BREAKING NEWS: SOUTH BURLINGTON CITY COUNCIL NIXES F-35!

Per Juliet Buck, blogger and activist (via Facebook): "South Burlington City Council just voted AGAINST basing the F-35 in Burlington by a vote of 4-1!!!!!!!!!! So this is what winning one feels like?"

A victory indeed. Juliet and the other activists have struck a blow against the evil jets of Lockheed Martin. The Feds, of course, can do whatever they want, but after years of propaganda and misinformation, the victory is that four city officials said NO!

Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?

These PS 122 5th graders from Astoria, Queens chose to study fluoridation as a class research project. At a rally with Queens councilor Peter Vallone in Manhattan last Tuesday, they urged the New York City Council to stop endangering their health by adding fluoride chemicals into their bodies via the water supply. (See this link with video.) No one asked them, they said. Any legislator who claims they can't understand fluoridation isn't as smart as a fifth grader who does her homework!

Launch of CHLORAMINE FREE BURLINGTON

Vermont has joined the growing number of states with public water systems that are switching from chlorine to chloramine as a water disinfectant. In April 2006, the Champlain Water District, which serves 68,000 people in Chittenden County, began adding ammonium sulfate to the chlorine, creating chloramine. Almost immediately, some water district customers complained about skin, digestive and breathing problems after using the water but nothing was done about it.

Recently in Seven Days newspaper there was an article about the introduction of the chloramine additive to the water in Grand Isle.

IS BURLINGTON NEXT?

Burlington residents can get informed and get involved... and put a stop to the chloraminization of Burlington water before the authorities decide what they think is good for us. Join through Facebook... CHLORAMINE FREE BURLINGTON!

Fluoride Among Top 10 Household Toxins

TIME Magazine: Fluoride is Neurotoxic and potentially tumorigenic if swallowed.

Today is World Water Day: Stand with Haiti

... and PIH's partner charity: water have launched Unshaken, a campaign to support new clean water projects in Haiti. Learn how PIH and charity:water will bring clean water to eight new communities this year:

A Story of Hope: Improving Access to Clean Water

Haitians have lacked access to the very basic right to clean water long before the January 12 earthquake. It was this need that first brought charity: water, a New York City-based nonprofit, together with Partners In Health (PIH) and our Haitian sister organization Zanmi Lasante (ZL), in a partnership to build community water projects. Over the past two years, our partnership has improved access to clean water for over 20,000 people in some of the poorest and hardest-to-reach communities in the Central Plateau of Haiti by providing latrines and household and community-level water.

Following the earthquake, charity: water knew that Haiti needed their support more than ever. So in February, we trekked out to eight more communities in desperate need of improved access to potable water. In some cases, these particular communities have grown tremendously in population--since the earthquake, the average household size in these areas has grown from seven people to ten people. Over the next year, PIH and ZL will be expanding our water and sanitation program by implementing projects in these eight communities--nearly triple what we have historically completed in a given year.

It's Poison Prevention Week! Lose the Pesticides for the Kids!

From Beyond Pesticides:

Numerous scientific studies that show children carrying a body burden of pesticides used in homes and elevated rates of childhood cancer in households that use pesticides, given children’s special vulnerability to pesticides.

“Proper and safe storage, use and supervision of all household products can substantially reduce exposures in the home,” said Steve Owens, assistant administrator of EPA’s Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances. “Poison Prevention Week serves as a reminder for everyone to keep pesticides away from children, and to read and follow all labels to minimize the potential dangers from pesticides.”

However, EPA fails to alert the public to the limitations of the pesticide regulatory process, such as no evaluation of endocrine disrupting effects, low level exposures, the effects of mixtures and synergistic effects between pesticides and with pharmaceuticals, etc. EPA chooses to focus on pesticide poisoning of children associated with accidental ingestion which, while important, does not capture the many other ways through which children are exposed to chemicals. For instance, a wide range of consumer products such as deodorants, soaps and toys contain the antibacterial pesticide triclosan, which is an endocrine disruptor and has been shown to affect male and female reproductive hormones, which could potentially increase the risk for cancer. Fetal exposure to triclosan, which accumulates in the human body, can impair brain development and long-term neuropsychological development.

