Cape Cod Times Publishes Op-Ed on Glyphosate

Yesterday the Cape Cod Times published an op-ed I wrote for its column My View. My piece contains important information. In case you do not get the CCT, here's the text:

"May I make a confession? A decade ago I tried to kill my mom’s Virginia creeper by spraying it repeatedly with Roundup. This mindless act took place before I became an environmental activist, before NStar decided to use glyphosate under the power lines, before I learned how toxic the world’s most popular weed-killer is.

Chemical companies prey on non-scientific types like me. Surely their products would not be for sale were they dangerous? Surely the EPA has investigated their toxicity? Why else would Roundup-ready crops have been approved for use across America?

The truth is, tens of thousands of unregulated chemicals are currently manufactured and marketed here. Like stealth agents, they have infiltrated our lives. The chemical industry works hard to make people believe their products are safe, but many chemicals are proving harmful to health.

The industry gives these substances unpronounceable names like polycholorinated- biphenyl or polybrominated-diphenyl-ether. Recently the media created acronyms which are easier to retain. More consumers now recognize PCB, BPA and PBDE, and try to avoid them – not such an easy task.

Here’s what you may encounter in a single day: In the home or school: toxic cleansers. At the office: toxic dust that contributes to infertility. In the kitchen: organopesticide residue on fruit and veggies. At the checkout counter: BPA-coated cash register receipts. In the bedroom: flame-retardant mattresses. In the bathroom: skin products made with phthalates, an estrogen-mimic that is believed to increase breast cancer risk and may contribute to obesity. Since thousands of toxic chemicals exist, let’s focus in on one: glyphosate, the main ingredient in my bottle of Roundup.

When I sprayed Mom’s Virginia creeper, I had no idea I was using a poison. Sure, I saw the “precautionary statements” of “hazards to humans & domestic animals” on the label and the “Notice: Buyer assumes all responsibility for safety and use not in accordance with directions.” What I did not know then is that glyphosate has been linked to birth defects and is considered an endocrine disruptor.

Endocrine disruptor? Think of a hormonal train making stops within the fetus as it develops. If all goes well, the hormonal messages get to their destinations. Cells develop normally. But toxic chemicals can derail the messengers. The most critical period, the period you really do not want derailment, is pregnancy. ADHD may be one result.

Exposure to pesticides has also been linked to autism. “Certain pesticides are believed to alter thyroid function, interfere with brain development and cause deficits in cognitive functions in the developing fetus,” reveals the Endocrine Disruption page at beyondpesticides.org.

And, emerging science indicates endocrine disruptors can create adverse biological effects at lower doses than previously suspected.

Two years ago I force-fed myself a science diet in order to understand what would result from NStar’s arbitrary switch to herbicidal spraying. I learned glyphosate does not break down easily. It will filter through our sandy soil and contaminate Cape Cod’s sole-source aquifer.

A Swedish study reported a higher incidence of Parkinson disease amongst farmers who use glyphosate. American farmers, who plant Roundup-ready crops, find themselves obliged to use more herbicides than ever before as weeds have become resistant to the chemical. Super weeds, ADHD, breast cancer, birth defects, Parkinson’s, infertility …

So, where’s the good news? The Safe Chemicals Act, a bill that seeks to regulate toxic chemicals, is now before Congress and, last week, Senator John Kerry signed on as a co-sponsor.

What of my mom’s Virginia creeper? I didn’t even manage to kill the damn thing. And, Roundup remains prominently displayed in your local hardware store. Don’t buy it.

Got weeds? Try vinegar."

Wellfleet Connects The Dots for Climate Impact Day

There were more cars than usual on Main Street this morning, under cloudy skies. Behind me, a shopper entered AIM, looking over her shoulder at the small crowd gathering in front of town hall. There were children, dogs, peace drummers, regular citizens, non-residents, all present to protest global warming and join Connect The Dots. It did feel exhilarating to be part of a worldwide movement like this one. I watched our leader, Harriet Korim, unfurl her Cape Cool 350 sign. Nearby two parents helped their three-year old with a Solar-Power sunflower sign. Deb Giza lifted high her globe, symbol for the earth, for the photo op. We then formed a circle and everyone had a chance to identify him or herself.

"I’m Brian, and I’m for whatever we can do to keep consciousness up,” said one man.

There were folks from Swampscott who actually came because of Wellfleet's listing on the Climate Dots page, so cool because they had never been to town before.

After personal statements, Chuck Cole led a version of “This Little Light” that began “From here in Wellfleet, out to all the world …”

A man rode by on a bike, pulling a stroller attachment. I was glad to see him biking, but also could not help but think about the world we have created for the toddlers, riding behind him, at car-exhaust level. Fortunately, the tarp covering the trailer was closed.

