Extremism

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For a long time now, I've been aware of the dangers of chemicals in our environment and the links to cancer and other serious diseases.  When I try to spread the message, I'm usually met with indifference - or I realize that I'm viewed as an extremist.  

So many women I know have either been a victim of cancer (and other diseases) or have loved ones who have suffered and often died from these environmentally-linked diseases.  And they work hard to raise "awareness" and find a "cure."  They enter races, wear ribbons, and purchase products that sport the same ribbons, all in the hope that someday we will find relief from these horrible diseases.  However, people seldom stop to think about what all this really means.  What good is "awareness"?  Is it really a "cure" the pharmaceutical companies are searching for, or is it new treatments?  (Not the same thing.)  How do ribbons help?  And in purchasing products with the ribbons on them, do they realize there is a cap on the donations and that the monies above the cap are pure profit for the company?  Do they realize that many of these products either contain (or create in their manufacture) chemicals that are carcinogenic?

This morning I read a blog that really conveys the message that I try to spread:  that the very products that we use in our daily lives are the ones that are creating the cancers and other diseases that we're fighting.  Go to The Quiet Home to read the post about one woman's ordinary day.

Of course, my avoiding personal care and cleaning products that have nasty chemicals is no guarantee that I and my family will escape from one of those deadly diseases.  For decades, I've been exposed to known (and unknown) carcinogens.  They may have already started cell mutation that we won't be aware of for some time.  The April/May 2012 issue of Mother Earth News has an article about atrazine, the world's second most widely used pesticide.  The article says there is "suggestive evidence of carcinogenic potential" for this chemical.  And it points out this chemical is in our water supply.  In the December 2011/January 2012 issue of the same magazine, an article points out that the chemical tricosan, which is an antibacterial chemical found mainly in hand soap (but in other personal care products, as well), is in the urine of 75 percent of Americans ages 6 and up.  The FDA is now reviewing this chemical's safety.  This is one of those things that should make you go "hmmmm...."

Somehow I think that having chemicals in your body and in your drinking water is much more extreme than making your own deodorant and window cleaner.