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Judge says woman can sue over co-worker’s perfume

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Mike Adams at Natural News has an excellent critique of a recent court case where an employee is suing the City of Detroit over a perfume drenched co-worker whom the employee says caused her serious respiratory problems.

Adams has a theory that the chemicals in perfume do much more than damage lungs. He says synthetic perfume “literally affects brain function, causing the brain to recede from sensory reality by decoupling neurons, thus making those people cognitively impaired.” Sound familiar?

I’m not sure if I go along with his assertion that the “dumbest people” wear perfume; I guess you have to define your terms. But his feeling about “dumbed-down” consumers getting poisoned in their homes makes a lot of sense to me.

A Judge has ruled that a lawsuit over workplace perfume filed by a Detroit city planner can proceed. The lawsuit alleges that perfume from a co-worker made Susan McBride unable to properly breathe, creating a hazardous work environment and making it difficult for her to complete her work.

The city of Detroit sought to have the lawsuit dismissed in court, but the Judge agreed with McBride that her difficulty in breathing with the excessive perfume did, indeed, qualify for protection under federal laws that protect the disabled from workplace discrimination.

That may seem like an odd law to invoke in this case (is McBride really “disabled” due to her difficulty in breathing?) but at least it is recognizing the reality of perfume toxicity.

Let’s get straight to the real story here, folks: Perfume-wearing people are toxic to the world, and they create a toxic workplace filled with poisonous, cancer-promoting chemicals that cause healthy people to gasp for breath.

[...]

Synthetic perfume chemicals cause cancer

These people also remain oblivious to the fact that perfumes contain cancer-causing chemicals that are absorbed right through the skin. These chemicals enter the blood where they poison the liver and other organs, causing cancer and cellular toxicity throughout the body.

I also have a theory that this onslaught of chemicals literally affects brain function, causing the brain to recede from sensory reality by decoupling neurons, thus making those people cognitively impaired. You can observe this in the real world, too: Have you ever noticed it’s the dumbest people who wear the most perfume or cologne? I do not believe that is by chance: It could very well be a cause-effect relationship between perfume chemicals and brain function.

Keep in mind, too, that dumbed-down mainstream consumers use a lot of perfume-laced products throughout their homes: Laundry detergent, dryer sheets, air fresheners, carpet cleaners, shampoo, shower soap and other products laced with the same toxic fragrance chemicals found in perfumes. This creates a toxic environment in which cancer is accelerated and brain development is retarded.

NaturalNews supports a nationwide ban on perfumes in the workplace.

Link

A shot of fresh air: Happyest evah!

Link

Canadian mechanic disabled from toxic paint fumes

A Canadian airplane mechanic develops Multiple Chemical Sensitivity and other environmental illnesses from exposure to paint fumes at his place of work, but when he becomes disabled from the toxic exposure, the government denies him benefits. This disabled worker claims that half his crew were affected, and that a total of 30 employees, who were disabled from toxic exposure in the hanger where they worked, have all been denied benefits.

Link

Nestle says melamine in milk is from animal feed

I’ve been following the melamine debacle mainly because I’m astonished at the incompetence of the government in its handling of the mess.

Melamine is a toxic chemical used in fertilizer and plastics. It’s been showing up in a variety of products from pet food to milk meant for human consumption. At first the Food and Drug Administration said that melamine may be harmful in infant formula in any amount but that there is no known threat in American milk products for children and infants. But then when melamine showed up in American products meant for babies, they said the levels were low enough not to cause concern.

While all this was going on, the “experts” said that it was unlikely the contamination’s source was cattle feed because the melamine would have been excreted in the animal’s waste. Now the wonderful folks at Nestle are saying that contaminated feed is the source of the chemical in their baby milk sold in South Africa.

Huh?

28 Nov, 2008 - Nestle has said that contaminated animal feed was responsible for levels of melamine discovered in two brands of its formula milk in South Africa - giving credence to the possibility that the industrial chemical may be able to cross from the feed to the food chain.

