Death by Rubber Duck by Rick Smith&Bruce Lourie

There are so many toxic chemicals we get exposed to and our body absorbs in our daily lives. This book talks about the 7 worst chemicals and where we get exposure to them. Most are easily avoided if we just know there is risk. The links to many illnesses is unnerving as we all use some of these things. You know I have always read food labels and cleaning supplies for additives but seldom do I do so in personal care products like: shampoo,lotion,and cosmetics. The list will surprise you and everybody should know about these things. This book is a must read is you care about the quality of your health and that of your family members.


The damaging effects of "hormone-disrupting chemicals" in toxic plastics is now linked to diseases such as: Parkinson's ,Alzheimer's, Breast and Prostrate Cancer,Asthma,Autism,ADHD,Obesity and Reproductive Disorders/Infertility, Learning Disabilities, and Diabetes. Think about how many of these diseases have really increased in our lifetimes!!

We need to re-examine everything we touch and put on our bodies and try our best to avoid what we can to make healthier choices.We probably can't eliminate all of them, but we can surely improve out "consumer smarts" about them and make our own decisions about which ones we will try to stop using or change to make better choices. I have come to the conclusion in the full range of additives in our lives that the fewer and more natural the ingredients in things the safer they are..that is one simple rule we can all remember when shopping.

The average woman uses 17 personal care products everyday they shower, apply lotions, use make up and do their nails!! I counted up mine just for fun and it was over 20!!


The book lists 7 chemicals that are frequently used in products that we should avoid as they use toxic plastics in the packaging or actual ingredients.They are:

1.Phthalates- often listed as "fragrance","parfum", in items that have strong smells-such items as cosmetics,lotions,shampoos,soaps, also in shower curtains, raincoats,air fresheners,plastic food containers, and brands like Pantene,Tresseme,RightGuard,Jergens,Dawn,Glade,Gillette,Rubbermaid

2.PFC- nonstick cooking containers and utensils (ieTeflon/Dupont/3M),Gortex,Scotchguard,Stainmaster, newspaper ink- thus any recycled paper,boxes,ie pizza boxes,microwave popcorn bags,fast food wrappers, store cash register receipts

3.PBDE- flame retardants in children's clothing, bed linens,some mattresses, electronics

4. Mercury- tuna( esp While Albacore canned tuna), batteries,fluorescent light bulbs,thermostats(last two esp for disposal).

5.Triclosan(also called Microban,Nanosilver,dichchlorophenoxy phenol)-antibacterial items,cleaning products and tools,cosmetics,cutting boards, knives, i.e (Reach toothbrush, Colgate Toothpaste,Clean and Clean Facial Cleanser,Dial hand soap,Gillette Shaving gel,Dawn dish det.,Right Guard deodorant)

6.Pesticides/herbicides-lawn chemicals, fresh produce, 2-4-D,DDT,DDE,DEET

7.Bisphenol A(BPA)- plastic food containers(don't microwave these!),canned food and soda,
baby bottles and 'sippy' cups,children's toys, plastic water bottles,plastic drinking
glasses/cups,hockey visors,faces of laptops/ and cell phones like Blackberry,
headlights,eyeglass lenses,kitchen appliances, Cd's DVDs, #7 plastics


These pollutants are not only found in personal care and cleaning products, food containers and household items, but also in our environment as they make their way into our water and air.The book lists that over one billion pounds of pesticides alone are used every year in the USA! And more than five thousand ingredients are allowed to be used in our personal care products in North America.

Some of the tips I took away from this book to avoid these chemicals were: avoid canned foods(esp acidic ones),avoid heating plastic containers in the microwave(use glass), buy Organic if possible- esp for fruit, veggies and meats (ie for grapes,peaches,strawberries,apples,spinach,nectarines,celery,pears,cherries,potatoes,peppers, and raspberries, chicken and beef ), stop accepting plastic bags and plastic food containers,and Styrofoam to go containers, read the labels of personal care and cleaning products and avoid these 7 toxic plastics by reading the ingredients of the items we buy and in general just buy less plastic everything-toys,dishes,etc..., eat fewer big fish and more smaller fish, eat hormone free meat, avoid buying "slippery clothes-use clothing with natural fibers(non synthetics) like wool, cotton and hemp that are chemical free and naturally fire resistant, use natural products for insect repellent and for cleaning products like baking soda and vinegar or bar soap and water,, stop buying bottled water and use the microwave less.


This is a real challenge and not easy to read all of this, but if we care about our health we need to be informed.The FDA obviously is not doing a good job of really testing the safety of many items on store shelves.


Some good brands to buy and stores to shop who have made a commitment to reducing the use of these chemicals in their products they make or sell are :IKEA furniture,Greener Lifestyles(Seattle),Essential(Montreal based),Sony, Philips, Panasonic/Matsushita,Samsung.The good plastics that are safe to use are #1,2,4& 5("4, 5, 1 and 2 all the rest are bad for you").

Some websites to get more information and become an advocate for unsafe chemicals removal in our lives are: safemama.com,momsrising.org/NoToxicToys,healthytoys.org,www.safecosmetics.org,
www.foodnews/walletguide.php, seafoodselectionpocketguide at edf.org , , stoptoxicimports.org, National Geographic Green Guide


This information can surely change the way we live!! Here's to more informed shopping and healthy living for us all!!

Through the Eyes of a Ragamuffin by Rich Mullins

What are the benefits of youth vs wisdom?? Rick Mullins included this excerpt in his book about his life and the columns he wrote for Release magazine, regarding the benefits of being young vs benefits of growing older (ages 18 vs. 40, from his experiences).It hit a chord as i just celebrated my 58th birthday, although I could probably add another column for 50's:
*" At 18 if you have oversized aspirations the whole world sees you as a dreamer...at 40 you
get the reputation for being a visionary,
*at 18 if you have thrown in the towel you are called a loser...at 40 you are called down to
earth- a realist,
*at 18 time fits you like a pair of pants big enough to swim in ...at 40 time fits so tight you can't
button your collar,
*at 18 if you play in the rain, howl at the moon,paint,invent, or compose songs or poems you are
accused of being childish...at 40 you are praised for being childlike,
* at 18 your sails are full...at 40 your rudder runs deep,
*at 18 people misjudge your character flaws as being mere bad habits that they might change...
at 40 people misjudge every bad habit as being a mark of weak character and they dismiss
you as being a lesson in reprobation or just accept you as a friend,
* at 18 no one knows as much as you...at 40 you begin to understand the wisdom of Solomon in
his saying 'So stay alive...a living dog is better than a dead lion'.

Rich Mullins has some deep faith walk reflections in his columns he wrote for Release...this was just one of his lighter ones. I enjoyed this short devotional book which only takes a few hours to read and recommend it as good food for thought. Rich Mullins during his successful christian music career decided to finish his college degree in music education and chose to work for 2 years on an Indian Reservation teaching music to Native American children in the southwest, before his death in a car accident in 1997. He is the author of many well know praise and worship songs used in churches all over the U.S.