http://www.youtube.com/homeproject#p/a/f/0/jqxENMKaeCU

Please do. And help spread the word by sharing this link.

As is our format for the First Tuesday Film Festival, the screening was followed by a discussion about what we saw, how we felt about it, and a sharing of ideas and resources to help deal with the issues brought up by the film.

A few of the resources mentioned during the discussion are included here:  (Thank you Anita!)

1. http:xa.yimg.com/kq/groups/4069058/1880251750/name/The%20Case%20for%20Young%20Peo.ple%20and%20Nature-A%20Path%20to%20a%20Healt An article supporting the information given in the movie.

2. Paul Hawken, “Blessed Unrest.” http://www.paulhawken.com/blessedunrest.com/

3. UK columnist George Monbiot : “Heat: How to Stop the Planet Burning.” – opined that to stop global warming “rich” nations would need to reduce carbon emissions by 90% by 2030: http://www.monbiot.com/2006/10/31/heres-the-plan/ A US blogger lays out how a family CAN reduce by 90%: http://simplereduce.wordpress.com/riot-for-austerity-90-reduction-project-intro/ http://1greengeneration.elemen​tsintime.com/?p=404

For many years, regulators have been attempting to put temporary band-aids on many of the problems in our food supply. In 2008, the government allowed spinach and iceberg lettuce producers to “irradiate” their products in order to kill the E. coli and salmonella lurking within them. There is some speculation that eggs will follow a similar path. Instead of forcing farmers to “clean up their act”, the FDA may allow eggs to be chemically-treated—a process that kills not only the culprits but much of the nutrition as well. These band-aids allow chickens to live and lay their eggs in the worst possible conditions while producing eggs that still meet government standards.

The best way for you, as a consumer, to protect yourselves against salmonella-laced eggs is to buy locally. Most local farms raise chickens in small quantities whereas commercial farms may house as many as 500,000 chickens. The more chickens and the closer the quarters, the greater the opportunity for disease. Also eggs from local farmers are fresher and more nutritious. When hens are allowed to roam and forage for insects, their eggs are richer in protein and their yolks are bright orange. Farmers’ Markets are an excellent way to buy local eggs. Meet the farmers and ask to see their operations. Make sure their hens are being treated humanely and fed an organic diet. Or check out the website of UUCOC members, Diane and Aaron Mitschke, and buy your eggs from them. Go to One World Farm for more information.

Annie lays it on the line, and the information she delivers in this 8-minute video is scary. Baby shampoos have carcinogens. Many cosmetics contain chemicals linked to learning disabilities, asthma and damaged sperm. Lipstick has high levels of lead, a proven neurotoxin. Well over half of sunscreen contains the hormone disruptor, oxybenzone. And none of it is regulated by the FDA.

I bet you didn’t know that products put directly on your skin or scalp are absorbed into your bloodstream with no protection whatsoever. At least when you ingest food, the stomach acids break it down and often the dangerous products on or in the food are washed away. The liver and kidneys also help detoxify toxins that are ingested. But products placed directly on the skin are soaked in by the over 1,000 nerve endings with no protection.

Some of the more dangerous ingredients in cosmetics and personal-care products are:

1. Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, a degreaser which has been linked to reproductive and neuro-toxicity as well as cancer
2. DEA or Diethanolamine, a known and potent carcinogen
3. Propylene Glycol, a strong skin irritant
4. Parabens, which can lead to diminished muscle mass and extra fat storage
5. Fragrance, which can contain a whole slew of potentially dangerous chemicals

Words like “organic,” “natural,” and “free of harsh ingredients” mean nothing because industries are under no strict labeling laws, these links can help. First, many personal products can be home made. There were more than 400,000 recipes found in a Google search for “homemade cosmetics.” Other sites that can be extremely helpful are “Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database” and “Good Guide.” Some helpful tips are:

• look for the USDA Organic seal
• choose fragrance-free products
• pick products in glass bottles rather than plastic

The fact that industries are not required to label personal-care products could soon change. Last month Reps. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Ed Markey (D-MA), and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) introduced the Safe Cosmetics Act of 2010 which would set up a system to make industries more accountable. Dangerous chemicals would be phased out and cosmetics ingredients would be periodically tested for safety. Please support this act, and watch the video at the Friends of the Earth website.