Secondary exposures to pesticides and other toxic chemicals should not be ignored. Studies have found pesticides in household dust and persists in homes, even after removed from the market. In 2008, a study found significant amounts of pyrethroid pesticides in indoor dust of homes and childcare centers, while another found that 75% of homes with pregnant women were contaminated with pesticides. Hazardous wood preservatives, still allowed for use on utility poles, continue to be found on children’s playgrounds. In a tragic case earlier this year, two girls, aged 4 years and 15 months, died after a toxic pesticide drifted into their home. The agency stresses the importance of reading the product label, which is misleading in suggesting that compliance with the pesticide label instructions is fully protective of children, the public and the environment.

EPA promotes poison prevention each year during National Poison Prevention Week to increase public awareness of the potential danger to children from pesticides and other household products. In 2008, the American Association of Poison Control Centers reported that more than half of the two million poisoning incidents each year involve children younger than six years old. Leading causes of poisoning include cosmetics such as perfume and nail polish, deodorant and soap, household cleaning products and medications.

If you have been exposed to a pesticide or other toxic substance and may be experiencing non-life-threatening symptoms, call your local poison center hotline at 1-800-222-1222. Call 911 in case of more serious exposures. EPA urges the public also to report all exposures to the product manufacturer (including the registration number found on the product label of all pesticide products registered by EPA).

BURLINGTON LEAD PROGRAM SEEKS HOME FURNISHINGS

The request via my local Front Porch Forum:

The Burlington Lead Program (BLP) needs your help! Enrollment for BLP services has skyrocketed over the past several months and households undergoing Lead-Hazard Reduction activities require short-term housing during the lead-hazard reduction work. Since most of the tenants that we serve live in the Old North End and do not have access to private transportation, we decided to rent an apartment to provide safe and convenient housing for low-income families.

We will need to furnish this unit over the next few weeks and are asking for anyone who is willing to donate household items to contact us. Among other things, we will be needing beds, a pull-out sofa, a kitchen table and chairs (to name just a few). Any funding we don't need to spend on furnishings, is money that can be continued to be put towards making our community safer through outreach, education and Lead-Hazard Reduction activities.

We greatly appreciate the community's continued support in our efforts to make Burlington a lead-safe community. If you can donate any home furnishings, please contact us at 865-LEAD.

TEXAS: Bugging Out on Pesticides

Texas Observer Political Intelligence

In a state known for flying roaches the size of small planes and a fire ant population that outnumbers humans, it’s not surprising that many people use pesticides. Of course, the pesticides are often more dangerous than the pests, especially to children. Now some of Texas’ anti-pesticide advocates—there aren’t many—are concerned that the Texas Department of Agriculture is considering loosening restrictions on pesticide use in schools.

Mary Hintikka never really thought about pesticides sprayed on school grounds, including outdoor gardens and athletic fields, even inside buildings. But as she watched her school-age son develop frequent, unexplained illnesses, she began to suspect that pesticides might be the cause. She was alarmed to learn that the powerful chemicals sprayed in and around her son’s Houston school included chemicals on the Environmental Protection Agency’s list of the most dangerous pesticides. Children with long-term or acute exposure to some of these chemicals, numerous studies have shown, are more likely to suffer from childhood leukemia, soft-tissue sarcoma, and brain cancer.

In 2007, the Legislature passed a bill by Corsicana Republican state Rep. Byron Cook that abolished the Structural Pest Control Board—by most accounts, a lax regulatory body—and folded its duties into the Agriculture Department. The idea behind the bill was to strengthen oversight and regulation of pesticides, especially for schools. The bill instructed the department to create new regulations for pesticide use at schools.

The agency released a draft of the new rules last summer, and they were much stricter. Schools could only spray the most powerful pesticides—those in the so-called red category (there are also green and yellow designations)—if students wouldn’t be within 100 feet of the spray area for at least 12 hours. The proposed 100-foot buffer was double the current standard, 50 feet for 12 hours.



(That’s still not ideal. Beyond Pesticides, a nonprofit advocacy group based in Washington, D.C., has recommended that students not be allowed in sprayed areas for at least 24 hours.)

The pesticide industry and school boards didn’t like the proposal. They complained to the agency, saying the buffer zone was too onerous, says Bryan Black, a department spokesman. So in its most recent revision, released earlier this year, the department recommends that schools spray only where students won’t be within 25 feet for eight hours. That’s not only lower than the agency’s draft, it’s lower than the current standard.

