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      IN THIS (REAL) OCTOBER 2015 ISSUE

(In a hurry, sent out previous TT as “Oct.” – was really late Sept.)

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      LATE-BREAKING ALERT: DEADLINE TODAY

(Lots of action vs. bad stuff this month – pretty Halloweeny)

Earlier this year the World Health Organization’s International

Agency for Review of Cancer declared that glyphosate — the

main chemical ingredient in Monsanto’s bestselling weedkiller

Roundup® — was a “probable carcinogen” and linked to

cancer in humans.  Now, as a result, the California

Environmental Protection Agency is considering listing

glyphosate as a chemical “known to cause cancer” in the

state’s chemical database.  Listing glyphosate as a

cancer-causing chemical under California law would be a

huge blow to Monsanto and a vital step toward transparency

in our food supply to make sure that consumers can protect

their health, that of their families and our environment.

Please sign now at;

http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/sign/make_sure_California_labels_Glyphosate_as_a_cancer_Causing_chemical/?t=4&akid=1685.94384.B0Fbme

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**LIB TALKS:  Clever Consumer Campaign,

Real Scary Stuff, Take Heart - There's Hope!

**CLEVER CONSUMER ACTION:  Tell Ace & True Value

Local Stores to Oust Neonics

**OTHER ACTIONS: (Scary Stuff) Fire Retardants,

Fracking Waste, Toxic Chems Policy

**GOOD NEWS: School District Limits Wi-Fi Exposure

**RESOURCES:  Don't Be Scared - Protect With

New EWG Cancer Prevention Guide

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                                LIB TALKS

**CLEVER CONSUMER CAMPAIGN:  As it takes more

time and is more difficult to deal with toxic chemical concerns

via legislative process (especially with corporate resistance),

thousands of toxic or likely toxic chemicals stream into the

market for food, household and personal care products. 

The federal government and regulators are not at all able

to keep up with this torrent of toxicity.  TIP believes that one

alternative way to work for a healthier environment can be

the enhancement of consumer ability to influence suppliers

of food and other products.



For 2015-2016, TIP will focus on empowering consumers

to recognize their ability to effect change through their choices

(Avoiding the most common and unhealthy “bad guys”, even

without labeling or government action – regulatory or legislative)

– IF they make those clearly known to retailers,& their sources. 

We’re convinced that individual consumer contact can be more

effective than merely signing petitions.  We will help simplify this

– focus on a few substances and provide basic tools for quick

consumer action.  Slogan possibilities might be such as “Know-How

& Let Them Know”, “Comply or I Don’t Buy”.  We will research

successful consumer actions – then enable for more.

 

We’ll begin by selecting several main products/ingredients  of

concern recognized by knowledgeable organizations & researchers

as having serious negative effects on environment and health.

(Examples:  Pesticides/GMOs, flame retardants, antibiotics &

hormones, BPA & BPS food can liners).  Then, we’ll provide brief

and basic info on each to enable busy consumers to quickly act to

influence those selling products of concern.  Our plan is to use our

brief flyers, our monthly E-Mail newsletter& website to direct people

to contacting specific companies directly with a simple message

– change your ways if you want my business.This is a strategy that

has been shown to work in quite a few instances.

 

**REAL SCARY STUFF (For Halloween?): 

Fire retardants don’t “protect us” – their toxic fumes

are actually as deadly as the flames.  And fracking

waste is actually radioactive!  See Action Alerts

 

**TAKE HEART - THERE'S HOPE!:  Good people are

working to make this a safer planet – see the Good News

and Resource sections for encouraging success by two

Moms & helpful info from the great folks at EWG.

 

Blessings, Liberty G

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CLEVER CONSUMER CAMPAIGN ACTION!

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**SAVE THE BEES – PETITION LOCAL ACE &

TRUE VALUE STORES TO SCRAP NEONICS! 

(Hint from Lib – you could also just tell the manager

          there that you won’t buy the neonics!)

We’ve already pressured Lowe's and Home Depot to take

steps to stop selling the world’s most popular pesticides.