The “American Power Act” is John Kerry and Joe Lieberman’s bill that has passed the House and is currently being debated in the Senate. Like the healthcare reform bill that passed a few months ago, many liberal Americans are opposing this clean energy legislation because it includes support for nuclear power, oil drilling and coal mining. Yet even with these concessions, not one Republican is likely to vote for the bill. In fact they have filibustered it which means 60 votes are required to pass it instead of a simple majority.

According to the EPA passing the Act would “…create 440,000 jobs a year through 2020 and 540,000 jobs a year through 2030 while saving families $35/year on utility bills. And it would cut greenhouse gas emissions by 45%.”

The reason the Republicans are adamantly against the bill is its inclusion of a cap on carbon emissions. But that cap is what makes the bill successful. With the cap in place, energy that emits the largest amount of carbon, like coal and fossil fuels, becomes more expensive. This drives the quest for cleaner, greener energy while creating jobs and economic activity.

In my opinion, the House should make it a priority to pass the “American Power Act” despite its flaws. It should use every means possible (including reconciliation that helped pass the healthcare reform bill) to achieve this goal. The American people understand the need to fix the problem of our dependence on foreign oil. The time is right. We can let our representatives know that unless they get something done this summer, we will vote new members to congress in the fall who will take our views into consideration. And everyone should know that if the Republicans gain power, America won’t be free of its oil dependence anytime soon.

For further information, see: http://blogs.reuters.com/environment/2010/06/21/americans-are-ready-for-a-climate-bill/

According to an article at SolveClimate.com, written by David Sassoon on May 24th, the Minerals Management Service (MMS) was warned several months ago by Dan Zimmerman, an independent environmental investigator, of the dangers of methane gas hydrates in deepwater offshore drilling. “Between 1992 and 2006, almost 2,500 deepwater wells were drilled…there were 39 blowouts during that period—38 of them in the Gulf of Mexico.” Apparently deepwater drilling has been moving ahead so quickly that key safety measures have been overlooked. Key personnel are no longer qualified. All this has been done in an effort to make more money more quickly—why doesn’t this surprise me? Eleven precious lives were lost—in the name of greed?
Where there is oil, there is usually gas. The oil and gas industry is well aware that methane hydrates are the primary hazard when drilling in deepwater for oil.

What the layman doesn’t know is that vast quantities of methane are being released into the atmosphere daily as a result of ongoing oil and gas exploration. Methane is “a gas 20 times more powerful as a warming agent than CO2.”
There is much evidence to suggest—eyewitness accounts from survivors, the fact that the rig was located in an area thought to contain methane hydrates, and the fact that the cap which was lowered over the gushing pipe almost immediately became clogged with methane hydrates—certainly points to gas being the culprit. On May 26th, in articles in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and numerous other publications, it was reported that a Congressional Committee discovered trouble with rising gas levels several hours before the blowout.

Other than the problem with the methane hydrates why is BP having such a difficult time plugging the well? According to Ron Zimmerman, if the cement around the blowout preventer is damaged or if there is a leak in the bore hole, the “top kill” might not be successful. If that is the case, BP has very few options left. One of them is to drill a well adjacent to the blown-out well, but that has never even been attempted at such a depth.

It is my fervent prayer that this massive contamination of the Gulf of Mexico will cause our government and the regulatory agencies of the oil & gas industry to take their jobs more seriously. In addition to the loss of human life, as of May 24th, over 300 birds, 200 turtles and 19 dolphins have been found dead along the U.S. coastline since the Deepwater Horizon blew. Let your voices be heard. Tell your government how you feel about this gross negligence.