I thought of the pollution fossil fuels cause to the environment and my conversation this morning over breakfast with a guest from Indiana, a professor who studies rodents before birth. He said his research had recently expanded to preemies. We have more premature births in our country than in many others. He told me about the prevalence of omphalocle in Indiana (the baby is delivered with intestines outside the body) and gastroschisis, conditions which increase dramatically the closer parents live to Michigan, due to industrial pollution. The numbers are increasing, and the stats will soon be coming to an environmental news bulletin near you, one the media may or may not choose to report on.

Meanwhile, Harriet was saying, “Sometimes we feel so powerless … (faced by the corporations) … but we have amazing power when we get together. As the movement grows, the tides of awareness will increase.”

Brian led everyone in “This land is your land."

Before walking to Uncle Tim's Bridge, Harriet mentioned tomorrow is the 150th anniversary of the death of Thoreau, who walked Cape Cod's outer beach. “I have a feeling he would stand with us,” she added.

When the bridge was rebuilt, it was built higher, due to climate change, Harriet told me. The waters will rise. Check here on whether your state is prepared for the impact of climate change on its water resources.

Check out Wellfleet on the 350.org Web site, posted by Bill McKibben.

Treasures from the Sea

When Sven and I were out walking at Duck Harbor last week, we passed a woman collecting shells and other treasures. She let me peek in her, ahem, plastic, ahem, bag, and take this lovely photograph. As I think about the latest news regarding toxic chemicals in the environment, I cannot help but notice the difference between the plastic, manmade, and the contents, nature-made. Do you sometimes feel as exasperated as I do with the Federal government? Today I read that the signatures on the Just Label It petition, one million strong, submitted last week to the FDA, were counted as ONE comment, not one million. This is ludicrous behavior. (Read why you should oppose GMOs here.) Every day brings new studies confirming toxic chemicals need regulation. Last week the FDA refused to ban BPA in packaging, as requested by the National Resources Defense Council and in infant formula. The numbers for autism have been lowered to one boy baby in 54. This will have incredible repercussions on society, not to mention the anguish for the parents of those children. Yesterday the New York Times Magazine ran a long article about the advancing age of puberty in little girls. Hel-lo?? Something is out of whack here. The President’s Cancer Panel, in its report last year, suggested chemicals probably are responsible for the increase in cancer cases. Women are getting breast cancer at an increasingly younger age, too, due to the estrogen mimics in our environment. Toxic chemicals. Who dares to deny the cause and effect? Our government. This is unacceptable. We need Congress to enact the Safe Chemicals Act. Folks at the Environmental Working Group must be tearing out their hair. Please read this message if you have Facebook, support the work of the EWG, and take measures to protect your own family.

On Point Does Show on Chemicals in the Environment

Excellent discussion Monday on BUR's On Point. The NPR show is entitled, "Household Cancer Hazards." Find an hour to listen to Dr. Julia Brody and Ruthann Rudel from the Silent Spring Institute, as well as Lynn Goldman, Dean of the School of Public Health and Health Services at George Washington University. Toxic chemicals were found to exist even in some products a consumer would judge safe, based on labels. "Are we living in an environment, in which we bring products into our homes, that turn into a menace to our own health?" is just one of the questions Tom Ashbrook asked. Find out which products are safe, and which not so much.

Update: Yesterday there was an article in the New York Times on this subject, mentioning Slow Death by Rubber Duck. Of course, there's a denial-of-potential-harm statement by a member of the American Chemical Council. What will it take to turn this situation around? Have you asked your senator to support the Safe Chemicals Act yet??

Support Organic Management of Town Property

These murals, promoting the Precautionary Principle, adorn the side wall of Harvest Co-Op, in Cambridge, MA. I have really enjoyed shopping at this store and will write more tomorrow about the gluten-free and non-GMO products I was able to purchase but, in the meantime, please remember to let our Selectmen know a shift to organic land management for Wellfleet is a great idea. Either attend the meeting at the library this evening, or shoot them an email. Thanks!

Another Letter to the Editor Published Today

The sun is setting on our window of opportunity to prevent the contamination of the Cape Cod sole source aquifer through the spraying of herbicides by the local utility company. If nothing is done, we will be at risk of losing potable water, as well as nuclear disaster. Not even spectacular beauty will bring tourists to our shores if radiation crosses the bay from Plymouth and toxic chemicals pollute well water. Read my latest letter to the editor, published by the Cape Cod Times and make sure you support political candidates who have your best interests in mind.

The editor entitled the letter Coakley, Wolf Exemplify Caring for the Environment:

"The Pilgrim nuclear power plant is back online several days after being shut down because of a faulty valve. After the nuclear accident in Japan, I started wishing Pilgrim would be shut for good. Last month Attorney General Coakley asked the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to take another look at similarities between Pilgrim and the Fukushima plant.

