The Green Moms Take on Environmental Links to Cancer

Next Monday the Green Moms Carnival members  will host our 26th carnival. We’ll  tackle environmental links (or causes, depending on your perspective) to cancer. I’ll admit I’ve become radicalized about this subject. Despite all the talking about “finding a cure for cancer,” we actually are a lot closer to knowing what causes many cancers than the mainstream public believes. If we cleaned up our environment and took the toxins out of the products we use everyday, I believe we’d find that our cancer rates would dramatically decrease.

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My very first post here at OrganicMania was about cancer, and that was before I was aware of the many environmental links to cancer.  Cancer is a subject that’s close to my heart, having two parents who battled cancer – my mother  successfully, and my father  unsuccessfully. I also lost my mother-in-law to the disease, and many other cousins, aunts and uncles.

Cancer is  a subject I’ve wanted to revisit, and that’s why I asked Tiffany of Nature Moms if she’d host this carnival. Most of us know Tiffany as one of the trailblazers in “green mom” blogging. But Tiffany is also a young woman who battled cancer in her 20s. Her experience caused her to examine the environmental causes of cancer. I couldn’t think of a better host for this carnival.

If you’d like to contribute a post to the carnival, it’s not too late. Just include a link to Nature Moms, to the home page of the Green Moms Carnival, and email your submission to greenmomscarnival at gmail dot com by Sunday morning.

We’re going to be talking pinkwashing, carcinogens, plastics, coal, household cleansers, you name it….we’ll put it on the line.

Join us. Monday at Nature Moms.

– Lynn

Copyright OrganicMania 2010

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No More Baby BPA in Maryland: 46 to 0

Talk about a rout! The BPA vote sailed through the Maryland Senate this morning, on a vote of 46 to 0. Wow.

You can read more about it in this piece from the Baltimore Sun.

Congrats to everyone who has worked so hard to get this legislation passed!

– Lynn

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BPA for Babies? Say No in Maryland: NOW!

If you’re been reading my blog for a while, you know I’ve written about the debate over BPA a lot over the past two years – like here, there, here and there, for starters! I’ve talked about BPA in The Washington Post and on many other great green blogs.

Now it’s time to do something.

We now know that BPA traces are found not only in adult bodies, but in the blood of newborns,  thanks to “Body Burden” tests  conducted by The Environmental Working Group.

But the fact is, to avoid BPA in Maryland, you need to be savvy. You need to be a Mom who is educated about chemicals and the risks they pose, and one who is willing to seek out BPA-free products, which typically are more expensive than products containing BPA.

I think it’s a social justice issue. Why should only educated, affluent women be able to choose BPA-free products for their kids?

We can change this in Maryland. This week debate is expected to start on the BPA-Free Babies and Childrens Act. Let’s have Maryland join Canada, Minnesota and Connecticut in banning BPA in babies and childrens products.

Let’s stop experimenting on the weakest in our society – our babies and children.

What can you do? Click here to send an email  to your local delegate. It’s fast and easy.

What else? Tell your friends. Because not everyone knows about BPA, which hundreds of studies have linked to serious health problems, including obesity, heart disease, liver abnormalities, impaired brain development, cancer, and a number of reproductive problems.

– Lynn

Copyright 2010 OrganicMania

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The Green Moms Get Dirty with Coal. It’s the Next Carnival!

So what’s up with the Green Moms? Recovered from doing our very best to celebrate the holidays with Greener Traditions and ring in the New Year with Green Resolutions, we’re setting our sights on coal.   Sure, we’ve blogged about climate change before. We kicked off the carnival back in August ‘08 with this carnival about climate change, before tackling it again and yet again.

But this time we’re getting down and dirty – we’ll be talking about coal in our next carnival on February 8th.  Oh, maybe some of us will cover the promise of “clean coal,” but it’s still dirty.

For most of us, coal is an abstraction. Many of the @GreenMoms live in or near big cities like San Francisco, Minneapolis, New York, Washington, Los Angeles, Portland, and elsewhere. But for some of us, coal is a real life, every day presence, like it is for Lisa of  Retro Housewife Goes Green, who hails from Oklahoma and who proposed the topic of this month’s carnival. She’ll be hosting the carnival on February 8th.

As Lisa explains, “Coal is a big issue to me in part because a year or so ago I learned we have a lot of coal ming a few hours east of me that is killing a lot of people, also even closer to me I have heard they are mining coal now but I can’t get my hands on all the info. But if they keep at it one of the most beautiful parts of this state will be gone and it is also where we have herds of wild bison that will be harmed and my town and other towns around here will have water shortages. That is why this is such an important topic for me, but I know this is kind of a big topic and can be hard for some bloggers so don’t feel like you have to do it.”

Well, let’s show Lisa we stand with her and we can take it on! If you’d like to contribute to the carnival, please send your post on coal to greenmomscarnival@gmail.com. We can’t promise all the submissions will be included, but we’ll try! Please remember to include in your post a link back to Lisa’s blog, Retro Housewife Goes Green and to the Green Moms Carnival home page.

