A Grandmother's Plea: This Generation is Sick from Toxic Chemicals

This is a guest post by journalist and author Alice Shabecoff, co-author of Poisoned Profits: The Toxic Assault on our Children, Random House.  She found Green Moms and Non-Toxic Kids through our recent carnival, and wanted to add her voice.  I am happy to give her the opportunity here.  

As we watched each of our five grandchildren and their friends enter this world and begin their life’s journey, it became more and more clear that something is amiss with this generation.  How are your children and your friends’ children doing? 

Most likely, one of three of the children you know in this generation suffers from a chronic illness.  Perhaps it’s cancer, or birth defects, perhaps asthma, or a problem that affects the child’s mind and behavior, such as Downs Syndrome, learning disorders, ADHD or autism.  Though one in three may sound exaggerated, unbelievable, the  figures are there amidst various government files. 

This generation is different.  Childhood cancer, once a medical rarity, has grown 67 percent since 1950.  Asthma has increased 140 percent in the last twenty years and autism rates without a doubt have increased at least 200 percent.  Miscarriages and premature births are also on the rise, while the ratio of male babies dwindles and girls face endometriosis even in teenage years. 

This generation is the first to be raised in a truly toxified world.  Even before conception and on into adulthood, the assault is everywhere: heavy metals and carcinogenic particles in air pollution; industrial solvents, household detergents, prozac and radioactive wastes in drinking water; pesticides in flea collars; artificial growth hormones in beef, arsenic in chicken; synthetic hormones in bottles, teething rings and medical devices; formaldehyde in cribs and nail polish, and even rocket fuel in lettuce.   Pacifiers are now manufactured with nanoparticles from silver, to be sold as ‘antibacterial.’  What’s wrong with rinsing a pacifier in soapy water?

Despite naysayers (who pays them to say nay?—that’s a whole story in itself), it’s clear there is both an association and a causative connection between the vast explosion of poisons in our everyday lives and our children’s “issues.”  Over 80,000 industrial chemicals (tested only by the manufacturer) are in commerce in this country, produced or imported at 15 trillion pounds a year.   Pesticide use has leapt from the troubling 400 million pounds Rachel Carson wrote about in the 1960s to the mind-boggling 4.4 billion pounds in use today.   Nuclear power plants, aging and under-maintained, increasingly leak wastes, often without notifying their community.

What could be more elemental than our desire to protect our children.  Children and fetuses, because of their undeveloped defense systems, are ten to sixty-five times more susceptible to specific toxics than adults.  These toxics diminish the capacities of our children...the future of our families, our communities, our nation. 

Illness does not necessarily show up in childhood.  Environmental exposures, from conception to early life, can set a person´s cellular code for life and can cause disease at any time, through old age. This accounts for the rise in Parkinson´s and Alzheimer´s diseases, prostate and breast cancer.

Yet this is not the dispiriting ‘Bad News’ it might seem.  It is, actually, a message of hope and optimism.  We are fearful only when we are ignorant and powerless.  Now that we know what is happening, we can determine not to let it happen further. 

These poisons are manmade; manufacturers can take them out of our children´s lives and make profits from safe products.  ‘Green chemistry’ can replace toxic molecules with harmless ones.  We can connect global climate change actions to environmental health strategies.  If we replace coal-fired power, in the process we reduce not only carbon but also emissions of the tons of lead, mercury, hydrochloric acid, chromium, arsenic, sulfur and nitrogen oxides that cause autism, Alzheimer’s and other public health menaces. 

            In a riff on Pogo, let’s say, “We have met the heroes and it is us.”  We cannot bury our heads and hope it will all go away.  We cannot leave the job to someone else.  Some may feel the problem is so massive, it’s best to pretend it doesn’t exist.  But it isn’t more massive than we allow it to be.  It’s totally within our reach.

We are mothers and grandmothers.  There are 23 million children adversely affected by our toxic lives.  That makes (more or less) 23 million mothers, 46 million grandmothers.  We are a powerhouse.  It is in our power to learn about what harms our children and to share our knowledge.  It is in our power as a community of citizens and parents to demand action against the current harmful policies and practices and against the indiscriminate use of processes and practices that destroy and degrade all life on our planet.