In a recent radio interview, Sen. Dan Wolf explained that Pilgrim is 40 years old, and giving it a 20-year permit renewal seems "insane." Like Ms. Coakley, Wolf worried openly about the spent storage rods.

When asked about the situation with herbicidal spraying by NStar, he expressed the hope for another moratorium and reminded listeners that there are safer methods of vegetation control available, that there's no need for toxic chemicals.

I'm grateful, as 2012 begins, to know Cape Cod has a senator who is on top of these things, and an attorney general who dares to speak up for the environment. How we treat our environment is important to the welfare of all Americans, yet many national leaders never even discuss it.

Let's drop the fluff and ask leaders the right questions this election cycle, especially when it comes to public safety."

Fight Back: Choose Healthy Alternatives

Polly Schlaff’s November 18th post at Reclaiming Our Families, republished yesterday by Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families, was so moving that I decided to share it with you. Since you read Chezsven Blog, you are already aware that the environment today is jam-packed with toxins, a very different situation from the pre-war society my parents and Sven’s parents inhabited. All four passed away in their nineties, of natural causes, not cancer. Many of us will not be that fortunate.

What chemicals? 80,000 strong, toxic chemicals are everywhere, unregulated. Take the supermarket shelf for instance, in this case, Wellfleet Marketplace will serve as a local example. I didn’t have time yesterday to turn over all these cleaning products and check the ingredients, but chances are many are hazardous to health. We have learned to live with chemicals in our air and water. (The Midwest even has glyphosate in rainwater now!) But we have choices and can choose to avoid them. Your dollar is your means of fighting back. Don't buy the nasty stuff.

A neighbor insists on Tide, although we both have septic systems and well water. Local well water, brought up from the ground, must contain some chemicals from her laundry rinse because the septic does not filter them out. Ecover and Seventh Generation are safer, both available at Wellfleet Marketplace.

Some people say Ecover and Seventh Generation are expensive at purchase. This may be so but shouldn’t we put health first?

Others say they add dryer sheets to the chemical cocktail that’s assaulting their body because the laundry smells fresher. Honestly, isn’t it wiser to cut the crappy chemicals out of our lives, since the government has not yet seen fit to do so yet?

Behind every toxic chemical stands a lobbyist. You can’t hear my fingers but I’m rubbing them together, the French way of indicating $$$.

The chemical industry even hires people to read blogs like mine. Imagine! They have that much extra money to spend. Oh, yes. They intend to keep toxic chemicals present in our lives. It's their livelihood.

I was amazed a couple weeks ago that a representative of that slippery stuff on modern flying pans zeroed in on this humble blog and commented that her company’s product was quite safe. Hel-lo?? We know better, don’t we? We have read Slow Death by Rubber Duck and other books on pollution.

It’s crucial that pressure be applied to legislators to let them know mothers and fathers across this mighty land of ours will no longer tolerate unregulated chemicals in the environment. Call your senator today and ask if he/she supports the Safe Chemicals Act of 2011, under consideration in Congress. Your children and grandchildren will thank you for speaking out on their behalf.

Update on Herbicial Spraying on Cape Cod

Anyone who has been to the Orleans rotary over the past week was able to admire goats prancing along the fence, proxies for real goats that would love to eat vegetation under the power lines. These marvels were created by Clean Water Art Action Cape Cod. Someone "complained" (NStar execs?) and made the Department of Transportation take down the banner. A shame. Still, it was up for almost a week.

I decided to ask GreenCAPE’s Sue Phelan for an update on the situation with our local utility company. Here it is: “It is disappointing that NStar appears not to have followed through with the goat pilot project this year. Searching for the ‘ideal’ test plot for the goats' appetites, they have failed to recognize there is very little that isn't ideal for goats. A missed opportunity.....Some cutting and mowing would still be needed when goats are part of the rights-of-way maintenance, but less often. Bottom line remains – NStar has chosen to spray large quantities of mixtures of untested designer poisons that a homeowner wouldn't be allowed to purchase much less spray on property they don't own – without consent of the owner (as NStar does). What would you prefer to see in your back yard or behind your child's day care-goats or goons in moon suits?”

Scott Michaud, at the Cape Cod Commission, told me that he is anticipating the release of NStar’s vegetation management plan for 2012 but has received nothing yet. He reminded me that NStar “did not agree to not apply the herbicides,” although the Cape Cod Commission was able to obtain two moratoriums of one year each, which expire at the end 2011. Scott suggested I contact his colleague Martha Hevenor.

Martha said she had asked NStar if it would consider a pilot project with goats, the one Sue refers to above. Martha located a local grazer, who is a contract herder, and sought out a potential location for the pilot project. Now she is waiting to hear back on scheduling. The ball is in NStar's court, in other words. Unfortunately, she has been waiting "a long time." Martha remains hopeful, especially since this option has been proved to work for municipalities across the country.