– Lynn

Copyright 2010 OrganicMania

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Yes, Lynn, There is a Santa Claus!

Yes, Virginia – I mean Lynn – there is a Santa Claus.  My post about the horrible expense of Legos struck a nerve, with scores of people either commiserating or offering alterate gift  suggestions.

I just  couldn’t justify the $250 expense of the Lego drop ship, even if it was number one on a short list of just three items on Big Boy’s Christmas list.  (Hey, there’s a reason I post so much about Green Savings Tips. Do you think I buy hundred dollar toys for my kids? No!)

So just as I was trying to figure out how Santa would graciously disappoint a true believer, a letter appeared in my mailbox.

“Dear Lynn,” it said. “Please use this for an extra-special Christmas.”

Inside was a $500 check.

Once again, my best friend, the guy who raised a toast to the bride at my wedding, the man I surely would have married had he been heterosexual, once again, Sam had done something absolutely unexpected and remarkable.

Twenty-six years of friendship and somehow he still keeps surprising me.

So what to do with this unexpected Christmas bounty?

Of course, there was no doubt that Santa would now bring a Lego Dropship for Big Boy.

It takes many painstaking hours of concentration to assemble a Lego Dropship. (1,758 Lego bricks).

But the end result? Priceless. A sense of accomplishment, satisfaction, and mastery.

And the other $250?

That’s for me. I’m hiring a trainer and recommitting to losing the extra pounds that have snuck onto my frame. More on that in my post on Greener Resolutions for the next Green Moms Carnival, hosted by Katy at  Non-Toxic Kids.

And how were your holidays?

– Lynn

Copyright OrganicMania 2009

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Green Moms & Hopenhagen

Today a new Green Moms Carnival on Climate Change  goes up over at Big Green Purse.  Rather than head to Copenhagen as we had hoped, Diane MacEachern  is blogging about climate change from home.

Still, it’s remarkable that for a group of women who just over two years ago had nary a mention of Climate Change on our blogs, we’ve rocked the blogosphere and the Twitterati with our campaign to elect Diane as the Huffington Post’s climate change ambassador. Although Diane didn’t win, she ran an amazing race.  We nominated Diane after being approached by Huff Post’s PR team to help them get the word out about the contest, which had been up for two weeks but lacked many contestants.

Despite technical difficulties on the Huff Post’s side that delayed Diane’s entry from being posted until just 3 ½ days before the end of the contest, we helped her rock the vote. She finished in the top 5 contestants by popular vote. There’s no doubt in my mind that if Diane had benefited from a full three weeks of campaigning – instead of just 3 ½ days of campaigning – she would have won.  How? We enveloped her with love and support, and tweeted, blogged, and emailed our hearts out.   We helped her get so many endorsements from leading environmental groups and bloggers that the Huff Post literally cried Uncle, asking us to stop sending in the 42+ endorsements she eventually racked up because we were overwhelming them!  (Once, again, tech difficulties. Hey Huff Post, you need a new web platform before you run another contest!)

So while Diane’s not at the climate talks to carry the flag for @GreenMoms and the Green Moms Carnival, there are many women over there doing an incredible job. Have you heard Indian environmental activist Vandana Shiva speak? (There were only 21 views on this YouTube video last I checked, go listen – she’s eye opening and amazing, although not completely accurate. She got the premise behind the Cash for Clunkers program all wrong).

Vandana laid it on the line the other day,  pointing out that helping “climate refugees” – those that have been displaced from their homes due to flooding, drought, fire, or other climate-related devastation – is not an act of charity for the US to bestow. It’s justice. As the biggest contributor to the pollution that has caused climate change, we must act to help those now suffering the most.  As she put it, “It is time for the US to stop seeing itself as a donor and recognizing itself as a polluter, and a polluter who must pay.”

Which female voices are you listening to from COP15?

– Lynn

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Please Vote NOW – Tonight – For My Friend Diane, for Huff Post Hopenhagen Ambassador

The potentially monumental climate talks in Copenhagen are upcoming, and it’s important to have a real person there to represent the interests of “regular” people who care about the environment.

My friend, author, green blogger, fellow Green Moms Carnival member, and environmental activist Diane MacEachern is taking part in the Huffington Post’s contest to send one citizen ambassador to Copenhagen, and I am happy to give her my personal endorsement.  

If the name seems familiar, it is because Diane is the best-selling author of “Big Green Purse,” a manual all of us should have on our shelves to refer to while navigating the often confusing world of green issues and green business.  As a mother, she is particularly commited to the health of children, and she is a tireless activist and fantastic writer.  Her interest in climate change comes from a deep sense of compassion and commitment to social justice. It would be so great to have one of our own representing the interests of real people among the politicians and “experts” meeting together this month to determine the fate of the Earth.

For more information about Diane, take a look at the following links:
http://greenwoman.typepad.com/biggreenpurse/
http://www.biggreenpurse.com/
http://fakeplasticfish.com/2009/08/personal-changes-do-make-difference/

http://organicmania.com/2008/04/14/interview-with-big-green-purse-author-diane-maceachern/

http://organicmania.com/2008/04/15/more-of-the-big-green-purse-interview-part-2/

To vote for Diane — Please vote before 11:59 PM EST TONIGHT:

1)  Please visit this link
2)  You will need to login to the Huffington Post web site or register if you are not already a member.  You can also login using your Twitter or Facebook account.
3)  Please rate Diane’s entry with 10 stars.

