Clearly Nebulous

Time to Tell Teflon "Ta-Ta"!

So you've heard about BPA and phthalates -- they were big news not too long ago regarding their use in toys, teethers, water bottles, baby bottles and formula cans. These chemicals' safety has been questioned, especially their effects on children.

Apparently there were attempts at damage control by the BPA industry, citing that the amounts of food or beverages sold in BPA-lined containers that you would have to consume to achieve dangerous levels was impossible. A website I found -- which I will have to explore more later and that you may find interesting -- called Mommy Mythbuster felt that the hoopla was unfounded. There is something to be said for the fact that these plastic products are not dangerous when used properly, and that BPA-lined cans help prevent spoilage and I imagine dangers like, you know, botulism.

Then a study by Yale School of Medicine researchers came out this month that shows that exposure to BPA in utero can permanently reprogram a person's genes and affect their fertility in adulthood. Pregnant mothers would be wise to add BPA to the list of things avoid unnecessary exposure to.

One of the authors of a new book, Slow Death by Rubber Duck (I bet the publishers literally leapt out of their chair to sign the authors with a great title like that!) appeared on a news program this morning explaining how he exposed himself to everyday chemicals and how the amounts in his bloodstream spiked to dangerous levels.

He didn't do anything all that unusual -- he heated his food in plastic containers in the microwave, he drank from a baby bottle, he used products with fragrances, etc -- and the levels of these chemicals in his bloodstream spiked noticeably.

It's been years since I stopped using Tupperware in the microwave -- but in those same years, I kept saying to myself, "Man, the coatings my old non-stick pans are starting to flake off -- I really should replace them."

So I won't be going on a warpath against products containing these chemicals in my home -- I'm not going to worry about sandwich bags though there are BPA-free Saran Wrap products. But there are sensible steps and guidelines. I already replaced our reusable water bottles and I found out that my Brita pitcher is already BPA-free and i suppose I'll try to look for fragrance-free products -- but I'm more so going to worry about when heat is involved. 

So no more Teflon for me: Stainless steel cookware with copper bottoms -- here I come!

Just Send This to 20 of Your Friends...

... and maybe we can shed some light on chain mail. (Yeah, not the most pressing issue in the world but...)

Oh sure, not all of them are so obviously incomprehensible. Like those that tell you that they've gone around the world several times and have not been broken for decades and the harm that came to those who did break it -- really? How would you know? And did the original letter -- the one your supposed to copy exactly -- make these prognostic claims?

And then there are those that are emotional blackmail -- even if there really is a sick child who wants to get as many postcards as possible, and even if I really do support the troops, do I have to prove I care by forwarding emails?

Some of them are purely harmless. Recently a friend and a family member both sent a chain mail where all you have to do is send a recipe to one person, the name at the top of a two-person list. So you send a recipe to that friend-of-your-friend, move your friend's name to the top, and put your name at the bottom. Then you forward copies of the letter to 20 friends and hope they'll do the same.

Who couldn't use a few good recipes? Well, yeah, but...

I guess the appeal is that since it's such a short list, you should receive mail in return relatively soon -- and even if everybody doesn't hop on board, you'll share your recipe with someone and you'll get a few recipes in kind. No big deal. And believe me, I wouldn't mind receiving some simple meal ideas, and I have a couple up my sleeve that I am more than willing to share. But you have to look more closely at what is going on here to realize you might not want to participate.

Okay, let's say when you receive the letter, the person at the top of the list was a friend of the person who started it. And let's just assume that two people started it, using both their own email addresses to get it going.

So the first two people send it to 20 people each, and those 40 send it 20 people each. One of those 800 people is your friend. So that means that when you jump in, you are one of 16,000 folks in the next "generation" and the people you send it to are in a generation consisting of 320,000.

Still with me? So when your friends send out their emails, they will be adding 6,400,000 other kind souls to the mix. Your friends will be at the top of the list in the next generation -- which will be among the 128,000,000 emails in cyberspace asking for a simple recipe. That's more than half the adult population of the US. And if it should somehow leap to another generation -- that would be almost half the population of the entire world. In just seven "forwards."

