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Category: Make a Difference: Community & Calls to Action

Stand Up for Safer Chemicals. Sign the Petition to #FightToxins
If we are going to live so intimately with these chemicals
eating and drinking them,
taking them into the very marrow of our bones—
we had better know something about their nature and their power.

-Rachel Carson, Silent Spring

* This post is sponsored by Seventh Generation through Mom Bloggers for Social Good.
All opinions are my own.*

Rachel Carson was talking about pesticides, but it doesn’t stop there. There are over 80,000 chemicals on the market in the US that have never been fully tested for toxicity. We’re talking in our kids’ toys, in our furniture and fabrics, in our electronics and car interiors, in our food and beverage containers, in our building materials. In the products we use to “clean” our houses and “wash” our clothes and dishes. In the shampoos we use on our hair, the lotion we rub into our kids’ skin. It’s mind-boggling.

How is this even possible? The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) grandfathered in 62,000 chemicals when it was enacted, and over 20,000 been added since. (And that number is steadily growing. Thousands have been added since the first time I wrote about this on a newly launched blog, eight years ago.) The EPA has only required testing for about 200 of those chemicals (that’s less than 10%), and has partially regulated only five.

FIVE.

The Toxic Substances Control Act was passed in 1976.

News flash: I was born in 1976. And trust me, I am no spring chicken.

Not only have these chemicals not been fully tested, but we have no real concept of the effects of prolonged exposure, the potential dangers of how they break down over time or when they react to each other. Some chemicals are persistent, building up for years, decades even, moving up the food chain and into our bodies.

Babies are being born carrying a body burden of 300 toxins. Research indicates that exposure to even low doses of certain chemicals, especially in the womb or during early childhood, can affect our hormonal, reproductive, and immune systems. Rates of allergies, asthma, learning disabilities, birth defects, neurological disorders, cancers and more rise all the time. Even obesity may have chemical ties.

Whether or not you’re willing to make the jump to direct causation, I think we can all agree that it’s time for a change.

[Tweet “The law that regulates US chemicals hasn’t been updated in 38yrs. Time for change. #FightToxins http://bit.ly/1dmbZwn”]

What does reform look like?
- it should protect the most vulnerable: pregnant women, children, and the workers and communities who are disproportionately exposed to chemicals
- it should give the public the right to know about the safety of chemicals
- it should allow states to maintain safety laws which exceed federal protections
- it should require the Environmental Protection Agency to fast track regulatory action on the most harmful and immediately threatening chemicals, with specific timetables.
Be a superhero. Stand up for safer chemicals.

If you believe you have a right to know what you’re allowing into your home and your body–

If you think it’s beyond unfair that children are stuck with a stacked deck of a toxin body burden before they are even born–

If you’re not cool with your family’s bodies being used as science experiments–

If you think it’s nonsense that these chemicals have pretty much had a free pass for 38 years–

Seventh Generation is asking you to stand up for safer chemicals. If they amass the support of 100,000 signatures by Earth Day, the Toxin Freedom Fighters at Seventh Generation will deliver them to Congress on April 30th and use them to start necessary conversations. About how the TSCA fails the health of the public. About the need for change.

Do me (and your family) a favor and sign the petition and then spread the word.

[Tweet “Sign the petition to stand up for safer chemicals. http://bit.ly/1dmbZwn #FightToxins”]

Be aware of the chemicals in your life.

And keep voting for change, in the booth and with your dollar.

Tell me please so I can gauge for future posts:

Are you concerned about constant exposure to unregulated chemicals?

How much do you know (and would like to know) about chemical regulation?
March 28, 2014
Video Gameplay for Good: Play ‘Sidekick Cycle’ and Aid World Bicycle Relief

A game is an opportunity to focus our energy,
with relentless optimism,
at something we’re good at (or getting better at) and enjoy.

In other words,
gameplay is the direct emotional opposite of depression.