The statement by Nestle, the world’s largest food and nutrition company, runs against the belief held by many experts and food safety bodies that melamine ingested by animals does not pass into the food chain, as reported exclusively by Feedinfo News Service. It challenges the perception that the industrial chemical is either excreted by the animal or is diluted to such an extent that any remaining traces are practically undetectable in human food.

The announcement by Nestle South Africa comes after a batch of the company’s Nido Growing up Milk for one-year-olds and a consignment of Lactogen Starter Infant Formula with iron were recalled by the KwaZulu-Natal health department earlier this week.

A Nestle statement said: “Testing led to the discovery of melamine in a number of samples of cattle feed which is predominantly used in winter, which explains the presence of melamine traces in these batches. Consequently, Nestlé has also taken steps to ensure that the cattle feed used by its South African milk producers is melamine free.”

Link

Photo by P1r

Thanks, Dan!

11/29 UPDATE: FDA sets limit for baby formula

Thanks, Linda!

Love Canal, 30 years later

“It was like a Hitchcock movie.”

Here’s a report on Love Canal by ERIKA ENGELHAUPT, who explores “the toxic waste dump that became synonymous with environmental disaster 30 years ago.” You are not going to believe this, but they are moving people back into the area. Here’s a slide show (or click on photo at left), and here are the first few paragraphs of the report:

Niagara Falls, N.Y. In the middle of an abandoned suburban neighborhood, a long grassy mound pokes up a few feet higher than the cracked streets surrounding it. A green chain-link fence surrounds the small hill, which is covered with wildflowers in summer lavender chicory and small yellow daisies. The fence has no warning sign not anymore but this is Love Canal, the toxic waste dump that became synonymous with environmental disaster 30 years ago.

Adeline Levine, a sociologist who wrote a book about Love Canal, described to me the scene she had witnessed exactly 30 years earlier, on August 11, 1978. “It was like a Hitchcock movie,” she said, “where everything looks peaceful and pleasant, but something is slumbering under the ground.”

That “something” was more than 21,000 tons of chemical waste. The mixed brew contained more than 200 different chemicals, many of them toxic. They were dumped into the canal, which was really more of a half-mile-long pond, in the 1940s and 1950s by Hooker Electrochemical Co. In 1953, the canal was covered with soil and sold to the local school board, and an elementary school and playground were built on the site. A working-class neighborhood sprang up around them.

“The neighborhood looked very pleasant,” says Levine, who was a sociology professor at the State University of New York Buffalo in 1978. “There were very nice little homes, nicely kept, with gardens and flowers and fences and kids’ toys, and then there were young people who were rushing out of their homes with bundles and packing up their cars and moving vans.”

Link to full report

Link to slideshow

Thanks, Linda!

Volvo going chemical-free with interiors

Interesting report in the Calgary Herald on Volvo making cars with chemical-free interiors. I am not sure this would pass the “canary test,” but it’s interesting to see the company using this point as a market niche. Leave it Volvo, often way ahead of the curve on safety issues.

…interior materials have improved in recent years, although some brands are still using more noxious chemicals in their car interiors than our bodies need to ingest. Volvo Car Corporation is planning to add environmentally friendly interior design to its long list of socially conscious attributes, with the inclusion of a standard seating fabric that poses zero risk to your health.

[...]

Volvo says that it tests all textiles in the passenger compartment, from the floor mats to the roof lining. The Swedish company even goes a step further by using certified materials in the trunks and cargo areas of its cars, while safety equipment like seatbelts are also certified.

“There is a list of more than 100 substances or emissions that are not to exceed a given level,” commented Andreas Andersson, responsible for passenger compartment development at Volvo Cars. “For instance, the materials used may not leak heavy metals. There are many people with various allergies today and over-sensitivity has increased drastically in recent years. Having a clean in-car environment is important. Personal health is important both to our customers and to us as a company.”

Another brilliant marketing move by Volvo, and more importantly a big win for those with allergies, or for that matter anyone who just wants the opportunity to drive their family around in a more chemical-free environment.

