4.05.2005

plastic and bacteria and death!

Jenn Shreve writes about her quest to find an portable, environmentally-reasonable yet non-toxic water container:

Being the green gal that I am, but not wishing to sacrifice my own health for the planet (sorry, earth, just being honest), I decided just to re-use the flimsy plastic water bottles for as long as I could. I was happy with this solution for quite some time, until I learned the horrible truth: HARMFUL BACTERIA! Yes, with each refreshing sip I was backwashing germs into my water and providing them with a warm, wet place to grow.

So I did what any bacteria-fearing primate would do and bought a nice, reusable Nalgene bottle. Boy oh boy, nothing makes you look or feel more like a tree-hugging, mushroom hunting nature girl than one of those bright, hard plastic bottles! Until it comes out that Nalgene gives you BRAIN DAMAGE! Yes, Bisphenol A, used to make Nalgene bottles and other hard plastic projects, apparently seeps into the body and can, in certain doses, mess with the function of the brain. (I’m paraphrasing/exaggerating and not everybody agrees, so look it up.) I could almost dismiss the fear as environmentalist fear mongering, but it turns out that California legislators take the threat seriously enough to consider banning it in children’s products.

via boing boing

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ok, maybe a little paranoid. but i wholly admit to a little paranoia regarding chemicals in my life. i try to avoid them whenever possible.

things that scare me:
- labels that warn "do not use in area where runoff occurs"
- dry cleaning & how you should air out your clothes to remove at least 30% of the chemicals
- synthetic estrogens in low grade plastics
- boxed dinners and preservatives - ESPECIALLY that gross pasta anytime no-refrigeration-necessary
- chlorine in water
- pee molecules from flushing the toilet with the lid up (they can travel up to 5 feet when you flush! close that lid! cover your toothbrushes!)

*shudder*

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