Together, we made thousands of calls to local hardware

stores, spoke to store managers and sent letters -- and

it worked!  Over 60,000 SumOfUs members have already

asked Ace and True Value Hardware to stop selling neonics,

a class of pesticides linked to the massive worldwide decline

in bee populations.  Now we need to make sure they listen

by asking local branches to do the right thing for the bees. 

It's easy -- enter your address, find your nearest Ace and

True Value store and follow the steps.  Start your petition

to your local branch of Ace or True Value Stores here:

https://community.sumofus.org/efforts/save-the-bees-true-value-and-ace-hardware/near/new?akid=14467.161757.gEC9N4&rd=1&sub=fwd&t=2

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          ACTION ALERTS  (SCARY STUFF!)

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**TOXIC FIRE RETARDANT CHEMICALS BAN 

(Time-Sensitive - The “Comment Period ended yesterday

– but if a flood of additional signatures knocks on the door,

they will need to take notice of the importance of the issue)

Every day, most of us sit on chairs & sofas that contain

pounds of toxic flame retardants. These chemicals migrate

out of our furniture and other household products and are

released into the air in our homes. As a result, 97 percent

of U.S. residents have measurable quantities of toxic flame

retardants in their blood.  To bring an end to this toxic nightmare,

Earthjustice & Consumer Federation of America--on behalf

of a diverse coalition of organizations, including firefighters,

pediatricians, consumer advocates & scientists—is asking

the Consumer Product Safety Commission to prohibit the

sale of any children's product, piece of furniture or mattress

if it contains a toxic flame retardant. They also call for a ban

on the sale of any electronic product with toxic flame retardants

in its plastic enclosure. This is urgent--we have our first-ever

chance to ban the sale of products containing these toxic

chemicals!  Please let the commissioners know you strongly

support this action, at:

http://action.earthjustice.org/site/R?i=ySfLzdw7EWs0Xy5ylFVP-Q

 

  **FRACKING WASTE IS DANGEROUS AND SHOULD

BE REGULATED AS TOXIC & RADIOACTIVE WASTES

Several groups and individuals filed a notice of intent to sue on

August 26, 2015 including the Center for Health, Environment &

Justice, Environmental Integrity Project, Natural Resources Defense

Council, Earthworks, Responsible Drilling Alliance, San Juan

Citizens Alliance, and West Virginia Surface Owners Rights

Organization.  They are calling on EPA to comply with its long-

overdue obligations to update waste disposal rules that should

have been revised more than a quarter century ago.  The oil and

gas industry is growing by leaps and bounds.  EPA must do its

job and update and enforce these vital regulations. Our water

and air are threatened by toxic waste from the improper storage

of fracking wastes while corporate polluters are allowed to run wild.

Homes, small businesses, low income & indigenous communities

are being laid to waste by an industry that is virtually unregulated. 

ell EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy to update waste disposal

regulations on fracking waste NOW!

http://org.salsalabs.com/o/852/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=18368

 

        **WE NEED STRONGER REFORM OF OUR\\

                      TOXIC CHEMICALS POLICY

The US Senate is considering legislation (S.697) by Senators Udall

(D-NM) & Vitter (R-LA) that claims to be comprehensive reform of

our nation's chemical policy. But the bill is too weak to address a

serious public health crisis. EPA would only review the safety of

25 chemicals over the next 8 years. And the price of that meager

schedule is that states would be blocked from taking timely action

during the EPA review.  The EPA should take more action on chemicals.

The worst chemicals should be identified and acted on first.  And

states should be free to take appropriate action to protect their

citizens in a timely manner.  Tell your Senators that reform should

go forward, not backwards.  Contact them today and urge them to

oppose the Udall-Vitter bill!

http://org.salsalabs.com/o/1421/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=18258

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                                  GOOD NEWS

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**FIRST US PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT LIMITS WI-FI

RADIATION EXPOSURE TO STUDENTS AND STAFF

(SBWIRE) -- 09/28/2015  Ashland, Massachusetts Public Schools

have implemented Wi-Fi Device "Best Practices" which include

turning the Wi-Fi off when not in use and keeping devices on a table. 

Based on its own review of the matter, the Ashland Public School

District is reducing wireless radiation exposures to children by

instituting district wide " best practices for mobile devices".

