“35 percent of toys contain lead”
“Testers bought most popular children’s products at major retail dealers.”
The headlines from an Associated Press story out of Detroit, on the results of tests performed by the Michigan-based Ecology Center, along with the national Center for Health, Environment and Justice, and groups in eight other states.
What’s a parent to do? Of the more than 1,200 children’s products tested, 35 percent contained lead, while only 20 percent of the toys and other products had no trace of lead or harmful chemicals. Happy Christmas shopping mom and dad.
The article mentioned a Hanna Montana card game case, Circo brand shoes and a Go Diego Go! backpack as items containing the most amount of lead. And those were just a few named in the report, as we continue to hear about tainted toys and products for kids. All this after thousands of these items were pulled off retailers shelves just months ago and sent back to China. At least I hope they went to China.
Ok, I agree, something should be done about making sure young people receive items that don’t contain dangerous chemicals. But sometimes I wonder about this constant barrage of reports on things dangerous, how effective are they, and how necessary.
Here’s where I go back a lot of years to when I was a kid at Christmas. Talk about lead, even the paint on the woodwork contained lead, and there was lead in the gasoline we burned in cars, and a few of my toys were made of lead. It was bad enough, 70 years ago, and in the following years to be concerned about whether the Japanese or Germans would invade our shores. There was the Cold War, and a real possibility that someone’s nuclear arsenal would land on our lawn any moment. That was upsetting, and the list goes on. On that note, even today, our president is still pounding the table with fears about Iran and their nuclear capability. God, it just doesn’t end. I can’t wait for the next year to be over.
My childhood, and that of my children and a couple of generations later were littered with things deemed unsafe today. Other items listed in the report were cadmium and arsenic, and others that went unnamed. No one complained then, and for the most part, we’ve all grown up pretty healthy, all things considered.
Face it, the baby boomer generation grew up with all that crap in their toys and they’ll soon become a greater part of our population. Sure, some will be ill with all sorts of diseases eventually, but what part did their toys play in those maladies? And yes, I’ve read the articles about infants eating lead-based paint off the walls and seen the horrible results. Lead doesn’t belong where children are, in their toys or homes, no question here.
I’ve read articles from “experts” who claim we can be too protective of our children. Shielding them from contact with some everyday things could weaken or stunt the growth of their immune systems, leaving them wide open for serious health problems later in life. Again, don’t misread me here, lead, arsenic and the like don’t fall into that category.
Ok, it is a problem and I’m not saying don’t do the tests and let’s make everything as clean as we can for our kids. But it seems like every time I turn around someone is putting out a report about something that’ll screw up someone’s health or life style.
I just did a podcast interview with Melanie Pickett on Eco-Anxiety, and fully understand what she’s saying. We’re being bombarded with negativity at an alarming rate. It’s no wonder people are rushing to their therapists and doctors for anxiety drugs and something to make the depression go away. Hell, we can’t win, we’re doomed folks, there are hidden dangers everywhere!
If you’ll recall, I did a story on mold and toxins in our homes just last week. I have lung disease, and Sally does everything she can to make our home as free of dust and other irritants as she can. But, reading the article from which I got my information, there was no doubt, our lovely home could be considered a death trap!
Chicken Little’s are alive, they’re all out there trying to get the few minutes of fame with doomsday scenario’s about every facet of our lives. Frankly, I’m sick of it, there’s too much to deal with just getting up in the morning and keeping our sanity and homes together with daily chores. Life’s full of surprises without someone thinking up a new life-threatening whatever in an effort to steer us in their direction and way of thinking.
Am I concerned about global warming? Sure. Are Sally and I doing what little we can to lessen our carbon footprint? You bet. Are we about to head to a counselor to talk about our eco-anxiety? Nope. We understand we can only do what we can do.
Buy wisely, not only this Christmas season, but at all times of the year. There are potholes everywhere. And stay cool about the environment, do what we can and get on with life. As for the Chicken Little’s, I’ll have wings please!
Image courtesy wendeebee
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Max Lindberg
My home state is Illinois, and my hometown a little railroad/farming community named Galesburg.We lived on a small farm during my high school years and I became very aware of nature and it's wonders. I loved the out of doors, working with animals, plowing fields and harvesting crops. Those were very good years.After a stint in the Army during the Korean war my broadcasting career took off at the local radio station, a 250 watt "teapot" as it was called in those days. My first job was as an engineer, then the ham came out and I became an announcer/newsman, graduating after several years to a larger market and a stint as a TV journalist/photographer. Cold, wet weather led me to the southwest where I've lived for most of the last 40 years, with a couple of years out to have fun working as a private investigator in San Francisco, and a few years working in Las Vegas hotels and casinos. In all, its been a real ride.After retiring a few years back I became fascinated with the efforts being made to find alternative energy sources. I've watched our environment deteriorate during my lifetime, and now it's my chance to join the chorus of intelligent and caring individuals making a difference one day at a time.
2 Responses to More Deadly Christmas Gifts on the Shelves?
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Well, I am for one put off by the fact we have lead in our toys, what kind of christmas gift is that? For me, Christmas is all about the ambience, so I am excited as a green advocate to be working with a company that has put together a gift worth giving. Do you guys remember the old classics like: RUDOLPH THE RED NOSE REINDEER, FROSTY THE SNOWMAN, OR SANTA’S COMING TO TOWN, just to name a few. Well, there’s a package of these movies and more holiday classics including a bonus music cd to start the holiday off right. You can order directly at http://www.christmasclassics.tv or find this special limited edition set any where dvds are sold. No lead worries in this package.
You have your wings, Max, and I’ll have my chicken the way I like it:
http://www.westernfolklife.org/weblogs/artists/dufurrenac/2005/12/katie%20chicken%20eyes.jpg
Great article. I especially like reading about how things were decades ago. We don’t get that perspective much in the green community!