In Memoriam
It is with sad and heavy hearts that we acknowledge the passing of stalwart fluoridation fighter, Jeff Green. Jeff has been instrumental in helping communities across the country, including our own, fight against forced fluoridation. He worked tirelessly and for small to no compensation for the hours upon hours devoted to the cause of safe water for every community. We will miss you Jeff.
Katherine Kelly, Crescent City, Calif.
Jeffrey Lee Green, National Director of Citizens for Safe Drinking Water, has died. Cause of death is unknown at this time. He was 68.
Jeff was my good friend. We first met in 1976 and we renewed our friendship in 1996 when Jeff returned to San Diego, California to help me with a ballot measure and court case to stop fluoridation. He has worked tirelessly on this issue ever since. He established his group Citizens for Safe Drinking Water as a premier advocate for water that is suitable for human consumption. Instead of fighting about whether or not fluoride was good or bad Jeff took a much more nuanced approach that embraced transparency, full disclosure and compliance with all laws.
His wisdom and keen insight will be missed both by his friends and his country.
David Kennedy, Dentist
San Diego, Calif.
I was shocked, and very saddened to hear of his passing. I know his loss will be felt by many.
Especially his focus, energy, and his brilliant mind towards solutions of specific issues of major importance to a more fair,just, and healthy society.
http://www.eurekaspringsindependent.com/single_story.asp?StoryID=7886
Death of Jeff Green serious loss to safe drinking water advocates
Becky Gillette
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
The unexpected death of Jeffrey Lee Green, 68, who was national director of Citizens for Safe Drinking Water, has hit hard in areas of Arkansas where Green tirelessly provided assistance to people trying to prevent fluoridation of drinking water.
“The news of Jeff is so sad,” said Darlene Schrum, Eureka Springs, who worked closely with Green on fluoride issues. “There is not another person who can ever fill his space. You felt like you knew him from the first conversation. He gave so much to everyone.”
Green lived on a ranch near San Diego, Calif., and traveled across the country meeting with groups concerned about fluoridation. He helped Arkansas activists since 2005. Green worked, usually behind the scenes, on legal and legislative strategies concerning the lack of toxicological studies regarding fluoride exposure, and failure of manufacturers to follow laws requiring individual batch testing of fluoridation chemicals regarding levels of toxic contaminants in the product.
Crystal Harvey of Hot Springs, chair of Arkansas Citizens for Safe Drinking Water, said Green’s biggest contribution was drawing attention to the fact fluoridation chemicals are not properly tested to determine contamination for each individual shipment. Contaminants that come from industrial byproducts include arsenic, lead, mercury, barium and radionuclides.
“Jeff said we shouldn’t focus on whether fluoride is good or bad, but that the state can’t decide which laws to follow and which ones to not follow,” Harvey said. “He was trying to make authorities follow all laws, including those requiring that each shipment of fluoridation chemicals come with a certificate of analysis for the particular shipment. They are not doing that. Jeff was trying to say, ‘Here is the law. Follow all the laws. Have transparency in that product so people will know what contaminants they are being exposed to.’”
Neither the EPA nor the Arkansas Department of Health regulates drinking water chemicals. The state instead relies on certification from an industry group called the National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) that only tests chemicals from manufacturers once per year. There are no longer domestic suppliers of fluoridation chemicals in the U.S., and most fluoridation chemicals are sourced from China, which has a dismal record for consumer product safeguards.
A scientific study published in April-June in the International Journal of Occupation Health and Safety concludes that fluoridation chemicals contain arsenic, lead, barium and “a surprising amount of aluminum. “Such contaminant content creates a regulatory blind spot that jeopardizes any safe use of fluoride additives,” the study said.
Harvey said Green helped write a Water Accountability Bill for the Arkansas Legislature that would have clarified the need for independent testing and disclosure. The bill failed to get out of committee.
Green also worked with the Carroll Boone Water District operators – as well as their counterparts in other states – to send out a letter to suppliers asking for disclosure of the contaminants in the fluoridation chemicals. In no case have suppliers been willing to provide that information. Harvey said some cities were able to discontinue fluoridation after this disclosure failure.
“There are lots of town all across the country where Jeff was able to quietly get the fluoride turned off because water suppliers couldn’t get the information required by law,” Harvey said. “They had the courage to turn it off because of Jeff and his information.”
Harvey and Eureka Springs activists had spoken with Green only days before his death. “He was my friend,” Harvey said. “We talked about so much more the fluoride. I am just devastated. I’m going to miss him terribly. This country has lost someone who really knew the direction it needed to go.”
For more information on Green’s work, see the website http://www.keepers-of-the-well.org/.
I can’t believe it…I burst into tears when I saw an email from one of our fellow fluoride fighters about his passing…
Jeff and I worked tirelessly for 2 years when I first moved here to San Diego from Chicago in 1999…he was so great to work with, and I loved him dearly…he was so passionate about his work, along with David Kennedy, and we covered a lot of ground literally and figuratively…I treasured the time we spent together, and I met hundreds of people in San Diego and Southern California, as we spoke in front of city councils, health boards, and politicos…and I was privileged to meet so many dentists, healthcare and alternative health professionals, it opened up a whole new and wonderful world for me…Godspeed, dearest Cowboy…
Jeff was always helpful when I needed a document on a certain point. We will miss him.
Words cannot express the sadness that is felt with your loss Jeff. The world has just lost a precious brilliant soul whose unyielding passion for fairness to humanity was unsurpassed. With your total support for over a year and a half, and over 209 emails alone that you said you exchanged with me, Wellington, FL stopped fluoridation on January 29, 2014 and over 80,000 people are no longer being subjected to fluoride in their drinking water. That was all do to YOU my dear friend and I will always hold you dear in my heart. You are now our guardian angel still watching over us all. Endless love to you and all you stood for.
Our Dear and Most Wonderful Soul, Friend, Advocate for Health/Well-Being, Truth, Fairness/Justice & Sincere Respect for All, Our hearts are full; saddened, shocked. Dear Jeff, thank you for your Leadership in everyway in all you did for us all: for clean water, truth, health through Integrity. The tears abound. Thank YOU for EVERYTHING!! We love you forever and forever, we love you with all our hearts . . . Pattie & Thom
Jeff very kindly spoke to me earlier this summer about our sixty year long challenge working to end forced fluoridation in the City of Prince George, British Columbia, Canada. His guidance was firm, kind and assertive reflecting his desire to work towards finding a respectable solution to a bad idea called fluoridation. I greatly appreciated his suggestions to keep to the high road, respectfully present the facts and believe in people’s values who, when provided the truth will make the right choice to end fluoridation. My condolences to Jeff’s family and his many friends who I know will miss him. Thank you Jeff, for taking the time to speak to me within your very busy life, we are using your suggestions, respectfully offering the long known facts, humanitarian, ethical and scientific information on fluoridation including the many hidden chemicals in the toxic chemical cocktail including the continuing and known harms. We hope to end fluoridation in our City, possibly moving to a kinder more reasonable approach to helping people, our children their pets and many others. Your country and our Country and City will miss you!