The Canary Report

The Chemical Sensitivity Foundation

Posted on Aug 18, 2010 by Susie Collins in Blog, Guest Bloggers, MCS

The primary goal of the Chemical Sensitivity Foundation, a 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation, is to raise public awareness about multiple chemical sensitivity.

By guestblogger Alison Johnson.

Alison Johnson, chair of the Chemical Sensitivity Foundation.

The Chemical Sensitivity Foundation, which I chair, is a national 501(c)3 nonprofit foundation that in the last nine years has represented Multiple Chemical Sensitivity interests in what I think has been a fairly effective way, given the difficulty of raising money in this field. That difficulty relates to two problems. First, people with MCS are for the most part extremely short of money and therefore are not in a position to donate much to our cause. Second, mainstream foundations and wealthy people are not likely to donate large sums until MCS is more widely accepted. These potential donors will hesitate to donate to the cause when they learn that the medical community in general is quite skeptical about MCS.

When I decided to found the Chemical Sensitivity Foundation in 2001, I asked people to be on the board whom I knew very well. Most I had known for many years. I had met almost all of them in person, been in their homes in several cases, and had talked with them by phone frequently, so I had a good idea about who was well-informed, effective, reasonable, and reliable. I chose people who had been dealing with MCS as patients or the spouse of a patient for many years, usually a couple of decades. All but one had a proven track record of major national contributions to the MCS community; their names and reputation were widely known among the chemically sensitive. This group has worked together so well that no one has left the board since we founded the CSF nine years ago.

One important aspect of the Chemical Sensitivity Foundation is that the other board members have the power to vote me out of office at the annual meeting. We also list the name of each board member on our website, together with where they live. I know of no other MCS foundation that can vote its leader out of office; most other MCS foundations do not list their board members.

During the last year, the CSF has been responsible for getting copies of my book Amputated Lives: Coping with Chemical Sensitivity into the hands of every member of Congress, every governor, and every member of the state legislatures of California, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Mexico, Indiana, Nebraska, and Washington. (Targeted donations from residents of those particular states paid for the latter books.) We also sent copies to the top 30 department heads at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the top dozen at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR). If you are not familiar with my book, you may want to read excerpts on my website, www.alisonjohnsonmcs.com. The Foreword by Dr. Christine Oliver, a professor at Harvard Medical School, is particularly useful in giving the book some credibility with people outside the MCS community.

Over the years, copies of my other two books and my documentaries, Gulf War Syndrome: Aftermath of a Toxic Battlefield and The Toxic Clouds of 9/11: A Looming Health Disaster, have also been given to every member of Congress. My 9/11 film contains interviews with three members of Congress and with experts who have major standing nationally outside of the MCS community. My Gulf War Syndrome film was accompanied by a letter of endorsement from Ross Perot, and Congressman Jerry Nadler (Ground Zero district) provided this endorsement for my 9/11 film: “I wish every politician and policymaker could see this moving and powerful film.”

One very important aspect of the CSF website is the extensive bibliography of research on chemical sensitivity that has been published in peer-reviewed journals. The website also contains the link “Fragrance Issues” that leads to the groundbreaking Centers for Disease Control (CDC) policy that includes fragrance-free standards in all CDC facilities throughout the country.

In April, I was asked to chair a series of roundtable discussions titled “Multiple Chemical Sensitivity” at the CDC national Healthy Housing conference in New Orleans. In the past month, I have given 23 radio interviews about the potential for MCS to develop among the BP oil spill cleanup workers. These interviews were with fairly important radio stations with substantial numbers of listeners, including stations in Boston, Austin, Houston, Baltimore, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, and Miami. I attend many of the Washington or Boston meetings of the Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veteran’s Illnesses. This Veteran’s Administration appointed committee is largely responsible for influencing millions of dollars of research into questions that are quite closely related to MCS. During the last decade, I have traveled to London, Wiesbaden, Ottawa, Montreal, and Halifax to show my documentaries to MCS groups. My DVDs are now circulating in many European countries.

