must read! the perils of plastic…

the current issue of time magazine has a pretty phenomenal and extensive article, the perils of plastic about this pervasive danger in our lives. it is a definite must read. there are also tons of links to the most polluted cities and toxins in our environment.

reversing bush policy, obama has ordered the epa to look into the harmful effects of bpa, especially on children.

Invented in 1891, BPA has been used since the 1940s to harden polycarbonate plastics and make epoxy resin, used in the lining of food and beverage containers, among other products. Polycarbonates can be identified by the recycling number 7 on the bottom of some plastics containing it. Other plastic ingredients — including potentially dangerous ones — are also indicated by the recycling number, known as the resin identification code.

BPA does its job well, and today some 6 billion lb. (2.7 billion kg) of the chemical are produced globally each year. The problem is, BPA is also a synthetic estrogen, and plastics with BPA can break down, especially when they’re washed, heated or stressed, allowing the chemical to leach into food and water and then enter the human body. That happens to nearly all of us; the CDC has found BPA in the urine of 93% of surveyed Americans over the age of 6. If you don’t have BPA in your body, you’re not living in the modern world.

and that’s certainly not what we are talking about when we called this blog “living in a modern world.” i cannot urge you enough to go and read this article as well as the ones listed below!

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• BPA Found Beached and at Sea (usnews.com)
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• BPA a “chemical of concern,” EPA makes it official (scienceblog.com)