The Canary Report

Film: Living Downstream

Posted on Mar 06, 2010 by Susie Collins in Blog, Environment, Media/Videos, Susie Collins

Based on the acclaimed book by ecologist and cancer survivor Sandra Steingraber, Ph.D., Living Downstream is an eloquent and cinematic feature-length documentary.

This is sure to be an incredible film, making the connections between cancer and toxic chemicals in our environment. Public screenings begin this month.

There once was a village overlooking a beautiful river.

The people who lived here were very kind.

These residents, according to parable, began noticing increasing numbers of drowning people caught in the river’s swift current and so went to work devising ever more elaborate technologies to resuscitate them.

So preoccupied were these heroic villagers with rescue and treatment that they never thought to look upstream to see who was pushing the victims in.

Living Downstream is a walk up that river. The river of human cancer.

Based on the acclaimed book by ecologist and cancer survivor Sandra Steingraber, Ph.D., Living Downstream is an eloquent and cinematic feature-length documentary. This poetic and character-driven film follows Sandra during one pivotal year as she travels across North America, working to break the silence about cancer and its environmental links.

Link to the Living Downstream website.

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Tags: Air, Children's Health, Environment, Pollution, Research, Toxic, Video, Water

Metamorphosis inside Multiple Chemical Sensitivity

Posted on Feb 16, 2010 by Susie Collins in Blog, Guest Bloggers, MCS, Media/Videos

My most radical metamorphosis was when I fell ill with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity.

By guestblogger Eva Caballé, Spain.

Originally published in Spanish at Delirio, No 5.

As originally published at Delirio online magazine.

During our lives we suffer several metamorphoses, some are painful, others are positive, chosen or not. The experience, the life itself, makes us change and evolve.

My story is not different, although my most radical metamorphosis was when I fell ill with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity. But although I got sick suddenly, the process itself happened slowly. I was preparing for MCS for many years before I was aware of it. My body was warning me repeatedly without my understanding what it wanted to tell me. But how could I know that everything happening to me was the prelude to MCS? It’s almost impossible to know since information about MCS is kept secret from the public and when anyone dares to raise a voice, they are automatically silenced by those who say MCS is all in the minds of the patients.

It’s not easy to understand what happens to you as you search for a diagnosis, all the while trying not to fail during the long journey while you are riddled with attempts to damage your self-esteem as you struggle with a more diminished health status every day. The last stage of this particular metamorphosis happens when you finally know what it is happening: you have MCS. And then you start to reconsider the life you have known before in order to adapt yourself and to survive into the future.

[...]

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Tags: Books, MCS, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity

Short film: The People’s Grocery

Posted on Jan 29, 2010 by Susie Collins in Blog, Food, Media/Videos, Organic Gardening, Susie Collins

Food justice: The People’s Grocery in West Oakland is an inspiration to communities everywhere about the importance of a healthy diet and about knowing where your food comes from. Director of the project Brahm Ahmadi is a hero!

In West Oakland, California, where liquor stores have replaced markets, People’s Grocery is creating a healthy alternative, offering access to organic produce. Through urban gardens and local farms, People’s Grocery supports a culture based on connection to the land, sustainable agricultural practices, and regenerating community.

Brahm Ahmadi is the co-founder and executive director of People’s Grocery. He has a B.A. in Sociology from the University of California and is an MBA candidate at the Presidio School of Management. Brahm combines social enterprise, cooperative economics, urban agriculture, public education and youth development to build healthy and stable inner city communities. He is also Executive Director of the North Oakland Land Trust, which preserves properties in North Oakland for the exclusive purpose of community gardening.

Link (A great site with oodles of online films to watch!)

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Tags: Children's Health, Environmental Health, Food, Healthy Living, Organic, Video, Work

MCS support group in Alaska is covered on local TV news

Posted on Jan 27, 2010 by Susie Collins in Blog, MCS, Media/Videos, Susie Collins

KTVA television news in Alaska does a two-part report on a group of women with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity.

A wonderful group of activist women have formed an MCS support group in Alaska. KTVA television news covered their story, filming the group at the cafe where they meet once a month. The women do a good job of explaining life with MCS; one of the group is in tears as she describes how difficult it is to get people to understand the illness.

The report is fine as long as it’s listening to the women with MCS. Unfortunately, the reporter then uses an allergist as her primary source. He, of course, doesn’t have a clue about Multiple Chemical Sensitivity since MCS is not an allergy and therefore clearly outside his area of expertise. By the way, did you know that the antibody IgE was discovered in 1967 and gave the key scientific basis to allergy as a medical condition? Before that no one really understood allergies. Sound familiar? Ironically it’s allergists who are often the greatest and most powerful opponents to the recognition of MCS. MCS, by the way, does not produce the antibody IgE, therefore it is not an allergy.