The CSF is focusing at this point on raising awareness of MCS because that is a realistic goal, given our present very limited funds. It’s clear that most of the other MCS projects we would like to work on depend upon raising substantial money for the cause. That will become much easier to achieve if we can convince the general public that the condition is real and physiologically based. You can all help in our fundraising efforts by encouraging others to visit our CSF website and to support our foundation financially. We would be happy to include anyone on our mailing list who sends me their address.

In closing, let me include the résumés for the CSF board members.

Pam Gibson, Ph.D.

Pam Gibson, Ph.D., is Professor of Psychology at James Madison University. She received her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Rhode Island in 1991 and has since studied the life impacts of having environmental sensitivities. Dr. Gibson is the author of the book Multiple Chemical Sensitivity: A Survival Guide, 2nd ed., as well as numerous journal and conference papers. For further information on Dr. Gibson’s book, see www.earthrivebooks.com and for her research, see www.mcsresearch.net.

Lynn Lawson

Lynn Lawson is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate in chemistry from Beloit College and received her master’s degree in English from Northwestern University. She taught English composition and literature at the university level for several years before becoming a medical and technical writer. She has written one of the leading books about chemical sensitivity, Staying Well in a Toxic World: Understanding Environmental Illness, Multiple Chemical Sensitivities, Chemical Injuries, and Sick Building Syndrome. From 1991 to 2001, she edited the Canary News, the newsletter of the Chicago area chemical sensitivity group, which enjoyed a nationwide MCS readership.

Ann McCampbell, M.D.

Ann McCampbell, M.D., is a physician who had to stop practicing medicine after she developed chemical sensitivity. She was a cofounder of the Healthy Housing Coalition of New Mexico in 1994, and she is the chair of the MCS Task Force of New Mexico, which she helped found in 1995. In 1996, Dr. McCampbell organized and moderated a meeting of the Governor’s Committee on the Concerns of the Handicapped held in Santa Fe. At this day-long meeting, dozens of chemically sensitive people testified about the impact of MCS upon their lives. Dr. McCampbell has written a booklet titled Multiple Chemical Sensitivity that is widely used by MCS support groups across the country. She also drafted the MCS brochure printed by the MCS Task Force of New Mexico in collaboration with the New Mexico Department of Health, the New Mexico Environment Department, and the New Mexico State Department of Education. Dr. McCampbell’s latest contribution to the cause of the chemically sensitive is an article titled “Multiple Chemical Sensitivities Under Siege,” which was the lead article in the Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients in January 2001. In this article, she describes how pesticide companies are often subsidiaries or parent companies of pharmaceutical firms, a linkage that is particularly disturbing because of the enormous influence that pharmaceutical companies have through their advertising in medical journals and their funding of academic research.

Karen McDonell

Karen McDonell, who was a paralegal before a sick building exposure made her chemically sensitive, has been a leading MCS advocate in the Seattle area, where she has assembled a database of over 800 area residents with chemical sensitivity. Her efforts led to the establishment by the Washington Legislature of a task force on MCS. McDonell organized and raised funds for the first Washington State Conference on MCS, which was held in Seattle in 1993 with over 350 in attendance. She also organized a 1996 MCS conference that was cosponsored by the University of Washington, School of Continuing Education, as well as a conference on children’s environmental health, and served as the facilitator at these conferences. McDonell is also a long-time board member of the Washington Toxics Coalition.

Gerald Ross, M.D.

