Earth Day's Founder Morton Hilbert

Cloudless morning; a little hazy.


A year ago I posted that Earth Day's original founder was Morton Shelly Hilbert. Despite much of the internet credit going to a Senator Nelson, it was Hilbert who really laid the ground word.

Confirming my assertions was a comment posted from Morton's Wife Stephanie 7 months after my blog post. You can read her kind words after the original article.

Since then, a Wikipedia Page now goes into nice detail about this passionate man who wanted us all to cherish the earth and take care of it.

So one more time folks. Earth Day is celebrating its 41st year because of the great vision by Morton Shelly Hilbert. Thanks Mort! Now don't disappoint him...

Declining Libido, Could It Be Plastic?

Cold and cloudy; more snow on the way.


A recent article about the declining sex drive (aka libido) in teens and adults in Japan got me thinking. While the article focused on the results of the study and how the country is up in arms because their extremely low birth rate is causing age imbalance and could spell economic disaster, they didn't offer much in the way of causes. They briefly mentioned people being over worked but that does not account for 1/3, yes one third, of teenage boys saying they have absolutely no interest in sex (not even same sex.) Say what? Doesn't that raise some red flags for anyone? Like, what's in the drinking water?

 The US has a declining teen birth rate, which is a good thing. Its cause though is admittedly a mystery. In fact, the experts and researchers were surprised and really can not fully explain the dramatic results. They are mostly attributing it to the recession but I don't know how that affects teens. In fact, I would think it would rise, it's cheap entertainment on a Friday night when money is tight. It might be convenient to attribute the decline to the recession and all the abstinent programs (why didn't they work 8 years ago?) but what if that is all a coincidence? What if it is more biological than that?

I could not find any stats specifically on a declining sex drive in the US. Trying to google declining sex, libido and US didn't exactly get me what I was looking for. But I did find some recent research on the affects of plastics and human sex drive, the first of its kind. Researchers found a direct correlation between urine levels of BPA and sexual drive in Chinese men. And yes, when BPA goes up, guess what goes down?

And there are countless studies of plastics (gender benders), specifically the estrogen mimickers, and the affect on feminizing male fish. And there are plenty of lab experiments too on animals to support the deleterious effects of BPA. But not so much research on humans because...we can't do experiments on humans. (sort of like climate change, you can only present the data)

So now it's time to connect the dots... I know I'm going out on a limb here, a big limb too, but it's my gut reaction. What if the not-explained-very-well decline in the Japanese libido and the (ditto) U.S. teen birth rate decline are the effects of the "all around us" gender benders in our environment, food and water? What if the plastic revolution is finally catching up with us? After all, Japan has a long reputation of plastic use, sometimes called a wrap happy culture - many products and foods come wrapped multiple times in...plastic.Not good plastic either, think vinyl. Japan also has had a long standing tradition of bentos; the small divided, usually plastic, food containers. While most of the bentos on the market are up to the stricter BPA standards that Japan now has, I question the decades of cheap plastic use prior to the relatively recent interested in the effects of plastic, plus microwaving the plastic etc. that may (remember I'm admittedly out on a limb here) be responsible for  the current generation of not-interested-in-sex Japanese. In addition,  Japan switched using BPA cash register receipt paper back in 2006, it seems to have been replaced with BP-S, which may be just as bad.

It is also interesting to note, that birth rate seems to be related to how "developed" a country is, but a close look at the chart has some interesting tweaks. I think it is safe to assume that "development" also goes with levels of pollutions and the environmental toxic exposures that have increased over the last century due to "development". This is ditto for world breast cancer rates too. Yes birth rate may be related to economics, education, culture, religion etc.but part of the equation just may be exposure to gender benders via our "modern" convenient lifestyle.

As soon as I saw the article about the lower teen sex drive in the Japanese, I immediately thought gender benders. The evidence is too overwhelming. I really do believe we are now seeing the effects of run away environmental toxic exposure. The cart was let out well ahead of the horse years ago (thank you lobbying powerhouse ACC, and our let's wait and see attitude) and I believe we are beginning to pay the price. When one third of young men are not interested in sex, and actually "despised" the thought, something is very very amiss in our society.

Lead in Reusable Bags, Guess Who's Smiling?

Clear, extremely cold morning.


