quick update, more on BPA

Just dashing by before bed to share two things:

1. Absolutely lovely couple hours hosting a fair trade tea at the store for the ladies of St. James UCC. We served a variety of fair trade teas and Peace Coffee [organic, fair trade and shade-grown]. I baked a chocolate torte [using fair trade chocolate and sugar of course], and coconut macaroon meringue cookies. Karen and I made tea sandwiches [cucumber-mint, salmon-cream cheese-dill, and apricot-dijon mustard-ham]. Another local baker prepared some yummy shortbread and biscotti [and I will post a link to her biz as soon as I get back to the store and get her card.] Karen and I did the math afterwards. Even offering a 10% discount to the ladies while they shopped, the event covered its expenses and made a few dollars for the store. And it was fun. Preparing for it, setting a nice table, and of course, meeting the women and talking about Fair Trade. Of course I was completely wiped out afterwards. [I was up to midnight last night baking, and then again at 8:00 am today.] When I got home, I crawled in bed and took a nap with the baby. I think it was a successful event all the way around. And I think we'd like to try it again with other groups.
2. Surfing the web, I came across this post cautioning folks to be very careful in searching out BPA-free products for babies and little ones. It's a good reminder that one needs to read the fine print -- even when dealing with reputable retailers.

Given that dear hubby left this afternoon for 4 days of business travel, and my to-do list for home and the store is several pages long - I really need to be head to bed.

more tomorrow. [probably...]

Things I've been meaning to tell you ...

Note to self: If I wait until I have the "perfect" slice of time to write a blog entry [quiet, kid-free, uninterrupted, at least 30 mins.], then I never get around to posting.

Hence, despite the fact that I am smack dab in the middle of multi-tasking, I am determined to share a few things:

(1) A blog I was delighted to find and happy to share with you: Greener Loudoun, written by a Bluemont local who used to work as an Environmental Manager for Loudoun County. He updates regularly on a wide variety on environmental topics -- both local and those relevant everywhere.

(2) More on Bisphenol A [BPA]: I have been blogging about the multiple evils of conventional plastics and I wanted to keep folks updated on info as I found it. These links from Enviroblog, a project of the Environmental Working Group give a helpful overview of the topic:

BPA Cheatsheet

BPA Q&A

I was at a major home goods retailer today to buy some thermal carafes for serving hot coffee. Featured prominently in bright summer colors were all kinds of pitchers and glassware for poolside and backyard entertaining. The vast majority of these were made out of Polycarbonate. Below, is the EWG on this kind of plastic. Please note the last line [emphasis theirs] which brings a whole other problem to light.

Polycarbonate bottles: As the original post mentioned, studies show low levels of BPA leach out of polycarbonate bottles (like Nalgene and other hard, colored water bottles) at room temperature. More BPA leaches when the bottles are filled with hot liquid. Generally these bottles will be marked with recycling number seven. Polycarbonate is hard, translucent or clear plastic.These bottles may be marked with the number 7. If you're going to use a polycarbonate bottle, be aware that it's likely that higher amounts of BPA leach out of older and damaged bottles. Although we recommend that you avoid drinking from polycarbonate bottles, it's important to note that your potential exposure to BPA through canned food is considerably higher.

Our neighbors to the North are a bit ahead of us. In April, Canada became the first country to ban the use of BPA in baby bottles. Immediately after this announcement:

Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) said he will file a bill to ban BPA from all baby products as well as dental sealants and any bottle or container that holds food and drink. "It's better to be safe than sorry," Schumer said.

A news analyst on NPR this morning noted that it's unlikely that any such legislation will gain much immediate traction in the US because of the economic ramifications of banning BPA. It's in many consumer products and manufacturers do not have a good [for them] alternative readily at hand.

So, for the foreseeable future, we are stuck with it in our bottled water. Does that mean I'll never buy another bottle of Dasani at the 7-11 when I'm running late to little league practice with the kids? No. I did it yesterday, actually. It does mean that I am doing my best to limit my family's exposure. I would add that if you are buying and using conventional water bottles this summer -- try to avoid letting the bottles get overheated. There is evidence that more BPA leaches out at higher temps. So if you have a 36 ct pack of bottled water sitting in your garage or the trunk of your car, well, at this point, I probably wouldn't let my kids drink it. [Nor my 80+ year old grandma.]

Well, I have more to share, but the baby is soaked from splashing in backyard puddles, and my pygmy goats are trying to get in the house by climbing in my open dining room windows. Yes. Really.

until later...

ETA: This NYT article is another good overview of the BPA issue.

More on plastic and bisphenol A

Based on draft findings by the National Toxicology Program, part of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, senior congressional Democrats asked the Food and Drug Administration to reconsider its view that the chemical bisphenol A is safe in products for use by infants and children.

From a Rueters' wire store on Tuesday.

Do I have to?