Black says the department consulted experts at Texas A&M’s Southwest Technical Resource Center in formulating the new standard. “We believe these standards are absolutely safe,” he says. “We’re not going to do anything that would put children in danger.”

But Hintikka—like Sue Pitman, a pesticide expert who once worked in Texas and now lives in Colorado—worries that the department is bowing to pressure from industry and schools. Hintikka says the reason for moving pesticide oversight to the Agriculture Department was to strengthen standards, not weaken them.

The department hasn’t finalized the rules. The agency will decide in the next month to either implement the proposal or revise it again. In the meantime, Hintikka says, parents should find out exactly what pesticides are being used at their kids’ schools.

—Dave Mann

Illustration by Alex Eben Meyer

FREE CLASS FOR FAMILIES COPING WITH MENTAL ILLNESS

Please help spread the word-forward this to your neighbors, friends, co-workers & others in Burlington who may be interested:

The Family-to-Family Education Program is a free 12-week course for families and friends of individuals with mental illness. Topics include: major mental illnesses, new research, problem solving, communication skills, self-care, services, and advocacy. The course is taught by trained family members who have lived with this experience. Many family members describe the impact of this program as life changing.

"I have been dealing with my son's mental illness for eight years with no real knowledge of what was going on. This course was very thorough and really answered so many questions for me. It helped me realize that others have the same issues and therefore understand." - past participant

The class will be offered in Burlington on Thursday evenings starting March 5 & advance registration is required. For more info or to pre-register, contact the National Alliance on Mental Illness of Vermont (NAMI-VT) at 1-800-639-6480.

HOW CORPORATIONS AND TRADE ASSOCIATIONS ATTEMPT TO INFLUENCE SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY

From TRNN:



It's old news, really. And I'll bet you all the hydrofluorosicilic acid in Burlington's water that the same kind of lobbying of "scientists" - the squelching of knowledge for profit - regarding fluoride goes on at the Vermont Department of Health, too.

'TINY AMOUNTS'

SWABVT.ORG

The City of Burlington’s water contains 1 part per million (1 ppm) of fluoride. We keep hearing that the fluoride is diluted so much that its toxic effects are essentially diluted out. But is 1 ppm REALLY such a minute quantity as to be without any effect?

One ppm of fluoride means that every liter of water contains 1 milligram, or 1 mg, of fluoride. So, for every liter of fluoridated water you drink, whether it is in the form of water, or a beverage such as soda, coffee, juice, or beer, that is prepared with fluoridated water, you consume 1 mg of fluoride. And Brita and Pur filters do not filter out fluoride.

People also consume additional fluoride from other sources: toothpaste, processed cereals, mechanically de-boned chicken, tea (the leaves of which accumulate Fluoride), fish, and pesticides residues in wine, fruits and vegetables – all of these foods frequently contain varying levels of fluoride, sometimes several mgs per serving.

So how much fluoride do you ingest per day? Adding up the beverages you drink, the toothpaste you use, and consumption of the many foods that contain fluoride, you are likely ingesting several mgs of fluoride per day, half of which is stored in your body indefinitely, and builds up over time. And a few mgs a day is not insignificant.
---
So how do you control this? When your children are drinking city water, juices, brushing their teeth with fluoride toothpaste, eating chicken, and processed cereals? The answer is you can’t, and their largest exposure is coming from the drinking water.

EPA used a “safe dose” for adults of 8 mgs per day in setting its drinking water limit, however, this dose has since been found by the National Research Council to be too high to prevent adverse health effects. A daily dose of 20 mgs of fluoride is known to cause crippling skeletal fluorosis. Safety factors of 10 are normally built in to provide the public with an adequate margin of safety. This would result in an acceptable dose of 2 mg per day, or the amount you consume in only 2 L of water.
[...Continue reading all of "Tiny Amounts"]

BURLINGTON BOARD OF HEALTH VOTES AGAINST WATER FLUORIDATION

Burlington has fluoridated its drinking water since 1952.

In March, 2005 the Burlington Board of Health began investigations regarding the continuation of adding fluoride into the city's water. After two public forums the board voted 3-2 to continue the practice, but advised the city council to reduce the amount, which the council ordered (The amount was reduced to 1/ppm from 1.7.). Enough signatures were gathered in 2006 to have a ballot item to stop the addition of fluoride to the drinking water. That item failed at the City Election in March, 2006.

In November, 2008 the board received new information concerning water fluoridation.