Now, of course, each person's name will only have the potential to be at the top of 400 emails. And it's more than likely that -- just like at every level of this chain -- only a few of those who receive the email will actually join in. So no, it's not really conceivable that it would ever approach the numbers I've thrown about here. So there's really no harm, no foul -- it is innocent correspondence with an innocuous purpose. (Although it must be said -- your email address could be sent to as many as 400 people, and you can't know for sure that it won't make its way onto some spam list or other.)

Call me a stickler, but I've come to the conclusion that these types of emails -- as utterly harmless and sincere as they may be -- are just not something I want to perpetuate.

(Feel free to pass this post on to as many people as you want -- and they can pass it on, if they want. Maybe we can make people think twice before they hit "send" on another chain mail.)

Angie Baby, You're a Special Lady

Yes, one needs to be skeptical when it comes to celebrities making endorsements and corporations making donations to charities. But this one passes the sniff test for me. (Mmmmm... the smell of freshly washed and dried laundry!)

Angie Harmon of Law and Order fame is a rare breed in Hollywood. Not only is she conservative, but she is gracious, lovely, and she has her priorities straight. She gave birth to her third daughter about 5 months ago, and she has found a great balance between her home life and her career.

Now she is teaming up with Purex to help women in under-developed countries, while also making a small difference in the impact on the environment.

The company has come up with a new product called Purex 3-in-1. Rather than a separate bottle for laundry detergent and fabric softener and then a dryer sheet, the product comes in a thin plastic wrapper which contains treated sheets that clean, soften and stop static. (The sheets can be stored in an initial refillable container that they sell -- or it seems to me, you can use any old suitable plastic storage you have lying about.)

And as an introductory promotion when you purchase this new product, you can direct the donation of $1 through the company's partnership with Kiva which arranges micro-loans to women who are starting small businesses in order to help their families overcome the devastating poverty around them.

I'm heading out to buy my package today -- and when I go on-line to say where I want that $1 to go, I just might add a few more dollars of my own.

Here is the link for more info: www.PurexChangesLives.com

And here is a link to a group within Kiva that I found: http://www.kiva.org/team/christians_against_abortion

Do Your Part on World Malaria Day

Yeah, it was a big joke when there was a race for the first to have a millions "tweeps" -- twitter friends. But Ashton Kutcher won the crown and he made a silly situation mean a lot more when he promised to make a big donation to help fight malaria.

Malaria infects 300-500 million people worldwide annually, according to UNICEF statistics. Nearly 1 million people die each year from the mosquito-borne disease. The majority of deaths are to children in sub-Saharan Africa.

You can read more about what Christian organizations are trying to do at this link:

http://everydaychristian.com/news/story/1787/

and you can make a donation to World Vision's drive to buy protective netting at:

http://www.nightofnets.org/

I'm (going to be like) Ashton Kutcher -- and I'm awesome! You can be awesome too! Make a donation today!

Oh, to be Poor in America

...rather than so many other countries across the globe.

Not to make light of the plight of the poor in our country -- it just really says something about the bounty of our great nation when a man in line at a homeless shelter has a cell phone that takes pictures.

Want to help some much less fortunate people across the globe without spending a single dime of your own? Go to www.freerice.com and spend a little time expanding your vocabulary while helping feed the destitute. It automatically adjusts for all ages/levels so it's something the whole family can be a part of.

Test your word power and help the world, one bowl of rice at a time.

So You Want to Save Darfur...

The other day I came across this article challenging the Hollywood community and their "Save Darfur" campaign: http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/rhumphries/2009/02/26/what-hollywood-gets-wrong-about-darfur-by-rusty-humphries/

The author, Rusty Humphries, tells the recent history of Sudan concisely, adds some heartbreaking anecdotes of his time in the region of Darfur, and illustrates how George Clooney and the rest of the Hollywood crowd are getting it all wrong. 

However, Humphries does not offer much of an alternative -- but that is understandable. Sudan, and many other countries on the continent of Africa, are in such a mess there are no easy answers. Perhaps we should offer humanitarian aid. Does Somalia aid under Bill Clinton and Black Hawk Down remind us of the pitfalls? And is the current administration going to support a full-out invasion? Not likely, even if Obama had the stomach for a new warfront, the U.S. would probably be looked at as imperialists, and a whole new morass would result.

The stories of suffering in Darfur are gut-wrenching. I feel compelled to do something. What can one person actually do? Well, I'm not sure about the big picture, but I found one small way to try and make a difference.

