Campbell’s soups made my day. Not because I use mushroom soup for tuna casserole or particularly enjoy a cup of hot chicken noodle, but rather for a reason that should put some oumph into everyone’s step. Campbell’s has agreed to phase out BPA in can linings. Supposedly this effort has already started. The article by Amy Westervelt in Forbes explains that the FDA will establish new “acceptable” levels by March 31. France voted to uphold a ban on BPA last month, which hopefully will influence greedy food manufacturers in the USA, hoping to sell products in Europe. Westervelt explains that pressure from consumer groups also played a role in this turnaround, magnificent news for future children raised in America. Less risk of the chemical in their body burden!For three years Cape Codders have urged NStar to refrain from spraying herbicides under the power lines because the toxic chemicals will filter into our sole-source aquifer. Who wants to drink water that contains traces of endocrine disruptors? Not I. Perhaps the recent decision to leave the 15 Cape towns off the YOP is evidence the executives at the utility company have been influenced by the outcry?
If you feel encouraged by these two unexpected developments and would like to add your voice to the outcry regarding another issue of critical importance to Cape Cod, join the nuclear safety rally on Sunday, March 11, anniversary of the disaster in Japan. The march starts at 1 pm at Lobster Pound, 252 Manomet Point Road in Plymouth. Should you be unable to come demonstrate but desire to protect Cape Cod from an accident similar to Fukushima all the same, take the time to write your senators after reading the Natural Resources Defense Council press release. Wellfleet is directly opposite Plymouth, and the woman in the above photo could be looking out, thinking of the nuclear reactor on the other side of Cape Cod Bay. The prevailing winds blow from the west. The owners will not close down this forty-year old plant by choice. We must make them, so please sign the NRDC letter. Thanks to movement at Campbell’s soups and possible movement at NStar, I like to think closing down Pilgrim is possible.
Protest of this type is new to me, although I was a member of the generation that stopped the war in Vietnam. Is protest a part of your regular agenda? Do you stand up for what you believe? What's your take on the petitions that are circulated? Do they make a difference?
