July 11th, 2012

Keeping it greener in the kitchen can mean many things. You may be using more fresh vegetables or local foods, literally adding greens. Perhaps you’ve switched to greener cleaners that don’t use bleach or ammonia.

Now it’s time to take stock of your cookware.

If you’re still using pans coated with Teflon or a similar nonstick surface, you’ll want to get familiar with — and then get away from — the polytetrafluoroetheylenes (PTFE) used in this old-style technology. When heated to high temperatures pans coated with this substance release fumes into the air that contain hazardous compounds called perfluorinated chemicals or PFCs.

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May 7th, 2012

Autism now affects one in 88 kids, soaring in the last few decades, seemingly out of nowhere, to become a major health issue.
Research shows that genetics plays a role in autism, but many scientists believe that environmental factors are as important in triggering the disorder.

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February 17th, 2010

By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now

Having just read and reviewed Slow Death By Rubber Duck, I had a few questions for co-author Rick Smith, head of Environmental Defence Canada.

And since his book was costing me — some $120 for a new set of stainless steel cookware to replace my stick-free, Teflon-coated set — I thought he owed me some answers.

We chatted earlier this week, while he took advantage of Family Day in Canada, visiting a playground with his young boys, a strong impetus behind his work to educate the public about harmful environmental and household toxic chemicals. The younger generation, he worried, has an even higher ‘body burden’ of chemicals than we adults grew up with.

In the book, he and co-author Bruce Lourie, an environmental consultant, test common toxics to find out how they get from consumer goods and food into our bodies. In fact, they ingest or expose themselves to these chemicals to chart the effects.

The basic idea: Since many of these toxic ingredients have been shown in lab experiments to act as endocrine disruptors and cancer triggers figuring out how to limit or reduce our exposure could have positive health effects, for kids and adults.

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