I’ve been on a certain parenting e-mail list for years. The list is organized around a particular parenting philosophy, and list members are fairly “hard-core” about adhering to it. Most list newbies undergo a fairly predictable process. There is often some defensiveness as she finds some of her parenting strategies and ideas challenged and critiqued. And then, after much back and forth with the articulate and fiercely opinionated women of the list, at some point the newbie dissolves into a pool of maternal guilt as she regrets past interactions with her children. And then a list veteran will console her – and encourage her to move on – by reminding her, “When we know better, we do better.” Meaning of course, “Don’t beat yourself up for the past. But, now that you see that something else is possible, put it into action.”

When it comes to the environmental impact of our modern life: Sometimes I wish I didn’t know better. New habits are hard to adopt, especially as we juggle too-full lives with too many responsibilities. I’m proud that my household recycles most of our waste – the volume of paper, plastic, glass, and aluminum that my husband hauls to the recycling center in town is triple the amount of garbage that the trash company picks up at our house. I’ve finally bought enough reusable grocery bags [and put them in both of our cars] that more often than not, I don’t use store given disposables. We’ve all gotten used to using towels and rags to clean instead of paper towels. What few paper products we do buy – we spend a little extra to buy recycled. And, while we can’t afford it yet, I know that our next car will be a hybrid.

But, oh my. Some of the changes I know I should make… well, they are more challenging. I must be a bit of a masochist. As I count down to Earth Day, I could be blogging about any of the changes we’ve already made. Instead I’m preoccupied with plastic. And now that I know better … well dang it all, I’m supposed to do better. Some of the changes I’ve already implemented. We’ve weaned ourselves off of plastic cling wrap for the most part, and we no longer put any plastic containers in the microwave. [That’s a health issue – as opposed to an environmental one.] But doing without the ubiquitous litre of bottled water? Especially as we move into warm weather? Committing to buying, and then regularly filling and cleaning reusable water bottles? Enough for a family of 6? While we rush pell-mell through boy scout meetings and baseball practice and shopping trips and playdates at the playground? Do I really have to? I really wish I didn’t know better. But the evidence against bottled water– as you’ll see in the next entry I post – is fairly damning. So, I think I’m going to have to give it a go…

Procrastination, Perfectionism and Plastics

It’s 10:30 on Friday night. My head is pounding after a long week. The kids are asleep and my husband is in the other room watching a comedy starring a young and handsome Paul Newman. I’m sure he would be delighted if I joined him given that he’s been traveling all week. [My husband, that is. I’m not privy to Paul’s schedule.] But, I decided that I would post once a day as a countdown to Earth Day and I am determined to do so.

Actually more of an obstacle than my being tired is my own familiar nemesis, the biggest reason I procrastinate or avoid doing anything--my perfectionism. I just spent the last hour reviewing some of the topics I’d like to post about here, and I realized that almost anything that needs to be said on almost any issue has already been said – several times. And it’s usually findable in just a matter of moments thanks to Google. So if I can’t do it first or best or most comprehensively – then why bother? At least that’s what the little devil on my left shoulder says – with quite a bit of a petty pout I might add. And then the little angel on my right shoulder takes a deep breath and reminds me, “The perfect is the enemy of the good.” And I remember that my deal with myself in all this is just to be authentically myself and that doing something is almost always better than doing nothing.

So. I want to tackle one of modern living’s most relied-upon conveniences and one of the environment’s most pernicious foes: plastic. I will not attempt to do so all in one post – especially as tired [and verbose] as I am feeling at the moment. Plastic bags have been much in the news in the last year: China recently banned free distribution of plastic bags at stores, San Francisco became the first city in the US to ban their use in grocery stores, and chic New Yorkers stood in long lines for the chance to buy $15 designer “I am not a plastic bag” totes. Then there was the spate of news about the possible danger posed by plastic baby bottles leaching the toxin bisphenol A. And, as oil continues to hover around $100/barrel, the fact that most plastic is made out of petroleum products should be of increasing concern to everyone.

But plastic is everywhere. And we use it for everything. It’s cheap and convenient. For time- and money-crunched families I imagine plastic products show up – in one form or another – many, many times during our daily routines. To change those routines and create new habits takes effort and we need to feel that such effort is justified. After all, not everyone self-identifies as a “treehugger.” However, after much reading and review, I believe that there are a handful of changes each and every one of us needs to make in terms of how we use plastics. Despite their convenience, there are some plastic products whose environmental cost is severe enough that no one can really justify their continued use.

So this Earth Day I challenge myself – and my community – to wean ourselves completely off plastic shopping bags and plastic water bottles. Additionally, I strongly recommend that people limit their use of plastic wrap and plastic containers to store foods. I also urge folks to consider paying a little more to buy trash bags that are made from recycled plastics. I will blog more in the coming days about why I recommend these changes, and how you might implement them. Finally, I will share what I’ve learned about the development of new, more earth-friendly, plastics. But now -- goodness it’s already midnight -- it’s time for bed.