As you will see, Diane also needs blogger endorsers.  If you feel moved to write a post in support of Diane on your blog, please email the link to submissions+copenhagen@huffingtonpost.com, saying “Here is the link from xxxx blog endorsing Diane MacEachern for the citizen ambassador to Copenhagen”, along with the link to your post.

FACEBOOK?  If you have a Facebook page or fan page, it would be great if you could mention the contest and provide the link so your friends and fans can vote as well.

TWITTER?  If you’re on twitter, we’d appreciate it if you tweet about the contest using #votehope and @huffpostgreen.

Voting ends tonight at 11:59 PM EST,   so Diane needs as much support from you, your friends and your readers right now as possible. Please help us send this deserving green mom to Copenhagen  by voting now and spreading the word!

Thank you! And thanks to Jennae of Green Your Decor for providing this post for so many of us to re-use!

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HELP US SEND ONE OF OUR OWN – DIANE MACEACHERN – TO COPENHAGEN!

Please click on this link to view and vote for Big Green Purse author Diane MacEachern’s video on the Huffington Post. Diane needs all the support she can get, because due to a glitch in the system, her video was held up for a day and a half and now she’s behind in votes! We want to see a Green Mom at Copenhagen. Will you help us? Thanks so much!

Lynn

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The Old 24-Hour-Rule? Not for Swine Flu!

Every parent knows the rule. Fever-free without medication for 24 hours. That’s the period of time during which a parent is supposed to wait before sending Junior back to regularly scheduled activities after a bout with a fever. And the Centers for Disease Control reaffirmed that recommendation less than two weeks ago.

That’s the rule we followed. After running a temperature over the weekend,  Boo seemed fine by Tuesday. Heck, he had spent most of Monday fighting over Legos with his Big Brother, chasing him up and down the stairs…full of energy and spunk.

But then today, Wednesday,  – when of course, I was traveling back from a conference in Virginia -  – I got the call: a fever of 103.5 degrees.

DH was home fighting the flu too. And the traffic lights in all of Montgomery County were malfunctioning, putting the entire County in traffic gridlock – the worst I’ve seen in a decade here in the DC area.  Needless to say, it was quite an adventure making it up the clogged arteries to the pediatrician’s office.

By the time I made it to the pharmacy at 8:30 p.m., I picked up an email from my son’s child care center, asking parents to make sure their children were fever-free for 48 hours before returning to school.  Apparently my son was not the only child to have a sudden reoccurrence of high fever, more than a day after going fever-free for 24 hours without meds.  But actually, we would have needed a 72-hour rule in his case.

So that old 24-hour rule?  It doesn’t apply with swine flu. I didn’t know that. But now you do. Stay well.

– Lynn

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Are you a Slactivista? Not Today! Take Action with 350.org Events in Bethesda & Your Hometown

Yesterday at the final Blogpotomac Conference I “heard” a new word: Slactivista.  Actually, I “heard” it over Twitter in this tweet from conference organizer @GeoffLiving.

Wikipedia defines slactivism as  “a portmanteau formed out of the words slacker and activism. The word is considered a pejorative term that describes “feel-good” measures, in support of an issue or social cause, that have little or no practical effect other than to make the person doing it feel satisfaction. The acts also tend to require little personal effort from the slacktivist.”

A lot of bloggers are, frankly, slactivists.  Yes, blogging is important….you can spread the word about actions, elicit attention from the media, get ideas for personal actions you can take. But at some point – you have to take action. Whether it’s advocating for a Greener School through your PTA, cleaning up a neighborhood park, or lobbying for change on Capitol Hill – you gotta get up and do.

Today’s the Day.

After months of lead-up, today is the International Day of Climate Action. What are you DOING?   Here’s what’s going on in my hometown of Bethesda. What about yours? You can check out this cool online finder to locate an event in your hometown.

10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. today (and repeated on Wednesday 10/28 from 7 to 8:30 p.m.) head on over to Bethesda Green for  Greener Living, the first in a series of four interactive workshops where you will get hands-on information on how to save energy at home.

If you can’t  make either workshop, you can still sign up to track your energy use automatically with the online tool EarthAid.net – and get paid for doing so!

Following the workshop, you can join a group heading down from Bethesda Green  to the 350.org events in DC.

At 5:30 p.m., you can join the folks at my wonderful CSA for an interfaith group event  of singing, chanting and meditation  focused on  climate change. Directions and RSVP are here.

As for me, like many parents, I’ve got kids’ birthday parties and kiddie Halloween parties to somehow balance with all this activism. But I’ll find a way to make my tiny difference…and you can too. Check out that online tool at  EarthAid.net…what an easy way (but not a slacker way!) to reduce your energy footprint.

Today’s the day. What are YOU doing?  Don’t be a slactivista!

– Lynn

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