To kick off April (likely in cahoots with Earth Day) Time has an excellent piece posted - The Perils of Plastic. While long-term eco-friendly parents won't find any shockingly new info here, I think this is a great piece to pass along to other parents you know - or even childless friends.
While toxins from plastic do affect all of us and the earth, kids are very vulnerable. Plus let's not forget that much of the plastics used in products are not recycled but made from new oil creating a bigger problem in regards to our planet's resources.
Some key points from the article...
One of my favorite points made is the fact that "Chemicals are deemed safe until the EPA can prove that they are dangerous," - this, according to Richard Wiles, executive director of the nonprofit Environmental Working Group is of course insanely backwards thinking and may be exposing people to potential dangers in all sorts of goods (plastics included).
Over all a super in-depth piece that has opinions and advice from both sides of the plastic debate. Check out the entire article - The Perils of Plastic.
While toxins from plastic do affect all of us and the earth, kids are very vulnerable. Plus let's not forget that much of the plastics used in products are not recycled but made from new oil creating a bigger problem in regards to our planet's resources.
Some key points from the article...
- A recent biomonitoring survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found traces of 212 environmental chemicals in Americans — including toxic metals like arsenic and cadmium, pesticides, flame retardants and even perchlorate, an ingredient in rocket fuel.
- Chemicals like bisphenol A (BPA) and phthalates — key ingredients in modern plastics — may disrupt the delicate endocrine system, leading to developmental problems. A host of modern ills that have been rising unchecked for a generation — obesity, diabetes, autism, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder — could have chemical connections.
- CDC has found BPA in the urine of 93% of surveyed Americans over the age of 6.... But BPA the only industrial chemical in common use that may mess with the endocrine system. Phthalates — a class of chemicals used to soften polyvinyl chloride plastics, found in products ranging from shower curtains to cosmetics to intravenous-fluid bags — have been shown to disrupt hormones in animals and have been linked to reduced sperm counts and other marks of feminization in male rodents.
One of my favorite points made is the fact that "Chemicals are deemed safe until the EPA can prove that they are dangerous," - this, according to Richard Wiles, executive director of the nonprofit Environmental Working Group is of course insanely backwards thinking and may be exposing people to potential dangers in all sorts of goods (plastics included).
Over all a super in-depth piece that has opinions and advice from both sides of the plastic debate. Check out the entire article - The Perils of Plastic.
