Where political leadership on climate change is lacking, scientists must be prepared to stick their heads above the parapet.

Consider the following as a statement of national ambition: “The Federal Climate Change Action Plan presents a strategy for launching a transformation in public attitudes and behavior towards climate-change risk. Key state, industry and nonprofit sector allies stand ready to build on the federal strategy to create and sustain a national climate-change risk reduction campaign. The national campaign will increase the public understanding of the risk; advance effective national, state and local climate-change policy; and deliver financing and other incentives to help citizens mitigate climate change. This national climate-change effort — led jointly by the federal government and key national partners — will fundamentally change citizens' expectations and behavior.”

The gas is the second leading cause of the disease nationwide.

COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS — Charlie McQuinn never smoked a single day in his life. Yet, he wound up with lung cancer.

The culprit, he and his doctors believe, is radon gas.

Harmful levels of the radioactive vapor — more than double the acceptable standard — were detected in the basement of his home earlier this year. The 71-year-old has since had half of one of his lungs removed and is now cancer-free. But he says he wouldn't wish lung cancer on anyone, and he advises everyone he knows to test their homes for radon.

"I had heard about it before, but I never thought much about it," McQuinn said. "People here spend a lot of time and effort focusing on preparedness and having food and water storage, but as a community, we haven't focused on radon, which might end up being the biggest disaster of all."

This dangerous gas trapped indoors contributes to about 20,000 lung cancer deaths each year.

Unless you are buying or selling a house, knowing the radon levels inside your home may not be on your safety radar. But public health officials say it should be, considering the risks posed by this odorless carcinogen.

Exposure to radon contributes to an estimated 20,000 lung cancer deaths annually, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. For people who smoke, radon can increase their already higher risk of developing lung cancer, a disease that kills nearly 157,000 people a year in the United States.

But even nonsmokers should worry about radon. Each year, about 3,000 people who have never smoked develop radon-induced lung cancer in the U.S., said Kevin Stewart, director of environmental health for the American Lung Association of the Mid-Atlantic, which includes Delaware.

With a disease as deadly as lung cancer, it's important to know the facts. Lung cancer is the number one cancer killer in the United States - for both men and women. One in 14 Americans will get lung cancer, and it kills more people than breast, prostate, colorectal, leukemia combined. It kills more than twice as many men than prostate cancer and almost twice as many women as breast cancer.

With statistics like these, it is critical to dispel the myths about lung cancer. Many people assume that if they don't smoke, they won't get it, but that's a dangerous misconception. Some 65 percent of all new lung cancer diagnoses are in people who have never smoked or quit decades ago. Where does their risk come from? Risk factors for non-smokers include exposure to indoor and outdoor air pollution; exposure to certain toxic substances such as asbestos, arsenic or radon; jobs that expose workers to radiation; and personal or family histories of lung cancer.

View this news segment: http://www.1888pressrelease.com/radon/lung-cancer/november-is-national-lung-cancer-awareness-month-radon-cau-pr-353928.html

According to the World Health Organization's mortality statistics for 2010, and startling statistic about an in-home health hazard became apparent. According to the EPA, radon gas caused over 21,000 lung cancer deaths annually in the U.S. In perspective to other health issues, radon gas caused more deaths in 2010 than drunk driving, house fires, and carbon monoxide poisoning.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 21, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Today, Lung Cancer Alliance (LCA), the leading national support and advocacy voice for those at risk for or living with lung cancer, issued its annual 2011 National Report Card on Lung Cancer, an overall assessment of the nation’s response to the continuing high mortality of lung cancer, the leading cause of cancer death.

2011 marks the 7th year of the release of the National Report Card, which is issued each November during Lung Cancer Awareness Month to help bring national focus and attention to the disease and gage progress in the fight against lung cancer. The 2011 National Report Card is distributed to leading public health and policy makers, media and elected officials.

The Lung Association of Newfoundland and Labrador is cautioning about exposure to radon gas. The director of the Smokers' Helpline with the association, Mary Lynn Pender, says exposure to radon gas increases an individual's risk of developing lung cancer.

Radon is a gas that is produced naturally by the breakdown of uranium in the ground and leaks into your home undetected. Pender says you can't see it, smell it, or taste it. She says that enclosed spaces, like basements, can sometimes accumulate high levels of the gas, which can be a risk to the health of you and your family.

She points out that radon exposure combined with smoking dramatically increases the risk of development lung cancer. She notes it is estimated that a non-smoker exposed to elevated levels of radon over a lifetime has a one in 20 chance of developing lung cancer, but that estimate increases to a one in three chance if a smoker is also exposed to elevated levels of radon over a life time.

Watch this news segment: http://www.newschannel34.com/news/local/story/Shale-Radioactivity/HmUSX-Bi9EyOdsidhXt5mw.cspx?autoplay=1

Both Hang and Kurkoski say they plan to participate in rallies scheduled by each side for outside the Forum before the hearings begin. Wednesday night, New York Residents Against Drilling is presenting a lecture on shale radioactivity at BU.

Physicist Marvin Resnikoff has studied the effects of radioactivity that is released during the fracking process. "If you breathe in the material, like radon gas, you can get cancer. You can get lung cancer from radon gas and you can get other cancers from the hot pipes themselves."

Resnikoff's lecture begins at 7:30 Wednesday evening in the Old University Union Hall on the BU campus.

Let's start with the numbers. Lung cancer is the No. 1 cancer killer in the United States — for both men and women. One in 14 Americans will get lung cancer, and it kills more people than breast, prostate, colorectal and leukemia combined. It kills more than twice as many men than prostate cancer and almost twice as many women as breast cancer. Lung cancer accounts for about 14 percent of all new cancer diagnoses and 27 percent of all cancer deaths. These numbers are stunning. So why do we see and hear so little about this particular cancer?

Have you tested your home for radon within the past two years? What was the result?

These are two simple questions that I am hoping all physicians will include as part of a new patient’s history and all annual exams. Knowing your patient is breathing safe air should be as important as knowing their cholesterol level or blood pressure.

My state of Iowa has the highest incidence of radon in the country because of its geology and glacial history, but I didn’t learn this until last spring, when I was diagnosed with lung cancer. If a physician had told me about radon years ago, I believe my circumstances would be much different today.