―Jane McGonigal
Reality Is Broken:
Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World

Regardless of how you feel about video games in general, kids (and adults) love ’em, and with this one you can throw your support behind a good cause.

Sidekick Cycle is from the Global Gaming Initiative, a company that incentivizes charitable micro giving: helping to raise awareness of economic and social issues through fun video games. 50% of the proceeds from Sidekick Cycle sales go to World Bicycle Relief, a non-profit group that gives rugged, locally assembled bikes to students, disaster victims and healthcare workers in Africa. These bikes aren’t just an opportunity for healthy fun; they can ensure a kid attends school every day.

With every 387 downloads of Sidekick Cycle— available for just 99 cents in the app store for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch— GGI purchases one bicycle for a child in an impoverished community. (It’s a universal app that is GameCenter enabled. An Android version will be available this fall.)

[Tweet “99 cents to download @ggiplaytogive Sidekick Cycle game- 50% of proceeds aid World Bicycle Relief”]

I’m already sold at this point, because it’s a dollar donation to get kids on bikes and in school.

Oh! But you get a game too!

Basically Sidekick Cycle is a downhill biking game, whizzing at “vertigo-inducing” top speed over hazardous terrain in Africa and North America; you have to stick tricks and flips (earning bonus points and coins to spend on upgrades) while delivering bikes to kids in need. There are over 30 tracks/levels, with more on the way.

Bikes can be customized with Sidekick companion animals; each of these has its own special ability, so you can mix and match different powers for varying “powered up” play. Bikes themselves can also be customized with gear for a uniquely sweet, sweet ride.

I have to say that I’ve always liked driving games and the wipeout factor of a bike game sounds fun. This sounds like a good way for Cass to pass the time while we’re waiting for a table or at the doctor… while driving home how great bikes are and how they can make a difference.

I’ll have her try it out and report back on how she likes it— but really for a dollar it’s a good buy however you look at it.

February 25, 2014
7 Easy Ways to Protect Bird Populations
“Pan, who and what art thou?” he cried huskily.

“I’m youth, I’m joy,” Peter answered at a venture,
“I’m a little bird that has broken out of the egg.”

―J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan

We love our birds here, and even those who were reluctant at first were won over by their cheerful, bullying ways. We’ve been careful to make sure we set out seed and suet during the many, many, many days of ridiculous weather and unusual cold this winter has thrown at us (and when I say we, I mostly mean Jeff, who is better at remembering things than I am these days).

While setting out seed is helpful for our feathered friends, who are warm blooded and need the nutrients to keep warm during a time of year where their usual sources of food are not readily available, there are lots of other ways to offer a helping hand all year round.

7 Easy Ways to Protect Bird Populations

Keep Birds Safe from Cats

A 2013 study estimated cats kill 1.3 to 4.0 billion birds every year, making them likely to be the biggest threat to bird mortality. Most of those are probably due to stray and feral felines, not well-fed housecats, but I know at least one of my cats has found the occasional bird an irresistible temptation.
- Keep your cats indoors as much as possible. If you have a cat that just is miserable unless it can free-range a bit, a bell on a sparkly collar can help alert birds to his presence.
- Situate feeders and birdhouses in places a cat can’t get to. Height isn’t quite enough; baby birds will be on the ground beneath while fledging so keep that in mind.
- Make sure birdhouse tops are secure. Cats can climb better than you think and the last thing you want to see is it scooping its paw into the top of your birdhouse, helping herself to the baby bird feast inside. (Don’t ask how I know.)
- Take strays to a no-kill shelter rather than just giving food. Donate to no-kill shelters so they can continue to house cats waiting adoption and offer low-cost neutering. And it goes without saying, spay and neuter your own cats.
Birdproof your windows