Gerald Ross, M.D., is board certified in both Family Medicine and Environmental Medicine and treated thousands of patients with MCS and many ill Gulf War veterans while on the staff of the Environmental Health Center in Dallas. Prior to that period, he served for four years in Halifax, Nova Scotia, as the medical director of the world’s first government-sponsored clinic established for the evaluation and treatment of environmentally triggered illnesses, including multiple chemical sensitivity. Dr. Ross is a past president of the American Academy of Environmental Medicine and is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine in England. A frequent contributor to peer-reviewed journals, in 1998 he presented a paper demonstrating the link between MCS and neurotoxicity at the first seminar on chemical sensitivity conducted by the American Chemical Society, the world’s largest scientific organization. Dr. Ross was the opening speaker at an Ottawa symposium on MCS sponsored by the Canadian Department of National Defense in 2001.

Anne Steinemann, Ph.D.

Anne Steinemann, Ph.D., is Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Professor of Public Affairs at the University of Washington. She received her Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Stanford University in 1993. Dr. Steinemann received the National Science Foundation CAREER Award, the highest honor for junior faculty in science and engineering. She also received the highest teaching awards for both her department and the university while a faculty member at Georgia Tech. She recently published two textbooks: Microeconomics for Public Decisions (South-Western, 2005) and Exposure Analysis (CRC Press, 2006). In addition, she has published 30 peer-reviewed journal articles. Together with a colleague, she has conducted national and regional prevalence studies of MCS and published the results in the American Journal of Public Health, Archives of Environmental Health, and Environmental Health Perspectives. Further information about Dr. Steinemann can be found on her website.

