A Canadian friend sent me a copy of Azure Magazine, a big glossy design mag with fantastic ads. In it, incongruously, is a great article about plastic, Water to Go (Sept. 2006), mainly as it pertains to bottled water. Here are some high points.
North Americans drink bottled water for fear of contaminants in tap water. Europeans drink it because of the taste -- they have a palate for the mineral content. Plastic is the dominant packaging, but the article points out that phthalates, additives to plastic such as polyvinyl chloride, "are known to leach into water and are considered hazardous."
Then, they give the resin codes and breakdowns.
1 PET (polyethylene terephthalate, a member of the polyester family) is the most common plastic used in bottled water. It leaches the metal antimony, a suspected carcinogen, over time, according to a University of Heidelberg study published in Journal of Environmental Monitoring in 2006.
2 HDPE (high-density polyethylene) used for containers, bags, piping, and so on. It's "relatively safe."
3 PVC (polyvinyl chloride) leaches Bis(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate, which adds flexibility to plastic, should be "avoided at all costs." It contains an endocrine-disrupting compound that is hazardous to boys and young men, according to Dr. Frederick vom Saal, a biological science researcher at the University of Missouri.
4 LDPE (low-density polyethylene) is a soft, pliable plastic used in plastic bags and food containers. No info.
5 PP (polypropylene or polypropene) used for food packaging, textiles, automotive components and reusable containers of various types. "Relatively safe."
6 polystyrene is a hard plastic used for CD cases, and can be expanded by heat ("extruded") into foam, Styrofoam. Which, oops, is toxic.
7 other: hard, glass-like clear plastic made from acrylic, polycarbonate, polylactic acid, nylon, and fiberglass. Usually not recycled, this plastic does not need to carry a number on teh bottom, but if it's hard and glass-like, it's probably in this class. When heated, polycarbonate bottles "release biphenol A (BPA), a hormone-disrupting agent linked to reproductive and developmental problems and cancer." Originally, the material was researched as a birth-control chemical.
As I read this, I realize I must give up my Brita water filter. It is hard and glass-like, so most likely polycarbonate, and it's aging, so it's leaching BPA more rapidly than a newer pitcher. There are also dangers, I read, of the charcoal filters "leaching accumulated chemicals", and it incubates bacteria because I keep it at room temperature. (I dislike cold water.) The problem is, it's relatively inexpensive and I like the taste of the water that comes out of it. What about lead? I live in an older building, which likely have lead solders on the pipes. Is leaching and incubation worse than lead poisoning? It's like the old Joe Jackson song: everything gives you cancer. There's no cure, there's no answer (refrain). I'll toast to that. Even the water cooler at work isn't safe. Those big bottles? BPA-leaching polycarbonate.
We can make antimony-free polyester; the article suggests the same process could be used to manufacture antimony-free PET, so the plastic industry can continue to help me meet my food-containing needs. Problem is, there are no safety guidelines for BPA or antimony ingestion, so there's little oversight or demand for change. So I guess that leaves me with Sig water bottles and tap water. Cheers!
Friday, March 23, 2007
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
exercise: better than drugs
I got on my bike last week, rode downtown, took a train to work in Berkeley, then in the evening rode to Noe Valley for my therapy appointment, and then topped steep hills on my route back home. Exercise is amazing. It was better than drugs.
How much better? Much better. The high from exercise lasts all day. It relieves stress, is good for the skin, and makes you smile. It also has many benefits to your heart, lungs, and muscles which I doubt crack can deliver, although I'm sure no studies have been conducted.
San Francisco makes a big effort to support biking. We have a good network of bike lanes, drivers are pretty aware of us, and even local transportation (BART, Muni buses) allow bicycles. There's even free secured parking at the Embarcadero bikestation, which is extremely handy if you can pick it up before 7pm.
There are none of these amenities provided for crack, heroine, or any other hard drugs. Unless you count our new municipal potties, which I understand are often used as private places to take drugs, and to defecate everywhere but the toilet. City workers hose them out regularly with big hoses of hot water, and the spray smells of bleach.
In sum, I'd argue the greater merits of exercise for the following reasons:
* its salubrious effects to the physique
* relative lack of expense
* civic engagement and support for local transit
* non-polluting and emission-free
* encouragement of recycling of all empty soda containers
OK, time for a run. I fly to Las Vegas tonight for the IASummit conference. I dislike Las Vegas. I had a bad experience there once, and I don't like to gamble. Gambling, someone famous once said, is like flushing your money down the toilet and expecting it to come back.