Link

Thanks, Linda!

Buy Nothing Day 2008

I’m feeling very happy to be working from home, and not buying anything from anywhere today.

Buy Nothing Day is an informal day of protest against consumerism observed by social activists. Typically celebrated the Friday after Thanksgiving in North America and the next day internationally, in 2008 the dates will be November 28 and 29 respectively. It was founded by Vancouver artist Ted Dave and subsequently promoted by the Canadian Adbusters magazine.

The first Buy Nothing Day was organized in Vancouver in September of 1992 “as a day for society to examine the issue of over-consumption.” In 1997, it was moved to the Friday after American Thanksgiving, which is one of the top 10 busiest shopping days in the United States. Outside of North America, Buy Nothing Day is celebrated on the following Saturday.

Despite controversies, Adbusters managed to advertise Buy Nothing Day on CNN, but many other major television networks declined to air their ads. Soon, campaigns started appearing in United States, the United Kingdom, Israel, Germany, New Zealand, Japan, the Netherlands, and Norway. Participation now includes more than 65 nations.

While critics of the day charge that Buy Nothing Day simply causes participants to buy the next day, Adbusters states that it “isn’t just about changing your habits for one day” but “about starting a lasting lifestyle commitment to consuming less and producing less waste.”

Source: Wikipedia

Theres only one way to avoid the collapse of this human experiment of ours on Planet Earth: we have to consume less.

It will take a massive mindshift. You can start the ball rolling by buying nothing on November 28th. Then celebrate Christmas differently this year, and make a New Years resolution to change your lifestyle in 2009.

Its now or never!

Source: http://www.adbusters.org/campaigns/bnd

For more information on Buy Nothing Day, visit the AdBusters site at: http://www.adbusters.org/campaigns/bnd

Link

Every day is thanksgiving

Aloha my Beautiful Canaries!

Today is Thanksgiving in America, except I don’t do holidays so you are out of luck for a “Happy Thanksgiving” post.

This is going to sound corny but I think of every day as a day of thanksgiving. I don’t wait for one special day. Basically, if I’m not dead yet, it’s a day to give thanks. If I wake up and can assemble even the rudimentary of thoughts, it means I have options. And even if I’m in pain or brain fog or have any of the myriad Multiple Chemical Sensitivity symptoms, there is a part of me most grateful to have any feeling at all. If I hurt, I’m alive, and that’s a good thing.

I hope you don’t think this is too weird, but it’s rare that even an hour goes by in my life that I don’t remember that one day I will die. So even if I am having the very worst of days with my health issue, I am keenly aware that I’m alive, and besides, everybody has some sort of disability, and this is mine and I will make the best of it. Even though the planet is pretty messed up, it’s also pretty incredible and I am thankful for the opportunity to be here at all.

Be well, dear flock, today and every day. Be brave, be strong, be vocal. Sing your hearts out, make them listen. I love you guys and I’m truly thankful for each and every one of you.

Aloha,

Susie

The beauty of backyard chickens

I’m a big proponent of backyard chickens. I have four hens, who wandered into my garden and heart a couple of years ago. I had absolutely no idea how to care for them, so we learned together. I learned just about everything from books, mostly Chickens in your Backyard: A Beginners Guide by Rick and Gail Luttmann.

Chickens (hens are what you want, no noisy roosters!) are fairly easy to keep: the trick is to give them a secure run with a good strong fence, a safe coop that locks up at night, and to keep it all clean and dry. (That’s my alpha hen Lucy at left. She’s sweet but very greedy!) Although it’s extremely difficult to raise them totally organically (the commercial food is not organic, and they need that for full nutrition), they give you eggs that are far superior to anything you can buy in the store.

Plus, the hens are extremely sociable, charming creatures and a delight to have around. I let mine lose in the yard every day at 4:00 p.m. until dark so they can gobble up bugs and greens to their heart’s content– they love that! I call them my ornamental chickens because they look so pretty out there in the garden.