Robert Weggel

Robert Weggel received a B.S. degree in physics from MIT and studied applied mathematics on the graduate level at Harvard. From 1966 to 1996, he was an analytical engineer and applied mathematician at the Francis Bitter National Magnet Lab at MIT, where he became the assistant head of the Magnet Technology Division in 1992. From 1996 to 2002, he was a Senior Research Engineer at Brookhaven National Laboratory, where he continued to design magnets. He has lectured at dozens of international magnet conferences and has written a hundred peer-reviewed journal articles. He brings to the board of the Chemical Sensitivity Foundation the perspective of a spouse of an MCS patient, and for several years he helped his wife Diane edit the newsletter of the Massachusetts Association for the Chemically Injured. He is also a former treasurer of the New England Chapter of the Sierra Club.

~~~

Alison Johnson is chair of the Chemical Sensitivity Foundation. She received the American Academy of Environmental Medicine’s Carleton Lee award in 2004 “In recognition of exemplary efforts in furthering the principles of Environmental Medicine.” She is a summa cum laude graduate of Carleton College and studied mathematics at the Sorbonne on a National Science Foundation Fellowship. She received a master’s degree in mathematics from the University of Wisconsin, where she studied on a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship. She has produced and directed documentaries titled Multiple Chemical Sensitivity: How Chemical Exposures May Be Affecting Your Health, Gulf War Syndrome: Aftermath of a Toxic Battlefield, and The Toxic Clouds of 9/11: A Looming Health Disaster. She has also edited a book titled Casualties of Progress: Personal Histories from the Chemically Sensitive and has written a book titled Gulf War Syndrome: Legacy of a Perfect War. In 2008, she published her latest book, Amputated Lives: Coping with Chemical Sensitivity. For information on these books and DVDs, see www.alisonjohnsonmcs.com.

©2010 Alison Johnson

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Tags: Books, MCS, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, Video

The long journey home

Posted on Jul 02, 2010 by Susie Collins in Blog, Guest Bloggers, MCS

Common Scents: Adventures with Autism and Chemical Sensitivity is a memoir I wrote about my experiences living in eight cities over two years, searching for safe housing.

By guestblogger Kate Goldfield.

Cover shot for my new book Common Scents: Adventures with Autism and Chemical Sensitivity.

In the sun.

“The long journey home,” –what does that mean to you? For two years, I had no real definition of or sense of home. I moved anywhere from every few weeks to every few months. I couldn’t stay in any one place long enough to plan a dinner out, make friends, or have any sense of roots or belonging.

Why did I move so much? Most readers of The Canary Report will be familiar with the horrors of what we call multiple chemical sensitivity, or MCS. I react to fragrances and chemicals of all kinds, and the residues and exposures in any apartment or roomshare I looked at were just too much for me.

At 24, after living with my parents in Standish for as long as I could, I couldn’t find any apartments or roomshares that worked for me in Maine. So I set off on a journey across the country to find something that would. I used Craigslist or other MCS websites to find other people with chemical sensitivities who had houses that would be compatible with my needs. In this way, I ended up living in eight cities over two years: Burlington, Vermont; Liberty, New York; Missoua, Montana; Newport, Bend and Eugene in Oregon; Ballston Spa, New York; and finally back to Maine where I currently am, in the greater Portland area.

There was another complication. I have Asperger’s Syndrome, a high functioning form of autism. This sometimes makes it difficult for me to communicate effectively with others, understand social rules and norms, and tolerate a lot of sensory stimuli (such as noise, certain kinds of weather, smells, fabric textures and so on). The two years I spent traveling from place to place were a challenge, but they taught me a lot about the world and my place in it. I learned the power of my own strength and the value of human connection.

Book cover.

Common Scents: Adventures with Autism and Chemical Sensitivity is a memoir I wrote about these experiences. I have suffered from MCS for about four years; two years ago, I decided to do something about it. Many of us can relate to having a nomadic lifestyle; many of us will also be able to relate to the day in, day out struggles of everyday life that I experienced on this journey while trying to lead a chemically safe life in so many different cities.

I wanted this to be a book we could all relate to, a book someone with MCS could read and see themselves in. Maybe our life circumstances aren’t completely the same, and maybe my autism makes me see the world a little differently than you, but in the end our experiences are all remarkably similar. We are united by one common goal: to keep ourselves safe from the chemicals that bring havoc to our lives and health by any means possible.

I tried to make this a lighthearted tale; I didn’t want it to be a story of gloom and doom. Wherever I could, I used humor and wit to convey my story, believing that at least in this case, the reader would be more engaged when they were laughing than crying. My perseverance finally paid off after two years, and I found a good living situation back in my beloved home state of Maine. We all are suffering from so many problems; safe housing is the number one goal for people with chemical sensitivities. I only hope that one day, this goal will be realized for every single person that needs it.

