TIP TALKS
The e-Newsletter of the
Toxics Information Project (TIP)
AUGUST 2010
*****************************************************************************************************
Brief Actions, Info & News Summaries
********************************************
Dear Friend of TIP
I'm continuing to experiment with the most useful format and
timing for our TIP TALKS Newsletter. Like you, I receive many
E-Mails every day - and it is my goal to focus on and share
just a few brief, important and helpful items. I'm limiting
the number of messages I send - right now, only one or two
a month - and the number of topics included. My criteria
include: newsworthy, need to know, usable TIPs for healthier
daily living, not likely to be seen elsewhere. This week's
issue includes Action Alerts, News & Information:
1. Kid-Safe Chemicals - Petition
2. Safe Cosmetics - Video & Action
3. Chemicals Causing Obesity - News
4. Suit Over Antimicrobials - News
5. 51 Uncommon Uses for Baking Soda - TIPs
6. Shoppers' Guide to Pesticides - TIPs
7. Safe Disposal of Medications - TIPs
I hope you will find these worth a few minutes
out of your day! (NOTE: If you have trouble
with any link, try copying it and pasting it
into your browser)
Blessings,
Liberty G
****************************************************************
JULY 31, 2010 TIP TALKS NEWSLETTER - ACTIONS, NEWS & INFORMATION
1. KID-SAFE CHEMICALS: Babies are born pre-polluted with 100s
of chemicals. The nearly 300 chemicals that Environmental Working
Group (EWG) found when testing the umbilical cord blood of 10
newborn Americans - chemicals like BPA, lead, mercury, fire
retardants, perchlorate and PCBs - are increasingly linked to
serious long-term health effects, from childhood cancer & autism
to ADHD, learning deficits, infertility & heart disease.
Speak up for change. Our kids deserve it. Bills to overhaul federal
toxic chemicals policies are now moving through Congress. They would
require that all chemicals be proven safe for children before they
can be sold. Lawmakers in Washington need to know that you want strong
reforms for our broken toxics law. Please sign this petition to demand
Congress take action to make chemicals in consumer products kid-safe.
www.ewg.org/kid-safe-chemicals-act-blog/sign-petition-b/?utm_source=houseintronosign&utm_medium=email&utm_content=second-link&utm_campaign=kscapet
2. SAFE COSMETICS. What are all those chemicals in your lipstick?
Your aftershave? Your child's shampoo? Some of them are linked to
cancer, birth defects, infertility and other health problems. Learn,
share and help change this toxic mess: Watch The Story of Cosmetics,
a film exposing the ugly truth about personal care products – brought
to you by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, Annie Leonard’s Story of
Stuff Project and Free Range Studios.http://storyofstuff.org/cosmetics
Fortunately, we have an opportunity to clean up our cosmetics.
The Safe Cosmetics Act of 2010 is the first real chance in 70 years
to pass national legislation that would eliminate harmful chemicals
from the products women, men and children put on their bodies
every day. Tell your elected officials this common-sense legislation
is important to you! Take just a minute to take action at:
http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/5500/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=3621
3. THE CHEMICAL COCKTAIL: MAKING AMERICANS OVERWEIGHT? By Christopher
Gavigan, author & CEO, Healthy Child, Healthy World. A small but
growing body of evidence in both animals & humans is finding a variety
of hormone disruptors linked to obesity, including tributyltin,
hexachlorobenzene(HCB), organotins, BPA, & PFOA. Funding additional
research into these & other suspected obesogens, as suggested by the
White House Task Force on Childhood Obesity, can help clarify problems
& identify solutions. But, current knowledge has already shed light
on simple steps to take to reduce risk. For five such recommendations:
www.huffingtonpost.com/christopher-gavigan/child-obesity-and-the-che_b_580680.html
4. HEALTH GROUP SUES FDA OVER ANTIMICROBIAL SOAP. July 28, 2010
Reuters Health, By Alexandria Sage. San Francisco A nonprofit
environmental group has sued the U.S. Food & Drug Administration,
claiming the agency failed to regulate toxic chemicals found in
"antimicrobial" soap & other personal care products. The National
Resources Defense Council alleges that two common ingredients, triclosan
& triclocarban, can damage reproductive organs, sperm quality & the
production of thyroid & sex hormones. It also names U.S. Dept. of
Health & Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius as a defendant.
http://www.reutershealth.com/archive/2010/07/28/eline/links/20100728elin010.html
5. 51 FANTASTIC USES FOR BAKING SODA, posted by Melissa Breyer.
Conventional cleansers can expose us to multiple chemicals linked to
asthma, cancer, and other documented health problems. Baking soda can
clean & also makes a perfect stand-in for many personal care products,
which are adding their own twist to the toxic tangle of pollutants and
personal health mainly in the form of synthetic fragrance (and it’s
almost all synthetic), sodium laurel sulfate, and parabens. See:
www.care2.com/greenliving/51-fantastic-uses-for-baking-soda.html.
6. SHOPPERS GUIDE TO PESTICIDES, from Environmental Working Group (EWG),
helps you get your fruits and vegetables while minimizing your exposure
to risky pesticides. Click on this link to see and download the guide
that pesticide manufacturers want to make “go away”:
www.foodnews.org/walletguide.php
7. DISPOSE MY MEDS. A vast array of pharmaceuticals — including
antibiotics, anti-convulsants, mood stabilizers and sex hormones
— have been found in the drinking water supplies of at least
41 million Americans. The New York state health department and
the USGS tested the source of the city's water, upstate. They found
trace concentrations of heart medicine, antibiotics, estrogen,
anti-convulsants, a mood stabilizer and a tranquilizer. An online
resource is available to help you to find medication disposal
programs at the local independent community pharmacy near you.
Just click on the pharmacy locator on the right hand side of
the page at: www.disposemymeds.org
**************************************************************
Liberty Goodwin, Director
Toxics Information Project
P.O. Box 40572,
Providence, RI 02940
Tel. 401-351-9193
Website: www.toxicsinfo.org
***********************************************