There are many urban and even some rural communities that are restricted by law from having backyard chickens, but there also is a growing movement in many areas to get the laws changed! The above video is a humorous account of a community in Colorado that hopes to get the laws changed so peeps can have hens in their backyards. It’s a really cute portrayal of the pros, and points out the flaws of the “cons.”

I think it’s important for those of us with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity to take control of our food sources as much as possible. Even if you can’t have backyard chickens, you may be able to find eggs at your local farmer’s market from peeps who have their own flock. Commercial chickens are treated quite cruelly, so this is another reason not to buy commercial eggs. Even those labeled as “free range” are not running around in pastures.

And even if you can’t eat eggs, hens are still wonderful pets. And you could give away your eggs, or even sell them at local farmer’s markets yourself if you felt that industrious!

Spiced Butternut Squash and Chickpea Stew over Toasted Millet

In celebration of Thanksgiving, The Canary Report presents the first of what I hope are many fine recipes from Rachel MacIntyre, a private chef with insight into food allergies and sensitivities who has graciously offered to share her expertise with us. She has a great food blog at The Friendly Kitchen, where she advocates for organic, sustainable ingredients.

Rachel’s done a wonderful job at adapting this squash and chickpea stew recipe to give you good nutrition while staying away from food allergy or sensitivity triggers. Remember if there’s any ingredient to which you might have a sensitivity, contact Rachel and she’ll help you find a substitute as best she can. And don’t forget to visit The Friendly Kitchen and give her some comment love– she’s been wonderfully gracious at offering her consultation services to us canaries!

Here is Rachel’s intro and recipe for Spiced Butternut Squash and Chickpea Stew with Toasted Millet:

Millet is a very popular gluten free grain used in Indian and African cuisine. It has a somewhat nutty flavor and a nutritional profile that is very similar to whole wheat, making millet flour an excellent substitute in gluten free baking. It is super diverse and can be used in savory and sweet dishes. Admittedly, I’ve not taken full advantage of all the ways this wonderful grain can be used, but I’m so obsessed with it at the moment that I’m sure you will be seeing much more of it in posts to come.

So, now that I’ve gone on and on about the side dish of this meal, let me tell you that the stew itself is a healthy, comfort food knockout. I’m kind of a sucker for one pot meals with loads of veggies in them, especially when they have some sort of ethnic flare, so when I saw this recipe, I was totally on board.

The combination of millet and chickpeas contains all of your essential amino acids, so you vegans and vegetarians out there can eat this meal knowing that it is providing your body with complete proteins. Plus, with the addition of butternut squash and spinach you are getting tons of antioxidants and minerals to keep your body nourished and strong through these colder months of the year.

SPICED BUTTERNUT SQUASH AND CHICKPEA STEW WITH TOASTED MILLET
serves two hungry folks
adapted from a recipe by the Food Network Kitchen

For the stew:
3 Tbs. olive oil
1 small yellow onion, small diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 (14.5 oz.) can crushed tomatoes (my favorite is Muir Glen Fire-Roasted)
1 cinnamon stick
1 tsp. ground coriander
1 tsp. cumin
1 small butternut squash, cut into 1 inch pieces (learn the easiest way to cut up a butternut squash here)
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
3 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1/2 lemon juiced and zested
1/4 cup raisins
4 cups baby spinach
1/4 cup sliced almonds

For the millet:
1/2 cup millet
1 1/2 cups chicken stock, vegetable broth, or water
1 tsp. lemon zest
2 Tbs. raisins
salt and pepper, to taste

1. In a medium sized pot, saute the onion in olive oil over medium high heat. When it begins to soften, add the garlic. Cook for about 1 minute before adding the spices and crushed tomatoes.

2. When the cinnamon stick just begins to unfurl, add the squash, chickpeas, broth, lemon zest and raisins. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook, covered, until the squash is soft, about 25 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, bring the broth for the millet to a boil in a small saucepan.