P.S. Just wanted ya’ll to know that “the Compost Experiment” at the Church Member’s Luncheon on May 23rd didn’t really go as planned. But to be fair, it was our first real go at separating compost materials from trash and recyclables. From one of my previous Green Tips and as a reminder, compost consists of “vegetable and fruit scraps, coffee grounds, tea bags, and crushed egg shells.” The paper plates we used didn’t have a plastic coating so they also are considered compost. Meat should be separated from the compost and put in the trash container. Let’s try harder next time!

I believe the youth of today are acutely aware of how their inheritance is being wasted and their very home is being trashed. My three teenagers believe that their generation is basically (in their own words) screwed. It is going to be more difficult for them to maintain a healthy lifestyle because of the farming practices of giant corporations and the explosion of fast food. Their world is becoming more and more polluted and there is nowhere for them to escape. It is going to be harder for them to make a decent living because jobs are being outsourced and machines are taking over the jobs of many humans.

On a positive note, organizations pledged to action are becoming more prevalent. The internet is being used to spread the word on how we can help stop the downward trend. Organic food and vegetarian alternatives are easier and cheaper to find than ever before. People in the limelight, like Oprah, Al Gore, Leonardo DiCaprio and Michelle Obama are speaking out. People are pledging to do their part by recycling, composting, using organic fertilizer and green building. Another hopeful sign, when I was jogging today, I saw a woman with a t-shirt that said, “Save the Earth”. Momentum is growing; word is spreading.

I am hoping that all UUCOC members will continue to discover ways to “walk the walk” instead of just “talk the talk”. An addition to the “Story of Stuff” is equally important and I hope all of you will watch it. We have been duped by soft drink companies and bottled water producers into believing that our drinking water is unsafe. They are claiming that bottled water is the answer when, in reality, much of it comes from the very same reservoirs as water from the tap. Plastic water bottles are adding mounds of garbage to the landfills here and elsewhere. According to the video, our plastic garbage is even being shipped to India! See StoryofStuff.com/BottledWater

As a congregation, we can do better. Let’s work together to come up with some answers. One solution Nancy Johnstone and I suggest is using biodegradable paper plates for Parish luncheons that can be purchased at Whole Foods. Let’s also make sure to use the recycling bins available. No one should be throwing out plastic or aluminum in waste baskets.

To get us pumped—let’s attend the Social Justice movie on May 4th: “Garbage! The Revolution Starts at Home.” Perhaps it will give us some new ideas on what we can do to become part of the solution instead of part of the problem.

I found an excellent website to help me in my search: http://www.ewg.org/cellphoneradiation. On this site, you are able to look up your current cell phone to find out its radiation level. Another link ranks cell phones by radiation levels while another discusses the 10 cell phones with the best radiation levels. Still another link discusses new 2010 cell phones and which emit the most and the least radiation.

Best of all there is a 42-page document detailing “everything-you-ever-wanted-to-know” about cell phone radiation written by the Environmental Working Group. It is called “Cell Phone Radiation – Science Review on Cancer Risks and Children’s Health”.

This document details recent studies done on cell phone radiation around the world and discusses their findings. Three major problem areas are associated with cell phone use: brain tumors, behavioral problems in young children and migraines and vertigo. Multiple studies show an increase in these health challenges with increased cell phone usage. The countries of Germany, Switzerland, Israel , UK, France, Finland and the European Parliament, believe the findings warrant alerting their public to the possible risks.

The recommendations of the document entail requiring the U.S. government to label cell phones with their radiation emissions and requiring the cell phone industry to offer cell phones to the public with the least possible amount of radiation. People should be made aware of the dangers of frequent and lengthy cell phone conversations—the phone should be in speaker mode or a headset should be worn. Protect yourself, your family and your friends. Pass the word!