I don’t know if all of you saw the CBS Evening News story about Hannah Pingree that aired earlier this week, but I wanted to share it with you in case you missed it. You can watch it here: http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/i_video/main500251.shtml?id=4109474n I am one of those people who get really excited when the national news covers a story from my home state, and even more excited when it is related to someone or something that I know about. Over the past two years I have gotten to know a lot about Hannah Pingree and her incredible work to eliminate toxic chemicals from use in Maine. I first got to see her appear in our “You’re In Jeopardy” movie that was used during the campaign to ban Deca (a toxic flame retardant) from use in household products like mattresses and other furniture and electronics. She then introduced one of our top priority bills this legislative session – LD 2048, “An Act to Protect Children’s Health and the Environment from Toxic Chemicals in Children’s Products.” This bill passed by a huge margin in both the House and Senate (passing unanimously in the Senate!) and will require manufacturers to disclose information about certain chemicals in their products, and look for ways to replace those toxic chemicals in their products.
I have no children of my own, but I have many friends who have small children, and I am very concerned about the number and types of chemicals children have in their bodies. My best friend has a young son who was recently diagnosed with autism, and the epidemic that autism has become is startling. I can’t help but think that the chemicals that are in toys that children play with, foods they eat, and in items that we use to clean our homes and schools are a huge reason that the numbers of children with autism continues to be so high.
Many years ago I helped to research the information in our Clean Housekeeping brochure (click here to download or request a copy) and I have since replaced many of my household cleaners with the non-toxic ones we list in this publication. Baking soda and vinegar have become two cleaning staples in my apartment.
Do you have other ideas for household cleaners or other ways to live “toxic-free” in your home? If so, please share them here so that we can all continue to reduce the amount of chemicals we use in our homes and offices.
Thanks to the Maine Legislature for their work on reducing and eliminating toxic chemicals in Maine’s environment. It is great that Maine continues to lead the way on this important issue!
Beth Dimond
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