Next I spoke to Seth Rolbein, Senator Dan Wolf’s senior advisor. Seth said Wolf remains optimistic. There was a presentation on Wednesday to the County Commissioners by Chip Osborne from Marblehead. GreenCAPE had brought Chip in to go over his approach for alternative lawn care that does not involve herbicides. The presentation was well-received, and the hope is that the broader issue of pesticide application across Cape Cod can be addressed. “But the clock is ticking,” Seth admitted. He pointed out Senator Wolf was present at the Bourne Canal press conference in August. The spraying was postponed, which Seth called only an incremental step, adding, “We need to continue the conversation to be sure to get a permanent change in policy.”

Senator Dan Wolf is on our side. Rep. Cleon Turner and Rep. Sarah Peake are both on our side. Dozens of banners have been created. We have collected thousands of signatures. We have proposed other options, like goats, that work perfectly well at Google’s corporate headquarters. NStar persists in its foolhardiness. They base their decision to spray on antiquated science. Glyphosate, one of the herbicides, has recently been shown to cause birth defects and has also been linked to ADHD.

A couple weeks ago I discussed how the mentality that corporate powers have a right to do whatever they please – which in this case is contaminate a sole-source aquifer – ties Cape Codders into the Occupy Wall Street movement. Does NStar’s CEO Tom May care about the Cape Codders who will drink well water contaminated by herbicides? Until the utility company abandons its plan to spray under the power lines, I must conclude he does not, and we must continue to defend our sole-source aquifer, as EPA New England suggests.

What have you done recently to protect Cape Cod drinking water?

Are there any private property owners, preferably along well-traveled roadways, who would be willing to sport a banner, custom-made according to what he or she wants to express about NStar?

What all of you can help with is spreading the word. Educate friends on the dangers herbicides pose to health. Many local stores still sell Roundup, the retail version of glyphosate. Tell merchants to replace the poison with alternative products that are safe. We are the 99% for clean water. Say so now, before it's too late ...

Keep Wellfleet Beaches Pristine

When Sven and I took a walk at LeCount Hollow two days ago, I was shocked to see not one but two dog excrement bags, you know those blue ones covered with paw prints, right on the beach. What dog owner, in his right mind, would leave such things behind? One was open, way down towards Marconi. Another I found at the foot of the parking lot dune, neatly tied up. Did the dog owners forget these bags? Did they think someone else would come along, like me, and pick them up for proper disposal? Did they hope the tide would wash them away? Should these people be considered good pet owners? You already know how I feel about renegade plastic bags, flapping in the breeze. This wanton act is almost worse. We need to all work together to keep Wellfleet beaches clean. Disgusting!

Are You An Environmentalist?

I was wondering today what the opposite of “environmentalist” is. Choose one:
1.) Litter bug/polluter,
2.) Earth squanderer,
3.) Capitalist.

Reporter Jeff McMahon asked this very question of his readers two years ago, and no one could come up with an exact antonym, at least no antonyms that weren’t pejorative.

The definition is “a person who is concerned with or advocates the protection of the environment.”

One reason to advocate is pollution. We are polluting ourselves out of existence. When you think about it, we should all be environmentalists.

Did you know this week is Pollution Prevention Week? (Do visit the EPA site and get some ideas on preventing pollution.)

I have not always been an environmentalist. I trusted the government to take care of the earth. But now I realize, with regret, that my trust was misplaced. Different times require different behavior. Environmentalism had almost gone out of style. But that, too, is changing. Bloggers can spread the word on how desperate the situation has become. We need to fight pollution on all fronts.

There’s plastic pollution, something I have weighed in on already.

Toxic synthetic chemicals surround us, polluting modern life. (Watch this brilliant short video from the Environmental Working Group and join the movement.)

In the Midwest, the air and water are polluted with glyphosate. Pesticide residue pollutes the food we eat. Monsanto has polluted our seeds with the insertion of GMOs.

The government will soon decide whether or not to allow the extraction of natural gas from the Marcellus Shale, despite the ground swell of opposition to fracking and the fact that such a procedure will create pollution of the drinking water of millions of people.

Here on Cape Cod, NStar intends to pollute our sole-source aquifer by spraying four herbicides under the power lines. You may have seen the spectacular banners on Outer Cape bridges this month, created by Femke Rosenbaum of CWAACC (Clean Water Art Action Cape Cod). We don't want herbicides to trickle down. We cannot allow this pollution to move forward. These herbicides will remain in our drinking water for generations, creating chronic disease.

Do you consider yourself an environmentalist?

Join the Movement to Regulate Toxic Chemicals

Walking at Newcomb Hollow last month, I noticed residue from boogie boards had washed up on the beach. What are boogie boards made of? The material looks suspiciously like polystyrene to me. Styrene is a known carcinogen.

Let's think about health a different way today. Imagine for a moment that HEALTH stands for

Help
Eradicate
A
Life-
threatening
Hazard.