4. In a dry saute pan over high heat, toast the millet until it begins to smell nutty. Add the toasted millet to the boiling broth and lower the heat to a simmer. Add the raisins, cover, and cook for about 30 minutes or until the millet is fluffy and looks like cooked couscous. When the millet is done, stir in the lemon zest, season with salt and pepper and keep warm while you finish the stew.

5. When the squash is soft, stir in the spinach and add the lemon juice. Continue to stir the stew over low heat until the spinach is just wilted.

6. Serve the stew with the toasted millet on the side and garnish with sliced almonds.

Other Millet Recipes in the Blogosphere:
Vegan Pumpkin, Millet, and Chocolate Chip Mini-Muffins at Eat’n Veg’n
Grandma’s Grain at 101 Cookbooks
Allergen Free Pumpkin Waffles at Karina’s Kitchen
Vegan Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Espresso Cookies at Karina’s Kitchen
Millet Pie with Spinach and Feta at Serious Eats

Link

Thanks, Rachel!

Tiny home is safe alternative for woman with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity

One our flock, Mokihana, has an article written about her amazing digs in Coming Unmoored, a blog dedicated to the small home movement, responsible financial stewardship, and living greener.

Mokihana, originally from Hawaii, now lives in Washington state and is building a “vardo” or tiny, safe home on a trailer bed so she can move when necessary to protect her health. I wrote about Mokihana in a post a couple of days ago, and you can read about her building adventures on her blog Vardo for Two.

Here’s an excerpt from the story in Coming Unmoored:

By designing and building their own homes, sufferers of MCS can select materials that are safe for them. (For example Salizar and Little are using denim-based insulation, white oak, milk paint, and a beeswax finish.) They can incorporate items which make day-to-day living much more comfortable: such as Hepa air filters, tightly sealing windows and doors, and appliances such as washer/dryers that have not been compromised with fragranced laundry soap or dryer sheets. (Quick aside: I just looked up the list of chemicals in a standard laundry sheet and it scared me enough to take the last couple of sheets in my box immediately out to the trash and bury them UNDER the used kitty litter, which with my cat is a frightening toxic substance all of its own.)

Moreover, self-building takes times which gives the builders exposure time with any of the products going into their house as an added check of what they can and cannot tolerate. And necessary changes can be made midstream in the project much easier than working with a regular builder. Salizar discovered she had a reaction to their initial choice in insulation, which sent her back to the drawing board. In the case of a tiny home, changes such as these are much less cost-prohibitive than they would be in a larger structure. Additionally, if a tiny, chemical-free home is built on wheels, it allows the MCS sufferer to relocate should something change in their surrounding environment making their current location unliveable.

[...]

Salizar has detailed the construction of her vardo in her blog, VardoforTwo. She is a writer and storyteller by vocation and both this and her other blog are graced with beautiful accounts of daily life with her husband as well as poems and other stories. It’s also fascinating to me to see the transformation of their tiny home into a work of art of its very own.

Link

Thanks, Linda!

New fabric manufacturer tries to go truly nontoxic

As a follow-up to our earlier discussion on nontoxic, safe fabrics, Linda just sent me an article about an eco-friendly fabric manufacturer called O Ecotextiles.

“We’ll have to see if any of these are Multiple Chemical Sensitivity safe, the ultimate level of ‘green,’” says Linda.

On O Ecotextiles’ site, they mention an ozone process for bleaching fabric– uh-oh, Leslie isn’t going to like that!– but I think their intent is in the right place. They say on their website: “O Ecotextiles is troubled, as you probably are, by all the green-washing going on as environmental awareness increases. We’re not perfect – yet – but we’re determined to do our best. Get some facts by reading Our Green Is True Blue.”

Here’s an excerpt of the article on O Ecotextiles at BuildingGreen.com:

“We want to change the way textiles are produced,” says Patty Grossman, who, along with her sister Leigh Anne Van Dusen, founded O Ecotextiles in 2004 and began creating sustainable fabrics out of the company’s Seattle headquarters. The company set out to establish the highest environmental standards possible for every step involved in fabric production, including everything from agricultural impacts to labor practices. O Ecotextiles debuted in the U.S. in September 2008, showcasing high-end textiles made from rapidly renewable fibers-bamboo, hemp, abaca, ramie, and linen-with minimal environmental impact.