Meanwhile, if you would like to read more about my story, please go to my website at http://kategoldfield.webs.com . Paperback books are available for purchase at the link at the end, and PDF versions are available too. May we all find what we are looking for, and more importantly, may we all support each other on our journeys until we are able to do so.

Kate Goldfield

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Tags: Books, MCS, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity

Open tabs

Posted on Mar 12, 2010 by Susie Collins in Blog, Environment, Government Regulation, News, Susie Collins

More from my series Open Tabs, sharing links to the pages I have open on my browser.

I’m sorry I don’t always remember where the links come from, many are sent to me through Facebook or email. I try to give credit when I can. I’m not working in a vacuum, most info I find is sent to me in one way or another and I thank all of you for taking the time to share. xoxo

Clean, Green, and Lean: Get Rid of the Toxins That Make You Fat by Dr. Walter Crinnion

My online friend, Missy, sent me this link to a book about losing weight, Clean, Green, and Lean: Get Rid of the Toxins That Make You Fat by Dr. Walter Crinnion. Before you get the wrong idea, this book is not about another fad diet so your can fit into your Gucci pants, this is serious information of value to people who have a weight problem due to toxic chemical or mold exposure. It’s also available on Kindle.

A renowned naturopathic doctor shows you how to get lean and be green while helping to save the planet.

Now you can lose weight and be good to the environment, too-without starvation diets, calorie counting, complicated meal plans, or even having to exercise. Dr. Walter Crinnion, a naturopathic doctor and environmental medicine physician, shows you how to clean up your diet and clear out your body and home to eliminate unwanted pounds and toxins from your life. You’ll be able to get rid of nagging health problems such as allergies and fatigue and enjoy greater energy and a greener planet. Clean, Green, and Lean:

* Shares an effective program to shed pounds and stay healthy by getting rid of toxins in your body and your life in just four weeks
* Combines losing weight with being good to the environment
* Can help reduce aches and pains, depression, and other health problems
* Is written by one of the country’s foremost authorities on environmental medicine who has appeared on The View and other programs

If you’re serious about losing weight and safeguarding your health, follow the expert advice of Dr. Crinnion and start getting clean, green, and lean today.

Here’s an enlightening essay by Helen Larkin on Women and the Environment: Understanding Connections.

America was created, designed, and governed by men, yet now we are one of the most violent Westernized countries, infested with cancer, and have the greatest disconnection from our ecological impacts. Young women today need to enter into the sciences with a vengeance studying toxicology, agriculture, biomimicry, conservation, green chemistry, alternative energy, health, nutrition, and ecological dynamics. Women today must enter all realms of governance. We need to preserve the best of modern living while walking as gently as possible on the planet. We must educate and KNOW that female is creation, female is nature, and female is the future. Most important: Female is Life.

The Environmental Working Group has an excellent page on Scented Secrets: Fragrances Hide Toxic Chemical Ingredients. It was produced as guidance for Valentine’s Day presents, but can be applied any day. The Environmental Working Group is one of the best places on the web to get information about toxic chemicals in consumer goods, it’s info you can trust.

Take a quick look at a personal care product label, and you’ll nearly always find a long list of chemical ingredients in tiny print. Chances are, somewhere in the midst of these technical chemical terms, is the simple word “fragrance.” Although companies are required by law to list all chemicals ingredients in a product, a special loophole allows them to hide what’s in the “fragrance” component[1]. And what’s hidden in that simple word can include complex mixtures of up to hundreds of chemicals that studies show may be linked to a variety of health problems, including allergies, skin reactions, endocrine/hormone disruption, and possibly even birth defects. Companies are not required to test cosmetics for safety before they are sold. The label is the primary protection we have to make decisions about products we rub, pour, and lather on our skin and hair. Yet when it comes to fragrances, we don’t even have this simple protection.

An online friend asked me to share some info about burn pits. I’ve covered this story previously on The Canary Report, but here’s a recent report in the New York Times: Veterans speak out against burn pits, a range of health problems are linked to the pits on military bases in Iraq and Afghanistan, toxic substances have been found in the smoke.

On the website Fragrance Free Living, Bonnie tells her story about losing her job and almost her house due to her Multiple Chemical Sensitivity. I’m pleased to see my online friend Roberta Bradley, vice president at the Environmental Health Association of Alberta, leave a comment for Bonnie with links and information.

