Environmental Pollution – “In today’s world, it’s virtually impossible to avoid dangerous chemicals, even in your own home, but here are a few simple steps you can take to limit your exposure to known toxins like lead, flame retardants and BPA” …

Environmental Pollution: How to Avoid Toxic Chemicals

Environmental Pollution Is Everywhere – Here Are Some Ways To Avoid Toxic Chemicals In The Home

If you saw our latest post about environmental pollution featuring a video from Bill Moyers of “Moyer’s And Company” interviewing public health historians Gerald Markowitz and David Rosner, you got a good overview of how difficult it is to protect ourselves from toxic chemicals as a society. The fact is, our government and the chemical industry work in collusion against our better interests. Personally, I don’t believe this is because everyone in the chemical industry is evil or that all politicians are evil either. There is a systemic problem that stems from the legal goal of a corporation … which must be the “bottom line” … versus the good of society as a whole. The job of government needs to be the balancing of these interests. However, these days that’s almost impossible because of the influence of money in our political structure. The “Big Guys” … the corporations … have “the people” well under control through the use of massive amounts of money used to influence the political structure.

So, what’s a mother to do? How can we, “the people”, protect ourselves from toxic chemicals like lead based paint, polybrominated diphenyl ethers, and others like Bisphenol A (BPA)?

Well, as we said in our previous post, the first thing to do is to get involved. The large chemical-producing corporations have the money, but We the People have the numbers. In a head to head contest, money will usually win. But, in a long, protracted political conflict … money notwithstanding … it is eventually the numbers that prevail. Remember: a politician who is no longer in office is no longer in a position to accept gifts, perks, or contributions. When the numbers get big enough … politicians run for cover.

Besides getting involved in the fight, what else can be done? Well, as a followup to the Bill Moyers interview with Markowitz and Rosner, here is an article by Lauren Feeney on the Moyer’s and Company blog. It’s got some great suggestions.

How to Avoid Toxic Chemicals | Moyers & Company

After watching this week’s interview with Gerald Markowitz and David Rosner, you’ll probably be wondering what you can do to protect yourself and your family from toxic chemicals. Perhaps the most important thing you can do is become politically involved – join the fight against both chemicals in our environment and money in our political system.

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Environmental Pollution – The Neverending Story

I began being conscious of the dangers of environmental pollution when I was a wee tick. The fact is, when I was 10 years old, my mom began using a non-toxic, bio-degradeable household cleaner she purchased from a neighbor who was a Shaklee representative. She explained to me what it was and why she was using it. That was in 1960 or so, and soon after that we began to hear more and more about toxic chemicals and how they were affecting our lives. DDT, dioxin, furans, lead … all made big news “back in the day”. These days we have Triclosan, polybrominated diphenyl ethers, or PBDEs, and BPA. It never seems to end.

And, that’s the point. We can become complacent. Struggle that goes on forever can make us weary. Don’t become complacent and adopt the attitude that says, “Well, there’s nothing I can do, so why bother”. There is always something that can be done. The struggle continues.

If you haven’t seen the Moyers and company segment with Markowitz and Rosen, please take a few minutes and give it a watch. You can find it HERE.

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Feature Photo By “Justyna Furmanczyk”[magicactionbox id=”6908″] Environmental Pollution.