I’m talking toxic chemicals. They are everywhere and must be regulated. We do not need them in our environment.

I received a comment on a recent blog post that neighbors were posting “Organic Lawn” signs, the way people used to post “Just Fertilized.” This gives me hope. But how far we must travel to take advantage of the legislation, proposed by Senator Kerry and Senator Moran (Endocrine-disruptive Chemicals Exposure Elimination Act) and Senator Lautenberg (Safe Chemicals Act)! Every day I hear about a new study indicating toxic chemicals can cause disease or that exposure has consequences on health.

There’s rocket fuel in Rialto, CA wells. Not good to drink the stuff. (Remember how shocked everyone was in 2005 when rocket fuel was detected in the breast milk of women in 18 states?)

The New York firefighters, those who responded to 9/11, are more at risk of cancer due to toxic chemicals in the dust they breathed in while trying to save lives at the World Trade Center. What was in the dust? Benzene and asbestos, among other things. According to today's Guardian, "Some contaminants in the World Trade Center dust, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, polychlorinated biphenyls, and dioxins, are known carcinogens."

Studies confirm school age kids have lower IQs when their mothers are exposed to pesticides during pregnancy.

POPs may be linked to type 2 diabetes, according to a new Finnish study.

Locally, NStar intends to spray four herbicides under 150 miles of power lines on Cape Cod. One of these toxic chemicals is glyphosate, which has been detected in air and water in the Midwest. No wonder. More and more weed-killer must be sprayed on American fields because Roundup Ready crops don’t work and require additional herbicide, not less, as Monsanto had promised.

Endocrine-disruptors are often estrogen-mimics and are believed to cause breast cancer, reproductive problems, and the feminization of male frogs. Barnstable County already has a high rate of breast cancer. We do not need herbicides filtering down into our sole-source aquifer …

To make matters worse, the Tea Party is taking aim at the environmental regulations already in place.

The media ignores any studies that hint at the risk toxic chemicals pose, although a new study seems to get published every day. If bloggers and Facebookers do not spread the word, who will?

What can you do about this situation?

1.) Think HEALTH: Help eradicate this life-threatening hazard, toxic chemicals in our food, air and water. Support the movement. (I follow Safe Planet, created by the United Nations, contribute to Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families and watch for new reports about toxic chemicals on Cape Cod from Silent Spring Institute.)
2.) Get educated on the risks toxic chemicals pose.
3.) Tell friends and family.
4.) Write your legislators.
5.) Eat organic.
6.) Filter drinking water.
7.) Pray?

I have been posting every month or so about how toxic chemicals pose a risk to health. Has my writing made any difference in the way you perceive toxic chemicals?

Think Green! Come to the Third Annual Eco-Expo!

It's Eco-Expo time again. Come join the fun from 10 to 2 on Saturday, at our marvelous transfer station, and celebrate green living with like-minded souls. Recycling chair Lydia Vivante has some great new attractions for us this year, including Derek Diedricksen, who will show Wellfleetians how discarded bits of wood can be transformed into, for instance, a cozy structure for the back yard. He will also be signing copies of his book, Humble Homes, Simple Shacks. Yesterday Derek blogged about small homes/treehouses/forts as an art installation by Tadashi Kawamata. He will be bringing his micro-shelter/sleeper cabin "The GottaGottaWay" and "recycled-material art, and repurposed/rebuilt/funky furniture pieces" for us to admire.

Eco-Expo will also feature Quirky Circus at noon, worms, composters, Elspeth Hay, and much more. As Wellfleet's Health and Conservation agent Hillary Greenberg-Lemos has said, “By getting together, learning and having fun, we hope that our communities will strengthen their commitment to more environmentally safe living.” Here's your chance to interact with our Cape and Islands Local Food reporter, discover Derek's marvels, and brush up on new ways to save our planet.

While we are talking recycling, note that our Commission is again making available this summer recycling bins, like the one Chez Sven sponsored down by the pier in 2010. There will even be bins at the beaches, and seasonal staff to tend them. Lydia and friends will be raising money at Harborfest, June 11, to buy a solar compacter. Please support all these noble efforts. I really admire what the Recycling Commission has been able to accomplish. So, it's a date then? See you Saturday, at the dump, Sven's favorite place in all of Wellfleet.

Guest Blog: We all Share the Same Ocean

Tomorrow is the WordCount blogathon post exchange, and I'm delighted to present Kris Bordessa, author, features writer, and the voice behind one of my favorite blogs, Attainable Sustainable, where she writes about reviving the lost art of self-sufficiency, one small change at a time – because every little green initiative we take does make a difference. Here’s Kris …

As with those of you who live or vacation in Wellfleet, I love the ocean. Happily, I live in Hawai‘i where restive beaches, vivid blue water, and neon tropical fish are never far away. But with nature comes responsibility. Everything runs downhill to the ocean.