Oh, and one more ding on the report: the reporter does not explore the ingredients of the products mentioned by the women with MCS, nor does she explain the known health hazards of the products and chemicals that the women cite as intoxicants.

The first part of the report covers the group and the uninformed allergist.

The second part films one of the women in her home.

Thanks to Kathy for bringing this report to my attention! And thanks to Harry for his insight about allergies and the discovery of the antibody IgE!

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Tags: Chemicals, Environmental Illness, Indoor Pollution, MCS, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, Support, Video

We are all connected

Posted on Jan 25, 2010 by Susie Collins in Blog, Environment, Media/Videos, Susie Collins

A tribute to great minds of science, intended to spread scientific knowledge and philosophy through the medium of music.

“We are a way for the cosmos to know itself.” -Carl Sagan

Incredible mix of quotations from some of the greatest scientific minds of our age. If everyone understood the truth of this, the planet would not have been poisoned with toxic chemicals and most of us canaries would not not have developed Multiple Chemical Sensitivity due to toxic chemical injury.

There is much to learn.

“We Are All Connected” was made from sampling Carl Sagan’s Cosmos, The History Channel’s Universe series, Richard Feynman’s 1983 interviews, Neil deGrasse Tyson’s cosmic sermon, and Bill Nye’s Eyes of Nye Series, plus added visuals from The Elegant Universe (NOVA), Stephen Hawking’s Universe, Cosmos, the Powers of 10, and more. It is a tribute to great minds of science, intended to spread scientific knowledge and philosophy through the medium of music.

Check out “A Glorious Dawn” by Carl Sagan, another Symphony of Science project!

And my website for more original music: [Colorpulse]

Enjoy!

John
john@symphonyofscience.com

Lyrics [after the jump]:

[...]

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Tags: Environment, Environmental Health, Video

Short film: The Story of Food

Posted on Jan 19, 2010 by Susie Collins in Blog, Food, Media/Videos, Susie Collins

USC Canada’s new short, animated film will get you thinking about our broken food system.

It identifies what’s gone wrong with the modern food system, and what we can do to rebuild it.

Link to more info about the film.

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Tags: Chemicals, Environment, Food, Garden, Health, Healthy Living, Organic, Products, Video

Kim Palmer: Allergic To 20th Century

Posted on Jan 12, 2010 by Susie Collins in Blog, MCS, Media/Videos, Susie Collins

Singer-songwriter Kim Palmer passed away Oct. 23, 2006, after her Multiple Chemical Sensitivity illness got the best of her. This song is from her MCS album titled “Songs From A Porcelain Trailer.”

Kim passed away Oct. 23, 2006, after her MCS illness finally got the best of her. Please visit www.kimpalmersongs.com to learn more about her battle against MCS. This song is from her MCS album titled “Songs From A Porcelain Trailer.” You can download an mp3 copy of this and other songs by Kim from the website.

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Tags: MCS, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, Video

Book ties toxic chemicals to rising healthcare costs

Posted on Jan 11, 2010 by Susie Collins in Blog, Environment, Home & Garden, Linda Sepp, Media/Videos, Research

Our Chemical Lives And The Hijacking Of Our DNA: A Probe Into What’s Probably Making Us Sick, by Catherine J. Frompovich (2009, BookSurge Publishing)

Post by Linda Sepp.

I just ran across a reference to this.

From the Industrial revolution and onward, the world has become an environment that is overflowing with dangerous toxins. Mass manufacturing has resulted in thousands of chemical pollutants being released in the atmosphere, water, and soil. As well, there has been a widespread increase of chemicals being added to almost every type of food and retail product. With this overwhelming chemical exposure, there has been an increase in research and studies showing the life threatening impacts on our health and well being. In her book, Our Chemical Lives And The Hijacking Of Our DNA, author Catherine J Frompovich delves into the effects of a chemical laden world on the body at a cellular level.

Our Chemical Lives And The Hijacking Of Our DNA is an important “wake up call’ about the current and future state of our toxic environment and what will happen if important changes are not made. Not only is it highly educational, the attention to detail makes the book a handy health resource tool. It is highly recommended to not just mass readers, but also to politicians, manufacturing industry officials, and health professionals.

Link to the author’s website.

Link to Amazon.com and good review.

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Tags: Books, Chemicals, Children's Health, Environment, Environmental Health, Environmental Illness, Fragrance, Home, Indoor Pollution, MCS, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, Pesticides, Toxic

Mary Canary shares life on the road

Posted on Jan 09, 2010 by Susie Collins in Blog, Guest Bloggers, Keith Carlson, MCS, Media/Videos

The good, the bad, and the ugly side of life in an RV while coping with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity.

