February 2018 Tip Talks Newsletter
**COMPLICATED GOINGS ON AROUND THE GLOBE:
It’s kind of good news, but confusing. There are a bunch of articles reporting on France’s neonicotinoid pesticide ban – turns out it was passed in 2016 to take effect in 2018 (or 2020?) and Dow Chemical just lost a lawsuit against it in November 2017. There are also all sorts of good actions in process in the EU, but I simply don’t have the time to sort it all out today. Stay tuned – at least the good guy bee (and human) protectors are going strong around the globe!
**CLEVER NON-STINKY CONSUMERS: Today’s TIP TALKS includes excerpts and a link to a great article about fragrance referred to me by a friend who formerly worked for the American Lung Association. I’m thinking that it can serve as an excellent informational piece to share with your friends and family who don’t currently understand the true nature of today’s “fragrance” and the chemicals it diffuses.
I’m also again sharing this month tips for cat lovers, an App for Spanish speakers and, finally, the latest helpful guide from the super EWG folks.
PRESENTATION COMING UP: I’m pleased to report that I’ll be leading a workshop at NOFA-CT Winter Conference in March – titled, “Clues to Clever Organic Consumer Choices”.
If it goes well, I’d be pleased to lead such an event for other groups. Maybe yours?
Blessings, Liberty G
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RHODE ISLAND/MA/CT AREA RESOURCE
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NOFA/RI (Northeast Organic Farming Association of Rhode Island), Dan Lawton, Contact. 247 Evans Road, Chepachet, RI, 02814. (401) 523-2653, nofari@live.com, www.nofari.org NOFA/RI is an organization of farmers, consumers, gardeners and environmentalists working for organic farming and land care practices with education and advocacy. NOTE: NOFA-RI is having their Winter Conference this coming Sunday, March 4, at Hope & Main in Bristol. See info at: http://nofari.org/events/winter-conference/#.WpWZKLNJkW4
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GOOD NEWS
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OPINION: WHY FRACKING IN THE UK
IS IN BIG TROUBLE
http://neweconomics.org/2018/02/fracking-in-big-trouble/
"No matter how you look at it, fracking as a large-scale endeavour for the UK seems pretty screwed. The finances of frackers are creaking. Local councils are simply refusing to roll over in the face of the industry’s bully-boy tactics. Shale is getting more and more toxic, as MPs and the public turn against it. The Government doesn’t talk about it any more, and behind the scenes has massively lowered its expectations of how much fracking it thinks we’re going to get. It’s only going to get harder and harder for national politicians to claim that it’s somehow in the national interest.
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USEFUL RESEARCH
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REGULATING TOXIC CHEMICALS FOR PUBLIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH
(Reference provided by Nancy Alderman of EHHI in CT, who points out that: “These statements from the Journal article are particularly pertinent to the health risks children and athletes face when on synthetic turf fields or on playgrounds with rubber mulch”. )
Liza Gross & Linda S. Birnbaum, 12-18-17 PLOS Journal 1. "Over the past three decades, Dr. Lanphear, MD, MPH, notes, evidence from some of the most extensively studied toxic chemicals-including lead, asbestos, tobacco, and benzene-shows that some chemicals are most toxic at the lowest levels of exposure. Yet regulations still assume that toxic effects emerge at a threshold level and increase with the dose. Protecting public health, Dr. Lanphear argues, requires rethinking basic assumptions about how agencies regulate chemicals."
2. "Existing policy also fails to account for the fact that individuals are exposed to multiple chemicals every day, from the point of conception to end of life." Read more at:
http://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.2004814
ALSO SHARED BY EHHI, SEE: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.2003066
Low-level toxicity of chemicals: No acceptable levels? Bruce P. Lanphear Published: 12-19-2017 PLOS Biology
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ACTIONS
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No extremely useful actions/petitions on hand right now – continue to do your best to share information. Oppose federal preemption that prevents environmental & health
protection by states and localities.
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** CLEVER CONSUMER (That’s you!)
CAMPAIGN REMINDER: TIP TALKS seeks to
increase your consumer IQ & abilities. Remember,
if you tell the supplier, retailer, or producer what
you will or won’t BUY, they care.