A lot of stores have jumped on the reusable bag band wagon. This is a good thing despite the probability that the incentive is more to make money from the current push for using reusable bags versus to not offer the option to customers.

You've probably seen the non-woven polypropylene bags folded up as a point of sale item at your local check out counter. They often are inexpensive, sometimes only a dollar, in various colors and usually carrying the store's logo on it. (And you should be asking yourself how can they make them so cheaply and pay good wages.)

It turns out that recent testing has shown dangerous levels of lead. The devil's in the colors. Color application and lead are always a concern. It is surprising that these bags got as far as they did. Yes, they are being pulled, some hands will be slapped, and a lot of bags will be wasted. And, unfortunately, reusable bags will get a bad rap. (We hope only temporarily.)

And guess who is behind the funding for this breach of consumer confidence? Why the ACC, the American Chemistry Council, aka, the plastics industry.

You see, they don't want you to reuse bags, they just want you to recycle them. The ACC hides behind the feel good campaign of recycling (they support November 15th, America Recycles Day) but is not a proponent of the entire green holy trinity - reduce, reuse, then recycle. The ACC fights every proposed bag ban with big bucks and is responsible for many bans failing. The ACC wants you to keep getting all those virgin plastic bags at the store to keep the plastics industry in business. Oh, but make sure you recycle them before you go back to the store and get another virgin plastic bag. *&$%#&@!

So what's the solution? Use a plain, canvas hemp or organic cotton, made in the USA, reusable tote bag.

Cast Iron Cookware, Run to Your Nearest Thrift Store

Sleeting.


Cast iron cookware, by any other name such as skillet, pan, or pot, is absolutely wonderful. I prefer to say pan, but most searches use cast iron skillet.

I've ditched anything Teflon,  and anything else that is suspect for that matter, which leaves me with stainless steel and cast iron. My stainless steel is a mix of old and new (think Revere Ware, it is great)

What motivated me were the alarming articles about Teflon, its toxicity etc.It is quite disturbing. DuPont mumbled something about phasing the PFOAs out (cancer causing chemical when over heated) but guess what, they haven't. (teflon lines self cleaning ovens and that yucky smell is guess what? very toxic) I threw out many pans years ago, but just recently fell back in love with iron.

The big problem is, no one makes a new good cast iron skillet. I tried the new Lodge ones and they are quite frankly...awful. The reason is they are made with a sand mold method and the surface is left rough, not silky smooth. The older ones were machine polished. So no matter how much you season it, things stick. What were/are they thinking?

The only option then is to find old cast iron skillets, obviously a limited supply. Ten years ago, you couldn't give them away, they were cheap at thrifts stores and yard sales and consider oh so...old and yesteryear. My how things have changed .If you can find one at a yard sale or thrift store, good for you, but mostly you'll find them at antique shops or Ebay. The prices may vary from $20 to $40 depending upon the size and condition. Look for a nice smooth cooking surface. Don't shy away from a little rust or some gunk. There is lots of advice on the internet for cleaning them up. The best one is putting them in an open camp fire for hours to burn everything off!

I've got a nice little collection going and have been searching for more for family and friends. Not too many bargains these days though, the dealers know what they are doing. I did have some that were in the family, a nice big #12. (numbers have nothing to do with actual size in inches) The small one shown was also a hand-me-down and makes perfect eggs. I rarely clean it, just rinse it off and leave a little grease on it.There is good advice online about seasoning old pans so they are non-stick.

The added benefit is these treasures are really green - low tech to produce, low chemical profile( the only issue is leaching iron into your food but that may be a good thing)  and they last forever. Given that these beauties are not made anymore and that their value will only continue to go up, I suggest going.to your nearest thrift store, consignment shop, or antique dealer. Run, don't walk.

Bill McKibben Gets Real

Cold, sunny.


Bill McKibben lets his hair down in Mexico (does not appear to be influenced by a Margarita) and finally says it like it is "There's no happy ending to where we prevent climate change anymore. Now the question is, is it going to a miserable century or an impossible one, and what comes after that."

Well someone has to (had to?) say it. In stark contrast to his usual upbeat monologues, Bill gets real here in this video. Perhaps his way of saying, we're past the tipping point. The train has left the station. Now it's a question of just how fast that train is going to go and if we have time to get out of the way and hold onto our hats.

 Bill's Climate Change Reality Check:

Canada Bans Toxic BPA - First in World

Such a beautiful morning, the balloons are out.

