Gina Solomon's Blog
Everything's Toxic?
August 31, 2007
Posted by Gina Solomon in Health and the Environment
Last night I was invited to give a talk for a local mothers group. In that room with 80-100 new moms (and a few dads), I heard the familiar refrain: "It seems like everything's toxic!" They peppered me with the usual questions: "Is it terrible to microwave in plastic?" "What kind of baby bottle won't leach toxic chemicals?" "My child's favorite toy is plastic, should I take it away?"
It's tough to be a parent these days.
It saddens me that people often feel so paralyzed about what to do and how to protect their families. It doesn't have to be that way. So I'll be blogging for a while on some of my favorite themes in the hope of sharing some perspective, and maybe a few tips.
I think there are three things people should know:
- Don't sweat the small stuff. It's easy to get caught up in all the ups and downs of the developing information on an issue. If you're not a toxicologist, you'll go nuts trying to sort it all out.
- It's NOT all small stuff. There are some really significant health threats from pollution and toxic chemicals. It's good to learn what those are and put your priorities into doing something about them.
- Powerlessness sucks. You'll feel better if you act, so if you're worried about this stuff, get engaged so you can take action.
I can tell you from personal experience that there's no better feeling than helping to make the world a safer place for kids - your own or others. For some stuff, the actions may be simple steps you can take in your own home. For other things, we need to work together to force government action to get rid of toxic chemicals, to require testing, or to label the nasty stuff so consumers can make informed choices.
Not everything's toxic, and the pollutants that are toxic can be controlled or replaced. So don't despair. Let's work together to set some priorities and take action.
(bookmark or email this entry)
- Gina Solomon
- Senior Scientist
- San Francisco
- I've been a Senior Scientist at NRDC for twelve years, and my work is focused on protecting people...
- more→