As you might imagine, plants grow really well here in the tropics. Turn your back, and weeds and vines have taken over roadways and power lines. The solution? Chemical poisons. County workers suited up from head to toe to in hazmat gear spray poison along the roads. They are protected, but Mother Earth is not. Soon, dead brown strips of vegetation frame the asphalt roads. Homeowners spray Roundup because it's easier than hand pulling weeds. How many people consider the fact that the poisons are impacting the natural cycle and will eventually end up in our ocean?

Pests are another problem that are dealt with aggressively here. Residential and commercial buildings are commonly sprayed with harsh pesticides to keep the bug population in check. I get it. Nobody likes cockroaches or centipedes, after all. But at what cost? Those poisons kill bugs while we humans survive with no visible damage, but what about long term? Perhaps we'll have a lovely, bug-free life until cancer rears its ugly head and we realize that the big blue ocean that we say we love is no longer as clear or as thriving as it once was.

These chemical poisons end up in our oceans, they end up in our food, and they end up in our bodies. But our decisions can make a difference.

We have to break the habits that have become part of our day to day living. We can say no to plastic bags. We can ask our grocers to carry local, organic produce. We can cancel the monthly bug spray service and we can stop throwing chemical fertilizers on our lawns. We can choose the greener path whether it's at home or while planning a vacation simply by stopping to consider the impact of our choices and our habits.

Mother Earth will thank you for it. Hawaii will thank you for it. And I'm sure Wellfleet will thank you for it.

Why Think About Planet Earth Way Before Earth Day?

After an unseasonably cold week, milder temperatures show up in the forecast, and Dyer Pond will become even more appealing to our B&B guests. Sven and I still walk there when it’s cold at the ocean. Did you know the weatherman predicts snow for Friday? No doubt, the snow will contain more of the radiation that rode the winds across the northern hemisphere from Japan last week as rain. Oops! Sorry for that gloomy thought. I find myself thinking a lot about the modern world these days and the consequences for humanity of nuclear disaster, toxic chemicals in food and water, and other not-so-cheerful topics.

Did you know “most people use around 10 personal care products every day, with an average of 126 different ingredients,” most often not good for us? Environmental Working Group further emailed yesterday, “We'd like to believe that the government is policing the safety of all of the concoctions we put on our bodies, but it's not. Instead, these unregulated products pose uncertain dangers for our health and our environment.”

Strange. That’s exactly what I was thinking.

I don’t understand why our government doesn’t advocate for an environment free of toxins. Why can’t Michelle Obama take the obesity/diabetes issue a step further by mentioning recent research that indicates exposure to endocrine disruptive chemicals in the womb may play a role in the epidemic?

When I was a child, Smokey the Bear taught America not to litter. Over the past fifty years, consumerism has taken hold and corporations rule. Poor Smokey has been completely muzzled.

The more I read, the more upset I become.

New permits for oil rigs were handed out last week to potential polluters although the issue with BP's well has not been fixed. GMOs are not the answer, no matter what Monsanto may claim, and GMO seeds are spreading on the wind, endangering organic crops. (Check out the opinions of non-corporate specialists here.) The chemical industry defends BPA, a known endocrine disruptor, and will fight hard to defeat any effort at revision of the Toxic Chemicals Act, soon before Congress. Plastics end up in the stomachs of sea turtles, as well as in the fish we eat.

To make matters worse, most media outlets are owned by corporations, and in-depth reporting on the environment does not get much airtime.

But the Internet remains free and allows us to stay informed. We can read blogs like AttainableSustainable and make the necessary changes in our own lives, one day at a time. Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families offers Top Tips for Keeping Toxic Chemicals at Bay. Writer Jennifer Margulis tackles the subject of "pretty poisons" at Mothering Outside the Lines.

There was an article in the New York Times yesterday about food dyes. Chris Wragge asked this morning on CBS's The Early Show,"What is artificial food dye doing to your kids?"

Dare we hope regulation is on the way, that public opinion will force change?

If I am posting about this topic, it's because I know many of you are thinking along the same lines. Yesterday Irene emailed: “Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant. License runs out in 2012. NRC considering renewal through 2032. Check out Wikipedia. Now is the time. We should protest and insist that it be closed. There is no evacuation route on the Cape that would safeguard residents against nuclear fallout.”

It’s true. No valid evacuation route exists. As another blog reader commented on my post about closing Pilgrim nuclear plant, “What’s the plan? Swim east?”

In Wellfleet, Harriet, posted similar thoughts to Cape Cool Blog.

I was a member of the protest generation but did not protest the Vietnam war because I used to believe in the United States government. Then I moved to a foreign country and found myself obliged to defend American policies. Now I’m older and wiser. I have grandchildren, and I’m ready to protest.