They did it, finally, bravo Canada! An entire country, Canada, banned the use of BPA by declaring it toxic. Bisphenol-A (it just sounds toxic, eh?) , known as BPA, was banned two years ago by Canada for baby bottles. I think it was their idea of baby steps back then, but we'll take it today.

In the event that you have been sailing the South Pacific for 2 years and need some updates on BPA, I have some previous posts about the toxic chemical. (toxic is not just my word, it is now Canada's)

Several countries around the world have been dabbling with various partial bans, but Canada is the first country to label BPA toxic which requires it to be removed from products that humans come in contact with, like canned foods, water bottles and, oh wow, cash register receipts.

This will be a tall order for sure but it's a start. It is also a message to the chemical industry to clean up their act and stop using cheap hormone disrupting, gender-bender chemicals in the name of progress. (there are alternatives, they just cost a little more) Lucky for Canadians, the money hungry chemical companies just couldn't squash this move. Unlucky for us, the all too powerful chemical industry has, well, just too much power. Some would say, follow the money.

Kudos to Canada. May we benefit from Canada's ban on BPA and give strength to our own legislatures to do the right thing. Are you listening America?

BPA in Cash Regsister Receipts or Not

3 H's - Hot, Hazy and Humid.


BPA, bisphenol - A, is back in the headlines, this time about its presence on thermal paper cash register receipts and its ability to rub off onto your skin. (and yes, then be absorbed)

EWG broke the news report and research, and if you google the subject, a plethora of articles will appear including the ACC's paid Google advertising trying to protect their plastic turf. No need in repeating what has already been said. I would like to take the discussion to the next level.

I've been considering an alternative to BPA thermal paper knowing the cause for concern. What little efforts I had made came to roadblocks since BPA Free paper is not well publicized. So it wasn't until the EWG article appeared that I was able to find a source for BPA-Free receipt paper. Appleton Paper Company turns out to be the world's largest supplier of thermal paper and made the switch in 2006 to ditch BPA, supposedly "out of concern for their workers." I suppose it didn't have anything to do with Japan's Paper Association and their phase out of BPA which began in 1998 and ended in 2003. Japan, the world leader in banning or phasing out BPA, may not have official laws, but Associations and corporations take it upon themselves before government intervention. (Just like Japan voluntarily changing their food cans to non-BPA linings.)

Whatever the true motivation was for Appleton to go BPA-Free, they did, and we are better for it, probably.

So they managed to take BPA out of the paper formula. But I don't see any one talking about what they replaced it with. (Just like no one talked about what SIGG used to replace their BPA lining) So after a call to Appleton, I received my answer from a lovely customer service person with a cute Wisconsin accent. The replacement chemical is diphenyl sulfone.

Next question - is it safe? and the answer is... who knows? Diphenyl sulfone is probably safer than BPA but there is so little information out there, that there are no guarantees. It is a polymer (nice word for plastic). It has been listed (though not widely used) as a pesticide. (so it kills things) One article did say it is non-mutanigenic. (oh thank goodness) So after lots of research, the conclusion I have come to is diphenyl sulfone is one of the 80,000 chemicals listed by the EPA that they have not tested. Oops, sorry, I misspoke. The EPA has tested 200 of the 80,000 chemicals they have in their data base. And a lot of other people have not tested it either.

What I also find interesting is that this paper cash register BPA story broke in August. Back on July 15th, the EPA, under their "Design for the Environment" program held a conference titled"Meeting Materials for BPA Alternatives in Thermal Paper Partnership" assessing alternatives for BPA. Now if the EPA is bothering to hold a conference on the subject, I can only ascertain that the inside scoop is that this is a serious issue.

So now what? If you are a retailer, you might consider switching to Appleton papers. Forget going to Staples, they source from all sorts of companies and you may never know which ones.

As a customer, you can say no thank you to your receipts, or touch quickly without wet hands. Do not store them touching other items that you may handle. The BPA is in powdery form and comes off easily.

And do not put receipts into the recycling bin. Recycling BPA receipts is probably why BPA is showing up in recycled paper and also in our water. Instead, throw them out (where they can be incinerated and go into the air.)

Replacing bad stuff is good. As a consumer, try to always ask yourself, "What did they replace it with?" I think we need to be asking more of those questions.