Common Dreams reports Cities Sue Manufacturer of Weed-Killer Found in Tap Water: Federal Lawsuit Seeks Funding to Remove Atrazine from Water Supply. This story is interesting because the states are arguing that they shouldn’t have to pay for filtering out the contaminant that the chemical company is responsible for manufacturing and selling as safe. I would argue the federal government is equally to blame for this problem, having not done their job of protecting public health before protecting corporate interest.

Annie Bond writes about toxic teeth, BPA and dental bonding materials. This is a product about which every canary should be aware.

Okay, that’s enough, that should keep you busy for awhile! Thanks to everyone who sent me the links!

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Tags: Books, Chemicals, Environment, Fragrance, Perfume, Pesticides, Policy, Pollution, Products, Research, Toxic

Metamorphosis inside Multiple Chemical Sensitivity

Posted on Feb 16, 2010 by Susie Collins in Blog, Eva Caballé, 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

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

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

Book: The Value of Nothing

Posted on Nov 20, 2009 by Susie Collins in Blog, Environment, Media/Videos, Susie Collins

Available January 5th, 2010. To read the first chapter, click here: http://bit.ly/1ajaxZ . For more information on both Raj Patel and The Value of Nothing, visit http://www.rajpatel.org .

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Tags: Air, Books, Chemicals, Environment, Environmental Health, Healthy Living, Indoor Pollution, Organic, Policy, Toxic, Video

Dutch book on Multiple Chemical Sensitivity now published in English

Posted on Nov 13, 2009 by Susie Collins in Blog, MCS, Media/Videos, Susie Collins

English version of MCS book is now launched worldwide by McFarland.

Els Valkenburg of the Netherlands reports that her book entitled Understanding Multiple Chemical Sensitivity: Causes, Effects, Personal Experiences and Resources has just been published in English. The book is now published in three languages, this time in the US worldwide version by publisher McFarland. I should be receiving a copy to review very soon!

This personal view of multiple chemical sensitivity and environmental illness is supported by research. In a question-and-answer format, the effects of exposure to perfume, smoke, air fresheners, cleaning products, exhaust, and other air contaminants are examined and linked to symptoms such as headaches, allergies, asthma, and fatigue. The book contains additional testimony and reports from 37 sufferers, as well as listings of resources and an index of related scientific articles.

Els Valkenburg wrote the first Dutch book on multiple chemical sensitivity, and this is the English-language edition. She operates the resource Web site www.the-abc-of-mcs.com.

She lives in the Netherlands.

Congratulations, Els! I look forward to reviewing your book.

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Tags: Books, Chemicals, Children's Health, Environmental Health, Environmental Illness, Fragrance, Healthy Living, Indoor Pollution, MCS, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, Perfume, Pesticides

Perfume, poisoning, and green spaces

Posted on Oct 22, 2009 by Susie Collins in Blog, Linda Sepp, Media/Videos, News

Canary’s Cry.

Post by Linda Sepp.

Green and Save reports on Perfume and Colognes: Dangerously Chemical.

CTV News reports that getting the recommended treatment for severe carbon-monoxide poisoning depends on where you live in Canada and who your doctor is.

CBC News reports green spaces boost the body and the mind.

Reuters reports polluted air may give you a headache.

Building Green reports on an EPA warning: Older buildings may harbor PCBs.

The Canadian Center for Occupational Safety reports a webinar will be held on ototoxic industrial chemicals and potentially harmful exposure. Dr. Thais Morata of the U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health will discusses the effects of chemical agents, the interaction between these agents and noise, and strategies for preventing work-related hearing loss.

The Star reports Web surfing boosts brain circuitry in older adults.

King’s College London reports on research showing pesticides exposure is linked to suicidal thoughts. Full article here.

The Wall Street Journal reports a bill backed by industry and environmental groups would set federal limits on a potentially dangerous chemical inside your home: formaldehyde.

Best selling author Barbara Ehrenreich has a new book out, Bright-sided: How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America. I just saw her talking about it on the Daily Show and she was brilliant. She said there’s an empathy deficit (no kidding). She also said, “I never think delusion is ok.” YAY for speaking up!

###

The health and ability for those with environmental sensitivities rests with the choices and actions of others. For more information, see The Medical Perspective on Environmental Sensitivities.

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Tags: Air, Books, Canary's Cry, Chemicals, Environment, Environmental Health, Fragrance, Home, Indoor Pollution, Perfume, Pesticides, Products, Research, Toxic, Video, Work

Toxic assault on our kids

Posted on May 20, 2009 by Susie Collins in Blog, Media/Videos, Research, Susie Collins