Do you feel the same way? Are you ready to join the protest lines?

“Restrain Your Greed”

A multitude of small clouds stretched across the sky yesterday. Here, in Wellfleet, it already feels like autumn. This morning I fished out my jeans from a box of winter clothes. Sven and I put on sweatshirts for an excursion to LeCount Hollow. We had to take them off for our walk. The brilliant sun warmed the beach where optimists had set up a row of a dozen beach chairs, all facing south. I wasn’t feeling all that optimistic, myself. Melancholy would be a more apt description of my mood. These days I’m thinking a lot about the environment and the power of corporations.

I receive half a dozen emails every morning, urging action on this or that.  The political ones get deleted. Messages from non-profits like NRDC or Sierra Club will be opened with circumspection.

The voices have grown more strident of late. The global warming activists have decided to give up niceties and contemplate other types of action with regard to the climate change bill. The messengers warning about food safety have moved beyond strident to hysterical. Through a comment to the Environmental Working Group Facebook page, I found an article by a British scientist, who came out of retirement to put parents on guard about microwave radiation from cell phones. The Internet cacophony finally got to me. That was when Sven suggested going to the beach. But even there I saw reminders of environmental degradation, like this helium balloon, off a cruise ship.

We passed a woman, named Lisa, picking up plastic bags.  It occurred to me that there's a disconnect between what legislators say and what people do, and especially women, when it comes to the environment. Everyone should spontaneously assume responsibility, as Lisa does, and take measures to save the planet. We do not need to be members of the local Conservation Commission to participate in the removal of plastic bottles, bags, and trash from our beaches. It should become a reflex for us all.

Sven pointed out that that what I am feeling is described in Charles Baxter’s review of Jonathan Frazen’s new novel, Freedom, in the latest New York Review of Books: “What has happened, I think, is that the public sphere is regarded as a total loss, so that the big problems are imagined as unsolvable. The result is a particular kind of despair, the sort that arises from rage with no outlet, the core emotion of a large proportion of educated readers during the George W. Bush administration. Corrupted by ruinous quantities of money, and the cynical application of power, the public world depicted here seems incapable of saving anything of value. At every point, where a citizen tries to enter that world, he encounters active lying and the operations of expedient logic, and in the novel’s view, he becomes a collaborator.”

I will not be a collaborator. Did you know DDT is still used in 17 countries?  I learned this fact from the Safe Planet Web site after watching Professor Maathai, of Kenya. Mosquitoes there breed the stagnant water that collects in the pockets that form in plastic bags, strewn across the countryside. The UN Messenger of Peace and Nobel Prize winner is quite eloquent about the corporate world. She says, “You have to restrain your greed.” Please watch this short video. (Businessmen convinced the Kenyan government to oppose a ban on thin plastic bags, so mosquitoes continue to breed and Africans are obliged to rely on DDT, which is a toxic chemical that accumulates in our bodies.)

What can you do? Get involved. Share what you know. Speak out. And, if you live on Cape Cod, vote in the primary today. Here’s my green ticket: Dan Wolf, Sarah Peake, Rob O’Leary, Deval Patrick ...

Finding Inspiration at Dyer Pond

Rainy overcast days are conducive to reflection. Yesterday Sven and I went walking at Dyer Pond, an ideal place to think about nature and the ongoing destruction of the environment. The serenity at Dyer Pond gives pause.

Disconcerting realization: leadership on global warming and the environment, ie. the future of life on this planet, is not happening.   Government seems to be failing us on a regular basis.   Look at the way the Gulf oil spill was handled, at how the climate bill was blocked. Even the media no longer does a satisfactory job. We must look elsewhere for inspiration, to Canada, which will ban BPA, to Facebook, where strangers can exchange constructive ideas, to Europe, which protected its citizens from GM crops and toxins a decade ago. I’m excited to be starting a working group here in Wellfleet to study ways to improve our community by going green, one town among many in search of transition. When inspiration does not come from above, we must find it within ourselves …

How Sharing Information Can Make A Difference

Above, Wellfleetians hold hands at a Hands Across the Sand event on Mayo Beach a month ago. This was one of the first protests I have attended in my life, and I am quite sure it will not be my last. A whole family organized the Wellfleet event during the 75th birthday of the grandfather. They stand here together, holding signs in favor of clean energy, created for the event. I learned about Hands Across the Sand through the Internet.

At breakfast yesterday morning, I was explaining to our Green Room guests, Great and Mike, how important protection of the environment has become to me. Greta explained she made sure the pediatrician did not give her kids more vaccinations than required by the state, and never more than three at a time. I told her about wanting a better world for my grand-kids. Her husband Mike had read my post about Slow Death by Rubber Duck and asked to see the book. I explained how I have started posting often to Facebook where I have discovered an informed community of people who share knowledge on toxins in the environment. I gave the couple several relevant Web sites before they left, including Environmental Working Group and Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families. Yesterday I touched two people, who will each reach out and touch at last two other people. Little by little, we will spread the word. You can find a guest post I wrote today for Kerri Campbell on this very subject at her fabulous green blog Living Large in our Little House.