There have been many stories of how rape is now used as warfare in these conflicts. In the case of Darfur, many women experience this most violent act when they simply gather firewood. Now there is an alternative that has made a real impact for women facing the dilemma of whether to take the chance of possibly being violated so they can boil water and cook meals for their families.

Solar Cookers International provides these women with another means for boiling and cooking. Not only has the incidences of rape greatly decreased in areas where these solar cookers have been introduced, but also, not having to tend a fire allows the women more time to care for their families. Another plus is that the women are being trained to make and distribute the cookers, giving them a source of income.

A small donation provides a family with two cookers and other supplies, plus the training to use them. Check it out at: www.solarcookers.org or www.jewishworldwatch.org/refugeerelief/solarcookerproject.html

Teach Your Children Well... Don't Let Al Gore Preach to Them

A lot has been said about how today's kids are being "indoctrinated" with liberal dogma by our public school system. On history, on the accomplishments of conservatives, on sexual behavior, and lately on the global warming -- er, "climate change" -- agenda. (See, since the Earth has actually been cooling for the past three years, they had to change the name.)

Today I heard what a couple of parents did and I want to applaud them for their foresight: Al Gore spoke to their child's middle school, and the couple made an audio recording. The father was interviewed and some of the audio is heard at this link:

http://markedmanner.blogspot.com/2009/02/audio-al-gore-tells-kids-not-to-listen.html

In the recording you can hear Gore say, "You know, you as children know things about this world, that older people don't know" and then he goes on telling them how their parents are stuck in the older ways and so on. "...new understandings are more apparent to young people."

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Unbelievable! The blatant attempt to undermine the authority of these children's parents!

Now, I haven't heard the whole speech, so I don't know for sure that he does not say that kids should go and have a conversation about the subject with their parents-- there is one very quick caveat from Gore: "Now, don't get me wrong, your parents and your elders, as you have already figured out, know a lot that you can gain from, but..."

And with that "but," Gore negates his previous statement. And I'm guessing he says no other words in support of parents.

How can we fight this kind of... well, propaganda is not too strong a word. Listen, I understand that there are things going on in this world that we need to pay attention to and take care of. I also understand that Al Gore and his followers do not have all the facts right, nor do they have the answers to the problems.

Gore and his ilk -- and their beliefs about everything from the ecology to the slant of history to sexual behavior -- are being thrown at our kids as FACTS not opinions. If you -- like me -- are unable to afford private school for all your kids, you are at their mercy.

What can you do? Check the curriculum, especially in the "family life" class, and look over your kids textbooks. (The easiest test for a liberal slant contained within a history book: Go to the index and look up Ronald Reagan and see how he is portrayed. If it sounds negative, chances are that any conservative and his/her values will be shown in a bad light.)

Talk to them every day about what they have learned. Ask them if they heard anything that sounds different than what they've learned at home. Trust your instincts. Look into anything that raises a red flag. Talk to other parents who share your values and beliefs and ask if they have become aware of any objectionable teaching.

And tell you kids to not be afraid to -- respectfully -- disagree with a teacher if it contradicts what they are being taught at home. I have told my kids to tell me if this ever occurs. (So far, just a couple of benign instances.) And I also ask once in a while, in case they've forgotten.

And of course I have met all their teachers. I have mentioned to them that we would like to be informed if there is ever any kind of conflict or problem that arises. I remain vague, not saying anything specific, since I don't want the teacher to think we are at odds. I want them to know I feel we are a team, and I make it clear that I am plugged in to what my child is learning.

Until there is school choice, parents will have to be vigilant to ensure their authority and their beliefs are not being undermined by the public school system... and desperately-trying-to-be-relevant former vice-presidents. 

An Un-learning Moment: Don't Look the Other Way

An article from the "Department of Human Behavior" in today's Washington Post (always an interesting column to read) examines our reactions to misfortune on a grand scale.

It starts out with an analysis of what the Obama administration promises to do if another Rwanda-style genocide were to occur, and then cites studies that try to explain why we are more moved by the tragedy of, say, a family put out of their home by a fire than the mass suffering in Darfur.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/04/AR2009010401307.html?sub=AR

It basically concludes that our brains have been wired to lean towards helping in situations where a larger percentage of people can be helped, not a larger number. We are also more likely to help if we can save all or most, regardless of the numbers.