(Also share your knowledge with friends & family)
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CLEVER CONSUMER INFO:
FRAGRANCE IS THE NEW SECONDHAND SMOKE! **************************************************
ELIMINATE SYNTHETIC FRAGRANCE
TO IMPROVE YOUR HEALTH
https://branchbasics.com/blog/2015/01/fragrance-is-the-new-secondhand-smoke/
Trying to link the past with the present fragrance industry unfortunately reveals a radical disconnect and departure from the original therapeutic purpose and use of pure essential oils. Today’s synthetic fragrances are a far cry from the healing balms treasured so much by the ancient world…. Instead of being medicinal, today’s fragranced products are associated with diabetes, obesity, autism, ADD/ADHD and hormone disruption. Sadly, the person wearing or using the fragrance is not the only one affected. Synthetic fragrance affects air quality for those sharing the space as well. From pure to perverse, it is twisted irony that the word fragrance has now gained infamy as the new secondhand smoke when the etymology of the word perfume comes from the Latin phrase, “per” meaning “through” and “fumus” meaning “smoke”.
The emerging awareness of this very “volatile” situation reveals problems much more pervasive and dangerous than tobacco smoke. Even washing clothes in detergents and fabric softeners containing fragrances releases toxic chemicals onto the skin and into the air all day long. At night, sleeping in pajamas & on sheets washed in the same toxic materials has the same effect. Because of this, people are awash in fragrances 24 hours each day.
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PROTECTING PETS
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COULD THE FAMILY COUCH BE MAKING YOUR CAT SICK?
http://blog.theanimalrescuesite.com/study-cats-sick/
For years, doctors struggled to pinpoint the origins of feline hyperthyroidism, which mysteriously started trending in 1979. Now a new study points the finger at household flame retardants, which are frequently folded into carpets, couches, & even common electronics. Not only did the study clearly link these chemicals with endocrine disorder, cats’ famed hygiene further exacerbates the issue as animals groom themselves and ingest even more particulate dust.
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RESOURCES
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EWG’S HEALTHY LIVING: HOME GUIDE
The air inside our homes is two to five times more polluted than the air outside. Chemical pollutants build up in our homes when they're released from things like carpet and paint. That's why we created EWG's Healthy Living: Home Guide to help you avoid health-harming chemicals at home. Our guide contains tips on more than 20 different categories to help you avoid products containing harmful chemicals and reduce your exposure to the chemicals already in our air and water.
Check out the resources below to learn more and get started creating a greener and healthier home: www.ewg.org/healthyhomeguide/?utm_source=newsletter?&utm_campaign=201801HLHGNews&utm_medium=email#.WpQmMbNJkW4
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EN ESPAGNOL
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ACERCA DE DETOX ME
La guía ás confiable y completa para reducir los productos químicos tóxicos. www.silentspring.org/detoxme/index_es.html
Las sustancias químicas halladas en muchos productos de consumo cotidiano están vinculadas con problemas de salud y enfermedades tales como cáncer, asma, trastornos de la tiroides y del desarrollo. Esta aplicación gratuita para smartphone ofrece consejos sencillos basados en la investigación para reducir la exposición a estas sustancias químicas potencialmente dañinas.
Puedes explorar 6 categorías distintas -- Hogar, Comidas y bebidas, Ropa, Cuidado personal, Limpieza y Niños-- para beneficiar a tu cuerpo, a tu familia y al medio ambiente.
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WE’RE SMALL BUT ACTIVE – THE ONLY FOLKS
FOCUSED ON EDUCATING RE:TOXICS IN RI:
AND WE ARE STRUGGLING! PLEASE HELP!
**PLEASE THINK OF US: One simple way to help us: Shop at smile.amazon.com/ch/14-1862385 and Amazon donates to Toxics Information Project (TIP). You already probably use Amazon for various purchases, and it costs you nothing to include us in your buying routine. See other
options for helping TIP at the end of this TIP TALKS. **************************************************
**BENEFIT TIP WHILE SURFING THE WEB at:
www.goodsearch.com/?charityid=818190
(Uses the Yahoo search engine)
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** BEST OF ALL: Mail a check to TIP at the address below. (We are a tax-deductible organization)
Toxics Information Project (TIP) P.O. Box 40572,
Providence, RI 02940 Tel. 401-351-9193,
E-Mail:liberty@toxicsinfo.org
Website: www.toxicsinfo.org
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