Post by guest blogger Mary Rives.

(Editor’s Note: Mary is the wife of Canary Report contributor Keith Carlson. Mary and Keith are currently living full-time in their new RV, traveling the highways and byways of America, visiting intentional communities, and bringing Laughter Yoga and the benefits of health and wellness coaching to new and old friends along the way. Read more about their trip at Mary and Keith’s Excellent Adventure.)

On Wednesday, I blogged about how to travel with a little help from your friends, and shared with you a template for a letter you might like to give friends and family before you visit. The letter was written by a friend on our behalf, and has some tips about how to prepare for a visit from loved ones with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity.

While it’s true we are having a wonderful adventure on the road, today I’d like to share with you a video that reflects the darker side of our journey, but of course I am being a pretty good sport! We are looking to switch from this diesel rig to a gas powered one in Texas, just two states away now. The veggie oil thing did not pan out and diesel is worsening my Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, but all this nature is healing it too!

We are 14 intentional communities and 12 states on down the road from Amherst, where we began our journey. We’re hitting our stride with the new lifestyle and feel very blessed and grateful (even though it is as cold here in SE Alabama and NW Florida as it is in New England, for now anyway).

Happy New Year to all–and if you feel like it and haven’t yet, read our New Year’s letter to all on our blog: A New Year’s Missive from Keith and Mary.

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Tags: Chemicals, Environmental Illness, Featured Post, Indoor Pollution, MCS, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, Toxic, Video

Veterinarian risks health to discuss chemical sensitivity on TV show

Posted on Dec 29, 2009 by Susie Collins in Blog, MCS, Media/Videos, Susie Collins

Veterinarian with chemical sensitivity risks her health to talk about MCS on German TV show.

Silvia Müller at the Chemical Sensitivity Network reports on the frightening experience of a veterinarian with chemical sensitivity who was interviewed for German TV.

Dr. Coretta Danzer agreed to go on a local German television show to talk about Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, but was exposed to so many toxic chemicals in the television studio that she is still suffering the consequences. My heart and my gratitude go out to Dr. Danzer for her sense of public service and her bravery at risking her own health to bring about awareness and understanding of Multiple Chemical Sensitivity. I wish her a speedy recovery.

Dr. Danzer explains in detail the discomfort she experienced in the studio. Here’s an excerpt:

They called us to the studio on the commercial break before our turn. As I did before, I protected myself passing through the halls and stairways with my charcoal-mask and in the acrylic glass case [the studio had provided for the interview] I applied my oxygen to avoid coughing. The stink inside the box was as bad, but outside it was even worse. I allocated all my power and tried to concentrate as well as possible to answer all questions well. It was very, very straining. My head felt like it would burst, my eyes burnt like fire, as did my throat and my bronchial tubes. I felt dizzy and bad. [...] I was glad when our contribution was over. But I had to wait in the box until the end of the following item, before we were allowed to leave the studio. Two weeks after the broadcasting I am still symptomatic. Every once a while I still taste this disgusting flavor of plastics and I’m even more sensitive than I was before the show.

Link to full report at the Chemical Sensitivity Network.

Thanks, Silvia!

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Tags: Chemicals, Indoor Pollution, MCS, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, Toxic, Work

Film review: Chemerical

Posted on Dec 26, 2009 by Susie Collins in Blog, Healthy Living, Linda Sepp, Media/Videos

Review by Linda Sepp.

I would give a copy of this film to everyone if I could afford it.

I received a copy of the new documentary film Chemerical and wanted to share a few thoughts with you about it. The film shows how a family detoxifies and survives to tell the tale, AND not only that, they save money by cooking up some of their own products.

This is a really good film for people who haven’t thought about how they are poisoning themselves and just buy chemicals off the shelf for their kitchen, bathroom, cleaning and personal care use, either because they don’t believe there is a problem or they think buying healthy products is too inconvenient.

The film isn’t heavy, even though the subject is, and encourages the viewer to make changes instead of just hitting you on the head.

I would have made a few more points, including some info on neuro-toxins and endocrine disruptors, as well as hammered in that air “fresheners” are poison instead of just not fresheners. The microbiologist made a comment about air fresheners, which showed he wasn’t a chemist. That should have been edited, but his other stuff was good. They didn’t mention that essential oils have to be USDA certified organic to be safe, and that EO need to be used carefully as they can be sensitizers even if organic. I might also have mentioned that not all soap is created equal, but that might be in the documentation that can be downloaded if you join the Chemerical Community from their website. (All the site’s pages might not be up and running quite yet.)

