Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Trashy Stuff and A Few Gold Nuggets ...

No baby should be born pre-polluted.  No mother should have to worry about the toxic chemicals her child is absorbing. As you may have noticed, I think about toxic chemicals a lot these days. Toxic chemicals did not used to be such a preoccupation.

Yesterday a Facebook friend shared a new study from Canada suggesting teenagers have more BPA in their systems than previously thought.

I was glad to read the National Institutes of Health has included environmentalists in a group of scientists who will research environmental and genetic causes of breast cancer. Read the report here. One tiny step forward. Add lots of tiny steps together and we may make some progress. (Nice canvas totes on sale at Hatch’s.)

Martin Higgins at Plasticless, asks the question, Do you pick up litter when you’re a tourist? Yes, Martin. I certainly do. Cannot help myself. Bugs Bunny was helping out at Newcomb Hollow yesterday. Where oh where is Smokey the Bear when we need him? Remember the way he would wave his paw and suggest to kids that litter might be wrong and avoidable? It would be so easy to update those commercials, as a New Hampshire realtor suggests at Localism.com. Hmmm. Another idea for Michelle Obama ….

When I was at town hall yesterday, I was not in a hurry and had time to notice the brochures on the table outside the Town Administrator’s office.

The first brochure was from the MassDEP: “Sack the Bag! Massachusetts consumers: Use fewer disposable shopping bags!” Turns out there’s a bin at the local Stop & Shop where you can recycle plastic bags of all kinds. Find a recycling bin near you. (I think it’s best not to have plastic bags at all, but once you have them, do recycle.)

I also took home a memorable brochure entitled cigogreen guide. CI is for Cape and Islands. From cigogreen guide I learned Wellfleet has 30 hybrid vehicle registrations, 35 green power consumers, and 4 residential photovoltaic installations. “Examine your behavior. Think before you act. Research before you buy. Support locally owned businesses. Reduce, reuse, and recycle. Voice your opinions. Get an energy audit. Make a difference. Go green!“ By the time I had finished reading, I was standing up and cheering. Then I saw the fine print and realized the brochure has been available since July 2007. It’s fine to create such a document, but the next step is to get it into the hands of citizens, and obviously the creators messed up on there. Why, I wondered?

I inquired and Chris wrote back: "The guide and website were released in 2007 through CIRenew, and they got a pretty good response, but the state pulled the funding in 2008. Updates since then have been periodic at best."

Ah, that explains it. What a shame!

Okay. Enough seriousness. Time for some frivolity. Tomorrow, Thursday, Preservation Hall offers up its second annual Las Vegas Night. This year the fun will take place at the Chequessett Yacht and Country Club, from 6 to 10. Come and gamble your life away. Let’s forget about the environment for four hours and bid on fabulous silent auction prizes. Preservation Hall Events are always happenings. Make sure you are part of this one ….