February 22nd, 2011

Spring has sprung, or is springing — quite early, in case you hadn’t noticed (hmm…wonder why?). And with the season come the chemicals, raining down upon lawn and garden centers everywhere

Ah, I love the smell of Atrazine in the morning. Let us celebrate the beginning of new life –and the end of beneficial insects, pure water, live soil and natural processes!

It is amazing that with our vast knowledge of how chemicals contaminate ecosystems, pollute waterways and boomerang back in food and drink with verifiable carcinogenic and endocrine-disrupting effects, we collectively buy tons of these synthetic chemicals every spring, summer and fall.

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June 16th, 2010

Like everyone else, I’ve been examining my use of oil and petrochemicals in the wake of the BP hemorrhage in the gulf.
We all know that getting a higher mileage car, a hybrid or even an electric vehicle, would slash our personal oil dependency.
But if you’re like me, not ready to trade in the functioning vehicle in the driveway, you’ll need to look elsewhere to squeeze some oil out of your consumption. Fortunately, and unfortunately, American consumer goods are infused with petrochemicals and oil byproducts. Plastics, pesticides and a vast array of products are made with oil. Not to mention that many of the foods we buy have high oil costs when they’re transported from thousands of miles away. So pick your starting point, reduce and recycle plastics; buy local food; go organic.

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May 17th, 2010

After reading today’s news about yet another study linking pesticides to yet another health issue, in this case ADHD, I thought maybe this time, we’ll pay attention to this dark undercurrent in modern life. Perhaps now, with 3-7 percent of kids affected by ADHD, and the disorder possibly triggered by pesticide exposure, we’ll finally see that it really is something in the water — and the food — that’s causing this crisis.

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June 18th, 2009

By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now

Calling the fight against cancer “one of the most notorious public health failures of the 20th century” four leading cancer and environmental experts called on Congress and the Obama Administration this week to acknowledge the role environmental carcinogens play in triggering cancer and dedicate more money to cancer prevention.

In a letter to Congressional leaders, the national medical and scientific experts said they were concerned that prevention has received little attention in the Obama Cancer Plan. They noted that health care costs could not be brought under control without a better plan to fight the disease that claims 1,500 American lives daily and costs $89 billion a year to diagnose and treat. (Costs rise to $219 billion annually, when lost productivity and premature death costs are factored in).

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May 14th, 2009

Green Right Now Reports:

In a study released Tuesday by the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, researchers report that they have found a continuing “possible link” between formaldehyde exposure and death from cancers of the blood and lymphatic system among workers exposed to the chemical.

The report is part of an ongoing study of industrial workers in plants making formaldehyde products.

“Since the 1980s, NCI has studied cancer deaths among a group of 25,619 workers, predominately white males, who were employed before 1966 in 10 industrial plants that produced formaldehyde and formaldehyde resin and that used the chemical to produce molded-plastic products, decorative laminates, photographic film, or plywood,” according to the NCI release.

These workers show a higher susceptibility to certain cancers, especially among workers with high exposure to the chemical, researchers say.

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