Update: New Hope For Handmade Industry in Lead Law Exceptions
In an update to concerns over the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, the CPSC is considering exemptions that will hopefully rescue the US handmade industry from certain doom.
Got flame retardant in your blood? EPA says, “Just say yes.”
The EPA recently fired a scientific member of a peer review panel on PBDE toxicity at the urging of a chemical industry lobbying group. PBDE, a flame retardant, is found in many household products and may be an endocrine disruptor and developmental neurotoxicant. PBDEs have been found in mother’s milk, umbilical cord blood, and in household dust. Though PBDEs are banned in Europe, the EPA sided with corporate lobbyists in firing Deborah C. Rice.
Elective Cesarean: 3 Reasons Why (or Why Not)
Yale University scientists have unveiled a study indicating elective Cesareans weaken the mother-baby bond. Is science pointing elective cesareans to their place as a practice of last resort? Among the pros and cons of elective cesarean, scientists say the cons are growing.
Green Capitalism: Today’s Big Mama Hope Quandary
Making “baby steps” is a phrase sometimes used by the “light green” movement in defence of green capitalism and consumerism. But if we’re still continuously consuming, will that be enough to make a difference? Or is the marketing of consumption, even green consumption, ultimately still a part of the end?
George Carlin Inspired Me to Give Up My Stuff
by JustDerek
Rest in peace, George Carlin. You managed to teach your lessons while giving people a whole lot of fun and laughter. I think I was still a teenager when the implicit message from my favorite George Carlin routine first began to sink in. Want to learn the real lesson of the Three R’s? [...]
Scientific Evidence for Screen-Time’s Negative Impact
New scientific theories indicate that screen-time activities such as computer games may over-stimulate certain brain centers while starving others. As scientists study the field and develop hypotheses, we as parents must make decisions as to how we’ll limit TV, computer and video games, and just how damaging we believe they could be.
Toxic Exposure and Children — How Bad Is It?
When you have children, it’s important to stay informed about their potential exposure to environmental toxins and chemical additives. Last year, a coalition of environmental groups measured chemicals in the blood and urine of 35 Americans from across the country and found that all participants contained flame retardants and 95 percent contained chemicals commonly found in plastics. How big is the problem?
Vaccines and Autism — Should we be concerned?
Here is a collection of quotes from the medical professions, members of Congress, and respected authors validating the concern parents have about the link between autism and vaccines. The Department of Health and Human Services has recently conceded that an autistic child was injured by vaccines. Yet as this case was unfolding, I spoke with a friend who claimed there is no link between autism and vaccines…