The film has a segment with a woman with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, and Dr. Lynn Marshall from the Environmental Health Institute in Ontario. Stacy Malkan is also there for a bit, as is Dr. Rick Smith from Environmental Defence. They mention the Environmental Working Group’s cosmetics safety database, too. And a few other experts, like one who tests their indoor air quality before and after they embark on detoxifying their lives from unnecessary chemical use.

I would give a copy of this film to everyone if I could afford it.

In Sweden a number of years ago, Dr. Karl-Henrik Robèrt, a Swedish doctor and cancer scientist, wanted to create a consensus among governments, business people and environmentalists as to what must at least be agreed to safe guard prosperous life.

“With the support of His Majesty the King of Sweden, Karl XVI Gustaf, this ‘consensus document’ and accompanying audio tape was sent to every household and school in Sweden.”

This eventually went on to become The Natural Step.

If only we had a King Gustaf who would help deliver films like Chemerical, we would soon have a safer world for all living beings.

Link to purchase Chemerical.

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Tags: Chemicals, Children's Health, Environmental Health, Health, Home, Indoor Pollution, MCS, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, Personal Care, Products, Sick Building, Video

Old MacSilver

Posted on Dec 22, 2009 by Susie Collins in Blog, Guest Bloggers, Media/Videos

Parody by guest blogger Susan M. Silver.

Old MacSilver or Multi-Person Sick Home Blues

(to the tune of “Old MacDonald”)

Old MacSilver had a sick home
EI, EI woe!
Her landlord was a toxic cyclone
EI, EI, woe!
With formaldehyde here and fresh paint there
Here a sneeze, there a wheeze
Everywhere a brain freeze
Old MacSilver had a sick home
EI, EI woe!

~~~

© 2009, 2010 Susan M. Silver

Photo credit.

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Tags: Humor

Film: Chemerical

Posted on Dec 17, 2009 by Susie Collins in Blog, Media/Videos, Susie Collins

The documentary Chemerical, by Toronto filmmaker Andrew Nisker, follows a family with three teenagers as they go through their home eliminating harmful chemical products such as cleansers, in favor of homemade, eco-friendly concoctions.

From the creator of the award winning film “Garbage! The Revolution Starts at Home” (Sundance Channel, Super Channel) comes a shocking tale about the products we use to clean our homes and bodies.

“Chemerical” explores the life cycle of everyday householder cleaners and hygiene products to prove that, thanks to our clean obsession, we are drowning in sea of toxicity.

The film is at once humorous, as we watch the Goode family try to turn a new leaf by creating and living in a toxic free home, and informative, as director Andrew Nisker works with many experts to give audiences the tools and inspiration to live toxic free.

Chemerical tackles the “toxic debate” in a truly informative and entertaining way, not only by raising awareness, but most importantly, by providing simple solutions.

“This is one of the scariest movies of the year! But there’s also enough usable info and simple advice that it ultimately gives hope,” says Mark McInnis, Vice-President, Production, MTV Canada.

Link

Thanks Linda!

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Tags: Chemicals, Children's Health, Healthy Living, Home, Indoor Pollution, Organic, Products, Video

Franny Armstrong’s new e-book featured in local paper

Posted on Dec 17, 2009 by Susie Collins in Blog, Franny Armstrong, Media/Videos, Susie Collins

Northumberland News reports on Canary Report contributor Franny Armstrong’s new e-book Small Packages.

Author Franny Armstrong hopes to bring some Christmas cheer to her readers with her new novel Small Packages.

The story, about a woman who becomes a recluse after the death of her husband, was an easy one for Ms. Armstrong to write. The author, who suffers from Multiple Chemical Sensitivity Disorder (MCS) rarely leaves the house for fear of encountering fragrances and other chemicals, which cause severe reactions.

“Writing has been so healing for me because I have focus and drive now where I never had before,” she explained.

To read an excerpt from ‘Small Packages: A Christmas Story’, visit www.paranovelgirls.com. Complete e-books can be purchased for $3.99 online at www.redrosepublishing.com

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Tags: Art, Books, MCS, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity

Video: The Naked Truth About Multiple Chemical Sensitivity

Posted on Dec 14, 2009 by Susie Collins in Blog, MCS, Media/Videos, Susie Collins

The Canary Report produces a video where fifteen women bare all to tell the naked truth about life with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity.

This video contains nudity, strong language and a bunch of women telling the absolute Truth about living with MCS. Viewer discretion and an open mind is advised.

These images are also available as a 2010 calendar:

Link to Version 1 The Naked Truth About Multiple Chemical Sensitivity.

And Version 2 The Naked Truth About Multiple Chemical Sensitivity: Seeking Our Nature.

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Tags: Art, Environmental Illness, MCS, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, Photography, Support, Video