Window collisions are probably the second most dangerous threat to birds, killing 365-988 million in the US each year. Low-rise buildings (56%) and residences (44%) are much more of a problem than skyscrapers (only 1%). This one is a pretty easy fix:
- Don’t put feeders directly outside a window.
- If you have sliding glass doors or windows that you know are collision threats, invest in some specially-made window decals. They are fairly unobtrusive to our view, but when placed on the outside noticeable reflect UV light.
- Or, a DIY tape pattern will work too, according to the American Bird Association. “Most birds will avoid windows with vertical stripes spaced four inches apart, or horizontal stripes spaced two inches apart.”
Provide shelter

Trees are bare in winter, so they’re not doing much to keep birds warm through long nights with bonechilling winds. So while shelter is definitely a year-round concern for birds, it’s especially nice to aid them during the cold months.
- Leave a brush pile of fallen branches. An easy way to start a brush pile is to just hang onto your Christmas tree; bonus points if you hang some suet and birdseed “ornaments” on.
- Hang birdhouses in areas that are shielded from high winds.
- Clean out birdhouses at the end of nesting season. This will help new bird tenants stay healthy, and make it easier for them to move in.
- Grow shrubs and other nest-friendly foliage.
Don’t use pesticides

Pesticides poison insects. Birds eat insects. Whether they’re affected directly (by being poisoned by the chemical itself) or indirectly (by ingesting poisoned insects, or by a depleted insect food supply), common sense suggests pesticides are not bird-friendly.
- This one seems like a no-brainer to me. Skip the pesticides. Encourage more birds (and bats) in your area for natural pest control.
Go native

Cultivating plants native to your area means less maintenance for you, as they are already acclimated to your weather, soil, etc. It also means encouraging insects your neighborhood birds and wildlife have evolved to eat. By contrast, exotic plantings need lots of care and cultivate the foreign insects that traveled with them. This is how we get explosive, damaging insect populations like the stinkbug: they have no local natural predators.
- Hummingbirds like bell-shaped flowers; insect-eaters and cardinals especially depend on berry-forming trees and bushes in winter.
- I love the book Bringing Nature Home: How You Can Sustain Wildlife with Native Plants for learning more about the relationship between natives and wildlife.
Yes, food and water

As the world around us becomes increasingly more urban, birds have to fly farther to find the food and water they need to stay alive. It’s easy to create a habitat that can become a bird’s oasis. Just keep in mind that if you start, they will come to depend on you as a reliable source; don’t let them down.
- Water can be hard to come by during times of freezing cold and times of draught. Do your best to keep bird baths clean and unfrozen. I highly suggest something like this Water Wiggler in bird baths; they keep the water moving and the mosquito population down.
- Offer food in a variety of ways. Some birds like hanging feeders; some like to feed from the ground. Some forage for insects in dead wood and in leaf piles. Some love flowers and their seeds.
- You get what you pay for in feeder seed. Cheaper bags of seed have lots of filler that will be wasted as birds root through it looking for the good stuff. We mostly stick with suet and black sunflower seed, which seems to be a crowd pleaser, and additional specialty feeders for the hummingbirds in the spring and summer.
Educate.

You care for what you know. It’s easy to let the sounds and creatures of nature fade into the background of our noisy, busy lives.
- Take the time to point out different species of birds, their calls and identifiers, to those who don’t know them— especially kids. There’s lots of birds. It takes a discerning eye to realize there are fewer jays than we had as kids, an ear that is accustomed to the every day chatter of neighborhood birds to notice when something extraordinary has come to call.
- Share these tips with neighbors and encourage them to create welcoming spaces for birds in their own backyards, so we can weave a tapestry of safe havens within our cities.
It’s a little bit of hassle that is totally worth it, to know you’re able to share in bird survival and bring them closer to your own world.

What would life be like without birds? Not waking to crows cawing? Without seeing a flash of color dart from treetops? I don’t want to find out. Do you?

What did I miss? Any other ways you support your local birds?

*Disclosure: Product links are Amazon affiliate links, which means if you click through and make a purchase I will receive a small affiliate fee.*
February 17, 2014