Tonight, the board voted on a resolution to discontinue water fluoridaton in Burlington. Board members Fern Crete and I [I am a board of health commissioner] presented the following resolution:

In light of recent scientific developments indicating the potential for harm to certain subsets of the population, the Burlington Board of Health recommends immediately taking a precautionary stance by discontinuing the practice of water fluoridation. It is our opinion that drinking water should be pure and safe for all.

JUSTIFICATION

● In 2006 the National Research Council's published report entitled “Fluoride in Drinking Water” identified vulnerable subsets of the population who may be at an increased risk from the toxic effects of fluoride. These subsets include infants, diabetics, kidney patients, and those with impaired thyroid function.
● Following the NRC's report the American Dental Association recommended that infants (0 -6 months of age) not receive fluoridated water.
● In 2008 the National Kidney Foundation discontinued its support of community water fluoridation and stated that kidney patients should be notified of the potential risks from fluoride exposure.
● The chemical being added to Burlington's water supply is Hydrofluorosilisic Acid. It is a highly toxic industrial byproduct of phosphate fertilizer manufacturing. There are virtually no human health effects studies on these fluorosilicate compounds.
● The intended purpose of adding fluoridation chemicals to the water is to provide a medical benefit to the consumer by preventing tooth decay. While we do not use the public drinking water as a medium for delivering other medications, it is our opinion that fluoride should be no exception. As with any other drug, fluoride has side effects.
● It is the opinion of the Burlington Board of Health that the public water supply should be safe for all Burlington residents with emphasis on infants, kidney patients, diabetics, and those with impaired thyroid function.

This time the resolution to remove fluoride from the city's drinking water passed 3-2. The Board will send its recommendation to the city council.

UPDATE

From SWABVT: the media advisory on the board's vote.

Further reading: I referred to the National Research Council: Fluoride in Drinking Water in my motion last night.

SWAB RELAUNCH

In a yet another Burlington Free Press PR puff piece yesterday it is claimed the Centers for Disease Control has named Burlington as America's healthiest city [sic] The CDC would never in a million years state this; the article is pure City of Burlington interpretation with the Free Press acting as its mouthpiece.

Nowhere in that article will you read that toxic waste products continue to be added to our drinking water.

Yes, Safe Water Advocates of Burlington are back, under new leadership.

Come One, Come All, to the Website Launch Party for SWAB VT (Safe Water Advocates of Burlington, Vermont), at Bite Me Organic Pizzeria, 457 St. Paul St., on Wednesday from 6 to 9! Slices are buy-one, get-one-free. The Itinerary is as follows:

6:00: Sign the petition to End Water Fluoridation!
6:30: Documentary Showing: "Professional Perspectives"
7:00: Campaign Leaders explain the nature of SWAB VT's campaign to end water fluoridation, clarify the volunteer opportunities, and hold a Q&A session about fluoridation and the What's In Our Water? campaign.
8:00: www.swabvt.org makes its Debut!

Please, invite three friends to this event, and show up yourselves! The space is small but we want it to be cozy! We can't wait to see you and get this party kicked off right!

Wishing you well,
Carlie, Kevin and Geoff of SWAB VT: Advocating for your right to safe tap water.

FEEL LIKE A SANDWICH?

No, it's not an offer of lunch. The media report that many of us are functioning as full- or part-time unpaid caregivers, for elderly and/or disabled parents or grandparents, for children, for grandchildren whose parents are absent or temporarily or permanently unable to care for their offspring. And some of us are caring for two or more generations at a time!

The new name for baby boomers is the "sandwich generation." It's a funny term for a very serious challenge, which often brings overwhelming financial and emotional demands, guilt, burnout, and overstressed, damaged relationships.

STUDY FINDS HIGH LEVELS OF CHEMICALS IN INFANTS USING BABY COSMETICS

It's those phucking phthalates again and the EPA is doing nothing about it!

ENVIRONMENTAL WORKING GROUP

WASHINGTON – Environmental Working Group (EWG) Vice President for Research Jane Houlihan issued the following statement in response to a study appearing today in the journal Pediatrics showing for the first time that infants are exposed to potent reproductive toxins called phthalates from everyday baby products, including shampoo, lotion, and powder.

