A 4 Asthma

02/07/2026

Benton Harbor is on the Map! The PurpleAir Monitoring map! We are helping asthmatics breathe easier by learning about their indoor and outdoor air quality.

02/07/2026

A 4 Asthma at the Michigan Black Summit! Go team!

02/07/2026

01/28/2026

A 4 Asthma Launched its FREE! Healthy Homes Asthma Triggers Survey and Home Inspection initiative in December 2025. If you would like to participate, please reach out to Dialo Williams in our office by calling (269) 363-4794.

01/28/2026

Share your favorite family recipe even if it is unhealthy as heck!
Benton Harbor folks: Please share your favorite recipe!
Are you interested in seeing how meals you already cook at home can be made asthma-friendly? Please submit your favorite home-cooked recipe in a reply to this post, including your name and permission to use the recipe. Alternatively, you can email your recipe to Sahara Thomas at sthom154@depaul.edu.

01/25/2026

Join us this coming Friday, January 30, 2026, for Environmental Fridays (EF) Episode 4 of Season X, at 9:30am EST (10:30am Caribbean).

Everyone is welcome. Environmental Fridays is a labor of love and free to all. Students, professionals, and community. Our tagline is: "It is personal."

This week's topic is Greedy for Greenland: Rare Earths & You. Our guest presenter is John Feffer. Our episode co-hosts are Chartanay Bonner and Della Harripaul Ganesh.

GUEST SPEAKER BIO
John Feffer is director of Foreign Policy In Focus and Global Just Transition at the Institute for Policy Studies. He is the author, most recently, of Right Across the World: The Global Networking of the Far Right and the Left Response (Pluto Books), The Pandemic Pivot (Seven Stories), and Aftershock: A Journey into Eastern Europe’s Broken Dreams (Zed Books). His work has been published in The New York Times, Washington Post, Foreign Policy, Newsweek, USAToday, and many other publications. He is the coordinator of the Rare Earth Element Group and has written widely on critical minerals.

ZOOM MEETING LINK
The Zoom Meeting link for Season X is: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83688660774?pwd=Fp4ZmRCQkRO0gD2aBKyPjbhbCcjd2A.1

Meeting ID: 836 8866 0774; Passcode: 957246

EF POETRY CORNER
RARE EARTH METALS: ODE TO RARE EARTH RESOURCES
by POET poetry

EPISODE READINGS
Trump Greenland China Rare Earth Minerals

Greenland: Land of Enormous Mineral Wealth

Greenland's Rare Earth Minerals
A Short History of Greenland - 'The Most Valuable Piece of Real Estate On Earth'

MORE ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL FRIDAYS
You can read more about Environmental Fridays at our website https://www.theenvironmentalfridays.com/ and in this published article https://doi.org/10.55668/jae0039

More information can also be found at our Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/environmentalfridays. Everyone is welcome to join our Facebook group.

ENVIRONMENTAL FRIDAYS YOUTUBE VIDEOS
All Environmental Fridays episodes (150) are uploaded on YouTube to allow for viewing and use outside of the live streamed episodes. We encourage everyone to view and use our videos and to share this email.

YOUR FEEDBACK
If you are interested or know others (individual, group, class, school, etc.) interested in supporting Environmental Fridays as a viewer, presenter, co-host or donor, please contact me, dr. desmond Hartwell Murray. Send me your comments and feedback to murrayd@environmentalfridays.com

01/21/2026

Please help us with our Health and Nutrition initiative. Just submit a favorite recipe! We will try to adapt it to make it healthier for asthma. We will credit the recipe to the person who submits is. You will be helping us make an A 4 Asthma cookbook to help people manage asthma symptoms.

01/12/2026

Benton Harbor folks: Please share your favorite recipe!
Are you interested in seeing how meals you already cook at home can be made asthma-friendly? A 4 Asthma is working with DePaul University and Andrews University to develop asthma-friendly recipes using submissions from Benton Harbor participants! We will create “healthier” versions of the recipes that emphasize plant-based foods that will be nutritionally assessed using different nutrition tracking platforms. If you are interested in participating, please submit your favorite home-cooked recipe in a reply to this post, including your name and permission to use the recipe. Alternatively, you can email your recipe to Sahara Thomas at sthom154@depaul.edu.

01/08/2026

ENVIRONMENTAL FRIDAYS SEASON X SPEAKERS PHOTO GALLERY

Starts tomorrow Friday, January 9, 2026 on Zoom at 9:30am EST.

Zoom Meeting ID: 836 8866 0774

01/06/2026

Happy New Year. A Blessed and Prosperous 2026 to all.

Join us this coming Friday, January 9, 2026, for Environmental Fridays (EF) Episode 1 of Season X, at 9:30am EST (10:30am Caribbean). See attached poster.

Everyone is welcome. Environmental Fridays is a labor of love and free to all. Students, professionals, and community. Our tagline is: "It is personal."

This week's topic is Life in Extreme Environments. Our guest presenter is Karen G. Lloyd. Our episode co-host is Jennifer Zerrenner.

