what we can do now about the next east palestine
We need activists who are true to their social beliefs in their personal lives
It’s essential that we don’t blame consumers for not knowing which products contain harmful toxic compounds and those that are safe. There’s no labeling that shows this, really, and scant public education campaigns. So honestly most of us are pretty much in the dark.
However, with this caveat in mind, those few persons who want to be educated and take the time can actually make a big difference in other people’s lives. We may not be huge in number compared to the whole population, but we’re large enough to move markets and make changes in the flow of commerce of chemical toxins far more rapidly than legislation coming from our state or federal lawmakers.
If we really are upset about the chemical train disaster in East Palestine, Ohio, then those of us who can ought to stop buying products that used some of the more than one million pounds of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) released into the air, according to the Canton Repository.
Blame Norfolk Southern. Make them pay. Blame inadequate oversight by public officials. Vote them out of office. I want this and more. I think it ought to be criminal just like any other physical assault on people. Plus all the gaslighting when governors and public health officials keep telling people it’s safe when they don’t know because science doesn’t know, and it’s better to say we don’t know, and we ought to get the people new homes where they can be safe.
But what are we going to do? Both the railroad and the politicians work for us, and our hunger for PVC products now seems obscene in view of what happened, and we ought to also blame ourselves. We invite this poison into our homes without giving it a second thought.
I just went on Amazon.com and found an endless stream of PVC products. In short order I found a 3 Rings Kiddie Pool made of “high quality PVC”; HQMPC Garden Hose made with “durable PVC”; Novelty Place Inflatable Beach Balls with “leak-proof PVC”; “Clear PVC Plastic” Backpacks; and, for the backyard sprinkler system, I set my eyes on the Xuniea 42 Pieces “PVC Pipe Fittings Elbow Set” for Greenhouse Sheds.… We’re buying the poisons that hurt the people of East Palestine.
But we don’t have to.
I found the Tiny Twinkle Mess-Proof Baby Bib — Waterproof Bib for Baby Boy or Girl — Machine Washable — Adjustable Closure — PVC BPA & Phthalate Free made from Okeo certified textiles.
I found safe hose products. Most are still PVC. Please don’t drink from them, much less handle them. Prefer a hose made from food-grade polyurethane. These durability and performance without PVC. Polyurethane doesn’t involve highly toxic chlorine molecules in its formulation and is a far more safe and inert material for the consumer. Look for the following garden hose brands: Heritage Garden; Slim and Light Professional; Lead Safe High Flow “Big Guy”; Armadillo; and GatorHyde Drinking Water Safe (made from of 50-percent recycled polyurethane).
Just one way we can make a difference in our personal lives.
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Purchase presale copies of my forthcoming new book Raising Healthy Kids: How to Protect Your Children from the Hidden Chemical Toxins in Our Everyday Lives from Skyhorse Publishing (January 2024).
