Lessons from My Grandmother
Posted on Apr 19, 2012By Cindy Luppi, New England Director, Clean Water Action
April is here and for many, the top thing on our minds is the early days of spring--whether we can shelve our winter coats, maybe how close we are to Opening Day. For me, April always reminds me of my grandmother, Aubine. She was born in early April, over 100 years ago in a small town in northern Maine. When I think of her, I think of the popcorn balls she would make for the holidays...of the walks we took together...of being on drying duty as she washed the dishes after a family dinner. She taught my sisters and I many things over the years, but the single over-riding lesson was crystal clear: you take on the hard jobs, and you don't shy away from the things that most need doing. That's how she lived her life, from start to finish--including working as a young girl with her family to carve a fishing camp out of the Maine wilderness.
That lesson reinforces my commitment to keep on pressing for the updates to our laws that will protect us all from exposure to toxic chemicals. This campaign has been tough at times.
Three ways to get involved and support an amazing activist
Posted on Mar 1, 2012March means many things to the AHT Team: International Women’s Month, the beginning of spring, and a month of celebrating the accomplishments of rock star activist Kristi Marsh.
Kristi has just published a book, Little Changes, detailing her journey through breast cancer, motherhood, and environmental health activism, and has generously decided to use her success to support our work. For the entire month of March, Kristi will be donating $3 from every book sold to support the Alliance for a Healthy Tomorrow. For your purchase to support our work, go to the Choose Wiser website, enter "AHT/CWF" into the coupon code field*, and purchase your copy of Little Changes today.
Read more...Margo: Not many things shock me anymore
Posted on Jun 8, 2011 by Margo Simon Golden, MPH
We have all been touched by cancer. I was in my thirties, married for nine months, and diagnosed with breast cancer. Four years later, now ten years ago, my breast cancer metastasized to my lungs. I am grateful and thankful to all the dedicated men and women, past and present, in all capacities, who helped to develop treatment options and hope that I never run out of options. I also support the common sense approach of preventing cancer before it starts. True prevention of breast cancer is eliminating carcinogens. Prevention is the cure.
Since being diagnosed, not many things shock me anymore. Yet, at a Silent Spring Institute forum and in a recent interview, Margaret Kripke, Ph.D., a co-author of the April 2010 President’s Cancer Panel report, Reducing Environmental Cancer Risk: What We Can Do Now, did just that.
Pat: The Scent of a Problem
Posted on Jun 1, 2011 By Katherine Friedrich, Based on an interview with Pat Smith
Pat Smith had over 30 years of experience as a registered nurse. She’d been working in the same office for five years. She was used to her routine at work and at home. Since she believed products had to smell good to be clean, she used perfumed lotions, scented shampoo, dryer sheets and commercial detergent.
When Pat noticed a musty smell in the carpet near her desk at work one day, she thought one of her coworkers had spilled something. But the smell didn’t go away. Over the next few weeks, Pat developed a chronic headache. At first, she was able to keep it at bay by taking Advil. Once she began forgetting everyday tasks, feeling dizzy, having double vision, and walking into office furniture, she realized she had a serious health problem. Her coworkers were also feeling ill - especially after they sat at her desk.
Pat discovered the carpet had been sprayed with a pyrethroid insecticide.
Cheryl: Medfield mother works toward a ‘healthy tomorrow’
Posted on Feb 28, 2011 By Linda Thomas - correspondent for the Medfield Press. Reprinted with permission from the Medfield Press.
Cheryl Durr Patry watched as her infant son’s skin turned red.
It was dry, itchy and scaly – how his little nails tried to tear it up as he cried. He was borderline colicky, she said.
She tried over-the-counter creams and salves, and eliminated different foods from his diet.
Then, one day, he sneezed 15 times in succession while sitting on a table she had just dusted with a brand name wood cleaner.
But once she fought back with unscented detergents and 100 percent cotton clothes, she soon saw improvement in her son’s condition.
Fourteen years later, this Medfield wife and mother of four has brought what she learned in her own home to a wider platform as a powerful lobbyist for legislation and co-founder of Medfield Green.
Tiffany: A 'Hairy' Valentine Tale of Toxic Woe
Posted on Feb 23, 2011By Tiffany Skogstrom
Okay. I confess... I am not a real blond. Ever since those streaks of silver started slipping in, my hair has become my biggest environmental sin. Every 5 weeks I visit the altar of beauty where a talented co-conspirator helps me hide the natural aging process by putting god-knows-what in my hair, down the drain, and inevitably into the environment.
I compost food waste, wear no make up, carry a travel mug, use home-made cleaning products, buy recycled (aka second hand) clothes, take public transportation, and fight for environmental rights every day. Yet, I can't shake the toxic grip of vanity.