            And so, through my letters to you here at Non-Toxic Kids, we will make each other smarter and stronger.  We will share ideas about how to go through pregnancy avoiding dangerous substances, how to manage a household that shields our children from exposures.  We will sound the alarm when there’s legislation to get behind.  We will expose companies that persist in harmful practices and praise the good guys.  We will share designs for local and national action campaigns, and we will share knowledge of treatments that move our children to cures. 

--

Alice Shabecoff is the co-author with her husband Philip of Poisoned Profits: The Toxic Assault on our Children, Random House.  See her website, www.poisonedprofits.com.

Book Review: How to Sew a Button and Other Nifty Things your Grandmother Knew by Erin Bried

 One silver lining to this whole recession mess is that it is causing all of us be more resourceful, self-sufficient, and to do more with less.  To make things last, fix things, or make due with what we have. In recent history this has been lost on our generation, where we simply buy new cheap goods, often from far away, instead of looking inward, to what else we can do.  We all know this manner of living is not sustainable.  


Our grandmothers knew this.  They knew how to stretch a dollar, sew a button, entertain on the cheap, cook at home, make a pie crust from scratch, the list goes on and on. 


Many of us missed the opportunity to learn from our grandmothers, or weren't ready to (if you had mentioned any of this to me 15 years ago I would have run the other way).  Our grandmothers had something to teach us, and thankfully, Erin Bried has been collected many of their pearls of wisdom for this snappy book.  


Bried interviewed 10 grandmothers from across the country, all of whom lived during the Great Depression, to find out how they made due, helped others, and entertained with very little, if any excess.  She found that wealth at that time was not defined by possessions, but by your resourcefulness-- nothing was wasted, every task was valued, and much pride was taken in simplier things in life like a homemade pie, freshly ironed shirt, and a clean home.  


The book shares over 100 how-tos that will help you save money and seriously increase your competence in several areas.  In short, funny and entertaining snippets she takes on some topics that scare me, personally, such as:


Cooking
Gardening
Cleaning
Dressing
Nesting
Thriving
Loving
Saving
Joining
Entertaining


Some of my favorites include How to Make Dandelion Wine, How to Make a Baby Toy, and How to Remove Most Stains.  There are so many great topics in this book, it makes it hard to choose.  Of course, Erin is not able to go into infinite detail about each of these topics.  Some are so vast, like how to grow a garden.  But if you are just starting out, this is a great place to begin.



Of course there are many things in here you already know how to do, such as reading a bedtime story, or introducing someone, or playing charades.  What Erin does is make it funny and interesting to read the grandmothers' take on the subject.  


Feminists, take heart.  When I first read the chapter about love, and it outlined welcoming your honey home, I thought, gag!  What is this, 1950?  I'm a feminist, after all!  I certainly don't need to be home when my husband gets home, and it is usually me returning from work anyway.  Some of the comments are truly sappy, but then again, our grandmothers didn't get divorced as much as our generation does.  Paying attention to each other in real and meaningful ways isn't sexist, and I think that is what Erin and the grandmothers are showing us.  


And what lovely reading it is to take in the first chapter of the book which introduces us to the real hereos:  the grandmothers Erin interviewed who lived through the Great Depression and whose ideas are shared throughout the book.  


She also encourages us to sit down and talk with our grandmother(s) if they are still alive.  I sure wish mine were.  


For anyone wanting to be more resourceful, self-sufficient, independent and skilled, this is a great book to pick up. It makes a sweet present for a friend as well.  The book is sassy, fun and empowering, and it promotes money saving ideas that will also lessen the impact on our planet.  Thanks, Erin, for sharing the wisdom of these older women, and for sharing this book with us! I, for one, am glad you made that Swiss Chard pie!  :)


And if you want to get started right now, check out this video from Erin about how to make a baby toy (I think even I could do this one!).