How much better? Much better. The high from exercise lasts all day. It relieves stress, is good for the skin, and makes you smile. It also has many benefits to your heart, lungs, and muscles which I doubt crack can deliver, although I'm sure no studies have been conducted.
San Francisco makes a big effort to support biking. We have a good network of bike lanes, drivers are pretty aware of us, and even local transportation (BART, Muni buses) allow bicycles. There's even free secured parking at the Embarcadero bikestation, which is extremely handy if you can pick it up before 7pm.
There are none of these amenities provided for crack, heroine, or any other hard drugs. Unless you count our new municipal potties, which I understand are often used as private places to take drugs, and to defecate everywhere but the toilet. City workers hose them out regularly with big hoses of hot water, and the spray smells of bleach.
In sum, I'd argue the greater merits of exercise for the following reasons:
* its salubrious effects to the physique
* relative lack of expense
* civic engagement and support for local transit
* non-polluting and emission-free
* encouragement of recycling of all empty soda containers
OK, time for a run. I fly to Las Vegas tonight for the IASummit conference. I dislike Las Vegas. I had a bad experience there once, and I don't like to gamble. Gambling, someone famous once said, is like flushing your money down the toilet and expecting it to come back.
Thursday, March 01, 2007
burning down the house
I came home last night to a stinky apartment. It smelled bad, real bad. I'd been out with a friend for dinner and a talk by Joel Cohen, lead writer for The Simpson's, and got in around 10. Mr. Cohen had many interesting things to say about the popular TV series, now the longest-running TV comedy in history. Currently, the show has just one female writer, which of course got me to thinking. They have the largest writing staff (15) of any show in history, and the writers are predominantly white, male, and Harvard graduates. Still, I'm sure I have a chance. Fun fact: Many elder male characters' voices are patterned after U.S. presidents. (Monty Burns=Ronald Reagan.) Fun!
But back to the smell. Where did such a terrible, smokey smell com from? Why, my charred comforter, of course. Yesterday afternoon, while I was at work in Berkeley, innocently editing catalog copy and ferretting out instructor bios from the trady and infirm, the temperature dropped. That triggered my thermostat, which is normally set to zero because I don't usually heat my apartment. But it had been a cold night and I forgot to turn it off. Oops!
All of this would have added up to nothing more than a warm apartment when I got home, except for one thing. I'd just rearranged my room, which when you live in a studio apartment, can have some exciting consequences. In my case, it put my bed, mit blakies, right next to the heater.
I don't really understand why it didn't catch fire. My duvet and comforter cover were both cotton, but only blackened at the corner, scorching about twelve square inches. And generating that terrible smell of burnt feathers. It was like a satanic cult had invaded my personal space and spent the aftenroon immolating chickens. In any case, it smelled bad.
Needless to say it shocked the hell out of me. It's not like I have a lot of stuff, or much that's valuable, but just trying to think about facing life without underwear threw me for a loop. So I bought renter's insurance. And wondered about my secret dark destructive urges.
It took about four days for the smell to air out. By then, I'd already bought a new comfroter (much warmer) and disposed of the evidence. Except the duvet cover, since it's Calvin Klein. It, I cut up into inch-wide strips, and am using it as "yarn" and knitting a rag bathmat. So far, so good. And Allstate just got a new customer for life.
But back to the smell. Where did such a terrible, smokey smell com from? Why, my charred comforter, of course. Yesterday afternoon, while I was at work in Berkeley, innocently editing catalog copy and ferretting out instructor bios from the trady and infirm, the temperature dropped. That triggered my thermostat, which is normally set to zero because I don't usually heat my apartment. But it had been a cold night and I forgot to turn it off. Oops!
All of this would have added up to nothing more than a warm apartment when I got home, except for one thing. I'd just rearranged my room, which when you live in a studio apartment, can have some exciting consequences. In my case, it put my bed, mit blakies, right next to the heater.
I don't really understand why it didn't catch fire. My duvet and comforter cover were both cotton, but only blackened at the corner, scorching about twelve square inches. And generating that terrible smell of burnt feathers. It was like a satanic cult had invaded my personal space and spent the aftenroon immolating chickens. In any case, it smelled bad.
Needless to say it shocked the hell out of me. It's not like I have a lot of stuff, or much that's valuable, but just trying to think about facing life without underwear threw me for a loop. So I bought renter's insurance. And wondered about my secret dark destructive urges.
It took about four days for the smell to air out. By then, I'd already bought a new comfroter (much warmer) and disposed of the evidence. Except the duvet cover, since it's Calvin Klein. It, I cut up into inch-wide strips, and am using it as "yarn" and knitting a rag bathmat. So far, so good. And Allstate just got a new customer for life.
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