Laura: Natural isn't always non-toxic
Posted on Feb 15, 2011By Laura Spark, activist and mother
I'd like to keep my kids safe. But, 8 years ago, I used plastic sippy cups that are now being removed from the market. I bathed my daughters in Johnson and Johnson soaps that I thought were "pure and natural" because the label said they were. After I read about low levels of 1-4 dioxane, a carcinogen, in Johnson and Johnson baby soap, I I tried shifting to "natural" baby products--only to realize, months later, that the "natural" product I was buying had the exact same ingredient as the Johnson and Johnson product I was avoiding.
Why do I worry about things like bisphenol A in sippy cups and carcinogens in baby soap? Because I have read the medical studies and seen photos of how breast tissue changes when exposed to minute levels of BPA. Because my wonderful sister Cynthia died at age 26 of breast cancer. Because, of the close friends who circled around me after my sister's death--four subsequently died young--3 of breast cancer. Because my father died of leukemia. Because one out of three people die of cancer, and many of these people die young.
I can't buy my way to safety. But Massachusetts legislators can make smart choices to protect children and help position Massachusetts as a leader in the green economy.
Katherine: Bottling up the Facts
Posted on Feb 14, 2011 By Katherine Friedrich
Communications volunteer for The Alliance for a Healthy Tomorrow
I’m ending a three-year relationship with my water bottle. We were very close for a while. But it became clear that our relationship was based on appearances, not on honesty. My water bottle’s transparent façade concealed an unnerving secret.
I bought this cute yellow bottle while I was losing weight. I’ve lost 40 pounds in the past three years by making long-term lifestyle changes. Along the way, I developed a habit of exercising around four hours per week. During a difficult exercise class, I can drink more than a full bottle of water in 50 minutes. So my water bottle isn’t an optional accessory.
After relying on my water bottle for years, I thought I could trust it. But when people buy water bottles in the United States, neither federal nor state governments require that companies tell customers what they could really be drinking. There was no chemical safety label on that cute yellow bottle.
Are you trapped in a toxic relationship?
Posted on Feb 11, 2011 You are not alone. Take comfort (and discomfort) in the fact that you share this problem with the vast majority of Americans. We're not talking about your passive aggressive sister-in-law, or the charming so-and-so who swept you off your feet and then left town with your life savings. We are are referring to the fresh-smelling, easy-going, and utterly irresistible toxic products we spend our time with at home, at work, and everywhere we go.
Bobbi Chase Wilding, from New York, struck a nerve with an article that she posted on the Safer Chemicals Healthy Families blog, Caught in a Toxic Trap where she admitted to her inability to let go of her toxic flame retardant-stuffed yet wonderful rocking-reclining love seat. Bobbi makes a great point: Even if it’s your job to know about which toxic chemicals lurk in what products, it can be hard to kick them to the curb. Our marketplace is set up so that products with harmful chemicals in them are almost always the more convenient, affordable, and seductive choice.
Read more...Elizabeth: A non-toxic kitchen can be hard to come by
Posted on Feb 10, 2011by Elizabeth Saunders, Legislative Director for Clean Water Action
My housemates and I have had some toxic relationships. No, I don’t mean with each other, we get along great. But there have been times when some of the products that we have used have been exposing us to more toxic chemicals than I like to admit.
As an environmental activist whose job is to fight to get toxic chemicals out of our everyday products, I’m more careful than most about what is brought into my home, and my housemates are more than sympathetic. We don’t have Teflon frying pans, polycarbonate water bottles, toxic dish soap, air fresheners, or stain resistant furniture. But to get a toxic free home takes quite a bit of work.
Read more...Toxics Campaign Advocates Tell Their Stories
Posted on Jul 9, 2010Earlier this year, we started a new blog series to share some stories of advocates in our toxics and environmental health campaigns. We' feature their bios, including what they do, how they got involved, and why this work so important to them. We hope this will help show a personal side to the many faces representing the coalition. If you're interested in sharing your story, please contact us at info@healthytomorrow.org.
Today's story comes from Mimi Pomerleau, who became involved with the Alliance for a Healthy Tomorrow almost two years ago.
Here's what Mimi had to say:
Toxics Campaign Advocates Tell Their Stories
Posted on Apr 28, 2010 Today we're starting a new blog series to share some stories of advocates in our toxics and environmental health campaigns. We're going to feature their bios, including what they do, how they got involved, and why this work so important to them. We hope this will help show a personal side to the many faces representing the coalition. If you're interested in sharing your story, please contact us at info@healthytomorrow.org.
Our first story comes from Steve Gauthier, who has been involved with the Alliance for a Healthy Tomorrow since its inception.
Here's what Steve had to say:
