Monthly Archives: August 2012

Keep Pesticides Off The Grass

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Pesticides, which in includes herbicides and “weed killer” are poisons.  They are harmful to human health.

Think about it.  If you have dandelion in your yard and you jump up and down on it, and pull its head off… it survives.  A human being would not.  It takes a lot of strong poison to kill a dandelion.  And the poison doesn’t magically disappear in a few days, or after it rains.  Most of the weed killers sold to homeowners in the USA are illegal in Ontario Canada, because they are harmful to human health.

People have been brainwashed into thinking that we must have lawns, and that they must contain only grass.  I disagree.  If I see a lawn with dandelions, I believe the homeowner cares more about the health of his or her family, than about having a weed free lawn.

Ukrainian Environmentalist brutally beaten to death

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“Ukrainian environmentalist brutally beaten to death”

 

reprinted with permission from BeyondNuclear.org

EJOLT (Environmental Justice Organizations, Liabilities and Trade) reports the horrific news that, four days after conducting a press conference to warn that 180 tons of dangerous chemical and radioactive industrial waste had arrived at the city of Kryvyi Rih (in the Dnipropetrovsk area of Ukraine), which was likely to be “recycled” into the consumer product stream, 57 year old Volodymyr Goncharenko (photo, left) was brutally beaten to death. He was the Chairman of Social Movement of Ukraine: For the Rights of Citizens to Environmental Security.

As reported by EJOLT, “According to Goncharenko, during the past several years, scavengers have removed from the Chernobyl exclusion zone 6 million metric tons of scrap metal that was subsequently smelted at metallurgical combines and reprocessed into new metal. While in theory each metallurgical combine should be equipped with radiation-monitoring equipment to check all incoming scrap, financial shortfalls have meant this was rarely the case. In 2007 Ukraine ranked eighth in global steel production and steel is Ukraine’s leading export. One can only guess how much radioactive scrap metal has ended up in exported steel.”

Pavlo Khazan of the Ukrainian Green Party stated: “We collaborated with Volodymyr for 15 years in professional and public areas. The Ukrainian Green Party has no doubt that the murder was linked to his professional activities.” Although the Ukrainian police have opened an investigation into Goncharenko’s murder, Khazan feels that to deliver justice in this case, international attention and pressure will be needed.

Please contact the Embassy of Ukraine, urging a thorough investigation of Goncharenko’s murder, as well as for an end to the “recycling” of radioactive metals and other materials into the consumer product stream. In the U.S., the Embassy of Ukraine can be written at 3350 M Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20007, faxed at (202) 333-0817, or phoned at (202) 349-2920.Embassies and Consulates of Ukraine elsewhere in the U.S., or in other countries, can also be contacted.

Thanks to Nuclear Energy Information Service in Illinois for alerting us to this story.

Click here to learn more about anti-nuclear resistance to attempts at “radioactive recycling” in North America.

DateAugust 15, 2012

Toy Review: Rescue Bots Electronic Mobile Headquarters

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My son and I love the Rescue Bots toys, and the Rescue Bots Cartoons.  They are exciting, mechanical, fun, and non-violent.

We have almost all of the toys.  Today I purchased the Electronic Mobile Headquarters, mostly because I love the figure of Cody Burns that comes with it.  It actually looks like the boy in the Rescue Bots cartoon!  The problem?  The Mobile Headquarters is a truck, and on the cartoon it is large enough for the Rescue Bots and their human partners to fit inside.  The toy, however, is not large enough to fit even one Rescue Bot inside.  It does come with a lower quality smaller Optimus Prime, which Cody can ride in, and that one fits.  But all the rest of the Rescue Bots that I have purchased in the past year are too big to fit.

ACTION STEP:  At my son’s request, I contacted Hasbro and asked them to make the Mobile Headquarters bigger, or make transforming Rescue Bots smaller, so they can all fit inside.   I don’t expect them to do that any time soon, but at least they will have been informed of the problem.

8/29/2012:  Here is the response from Hasbro customer service

“Thank you for contacting Hasbro Customer Service and for your kind words regarding the Rescue Bots show and toys!

I appreciate your taking the time to share your feedback with us in regards to the Mobile Headquarters.

Your comments are extremely important to us. I will share your concerns with our management team so that they are also aware of your concerns.

Please do not hesitate to contact us again with your feedback. Have a fantastic day!”

Rating:  I give this toy 7 out of 10 stars.

Obamacare

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From my friend Cyndi Norwitz: People focus on the individual mandate part (which has its issues but is far from being the whole of healthcare reform). What many forget is that a large portion of healthcare reform was getting rid of insurance company abuses like what is depicted here.

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Aspirin may lower the risk of cancer

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          Today I learned that there are studies showing aspirin may lower the risk of getting cancer.  Here is a link to an abstract of one study from the Lancet: http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanonc/article/PIIS1470-2045(12)70112-2/abstract  I am not a a doctor, and I am not suggesting everyone start taking aspirin.  Aspirin does have side effects, and has been linked to Reyes Syndrome in children and young adults, when taken for viral illness.

Fukushima and our bravest senator, Ron Wyden

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Oregon Senator Ron Wyden is one of the bravest men in the world.  In April of 2012, he went to Fukushima, Japan, to see for himself what was going on with the damaged nuclear reactors.  Then, again showing great bravery, he issued a press release and asked for action to reduce the danger.

http://www.wyden.senate.gov/news/press-releases/after-tour-of-fukushima-nuclear-power-station-wyden-says-situation-worse-than-reported

If he runs for president, I will vote for him based on his bravery and honesty.

Fish and Mercury

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The EPA has informed people to limit consumption of fish, due to contamination with mercury and other toxins.  It is good that they keep track of this, and are informing the public.  But shouldn’t the EPA also be working to get the mercury out of the fish?  To create legislation that bans putting mercury in our lakes, rivers, and oceans?  To prosecute and fine those who are polluting fish, one of the healthiest foods on our planet?

Cancer always has a cause

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Cancer always has a cause, or causes.  It doesn’t “just happen”.  It used to be a rare disease.  Now it is an epidemic.  We are surrounded by things created by humans that cause cancer.  We shouldn’t be surprised that cancer touches all our lives.  We should be surprised that more people aren’t getting angry and doing something to stop it.

Here is a link to a conservative list of things that are known to cause cancer, and things that probably cause cancer from the American Cancer Society:  http://www.cancer.org/Cancer/CancerCauses/OtherCarcinogens/GeneralInformationaboutCarcinogens/known-and-probable-human-carcinogens 

Health, Happiness, and Long Life

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Health, happiness, and long life.  This is what it is all about.  What we want for our family and friends, what we want for ourselves, what we want for our world.

The intent of this blog to collect and express information that will help us all have healthier, happier, longer lives.