Volume XI, Number 2 March/April 2011 The TNS Online Index makes it easy for you to look up past newsletters by topic. You can quickly discover what’s toxic, and the effective alter natives, in The Next ever ything from landscaping to pest control to pet care. Tips that might be useful STEP this time of year include: setting up your nontoxic garden, healthier housecleaning, eco- Toward a Healthier Future lightbulbs, the toxics-health con- nection, and buying local organ- A Bi-monthl y Newsletter of the Sebast opol Toxics Educa tion Program i c s t o a v o i d t oxi c s a n d n u r t u r e your well-being. www.healthy world.org/STEPIndex.html ■ Vanishing of the Bees explores how large-scale declines in bee populations are currently threatening projects are at www.reelcommunity Movie Night our food supply, landscapes, and action.org/film_reviews. economies. Various causes and ■ The Sier ra Club’s “Movie Re- The next time you remedies are e xplored, including view Friday.” Sign up to get weekly want to see a movie, either solutions from organic beekeepers. suggestions, and review past selec - by yourself or with others, www.vanishingbees.com tions, at www.sierraclub.typepad. consider looking beyond com/greenlife/entertainment. the predictable mainstream ■ Food, Inc ., a best-selling f o rm u l a s a n d c e l e b r i t i e s t o Oscar-nominated documentar y that ■ The Sundance Film Festival ’s exp l o r e t h e w o n d e r f u l w o r l d was featured on Oprah, reveals the selections . www.sundance.org/ of documentaries. dark side of today’s industrial food festival s y s t e m . I t c o n t r a s t s t h i s w i t h t h e Here you’ll find a wide variety ■ T h e To p D o c u m e n t a ry Fil m s inspiring beauty of small-scale, o f e n g a g i n g a n d c r e a t i v e fi l m s website . Peruse descriptions, eart h-cen tered, nontoxic f armin g, that illuminate today’s vital r e v i e w s , a n d l i n k s t o o v e r 1 5 0 0 + which it encourages us to support. issues (including toxics and films, including free options, atwww . This message is especially appropri- alternatives). The movie topdocumentar yfilms.com. a t e h e r e i n a g c o u n t ry, w h e r e o u r f o rm a t b r i n g s t o p i c s a l i v e ■ local far ms offer us fresh delicious Your local video stor e and b y a l l o w i n g u s t o v i s i t t h e food, open space, and local income. online sear ch engines , to find places, meet the people, hear the “You’ll never look at dinner the same films that match your interests. stories, and experience the essential way.” www.foodincmovie.com It’s also fun to attend public solutions. What a great way to expand movie events, to view the group’s ■ Plastic Planet e xamines the our lives and relieve boredom! favorit es and conn ect with ot hers environmental and health problems of Here are some movie sugges- who also care about community plastic, via animation, vintage footage, t i o n s t o g e t y o u s t a r t e d . N o t e : issues. Here are two local options: and “an intelligent investigative style.” Some of these I’ve seen; others were ■ The Sebastopol Documentar y recommended to me. Also, read each www.d-word.com/documentar y/197- Plastic-Planet Fi l m Fe s t i v a l . I t s fi l m s t h i s y e a r movie’s full description to confir m its include Vanishing of the Bees.March ■ The End of the Line shows how appropriateness for your audience. 1 8 - 2 0 , www.sebastopolfilmfest i v a l . overfishing and unsustainable fishing ■ E a r th, a b e a u t i f u l D i s n e y f i l m , org, (707) 829-4797 inspires reverence for our earthly p r a c t i c e s h a v e p u s h e d a q u a r t e r o f the world’s fish stocks to the brink of ■ T ransition Sebastopol’s home. http://disneydvd.disney. movie night , offered free the go.com/disneynature-earth.html extinction. Hopefully, this encourages u s t o c h a n g e o u r d i r e c t i o n ! w w w. last W ednesday of each month. ■ Chemerical follows a family seek- endof theline.com Donations are appreciated. www. ing to switch to less-toxic cleaning For more movie ideas, see: transitionsebastopol.org/event and personal care pr oducts. The m o v i e ’ s w e b s i t e c a l l s i t h u m o rou s , ■ Local documentar y filmmaker Car olyn Scott ’s “10 must-see “I read your newsletter each time informative, and useful.www.chemical we get the water bill, and really, nation.com/content/watch documentar y films.” http://tinyurl. com/2exe258. More of her picks and really enjoy it. Lots of good infor mation in an easy digestible size.... Thanks again for your efforts, they are much appreciated.” ~ Tasha, Sebastopol the next s t e p

