It cannot be overstated how helpful it is if you have your money in a local institution, instead of a big bank. There is a trickle-green effect - local institutions are much more responsive to local environmental concerns. And there is a community effect, positive for local jobs and culture. And now there is a terrific video promoting the idea. Check it out.
Tests reveal that many toys still contain very high levels of poisons. Yet another study exposed that problem this week.
Some of the products listed as being of "high" concern are:
- High School Musical argyle belt: tested to have high levels of lead, cadmium and arsenic.
- Disney Princess Sandals: found to have high levels of bromine.
- Marvel Hot Rodz cars: high levels of lead.
- Cupcake clip watch: high levels of cadmium.
Researchers for the Ecology Center, a health-advocacy group based in Ann Arbor, Mich., tested the products and released their findings in a yearly report issued in time for the holiday shopping season.
Seven hundred products geared toward children have tested positive for high levels of toxic substances, including lead, cadmium, arsenic and mercury.
Lead researcher Gearhardt said he thinks a "major overhaul" of chemical policies is needed to phase out the dangerous substances.
The study took place in the US, but distribution is worldwide for these toys - and others with the same risks.
Those governments that even bother to try to screen products for toxins are doing a poor job worldwide, and until that changes, all one can do is attempt to individually prevent exposures as far as that is possible.
Every year there are 1.7 million deaths, mainly children under the age of five, due to diarrhea caused by unsafe water.
And there is no reason that it has to be that way.
The tiniest fraction of of the global economy could solve this and all similar problems. But for now, if we can't be globally organized enough to take care of each other, we can do things individually and in smaller groups.
In your own life, there is probably someway that you can help with water purification. And here are a group of people doing a great deal: Potters for Peace.
For free, if you are in an area where filtration is poor, or non-existent, you can see and study the water filtration system they have designed.
The filter design used by PFP was developed by Dr. Fernando Mazariegos of the Central American Industrial Research Institute (ICAITI) in Guatemala, in 1981. The goal was to make bacterially contaminated water safe for the poorest of the poor by developing a low cost filter which could be fabricated at the community level.
And the organization can become much more helpful and involved than that:
Education, health training and follow-up are critical to the successful introduction of the CWP into rural communities. Potters for Peace has developed materials in several languages; brochures, decals and a manual of procedures which can be provided to the local partner for this work.
If you would like to know more and help out, study their page here : http://pottersforpeace.org/?pa... for options and contact information.
We all hear about toxins in this and that, and are sometimes tiresome of the warnings themselves. But making the right choice can be very important, and all it takes is a little information, and an intent.
I remember writing years ago about toxic candles - particularly candles with lead in the wicks. Lead from those candles burns into the air, breathing sucks it into the body, and it damages the brain - especially the developing brain of a child or a fetus. Lead in candles is still a significant problem in many countries.
Then, I was reminded again this morning of having a choice in candles.
Paraffin wax candles. These candles, which are made from petroleum, are a source of known human carcinogens and indoor pollution, researchers said in a study presented last month at the American Chemical Society's national meeting in Washington, D.C. In the study, R. Massoudi and Amid Hamidi found that candles made from beeswax or soy, although more expensive, are safer because they do not release potentially harmful pollutants.
The problem and the answer - all right there in that paragraph. Take a little time, watch what you are buying, and you are all set. This one choice is not that hard. We can do this!
It is an more beautiful morning because of something I read today. When mainstream corporate media ( Washington Post !) business writers expose mainstream profit-mongers for lying or distorting or misleading while undermining the common good, I feel better.
Steven Pearlstein at WP exposed the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in its campaign to do nothing about climate change emissions, in an excellent article, highlighted by this quote:
The Campaign for Free Enterprise, of course, is not really about creating 20 million jobs over the next decade -- if Chamber members could double their profits while creating not a single new job, that would suit them just fine. Rather, it's nothing more than a desperate attempt to repackage the same old anti-tax, anti-regulation, anti-government rhetoric in hopes of derailing the major initiatives of the Obama administration and the Democratic Congress.
Unfortunately for Tom, the world is finally catching on to his game.
And this one:
In the past few weeks, a number of big-name companies -- including Apple, Nike and PG&E -- have resigned from the Chamber or its various boards and committees over its continued opposition to doing anything about global warming.
More and more, scientists are discussing what will happen on an Earth where humanity has exterminated itself - through climate change or other means...
TUMMY CLICK to play. 
