DECEMBER 2020 TIP TALKS NEWSLETTER

IN THIS ISSUE

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**LIB TALKS: Good News /Bad News/ Urgent Actions, Happy New Year Resource, Sharing Comments With TIP.

**RI RESOURCE OF THE MONTH: The Good Seed

**ACTION IN RHODE ISLAND: Tell Gov. Raimondo to Ban the Worst of Neonic Pesticides

**GOOD NEWS & BAD NEWS: Actions at the Federal Level Re: Avoiding Bad Appointments, Restoring Protection vs. Chlorpyrifos

** CONSUMER CONCERNS (& ACTION):Tell Lowe’s & Home Depot to Stop Selling RoundUp

**LOTS OF GOOD NEWS: An All Good News Page?

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LIB TALKS ***************************************************************

** GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS & ACTION: Even in the midst of Covid, there are other serious concerns that need attention. What’s good is more and more successes against long-term, serious problems involving toxics in our lives.

Bans against such are turning up around the planet.

**A FEW QUICK ACTIONS STILL NEEDED: Last month, folks were successful in stopping the appointment of a bad choice for Agriculture Secretary. Yay! However, now we are facing a terrible alternative choice for that position. See Citizen Action At the Federal Level below to speak against this one. Also see a couple of additional important, quick and easy actions to take, calling for moves at the federal, local and consumer levels vs. toxic pesticides.

HAPPY NEW YEAR RESOURCE!: Then, relax and keep the Good News in your life – The Environmental Health News folks have added a new page to their website: It is a delightfully full GOOD NEWS PAGE! Be sure to visit it after you do your part in the actions.

**NOTE RE: TIP RELATED SUGGESTIONS & SUPPORT: As mentioned in a previous TIP TALKS, we would really like to hear from TIP TALKS readers about their own experiences, good & bad, with toxins in daily life and with moves towards healthier alternatives. Additional note: many of our usual website advertisers are dealing with COVID and we have not asked them for payments until they feel they can afford that. So, any assistance from anyone who appreciates our work is especially welcomed! See ways to help at the bottom of this newsletter, including one at no cost to you.

Blessings Now, In the Year to Come, & Many More, Liberty G *************************************************************

RHODE ISLAND AREA RESOURCE OF THE MONTH **********************************************************

THE GOOD SEED NATURAL FOODS MARKET, A GREAT NEXT-DOOR NEIGHBOR

138 Central Avenue, Seekonk, MA 02771, Tel. 508-399-7333. www.goodseedmarket.com It’s just across the Pawtucket line – 10 minutes from Providence – and it’s an oasis of health sustaining products. To make it even better, they actually have monthly discounts that compete with the big guys. www.ecomadviewer.com/J9F/the-good-seed-natural-foods/Ad/december-2019 (Also has savvy owners to help you figure out the best product to buy.)

Anyone in RI or Southeast MA should check out our favorite health food store.

OPEN DURING CORONA CRISIS!

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ACTION IN RHODE ISLAND (And Elsewhere) **************************************************************

Our bees are in the midst of a crisis -- their populations are collapsing, and we need to take action. A long and growing list of threats are driving bee deaths, from a warming climate to shrinking habitats. But researchers are particularly concerned about one bee killer: Neonicotinoid pesticides, also known as neonics. Saving the bees means stopping the worst uses of these bee-killing pesticides. The European Union, Canada and four U.S. states have already passed restrictions on neonics. There's a reason for that: In the two decades that we've been using them on our crops, gardens and parks, they've been strongly linked with bee colony collapse. When bees ingest these chemicals through treated plants, their immune systems are weakened and their ability to navigate home to their hives is hampered. Neonics even harm the brain development of baby bees.There's a lot that we need to do to save the bees, including expanding and protecting bee habitat and making our farming practices less toxic. One of the best steps we can take right now? Tell Gov. Raimondo:

Ban the worst uses of neonic pesticides in Rhode Island. https://environmentrhodeisland.webaction.org/p/dia/action4/common/public/?action_KEY=41423&supporter_KEY=1125802&uid=406c44d5d95c59981c5c01535dc8dc57&utm_source=salsa&utm_medium=email&tag=email_blast:86549&utm_campaign=AME4-FCNS:WILDLIFE:BEES-1220&utm_content=SE9:01C:0HH-AOE

*************************************************************************** GOOD NEWS & BAD NEWS AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL

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SECRETARY “MR.MONSANTO" VILSACK SAME AS THE OLD USDA? Thank you to everyone who signed the petition to President-Elect Joe Biden asking him not to put former Senator Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) in charge of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Heitkamp will not be Agriculture Secretary! Unfortunately, Biden has now chosen the only person who could be any worse: Tom Vilsack, Secretary in the Obama-Biden Administration (2009-2017). If you've followed the Millions Against Monsanto campaign since then, you know him as Mr. Monsanto, the guy who put more GMOs into our food supply—along with all the pesticides those GMOs were engineered to resist—than anyone on Earth. Vilsack's misdeeds are too numerous to list in one action alert, so we'll be bringing you a series of articles. Our first installment lists Vilsack's GMOs, from Roundup Ready sugar beets to lab "meat"—16 in all!