We and our children are exposed to toxins invisibly, stealthily, without our knowledge.

I can’t recommend this book enough to any parent wondering if they need to consciously and actively do all they can to protect their kids from toxic chemicals. If you don’t believe those of us with chemical sensitivity who are sounding the alarm, then at least listen to the scientists who are doing the hard research. Journalists Alice Shabecoff and Philip Shabecoff have done just that and written a book about their findings.

In this shocking and sobering book, journalists Alice Shabecoff and Philip Shabecoff directly and definitively link industrial toxins to the current rise in childhood disease and death. In the tradition of Silent Spring, POISONED PROFITS: the Toxic Assault on Our Children is a landmark investigation, an eye-opening account of a country that prizes money over children’s health.

From autism to cancer

With indisputable data, the Shabecoffs reveal that the children of baby boomers—the first to be raised in a truly “toxified world”—have higher rates of birth defects, asthma, cancer, autism and a frightening range of other neurological illnesses from ADHD to mental retardation, and other serious chronic illnesses compared to previous generations.

They reveal that one out of two pregnancies fails to come to term or results in a less than healthy child, that premature births and infertility are on the rise as this generation matures, while the ratio of male babies dwindles.

These children are victims of a (perhaps unwitting) crime; the perpetrators are the companies who manufacture and use poisonous product.

Environmental exposures from conception to early life can set a person’s cellular code for life and can cause illness at any time from childhood until old age. Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases and breast cancer are examples.

Covering up the evidence

Why does the toxic assault on our children’s environmental health continue?: because the evidence is routinely obscured by controversy deliberately generated by the companies that profit, abetted by government collusion, scientists-for-hire, lobbyists, lawyers and cynical public relations.

Poisons in the environment

From fetus to adulthood, in our homes, yards, schools, cars and buses, and playgrounds. the assault is everywhere: air pollution, water pollution, pesticides, mercury and lead, industrial solvents, food additives, artificial growth hormones, arsenic, synthetic hormones (bisphenol A and phthalates) in bottles and teething rings and other plastic products, radioactive pollutants in the water, and even rocket fuel in lettuce.

Solutions

POISONED PROFITS is in the end a book about hope and optimism. Now we know what is happening. These poisons are manmade; manufacturers can take them out of our children’s lives and make profits from safe products. Find here the policy changes to spur this shift.

Find here the solutions to reduce your child’s risk and to alter the system.

Powerful, unflinching, and eminently readable, POISONED PROFITS is a wake up call that is bound to inspire talk and force change.

Link

Thanks, Linda!

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Tags: Books, Chemicals, Children's Health, Environment, Environmental Health, Healthy Living, Home, Indoor Pollution, Pesticides, Research, Toxic

When a strong countermeasure is necessary

Posted on May 16, 2009 by Susie Collins in Blog, Linda Sepp, Media/Videos

Dalai Lama Quote of the Week.

Post by Linda.

I think that there is a very close connection between humility and patience. Humility involves having the capacity to take a more confrontational stance, having the capacity to retaliate if you wish, yet deliberately deciding not to do so. That is what I would call genuine humility. I think that true tolerance or patience has a component or element of self-discipline and restraint—the realization that you could have acted otherwise, you could have adopted a more aggressive approach, but decided not to do so. On the other hand, being forced to adopt a certain passive response out of a feeling of helplessness or incapacitation—that I wouldn’t call genuine humility. That may be a kind of meekness, but it isn’t genuine tolerance.

Now when we talk about how we should develop tolerance towards those who harm us, we should not misunderstand this to mean that we should just meekly accept whatever is done against us. [Laughs] Rather, if necessary, the best, the wisest course, might be to simply run away—run miles away!

Sometimes, you may encounter situations that require strong countermeasures. I believe, however, that you can take a strong stand and even take strong countermeasures out of a feeling of compassion, or a sense of concern for the other, rather than out of anger. One of the reasons why there is a need to adopt a very strong countermeasure against someone is that if you let it pass—whatever the harm or the crime that is being perpetrated against you—then there is a danger of that person’s habituating in a very negative way, which, in reality, will cause that individual’s own downfall and is very destructive in the long run for the individual himself or herself. Therefore a strong countermeasure is necessary, but with this thought in mind, you can do it out of compassion and concern for that individual.

–from The Art of Happiness: A Handbook for Living by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Howard C. Cutler, M.D.

Link

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Tags: Books, Healthy Living