine, September 14, 2011, retrieved May 17, 2013
  19. ^ SUNY-ESF Office of Communications. "Honoree Sets Path for Grads to Improve Their World". SUNY-ESF.
  20. ^ "American Ethical Union » Elliott-Black Award goes to Dr. Sandra Steingraber". American Ethical Union.
  21. ^ "Breast Cancer Action Honors Acclaimed Ecologist Dr. Sandra Steingraber With Barbara Brenner Hell Raiser Award". Breast Cancer Action. August 21, 2015.

External links