Detoxing Cookware that pervasively contaminate human a tough nonreactive scratch-resis- blood and wildlife the world over.” tant coating. I’ve been looking at the In response to our TNS XI/1 Health impacts include increased new “green” nonsticks, but haven’t article “Chemical Trespass & Body cancer and stroke risk, elevated found one yet offering “no PFCs” and Burden,” a reader asks how to cholesterol, birth defects, lower birth good reviews for its nonstick ability. avoid the perfluorinated chemicals weights, weaker immune systems, (Let me know if you find one!) (PFCs) being found in most of our and disrupted thyroid hormones. ■ Be sure everyone cooking bodies and used to make nonstick The EPA has persuaded eight with your nonstick pans takes pans. “What are our options?”, she manufacturers to phase out one proper care of them, including wonders. “Those nonstick pans are PFC, PFOA, by 2015. However, there avoiding high heat, metal tools, and so useful!” are many other harmful materials in abrasives. Read and possibly post the What a great question! So I did this category and companies are still instructions. If you have a degraded some research and discovered that calling them “safe.” pan, toss it. And don’t cook with PFCs are not just in our pans So what’s a consumer to do? them near pet birds. Really! but also in carpets, clothes, ■ Avoid nonstick pans as much ■ Identify and reduce your food bags, and more, going under exposure to PFCs in other prod- well-known brand names such as as possible. That’s because any materials coming off the pan will go ucts. Get good suggestions at www. Teflon®, ScotchgardTM, Stainmaster®, straight into your body. You can meet ewg.org/news/nine-ways-avoid- and GoreTex®. They’re also used in most cooking needs with stainless household-toxins. It’s also vital that making everything from airplanes to we insist on stronger government computers to cosmetics. steel, glass, and ceramic pans. ■ action to protect us from exposure. Unfortunately, the usefulness of If you use nonstick pans, choose quality not cheap ones. Find out more about this PFCs come at a serious cost. The topic in my March Ask Environmental Working Group (EWG) I’ve fried my eggs for years using a quality anodized nonstick skillet, EcoGirl column at www. says that PFCs are “highly-toxic, patriciadines.info/ extraordinarily-persistent chemicals which I like. I chose this pan because the bonding process is said to create EcoGirl4h.html.

Community Protection that he implement the Initiative per So, I was glad to the original legislation and commit- hear recently that ■ Our voices are needed to ments. His contact information is at the current Environmental Protec- effectively implement the Green http://gov.ca.gov/m_contact.php. You tion Agency (EPA) is reversing the Chemistry Initiative. In TNS XI/1, might mention that reducing toxic federal position on perchlorate and we reported that the proposed regu- exposure is vital for maintaining will finally regulate it, as well as up lations for California’s pioneering our health, cutting medical costs, to 15 other toxic chemicals in drink- Green Chemistry Initiative (GCI) and ensuring our businesses’ com- ing water. EPA Administrator Lisa P. were so far off track that community petitiveness. It’s important that we Jackson has made cleaning up drink- groups, periodicals, and even the remember the big picture! ing water a top priority, she says, to original authors had called for them ■ The EPA finally plans to limit meet both “the health and economic to be withdrawn. (Green chemistry rocket fuel in our water and needs of communities across the seeks to encourage safe chemical food. We’ve previously talked about country.” For more information, see design from the start, instead of the perchlorate, a component of rocket http://tinyurl.com/EPAperchlorate. much costlier approach of dealing fuel, fireworks, and explosives. It’s with toxic materials after they’re dis- prevalent in our water supplies, ABOUT STEP persed into our bodies and world.) and through that our food supplies, So I’m delighted to report that one including infant formula. Studies The Next STEP (TNS) is published six times a year by the Sebastopol Toxics Education Pro- of Governor Schwarzenegger’s last find it in just about everyone’s bod- gram (STEP). STEP is a project of the City of official acts was to withdraw these ies, which puts at risk thyroid health, Sebastopol, implemented by local citizen volun- children’s brain development, and teers. STEP’s mission is to support city residents proposed regulations. Thus, GCI’s in reducing their toxic use and exposure, creating a implementation is now on Governor more. It’s estimated that between healthier and safer Sebastopol for everyone. Jerry Brown’s plate. He did support it 13 and 30 million Americans have a Newsletter Editor, Lead Writer & Layout: in his campaign platform, as part of thyroid disorder, often undiagnosed. Patricia Dines, Email [email protected] protecting children and reducing the (For more on this, see TNS IX/1.) Newsletter Editorial Team: Patricia Dines and toxic hazards in consumer products. Jim Gleaves Fortunately, California has Newsletter Design Concept & Logo Design: However, many state programs have established decent standards for this Lyn Dillin (neé Bouguereau) already fallen under the budget axe chemical in our water. However, the STEP Founders: Michael Black, Patricia Dines, so nothing is certain. federal government has for years Rebecca Dwan, Jeff Edelheit, Nan Fuchs, Craig Litwin, and Larry Robinson. Therefore, ignored expert scientists’ recom- I encourage you to STEP, P. O. Box 1776, Sebastopol CA 95473 www. write Governor Brown and ask mendations to set such limits. ci.sebastopol.ca.us

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