Thank You; Toxic Safe Chemicals Act!

Dear EJ Crew (which you will remain forever),

First, heartfelt thanks for the lovely plant, group portrait (complete with toothy grins) and the lovely note commemorating our journey together this summer. I am deeply proud of each of you for what you have accomplished individually and collectively, and will always hold a special place in my heart (and office) for each of you. I look forward to seeing you in the fall, and staying in touch with Tiffany as she heads to Israel.

Some positive news: The new Toxic Safe Chemicals Act was proposed yesterday in the House of Representatives, similar to the bill proposed in the Senate in April It would make significant changes to current regulatory approach to chemicals in the U.S.-- a welcome first step in overhauling TSCA. Check it out!

http://www.ewg.org/Chemicals_Law_Overhaul_Proposed_In_House

For more detail on the provisions and the text of the bill:
http://energycommerce.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2087:chairmen-rush-waxman-release-hr-5820-the-toxic-chemicals-safety-act-&catid=122:media-advisories&Itemid=55

Of particular interest to our EJ Crew is Section Section 38, "Hot Spots":

"New section 38 would require the Administrator to identify, assess, and develop action plans to address disproportionate exposures of residential populations in certain localities to toxic chemical substances and mixtures. The section would establish criteria for the determination of disproportionate exposure. Within one year of publishing or updating a list of such “hot spots”, the Administrator would be required to develop and publish an action plan for each identified locality that includes the chemical substances and mixtures contributing to the disproportionate exposure. The section would require an annual report to Congress on the listing and action taken pursuant to these provisions." [from the section-by-section summary by the Congressional Committee on Energy and Commerce]

Best to all,
Prof G

A Healthy Baby Girl and Blue Vinyl

Having just watched A Healthy Baby Girl, I feel touched on a personal level by Judith Helfand's story. On one hand, she shows a huge manner of staying strong despite the personal crisis (which she even refuses to refer to as such). She does not focus on the disease itself, but rather its byproducts. For instance, she often talks about several problematic consequences on human interactions and relationships - particularly between mother-child figures (including both Judith and her mother and Judith and her potential children). On the other hand, the obvious great shock, pain and grief after the loss she suffered due to DES adds passion to her political activism. Both elements of her life - pain and eagerness to act - spread onto her family.

In the case of Blue Vinyl - since it is primarily Helfand's and not her parents' cause - it takes a lot of time and effort on her part to affect her parents and make them care. The difference between the two movies shows how for most of individuals, as long as they are not personally touched or bothered by a larger/national or global problem, they need specific evidence and a good reason to turn it into their cause. The same is currently necessary for the environmentalism to gain on its importance. If the need to care about environment was translated into a personal language of a community, it would spread faster and among many more of its members. Such a phenomena was visible in our experience with the women from Waltham School. Clearly, there was a hierarchy of arguments one could come up with in order to convince them about a higher value in healthy/natural cleaning products rather than popular chemical-based ones. For instance, mentioning effects on their health and the health of their children, as well as differences in prices, met with a bigger openness to new idea of healthy products than talking about general scientific study.

Blue Vinyl and A Healthy Baby Girl show how personalizing an issue seems as one of fantastic methods to make someone care, to make them act, and stand for a change.

Advocacy Clinic

It was a fairly uneventful night for Fiona and I at the clinic. Really all we did was help two men, Jose and his nephew, Miguel fill out paperwork to apply for low income housing in Watertown. Neither of them spoke very much English, but we did manage to get through the extensive application. Just in case they did not receive this housing, Fiona did a quick search on Craigslist and located several apartments in the area that fit into their price range. Both men work in Waltham but live in Bellingham and neither owns a car, meaning that it can literally take hours for them to ride the train to work. They were both very nice people, and I sincerely hope that if the Watertown housing does not work for them, another apartment that we found in the area will.

Update: Judith Helfand Now Tues at 12:30pm

Dear EJ Crew,

Judith just changed her Skype visit with us to 12:30 pm on Tuesday. If you wish, you can postpone your viewing of "A Healthy Baby Girl" until tomorrow (Monday) so it will be a little fresher in your mind and you can focus on the study work.

Photo by Jim Stewart

Blue Vinyl.

Blue Vinyl was a very well-done movie. I really enjoyed watching it and learning about vinyl siding and PVC in general. Judith did an excellent job balancing out the hard facts with just enough humor.

The movie made me wonder about how many other things we use in our daily lives that are harmful not to ourselves, but to someone else.

As an economics major, I'm appalled to see yet another example of where the cheaper product wins out, even though it is not the cheaper product, taking into account external costs (such as pollution, hospital visits, etc.) It is a recurring problem, as seen in the financial bail-outs, the BP blow-out, and PVC. Corporations are too big, and when they act together, they coerce the government into making rules more lenient.