While waiting for guests this afternoon, I am watching Crude. Do check out the clever video on Chevron, which could also be describing other environmental disasters, where corporations drilled for oil, like in the Gulf Coast, for instance ...

“Water, Water Everywhere, And Not A Drop to Drink”

Coleridge wrote these words in his poem "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" to describe a situation on a ship at sea. They also fit the predicament we will be in if environmental pollution is not rapidly halted. People across the planet are becoming more aware of this natural resource most Americans take for granted: WATER! Provincetown has limited water supplies. Its well fields, in Truro, cannot keep up with demand during summer, forcing Provincetown to use two wells in the National Seashore. Since P-town water comes from a town targeted by the utility company for herbicidal spraying, as is Wellfleet, the purity of this water is in jeopardy. Citizens in New York and Pennsylvania have started to unite against fracking companies, which pay good money to lease land, then inject toxic chemicals into the ground to obtain natural gas, polluting groundwater in the process. When you add large amounts of toxic chemicals to an aquifer, be it in New York, Pennsylvania or Massachusetts, you poison your future water supply. How shortsighted can humans be? And, I didn’t even mention the incredible environmental damage in the Gulf of Mexico, causing acid rain to fall in Iowa and beyond. The glaciers are melting. Sea levels are rising. June was the hottest month on record. Read Chris Hedges on how corporations are destroying our world, bit by bit.

Leslie’s Visit & Impressions of Submission

Tuesday I received the Submission DVD in the mail from Swedish director Stefan Jarl. How exciting was that! This is that same documentary that was acclaimed by the United Nations at a May screening and has not yet been distributed in the USA, the film I reported on last week. My fingers shook as I opened the package.

That evening Sven and I had dinner with Leslie, a return guest who has stayed at Chez Sven about five times, usually with husband Mark, unable to get away this year due to work. We had a delicious organic meal. Leslie is a lady I highly respect. She makes the environment her life work. It is her profession and her passion. My kind of person, in other words.

Eager to watch the documentary, I invited Leslie to join us. She was totally psyched. Unfortunately, the DVD, from Europe, turned out to not be compatible with our machine. We pulled out our hair in frustration, placed phone calls for advice from knowledgeable family members, but no go. We were not able to watch the film. And, this is where I can say how grateful I am to community: I reached out, by email to Jeff Zinn at WHAT, and, yesterday morning, in person, to Elaine McIlroy at the Wellfleet Public Library. Both came to my rescue. Elaine made it possible for me to watch the film on an old DVD player. First, let's take a peek at the trailer:

So, here are my impressions: Director Stefan Jarl has created an amazing film that leaves no doubt the synthetic chemicals, set loose in the environment since the 1970s, are wrecking havoc on human life. I like to think of myself as fairly knowledgeable in this field, due to my research, but the film contains information I did not know, including recent interviews with professors in half a dozen countries, who all warn of disaster. Synthetic chemicals, in combination, have effects not evident when only one chemical is present. Also, for years scientists believed a higher dose of a chemical would be more disastrous than a lower dose. Not true. Now scientists are realizing low doses can be very toxic and cause conditions like ADHD, autism, diabetes. The documentary also warns of disruptions to the reproductive system. Certain periods of human development are crucial, including the last few months in utero. But the main thread of the story is body burden, and I will stop there because I want you all to go see the film.

I learned about body burden from Bill Moyers, on PBS. Not everyone can have their body burden calculated because the tests are expensive. I believe Jeffrey Hollander, at Seventh Generation, said it cost $10,000 to test his blood. What he discovered was very upsetting to him.

Did you already know about body burden? Do you worry about it? Will you go see Submission when it comes out? Do you think the subject of this film is something America can embrace after the general outrage at handling of the toxic oil spill in the Gulf?

Bonus Post: Mayo Beach at Noon Today

It was quite exciting to stand in the line at Mayo Beach an hour ago and share thoughts of a clean-er environment with around sixty strangers. Some people happened by while out swimming, some came on purpose for Hands Across the Sand. A large contingent were in Wellfleet to celebrate Ernie Zobel's 75th birthday. The Zobels brought great "No to Offshore Drilling, Yes to Clean Energy" signs and stickers. And protesters all over the world were doing the exact same thing, at the same time. Will legislators notice?

"Have we gotten any better at green living?" is the question Jane Boursaw asks today at her blog Film Gecko. My response is I sure hope so! Jane read my earlier post this morning and referred her readers here. I'm thrilled the Submission trailer will get this early exposure on a mainstream blog. Thank you, Jane.

What do you think? Have we gotten better at green living?