"This new research provides strong evidence that phthalates in baby products end up inside babies’ bodies, where they pose real-world risks for reproductive system damage among baby boys. We hope these results spur companies to remove phthalates from products sold in the U.S. Many of these same chemicals are banned from baby products in other countries. There is no justification for keeping them on the shelves here,” said Jane Houlihan, Vice President for Research of Environmental Working Group.

Unlike for food additives and drugs, cosmetic companies aren’t required to test their products for safety before they are sold. “This study confirms that it’s high time for Congress to update standards for cosmetics, and require that companies prove their products are safe for children before they go on store shelves,” added Houlihan.

An EWG study found that personal care products expose children to an average of 60 chemicals every day that they can breathe in or that absorb through their skin. EWG product testing, conducted in partnership with Health Care Without Harm and other members of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, showed phthalates in three-quarters of 72 name-brand products tested. Because federal law contains no safety standard for cosmetics, it is legal for companies to use ingredients that are reproductive toxins like phthalates, carcinogens, and other potentially harmful substances.

EWG publishes an online safety guide for more than 27,000 personal care products, including a wide range of baby products, with safety information for not only phthalates but also more than 7,000 other product ingredients.

PROFESSIONAL PERSPECTIVES: FLUORIDE IN TAP WATER

Concerned about health safety of fluoride? Go:look here.

Blasting at the Carrara Quarry in Clarendon

Vermonters for a Clean Environment Blog, Annette Smith 24 September 2007 --

J.P. Carrara and Sons wants to blast this week at their aggregate quarry in Clarendon at levels never before experienced by the community. Last week, Neighbors filed an Emergency Stay Motion with the Vermont Supreme Court on Wednesday. Carrara, through their attorneys, replied on Thursday, and on Friday, Justice Burgess denied Neighbors' motion. The week before, on Friday, Environmental Court Judge Thomas Durkin, who previously ruled on the permit itself and gave the Carraras everything they wanted while taking away protections for Neighbors, denied Neighbors' Motion for a Stay.

Carraras notified some, but not all, Neighbors last week that they intended to blast on Friday. Because of the Emergency Stay Motion, they did not blast on Friday. Now it is anticipated that Carraras will once again begin blasting.

Throughout the Environmental Court proceedings and since then, it has become clear that Carraras could and should do more to communicate in a friendly way with their Neighbors. So far, the Carraras have shown a lack of respect for their Neighbors, a denial of any responsibility for damage to neighboring properties, and a failure to understand the value of being a good neighbor. We hope that somehow J.P. Carrara and Sons will recognize the importance of showing respect to the community in which they are operating.

Neighbors have appealed the issuance of the permit allowing the Carraras to expand the quarry to the Vermont Supreme Court. The appeal is pending and the Neighbors wish the Carraras would hold off on the expansion until after the Vermont Supreme Court has ruled on the issues before them in the appeal.

Link

Sanders does a switcheroo on same-sex marriage

No, not our independent junior Senator, but Jerry Sanders, the Republican Mayor of San Diego, who has reversed his stand on same-sex unions; he wanted his adult daughter, Lisa, and other gay people he knows to have their relationships protected equally under state laws.

"In the end, I could not look any of them in the face and tell them that their relationships — their very lives — were any less meaningful than the marriage that I share with my wife Rana," Sanders said.

COMMENT: I still believe it's the stories we share and the one-on-one relationships with those we know and love that will transform hearts and minds.

Sunday reading...

I spent the weekend house-sitting down on the water. So far, one of the most gorgeous Vermont weekends this summer. I took advantage of it yesterday - lawnchair, cool drinks, and the Sunday Times. Always a week's amount of reading. After I tackled the crossword, I found a 10-page feature in the Magazine deflating juvenile sex offender myths that was both disturbing and showed the complexities of the issue.

The significant controversy isn’t whether there is a problem; it’s how to address it. In other words, when is parental or therapeutic intervention enough? What kind of therapy works best? And at what point should the judicial system get involved — and in what ways?

[Robert] Longo and other experts have increasingly advocated for a less punitive approach. Over the past decade, however, public policy has largely moved in the opposite direction. Courts have handed down longer sentences to juveniles for sex offenses, while some states have created tougher probation requirements and, most significant, lumped adolescents with adults in sex-offender legislation.

TalkLeft has started a discussion.

But what about Jersey tomatoes?

NEW SCIENTIST - 'Tis the season in Vermont for organic tomatoes, so it's good to know they're healthy for you.