For example, if we could give money to help save 10,000 out of 40,000 lives versus funds to save 20,000 out of 200,000 -- apparently our reaction is to help those in the first category. Better to help a higher percentage than a greater number, our grey matter decides.

Same is true in small numbers. In another study, folks were more willing to give money to save one child suffering from cancer than eight children. (Although it doesn't address whether or not the personalization of that single child made the test subjects more likely to help since they identified more with her and her personal story.)

I'm inclined to think -- is it too much of a leap to say that our minds don't usually make the analytical jump to saving a greater number of poor souls because our gut reaction is we prefer to be part of a more successful rescue? Everybody wants to be on the winning team, after all.

Bottom line for me here is: Though we all will continue to have our particular causes that we support for highly personal reasons, and we all still will be persuaded by the personal stories of others, we also need to train ourselves to be more analytical of where we allocate our (however regrettably) limited resources.

Let's not turn our backs on the seemingly faceless masses simply because we didn't take the time to think it through.

 

About bloody time!

Monday was the type of show that makes me loveoprah so much, I almost wanted to jump up and down just like the women on her Favorite Summer Things last week. (Honestly, ladies, practically peeing in your pants about items that collectively couldn't have been worth more than $2500? This show should have put you all to shame.)

My only complaint:  What took so long?

The Angel Network has teamed up with Free the Children, an organization founded by Craig Kielburger in 1995 when he was only 12 years old. What started out as a project with 11 of his friends has turned into the largest organization of children helping children. Over 1 million participants are changing the world for the better in 45 countries.

The foundation teaches young kids how they can make a difference. They are shown just how to plan a project, raise the funds, and carry out such feats as building a school or digging a well. Children in grammar school and high school are directed how to participate at the level appropriate to their age.

Craig first appeared on TOWS in 1999. Now almost nine years later  Craig was back as O announced their new joint efforts. (I mean, even though O must be careful whom she chooses to partner with, this should have happened much sooner -- about umpteen American home makeovers ago).

It was heartbreaking to watch as a group of high schoolers who had raised the $8500 in funds, built a small school for a village in Kenya in 3 weeks. The group also interacted with the children of the village, at one point joining on a trip to the river to get water. The obvious health risks the villagers faced by ingesting the filthy water, and their stories of friends dying from dysentery and cholera brought the group to tears. And amazingly, the villagers consoled the high schoolers!

The experience was life-changing for the American kids. They returned home and immediately set out to raise the $5000 needed for a well, which was completed soon after. Each of the high schoolers said it was was amazing to see how, even with the conditions they live in, the Kenyans were so happy and friendly. It really made them grateful for the bounty we have here in the USA.

This is O at her greatest. Showing the average family at home who really wants to make a difference, but doesn't know how, that they can jump in and help change the world -- one school at a time. With the advance of education, especially the education of girls, poverty declines, the rate of female circumcision declines, the rate of early marriage declines, and the spread of HIV declines.

So it took O several years to finally get on board. But better late than never, I say. I hope that the organization grows in leaps and bounds. You can check them out through O's website, or directly at www.freethechildren.org

Run and tell everyone you know. Get involved, if only by making a donation. Don't wait years to do it.

Well look who just caught up...

on TV. Miss 4.0 GPA in chemical engineering (for one year at Northern Illinois -- hmmm) Cindy Crawford. She came on to promote using Pur filters and a reusable aluminum water bottle that she designed. (Hey! she *is* puttin that one year at NIU to use!)

Cindy was saying how she alone used to go thru 6 plastic bottles of water a day. When did she finally realize that not using them at all is better than recycling them? I've had Brita pitchers for more than 15 years. There are so many options and yet today at Costco, person after person buying cases of bottled water... sigh

O has talked about not buying bottled water in the past. But her recent revelation that they finally just got around to dealing with a situation re: the coffee stations in Harpo Studios is a perfect reflection of having good intentions but not taking the extra necessary step.

I'm sure that she did the earth-friendlier step of eliminating styrofoam cups at some point, and replaced them with paper. But staff members were each using several a day, sometimes grabbing two at a time because the coffee was too hot. Hellooooooooo!

So, after having been made aware of the huge volume being used daily, rather than try to limit, O was wise enough to cut off the supply completely. Now all staff must bring their own reusable mugs. Now that's going the extra painless mile!

Now if only O would allow an energy audit at Harpo...