In examining textile production, the sisters found that even organic fibers may undergo processing with toxic chemicals, which then remain on the fabric. O Ecotextiles’ strict standards require production partners to use biodegradable surfactants, detergents, and degreasers. And mills are prohibited from using a variety of chemicals that are common in textile production despite health and environmental concerns, including chlorine compounds, heavy metals, azo colorants, halogenated solvents, and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE) or deca-brominated flame retardants. Due to its concerns, the company discourages the use of performance coatings but does offer flame retardant and GreenShield stain-repellant finishes when necessary for commercial applications.

Link to full story at Building Green.

Link to O Ecotextiles.

Thanks, Linda!

Meet Rachel MacIntyre from The Friendly Kitchen

I’m so excited to share this with you!

A private chef with insight into food allergies and sensitivities has graciously offered to share her expertise with the flock at The Canary Report, giving me permission to post her recipes and photos from time to time.

I’d like to introduce you to Rachel MacIntyre, who blogs at The Friendly Kitchen: Allergy Friendly and Eco-friendly Recipes from a Private Chef’s Kitchen.

Rachel is a graduate of the Le Cordon Bleu Program at the Texas Culinary Academy in Austin, Texas, where she honed her skills in the art of classic French cuisine.

“Upon graduation, I learned that I had developed several food allergies, including wheat, dairy, eggs, and yeast, and was no longer able to eat most of the foods that I loved to cook,” she says in her bio. “Using this ‘impediment’ as an opportunity to explore different arenas in the culinary world, I began to learn about and experiment with vegan/vegetarian foods, Macrobiotics, raw and living foods, and allergen-free cooking.

“I embraced an organic, plant-based diet that excluded my allergens and factory farmed meats, resulting in a dramatic change in my health and well-being. Deciding that I wanted to help others on their path to healing as well, I started my own business offering catering, personal chef services, cooking classes, and nutritional consultations for everyone, but with a special focus on people with specialized diets.”

In addition to blogging, Rachel works full time as a private chef in Austin.

Here’s what she has to say about her blog The Friendly Kitchen:

1. All meats, dairy, or eggs used in these recipes are specifically sourced from organic, pasture-raised, humanely-treated animals. The use of any factory-farmed animal products is NOT recommended. Not only are these factories harmful to the animals, they’re also not good for you or our planet.

2. Always choose local and/or organic produce when available. Or, better yet, try growing your own!

3. If there is a recipe that you would like to try but you are allergic to one (or more) of the ingredients, let me know and I will try recommend some substitutions or alternatives for you.

Did you hear that? If you need to tweak a recipe because of something you might be sensitive to, she’ll try to help you find a substitute! I really look forward to partnering with Rachel to find foods and recipes that work for people with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, many of whom also have severe allergies or sensitivities to certain foods. I’m also hoping we can dialogue about food sources and packaging, which can be problematic for peeps with MCS.

So go visit Rachel at The Friendly Kitchen, and look for The Canary Report’s first post of one of Rachel’s recipes on Wednesday, just in time for Thanksgiving.

Aloha and Welcome to the flock, Rachel!

Documentary on toxic threat to male reproduction system

I encourage you to watch this documentary, The Disappearing Male, about the toxic threat to the male reproductive system. Click on the green arrow and the link will take you to the site where you can view the vid.

“We are conducting a vast toxicological experiment in which our children and our children’s children are the experimental subjects.”

-Dr. Herbert Needleman

The Disappearing Male is about one of the most important, and least publicized, issues facing the human species: the toxic threat to the male reproductive system.

The last few decades have seen steady and dramatic increases in the incidence of boys and young men suffering from genital deformities, low sperm count, sperm abnormalities and testicular cancer.