GUEST SPEAKER BIO
Karen G. Lloyd is the Wrigley Professor of Earth Sciences, and Professor of Marine and Environmental Biology at USC. She has contributed to the discovery of strange new types of microbial life inside Earth's crust. Her work takes her on adventures to the deep-sea, mud volcanoes, subseafloor sediments, methane seeps, terrestrial volcanoes, hot springs, serpentinizing springs, Arctic fjords, and ancient permafrost across the globe. Her work has appeared in leading publications such as Nature and Science. She has given two TED talks and is the author of Intraterrestrials: Discovering the Strangest Life on Earth, published by Princeton University Press.

CO-HOST BIO
Jennifer Zerrenner was born and raised in Michigan where she received a Bachelor's of Liberal Arts from Eastern Michigan University and a Master's of Science from the University of Cincinnati. Jennifer currently resides in Eau Claire, Michigan with her husband Jake, son Josh, and 2 Basset Hounds. She works as a Client Operations Supervisor, and serves as President Elect and Public Image chair of the Rotary Club of St. Joseph-Benton Harbor, where she co-founded the club's first Environmental Committee.

ZOOM MEETING LINK
The Zoom Meeting link for Season X is: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83688660774?pwd=Fp4ZmRCQkRO0gD2aBKyPjbhbCcjd2A.1
Meeting ID: 836 8866 0774; Passcode: 957246

SEASON X
Season X has 21 episodes with 22 guest speakers. The upcoming topics will be:

Life in Extreme Environments; Guyana’s Forest Solutions to the Climate Crisis; Environmental Injustice in Prisons; Environmental and Geopolitical Impacts of Rare Earths Production; My Environmental Journey; Intergovernmental Science-Policy Panel on Chemicals, Waste and Pollution; Importance of Marine Protected Areas; Break the Cycle - Africa; Urban Farming Enterprises; Heritage Preservation, Indigenous Knowledge and Conservation; A Black Mother's Garden and African American Environmental Writing; Natural Hazards and Cancer; Eve and the Environment; Addressing Disparities in Asthma & Allergies; Greening the Church; Seas and Scenes: Love the Caribbean; Environmental Impact of the Fashion Industry; PFAS in Drinking Water: Making the Invisible Visible; Asa Wright Nature Center; Creating an Indigenous Medicine Garden; and Documentary Films and the Environment.
Please share this email with others. Everyone is welcome. Environmental Fridays is free to all. Students, professionals, community.

PARTNERSHIPS
Environmental Fridays is brought to you in partnership with Michigan EGLE (https://www.michigan.gov/egle), the American Chemical Society (ACS) Committee on Minority Affairs (CMA), Benton Spirit Community Newspaper, Caribbean Compass, A 4 Asthma, and GCSCORED.

MORE ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL FRIDAYS
You can read more about Environmental Fridays at our website https://www.theenvironmentalfridays.com/ and in this published article https://doi.org/10.55668/jae0039

More information can also be found at our Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/environmentalfridays. Everyone is welcome to join our Facebook group.

ENVIRONMENTAL FRIDAYS YOUTUBE VIDEOS
All Environmental Fridays episodes (147) are uploaded on YouTube to allow for viewing and use outside of the live streamed episodes. We encourage everyone to view and use our videos and to share this email.

YOUR FEEDBACK
If you are interested or know others (individual, group, class, school, etc.) interested in supporting Environmental Fridays as a viewer, presenter, co-host or donor, please contact me, dr. desmond Hartwell Murray. Send me your comments and feedback to murrayd@environmentalfridays.com

12/26/2025

Taken from Google AI

Risks of Flu with Asthma
> Worsened Symptoms: The flu virus inflames and narrows airways, increasing coughing, wheezing, chest tightness, and shortness of breath.

> Asthma Attacks: Respiratory infections like the flu are a leading cause of asthma attacks, affecting over 80% of them.

> Serious Complications: Increased risk of pneumonia and other respiratory infections.

Prevention is Key
> Get Vaccinated: The annual flu shot is the best protection for everyone 6 months and older, especially those with asthma, to prevent severe illness and hospitalization, say the American Lung Association and Asthma Canada.

> Practice Hygiene: Frequent handwashing and covering coughs/sneezes.

>Avoid Sick People: Limit contact with those who are ill.

What to Do If You Get Sick
> Follow Your Action Plan: Use your quick-relief inhaler and adjust medicines as directed by your written plan.

> Stay Hydrated & Rest: Drink plenty of fluids (water, broth) and get lots of rest.

> Call Your Doctor Immediately: Especially if symptoms worsen (e.g., severe breathing issues, high fever, increased mucus).

> Consider Antivirals: Your doctor might prescribe antiviral drugs (like Tamiflu) within 48 hours of symptoms to reduce severity.

> Use a Peak Flow Meter: Track lung function if you have one.

What to Avoid
> Certain Antivirals: People with asthma should avoid zanamivir (Relenza) and peramivir (Rapivab) as they can worsen asthma.