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In the "What is Body
Burden" section we learned that each of us carries
an estimated 700 chemicals in our bodies. So now that you are
informed, what can you do?
There
are some lifestyle choices that can minimize your chemical load.
When you have enough information, you can choose products made
with safer materials. You can also:
-
choose certified organic produce, meat and dairy products
to limit short term exposure
- seek
out the least toxic household products (e.g., environmentally
friendly cleaning agents, body care products, cosmetics)
- eliminate
indoor and outdoor pesticide use in the home by choosing safer
alternatives to conventional tick and flea collars for pets
and avoiding weed killers, insect sprays and termite treatments
- reduce
our intake of fat because many chemicals are stored in fat.
In
the long term, however, the best way to reduce the load of chemicals
we all carry is to stop using them. This means creating public
policies that encourage the production of safer products produced
without dangerous chemicals. It means relying less and less
on chemical pesticides to grow our food. We need policies that
are truly protective of human health, so that future generations
are not born with a chemical body burden that grows throughout
their lifetimes.
Moving toward a cleaner economy and reducing our chemical body
burden means changing policies, challenging chemical companies,
changing consumer behavior and supporting cleaner industrial
and agricultural production. This can only happen with widespread
involvement of concerned individuals in communities across the
country and around the world.
In this section, you will find groups working on various issues
who share the goal of cleaning up toxic chemicals and moving
toward safer alternatives. Your involvement will make a difference
- contact one or more of these groups to join the effort.
Get Organized
If you would like to get organized or join an existing organization,
contact
one of the following groups:
Alaska Community Action on Toxics
http://www.akaction.net/
organizes: communities and activists in Alaska
 Blue
Ridge Environmental Defense League
http://www.bredl.org/
organizes: activists in North Carolina
The Breast Cancer Fund
http://www.breastcancerfund.org/
organizes: breast cancer activists in the San Francisco Bay
area
Center for Environmental Health
http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/
organizes: activists in San Francisco Bay Area
Center for Health, Environment & Justice
http://www.chej.org/
organizes: activists around the U.S.
Connecticut Coalition for Environmental Justice
http://www.environmental-justice.org/
organizes: activists in Connecticut
Ecology Center, Michigan
http://www.ecocenter.org/
organizes: activists in Michigan
Greenpeace USA
http://www.greenpeaceusa.org
organizes: toxics activists throughout the U.S.
Health Care Without Harm
http://www.noharm.org/
organizes: activists around health care facilities
Indigenous Environmental Network
http://www.ienearth.org/
organizes: indigenous peoples of the Americas
Louisiana Bucket Brigade
http://www.labucketbrigade.org/
organizes: activists who want to monitor air toxics in Louisiana
 Natural
Resources Council of Maine
http://www.maineenvironment.org
organizes: activists in Maine
Pesticide Action Network North America
http://www.panna.org/
organizes: pesticide activists in the U.S., Mexico, and Canada
Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition
http://www.svtc.org/
organizes: activists in the Silicon Valley area in California
Washington Toxics Coalition
http://www.watoxics.org/
organizes: activists in Washington state
Women's Voices for the Earth
http://www.womenandenvironment.org
organizes: activists in the Northern Rockies
If you can't find an organization in your area on this list
check out the
list of more than 2700 organizations at
http://www.rachel.org/orgList/index.cfm?St=1.
Learn More
Visit these websites or contact these groups to get more information.
The
Collaborative on Health and the Environment
http://www.cheforhealth.org
works to further knowledge, action and cooperation regarding
environmental contributors to disease
Commonweal
http://www.commonweal.org/
provides health information on persistent organic pollutants
Consumers'
Healthy Home Center
http://www.greenlivingnow.com
helps consumers create and implement nontoxic, earth-friendly
,and healthy homes
Environmental Health Fund
Phone: (617) 524-6018; Fax: (617) 524-7021; E-mail:
jrobinson@igc.org
facilitates discussions across different market sectors with
groups working on vinyl and other chemicals
Environmental Research Foundation, Rachel's Environment &
Health News
http://www.rachel.org/
provides health and environmental information on toxic chemicals
Environmental Working Group
http://www.ewg.org/
information about U.S. chemical policies and body burden on
its website
Global Community Monitor
http://www.gcmonitor.org/
internationally, helps communities monitor their health and
environment
Greater Boston Physicians for Social Responsibility
Human Health and the Environment Project
http://www.igc.org/psr/
resources on chemicals and reproductive risk (see report
Generations at Risk) and toxic threats to children (see
report In Harms Way)
Greenpeace USA
http://www.greenpeaceusa.org
information on toxic vinyl products and alternatives, alternatives
to hazardous dry-cleaning methods, chemical security
Lowell Center for Sustainable Production
http://www.uml.edu/centers/LCSP/
works to create healthy work environments
National Environmental Trust
http://environet.policy.net/
works on national environmental policies
Natural Resources Defense Council
http://www.nrdc.org/breastmilk/
information on its website on breast milk and chemicals
Our Stolen Future website
http://www.ourstolenfuture.org/
resources on hormone-disrupting and health effects
Pesticide Action Network North America
http://www.panna.org, and
http://www.pesticideinfo.org/
web resource on pesticides and health
Physicians for Social Responsibility
http://www.psr.org
works on environment and health issues nationally
Physicians for Social Responsibility, Los Angeles
http://www.psrla.org/
works on environmental issues with Los Angeles area communities
 Sandra
Steingraber's website
http://www.steingraber.com/
resources on chemicals and reproduction including breastfeeding
Science and Environmental Health Network
http://www.sehn.org/
works with scientists, physicians, lawyers, and activists on
the precautionary principle
Toxic Scorecard
http://www.scorecard.org/
web resource that helps activists find what chemicals are used
in their community and the possible health affects from these
chemicals
U.S. PIRG
http://www.pirg.org/uspirg/
works nationally on environmental issues
World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA)
http://www.waba.org.my
works internationally to protect, promote and support breastfeeding
Take
Action !
Here you will find actions you can take immediately - from contacting
politicians to e-mailing heads of companies - that will help
move us toward a toxic-free future.
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