At the same time, boys are now far more at risk of suffering from ADHD, autism, Tourette’s syndrome, cerebral palsy, and dyslexia.

The Disappearing Male takes a close and disturbing look at what many doctors and researchers now suspect are responsible for many of these problems: a class of common chemicals that are ubiquitous in our world.

Found in everything from shampoo, sunglasses, meat and dairy products, carpet, cosmetics and baby bottles, they are called “hormone mimicking” or “endocrine disrupting” chemicals and they may be starting to damage the most basic building blocks of human development.

Link

Thanks, Linda!

The Green Planet

A beautiful but disturbing interpretation of a piece of music. What does it look like to you is happening around the Green Planet?

Link

A shot of fresh air: Bench under tree

Bench Under Tree

October 2008

Ruth Ruddock

This is the second in the series of photos from Ruth, one of our flock and frequent commenter at The Canary Report.

“I’ve found that when one has MCS, it is good to have a passion for something that distracts you and that you can do without too much difficulty,” says Ruth.

This photo was taken at the Schoenstatt Retreat Center, Wisconcin.

Canary’s Cry for Sunday Nov. 23

The Chicago Tribune says artificial Christmas trees contain toxic chemicals:

CONS:

Gigantic carbon footprint. Artificial trees are usually made from petroleum and shipped from China; the pole and branches are primarily made of steel while the needles are made with polyvinyl chloride (PVC), also known as vinyl, or polyethylene (PE).

PVC is not biodegradable and can’t be recycled; if incinerated, the PVC in the trees emits dioxins and other carcinogens. The manufacture of PVC also creates dioxins.

Phthalates are used to manufacture PVC plastic. Phthalates are a chemical that have been shown to have hormone-like effects. Congress recently passed a bill banning phthalates in children’s toys.

No natural scent. Some people solve this by using aerosol sprays or pine-scented air fresheners, but the fumes from most products contain dozens of chemicals, including several classified as toxic or hazardous, according to a University of Washington study.

ScienceDaily reports that “Low concentrations of pesticides can become toxic mixture for amphibians.” A study shows ten of the world’s most popular pesticides can decimate amphibian populations when mixed together even if the concentration of the individual chemicals are within limits considered safe, according to University of Pittsburgh research. Such “cocktails of contaminants” are frequently detected in nature, the paper notes, and the Pitt findings offer the first illustration of how a large mixture of pesticides can adversely affect the environment. Study author Rick Relyea, an associate professor of biological sciences in Pitt’s School of Arts and Sciences, exposed gray tree frog and leopard frog tadpoles to small amounts of the 10 pesticides that are widely used throughout the world. Relyea selected five insecticides-carbaryl, chlorpyrifos, diazinon, endosulfan, and malathion-and five herbicides-acetochlor, atrazine, glyphosate, metolachlor, and 2,4-D. He administered the following doses: each of the pesticides alone, the insecticides combined, a mix of the five herbicides, or all 10 of the poisons. Relyea found that a mixture of all 10 chemicals killed 99 percent of leopard frog tadpoles as did the insecticide-only mixture.

The Missoulian reports, “Someone’s dumping cancer-causing chemicals in Helena’s sewers” :

HELENA - Someone is regularly dumping large amounts of a carcinogen hazardous to aquatic life into Helena’s sewers, and the chemical is killing nitrogen-eating bacteria at the city’s wastewater plant, causing the facility to discharge more than five times the permitted amount of ammonia into the ditch flowing to Prickly Pear Creek.

The discovery of chromium entering the sewage plant has prompted criminal investigation by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Montana Department of Environmental Quality and the Helena Police Department.

According to the EPA, “the metal chromium is used mainly for making steel and other alloys. Chromium compounds, in either the chromium (III) or chromium (VI) forms, are used for chrome plating, the manufacture of dyes and pigments, leather and wood preservation and treatment of cooling tower water. Smaller amounts are used in drilling muds, textiles, and toner for copying machines.”

City officials detailed the problem in a group interview Friday.