READ: “Back to the Future With “Mr. Monsanto”, Tom Vilsack www.organicconsumers.org/blog/back-future-tom-mr-monsanto-vilsack-part-i?utm_medium=email&utm_source=engagingnetworks&utm_campaign=OB+689&utm_content=OB+689+Saturday

TAKE ACTION: Tell the Senate: Vote No on #MrMonsanto

https://advocacy.organicconsumers.org/page/25412/action/

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YOUR SIGNATURE IS NEEDED: TRUMP REVERSED PROTECTIONS FROM TOXIC PESTICIDE, BIDEN MUST ACT SWIFTLY When Donald Trump took office, one of his first actions was to reverse protections from the brain-damaging, bee-killing pesticide chlorpyrifos. Chlorpyrifos is one of the most dangerous pesticides on the market. It’s bad for people -- especially children -- and for bees. But after major manufacturer Dow Chemical donated $1 million to his inauguration fund, Trump allowed it to continue to be used. Now, we need your help to push the Biden administration to protect Americans and bees from chlorpyrifos.

Urge President-Elect Joe Biden to ban this toxic pesticide on day 1! https://action.foe.org/page/25346/action/1?ea.tracking.id=Email&ea.url.id=707694&forwarded=true

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CONSUMER CONCERNS & ACTIONS

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YOUR SIGNATURE IS NEEDED: LOWE’S AND HOME DEPOT ARE STILL SELLING TOXIC ROUNDUP\

https://action.foe.org/page/24921/action/1?ea.tracking.id=Email&ea.url.id=686031&forwarded=true

Glyphosate exposure has been linked to an increased risk of cancer. Last year, Bayer was ordered by a jury to pay $2 billion to a couple who used glyphosate on their lawn for decades, and who both suffered from non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. There are over 100,000 similar court cases pending. Yet, glyphosate is still on store shelves! Right now, Roundup® can be found in Lowe’s and Home Depot garden centers. L owe’s and Home Depot can play a vital role in ending the use of this toxic weedkiller, but the companies won’t do it unless they hear from you Take Action: Ask Lowe’s and Home Depot to remove cancer-causing Roundup® from store shelves to protect people and the planet! Tell Lowe’s and Home Depot to stop selling cancer-causing Roundup.

https://action.foe.org/page/24921/action/1?ea.tracking.id=Email&ea.url.id=686031&forwarded=true **********************************************************************

LOTS OF GOOD NEWS

Top Positive Environmental Stories from 2020 From Environmental Health News: Nov 27, 2019

Giving thanks and spreading good news

That's right, good environmental news. It exists and we want to bring more to you. Brian Bienkowski

Just go to: https://www.ehn.org/goodnews/ For the new “Good News Page” at EHN!

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TIP IS SMALL, ACTIVE, INFORMATIVE, NEEDY There is a need to update our website, as more and more good information cries to be shared & quick links are the best means. Unlike many organizations, we don’t pester folks with calls for money, but I do ask today that anyone who can contribute any amount, please – this is the time. Donations are tax-deductible.

**BENEFIT TIP WHILE SURFING THE WEB at: www.goodsearch.org (Uses the Yahoo search engine) or

**SHOP ONLINE AT AMAZON SMILE https://smile.amazon.com/ref=smi_ext_ch_14862385_dl?_encoding=UTF8&ein=14-1862385&ref_=smi_chpf_redirect&ref_=smi_ext_ch_14-1862385_cl to select Toxics Information Project (TIP) as your charity to receive a donation. You already probably use Amazon for various purchases, & it costs you nothing to include us in your buying

** BEST OF ALL: Mail a check to TIP at the address below. (We are a tax-deductible organization) Note New P.O. Box Number: Toxics Information Project (TIP) P.O. Box 40572, Providence, RI 02940 Tel. 401-351-9193, E-Mail: liberty@toxicsinfo.org Website: www.toxicsinfo.org Or, make a donation via Pay Pal on our own website, at http://toxicsinfo.org/support.htm