Spurred by parent Cecelia Doucette's concerns about the lack

of safety data on Wi-Fi and children, the district investigated the

issue and developed a policy to substantially reduce wireless

exposures to students and staff. Doucette not only brought the

issue to the district's attention, but then also worked with state

legislatures who introduced two bills concerning electromagnetic

radiation this session. The Environmental Health Trust submitted

written testimony on MA Senate Bill 1222 after expert scientists

presented information on wireless health risks at a briefing at the

Massachusetts State House in June 2015.  For more info, including

the instructions for "Best Practices" that are posted in every

classroom, and actions elsewhere, go to: 

www.sbwire.com/press-releases/first-us-public-school-district-limits-wi-fi-radiation-exposure-to-students-and-staff-628735.htm

 

            AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS

                  CUTS TIES WITH MONSANTO

www.organicconsumers.org/news/american-academy-pediatrics-cuts-ties-monsanto

Never underestimate the power of a mom. Or a blogger. Or, worse

yet, a mommy blogger.  Leah Segedie was “completely shocked”

when she learned that Monsanto and the American Academy of

Pediatrics were bedfellows, joined by a “sponsor partnership.”

So the mom, blogger & founder of the popular blogger network,

Mamavation, reached out to the Academy’s public affairs team,

via a personal friend.  The result? The American Academy of

Pediatrics will sever ties with Monsanto at the end of this year.

It’s good to see that an organization entrusted with the final word

on the health of kids is finally joining other physicians in taking a

stand against one of the chief poisoners of a whole generation

of our children.  We devote a lot of time to fighting the anti-GMO

war in state and federal legislatures, because we have to.

It’s important work, and we’ll keep doing it.  But it’s important to

remember the power we all have to influence those outside of

the State Houses and the U.S. Capitol. And the good that can

come of that power.

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                                RESOURCES

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EWG'S DIRTY DOZEN:CANCER PREVENTION EDITION

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.  When it

comes to cancer, this old adage couldn’t be more true, and here

at EWG we want to make sure you have all the tools available to

reduce your risk of cancer.  From BPA to lead and mercury, there

are many potentially carcinogenic chemicals EWG has long

recommended you avoid. Now, thanks to the groundbreaking work

of the Halifax Project, we’re learning that certain combinations of

these and other chemicals could cause cancer by disrupting

multiple pathways and overwhelming the body’s defenses. 

You may be surprised by some of the chemicals that made

EWG’s latest list. Take atrazine – a chemical so potent that male

frogs exposed to low levels of it can turn into female frogs. 

It is also one of the most widely used herbicides in the U.S.

EWG’s new guide:  The EWG Dirty Dozen:  Cancer Prevention

Edition highlights 12 of the worst chemicals that are known to disrupt

cancer-related pathways and gives you tips on how to avoid them. 

See:

www.ewg.org/research/ewgs-dirty-dozen-cancer-prevention-edition?inlist=Y

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          CONTACT US WITH YOUR THOUGHTS,

                  COMMENTS, QUESTIONS!

AND BY THE WAY – WE’RE SMALL, WE’RE ACTIVE,

WE DON’T BOTHER YOU WITH LOTS OF PITCHES

FOR MOOLA – BUT WE REALLY DO NEED SOME HELP!

HERE'S THE QUICK WAY TO MAKE A DONATION ONLINE:

            http://toxicsinfo.org/subscribe.htm#tenfortip

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    OTHER EASY WAYS TO SUPPORT OUR WORK:

BENEFIT TIP WHILE SURFING OR SHOPPING THE WEB at:   

www.goodsearch.com/?charityid=818190

BENEFIT TIP WHILE SHOPPING ON THE WEB AT:

www.igive.com/welcome/warmwelcome.cfm?c=38382&m=0

      BUT MOST OF ALL, MAKE A DONATION:

      Mail a check to TIP at the address above.

        (We are a tax deductible organization)

OR GO TO: http://toxicsinfo.org/subscribe.htm#tenfortip

        to donate via PayPal or CreditCard

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Liberty Goodwin, Director, 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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