Green Moms Carnival: Inspirational Green Resolutions for 2010!

The Green Moms rock for inspiration-- and this month they've got a lot to share in the green resolutions department.  I mean, these are savvy women who make goals, and work their butts off until they accomplish them (unless you are me, and the resolution is eating less cheese--).


Like Heather over at Ecomom. She's got an inspirational post about saving money (it's not boring, I promise!) with good resources and ideas for saving the green stuff.   


And this post from Lisa at Condo Blues.  She's truly inspired-- and I would love to have one of those compost tumblers, too!  They are expensive, but look nice and seem like they'd be easy for quick composting.  And I know about those few remaining products-- they seem to stick around.  Good luck with those resolutions, I mean, goals, Lisa!


You've got to love the psychological analysis of how we can change our behaviors over at Minimonos!  Kailia breaks down ways to get our brains to actually make a green change automatic, everyday, and a new normal that we can stick with.  The little tricks we play with our brains to remember specific actions that we want to achieve-- such as taking out the compost, can help us remember more than if we simply write down a resolution or two at the beginning of each year. Now, if she could only help me to remember people's names more easily!


Amber shares her ideas for simple goals to live more sustainably, and I couldn't agree more (especially with her thoughts about cheese).  Amber-- for those meatless meals, I just posted a recipe for butternut squash lasagna that was truly awesome, just ask my meat and potatoes father in law). 


Micaela from Mindful Momma and the author of Practically Green, shares her lofty green goals for the year.  She's taking on a greener car, home improvements, eating more raw foods and lessening her guilty pleasure of catalog ogling.  I am exhausted from just reading about all she plans to do. Go, Micaela!


And I love the resolution to make more messes! We all get so uptight about making messes-- but they are essential to any real progress or creative fun, it seems.  For Anna of Green Talk, it's gardening-- and more power to her!  For me, I think it is the willingness to make messes by doing creative projects with our children.  Sometimes it just feels like such a commitment, fraught with massive prep and cleanup.  Anyway, Anna, thanks for the inspiration to make a few messes of my own.  


And hoorah!  Diane from Big Green Purse chimed in. Her message?  Simplify in real and meaningful ways. Read about how she plans to do that with her green, personal and professional life. 


Jennifer from the Green Phone Booth reminds us that resolutions can be useless, unless we are constantly looking for ways to improve and paying attention to our lives.  And her post inspires me to get my crockpot back out! 


For the beautiful Lynn of Organic Mania, she resolves to use the same kind of group power of the Green Moms-- to loose weight. She's started a listserv and is motivated to lose some of that oh-so-hard to shed baby weight.  You can do it, Lynn!


Linda also shares her plan to lessen her ecological footprint and gives a link for how to do so.  That is something we all need to do!


And check out the reading list (and eco-resolutions) over at Erin's blog, the  Conscious Shopper!  These look like great books that I would love to read too.  


Sommer from the Green and Clean Mom reminds us of why it is so important to recycle.   No excuses!

And WOW, is Karen on a mission.  She's got lots of ambitions for this year and they include tackling pesky plastic packaging in food (this is a goal of mine, too!), her old house, and the "want" demons (they follow me, too).  Go Karen! 


In case you wanted to see true goal setting and utter inspiration, check out this post from Mrs. Green.  Her family is pledging to make NO WASTE in 2010! No joke!  I'll be following her progress closely. 



Beth from Fake Plastic Fish shares her whopping 3.7 lbs of waste from 2009 (a mere 4 percent of an average American's yearly waste), what she learned, and what her goals are for 2010.  Go Beth! You are an inspiration to all of us.  


Lisa shares the green books (by Green Moms authors!) she plans to read and review, and a few other great green resolutions for 2010 on the Retro Housewife Goes Green.  

Here's Deanna, from the Crunchy Chicken with her ideas for green resolutions-- she's got challenges planned, people, so get ready!



After reading these, I have a few more resolutions to add to my list. I told you they were inspirational!  Happy 2010, readers, and please add your resolutions to this post if you are so inspired.