After weeks of mystery punctuated by serendipity, officials identified their problem Thursday, Helena Wastewater Superintendent Don Clark said, when they and investigators were at the plant and noticed a sudden spike in the acidity of the incoming waste, which also turned a bright shade of yellow-green.

A lab test identified high levels of the particularly harmful variation known as hexavalent chromium, ending the puzzlement of the entire city wastewater staff, three consultants and several government investigators, and shifting efforts toward the criminal investigation. The dumping breaks federal, state and local laws.

Photo by worobod.

Whose chirping about Multiple Chemical Sensitivity today?

Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve given a big boost to The Canary Report’s Resource page. I’ve added several sites to the categories on “Support for People with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity,” “Healthy Living,” and “Environmental Health.”

I also gave a boost to the “Blogs by Canaries” category, and wanted to share with you some blogs I’ve found written by peeps with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity:

I discovered two blogs written by a local girl from Oahu, Mokihana, now relocated to Washington state. Mokihana was an especially good find for me personally because of the local connection; if you’ve read my bio you know I was raised on Kauai and Molokai (with a step-father of Native Hawaiian ancestry, a horseman and cowboy who spoke fluent Hawaiian) and so my roots are local to da max. I greatly appreciate her perspective and her narrative, which is infused with the philosophy of traditional Hawaiian culture.

Mokihana (at left) has two blogs, both brilliantly creative and inspirational. Vardo for Two is about the day-to-day building of the “vardo,” a tiny, handcrafted safe house, which Mokihana and her love Pete are building on a trailer bed so that they can move to a safe location whenever necessary for Mokihana’s health. I’m in awe of the whole concept and process, and find myself wondering if they could build and market more units for peeps with MCS.

Mokihana also has a blog called Sam and Sally, which is the tale of her and Pete, but told in storytelling tradition through the characters Sam and Sally. This blog is just an awesome find for me personally because she’s done something so creative with writing that I don’t know whether or not to be elated or just plain jealous! It’s a really good read.

Adventures with Multiple Chemical Sensitivities: Tales of the Masked Avenger is a blog I discovered months before I started The Canary Report, but the Masked Avenger had gone dormant, so I did not list. But she updated her site a couple of weeks ago, so she’s on the blogroll now.

Sacredseed’s Weblog is written by Kate (at left), an artist whose blog topic is about sacred ceremony and ritual, but who “came out” a few weeks ago with her MCS story. I absolutely love her artwork, and although her blog topic is not MCS per se, she is now including that part of her life in her posts.

The Outgas Report is written by Daniel, “a guy who has realized the negative effect that outgassed chemicals have on my health and well-being. In particular,” he says in his bio, “computers have a profoundly negative impact on my health. I hope this blog helps others realize that some of their health issues may be caused at least in part by outgassed chemicals.”

Bloggers can never get enough comment love, so please click on over to the sites, Peeps, and give these Canaries your thoughts and support. Together, we are stronger!

Painting and photo: “Birds and Dots” by Lori Hutchinson

The Story of Stuff

The Story of Stuff with Annie Leonard is a brilliant short film about how modern corporate greed got us into this mess of rampant consumerism, overwhelming pollution and toxic chemicals.

Yes! magazine says in its review of the film:

Our consumerism uses up resources, pollutes the planet, poisons humans, destroys species, keeps people in poverty, and contributes to global warming—all without making anyone happier.

An anti-consumerism diatribe is not something people want to hear, though, so you need something short and sweet that grabs and holds peoples’ attention.

That’s what we have in The Story of Stuff with Annie Leonard. In just 20 minutes, her little film lays out the problems in our consumption of “stuff” and shows how everything is linked: environmental problems with social justice issues with declining happiness. Plus she shows how corporations have undermined the government in its role of protecting the common good.

Introduction:

Extraction:

Production:

Distribution:

Consumption:

Disposal:

Another way:

Snitched from Yes!, a FABULOUS publication, a favorite of mine for years.

Thanks, Linda!

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