The nation's toxic chemical regulatory law, the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), is in drastic need of reform. Passed in 1976 and never amended since, TSCA is widely regarded as the weakest of all major environmental laws on the books today.

When passed, the Act declared safe some 62,000 chemicals already on the market, even though there were little or no data to support this policy. Since that time another 20,000 chemicals have been put into commerce in the United States, also with little or no data to support their safety.

The human race is now polluted with hundreds of industrial chemicals with little or no understanding of the consequences. Babies are born pre-polluted with as many as 300 industrial chemicals in their bodies when they enter the world. Testing by Environmental Working Group has identified 455 chemicals in people, and again, no one has any idea if these exposures are safe.

We are at a tipping point, where the pollution in people is increasingly associated with a range of serious diseases and conditions from childhood cancer, to autism, ADHD, learning deficits, infertility, and birth defects. Yet even as our knowledge about the link between chemical exposure and human disease grows, the government has almost no authority to protect people from even the most hazardous chemicals on the market.

Please check out this 22-minute video called "10 Americans: 'An Inconvenient Truth' for Toxic Chemicals and Health." It's full of facts and statistics that will shock and surprise even the most informed people!


The Campaign: Pass the Kid-Safe Chemicals Act

This pollution in people is the direct result of a statute that does not require chemicals to be proven safe to get on the market, or stay on the market. Under federal law EPA does not have the authority to demand the information it needs to evaluate a chemical's risk, and neither manufacturers nor the EPA are required to prove a chemical's safety as a condition of use.

The Kid-Safe Chemical Act will change all this through a fundamental overhaul of our nation's chemical regulatory law. Specifically, the Kid-Safe Chemicals Act:

* requires that industrial chemicals be safe for infants, kids and other vulnerable groups;

* requires that new chemicals be safety tested before they are sold;

* requires chemical manufacturers to test and prove that the 62,000 chemicals already on the market that have never been tested are safe in order for them to remain in commerce;

* requires EPA to review "priority" chemicals, those which are found in people, on an expedited schedule;

* requires regular biomonitoring to determine what chemicals are in people and in what amounts;

* requires regular updates of health and safety data and provides EPA with clear authority to request additional information and tests;

* provides incentives for manufacturers to further reduce health hazards;

* requires EPA to promote safer alternatives and alternatives to animal testing;

* protects state and local rights; and

* requires that this information be publicly available.

Through the Kid-Safe Chemicals Act we can give our children a safer and healthier future. You can help by spreading the word and taking action now!

And while major reforms require the government to step in, you don't have to wait for this Act to pass before protecting yourself and your family. The best thing you can do is to be an educated consumer. There are simple things you start now to help -- avoid nonstick pans, try to buy organic when possible, never microwave plastic, filter your water for drinking and cooking, and many more. Just contact me to get more tips and advice.

Source: The Environmental Working Group 

I found out last night that my mom's doggie, Cappuccino (a.k.a. Chino), died over the weekend. He was the friendliest, happy-go-lucky dog in the world! Whenever he saw us, his tail would wag so much, my mom would always joke that it was going to fly off!

I still remember the day my mom found him. He was just a little puppy at the time, and since I name all my pets after food, we decided he was a beautiful cappuccino color and that would be an appropriate name since my mom is also a caffeine-addict! (As he got older, his coat got lighter, but by then we had shortened his name to Chino because it was easier for my mom to say!)

Chino was only 7 years old and was perfectly healthy (though a bit pudgy). Then all of a sudden, about a month ago, he stopped eating, which is very unlike him! My mom took him to the vet and they gave him different medicines over the course of several weeks and finally determined (too late) that he was poisoned by toxic fertilizer! The vet said the fact that Chino stayed alive for so long was a miracle. We all believe that it's because my mom's other doggie, Nina, kept him company and strengthened his will to live, but it was a losing battle.

My mom gave Chino a proper burial and also went to pray for him at the temple near my old apartment. The monk told her that Chino was a good dog with a big heart, so he would reincarnate as a human in the next life. This helped my mom to feel better, and she told me last night that she was finally at peace. I wanted to be strong for her, but after we hung up, I cried.

My tears were both from sadness and anger. Our happy dog was stolen from our family by some idiot that used toxic fertilizer! This is one of the reasons why I started my business. Too many people unknowingly use toxic chemical cleaners and fertilizers for their homes, but there are safe and economical alternatives out there! 

Corporate giants encourage you to use these chemical cleaners to mop your floors, spray baby’s high chair, and wipe your counters before kids put food on them. What they don’t realize is that these chemicals are toxic and can cause serious damage to developing children’s brain functions, headaches, respiratory problems, and more. How come people are not aware of this? Because companies are not required to list the chemicals that cause chronic toxicity, but only those that will blow up or are poisonous when swallowed.

Isn’t that scary? Kids and pets are most affected by these dangerous cleaners and chemicals because they tend to practically live on the floor and tend to put things in their mouths. If we all switched to safe, natural products and educated those around us, we could stomp out this problem. 

I’ve done a lot of research on this topic, so if you need help, please let me know! I don't want anyone to have to go through what my family experienced with Chino!