Toxics
Toxics as a Right-To-Access Issue
My guest today is Adrian Ballou, a writer, artist, activist, and educator who focuses on advocacy around disability justice and transgender rights. I found Adrian when I discovered Get Mad When Folks Ask You to be Scent-Free? Here are 8 Things to Consider , which is helping to shape a mainstream conversation on chemical/fragrance sensitivities and access to public spaces. Adrian particularly enjoys writing and facilitating social justice education and youth organizing curriculum. www.adrianballou.com
Toxics in Your Body? Tests Can Tell You the Truth
My guest today is Wendy Myers, CHHC, NC, FDN, founder and head writer of Liveto110.com. Wendy has been on the show before talking about the many tests she offers, but today we’re going to talk about results. We talk a lot about exposures to toxics, but are toxics really in our bodies? We’ll take a look at what Wendy sees in her tests and also the test results from the Centers for Disease Control report Fourth National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals, Updated Tables, September 2012. Wendy is a certified holistic health and nutrition coach in Los Angeles CA. She is also certified in Hair Mineral Analysis for the purpose of designing Mineral Power programs for clients to correct their metabolism and body chemistry. She is currently seeking her masters in clinical nutrition at Bridgeport University in Connecticut. Wendy hosts the weekly Live to 110 Video Podcast and the Modern Paleo Cooking show on her Live to 110 Youtube Channel. www.liveto110.com
Toxic Free Body: CDC Says Toxic Chemicals are in Our Bodies
Choosing and Maintaining A Toxic Free Cutting Board
My guest today is Michal Gal, founder of Urthware. His wooden cutting boards are made with exactly the materials I would choose if I were designing a cutting board, and they are beautiful. Michael is a proud husband and father of three, who decided to look deeper into companies and their products. After a lot of researching outfitting his kitchen with more natural and safe cookware he found that there were no cutting boards that were up to his standards. So he made one for himself using no petroleum based finishes and no glues, just natural wood and oils. People kept asking him if he could make one for them, and Urthware was born. www.urthware.com
Wondering How We Came to Have All These Toxic Chemicals? Here’s the History…
My guest today is Richard Heinberg, Senior Fellow of Post Carbon Institute. I invited him to be a guest after watching his wonderful video 300 Years of Fossil Fuels in 300 Seconds (1.3 million views). The fact is that while there are toxic substances in the natural world and some poisons have been in use for centuries, the overwhelming presences of toxic chemicals we experience today is the result of widespread use of fossil fuels. But an end is in sight, because we’re running out of fossil fuels. Imagining life after fossil fuels is also imagining a life without most of the toxic chemicals we use today. We’ll be talking about the fossil fuel and toxic chemical connection and where we can go from here. Richard is the author of 12 award-winning books, including six on the subject of fossil fuel depletion. He has written for Nature Journal, Reuters, and Wall Street Journal, and has delivered hundreds of lectures on energy and climate issues to audiences around the world. His current book project, due out early next year, is Our Renewable Future, an exploration of how our economy and our daily lives will change as we phase out fossil fuels and adapt to wind and solar energy. www.postcarbon.org
An Investigative Reporter’s Take on Toxics
My guest today is Greg Gordon, National Correspondent for McClatchy Newspapers Washington Bureau. As an investigative reporter, Greg has spent 38 years uncovering waste, fraud, abuse and misconduct in Washington. I called him last week after his article about the FDA and mercury fillings was published and we had a great conversation about other stories he had done on toxics over the years. Today we’ll be talking about toxics from the viewpoint of an investigative reporter: why he writes about toxics and the investigative process. Greg has received so many awards I can’t fit them all in this space. Read more about Greg’s distinguished career at www.mcclatchydc.com/customer-service/contact-us/article24432826.html
Toxics in the Air We Breathe—Indoors and Outdoors—and How it Affects Our Health
My guest today is toxicologist Steven G. Gilbert, PhD, DABT, He’s a regular guest who is helping us understand the toxicity of common chemicals we may be frequently exposed to. Today we’re going to talk about indoor and outdoor air pollution: the different types of pollutants, how they affect your health, how you are exposed to them, and what you can do to reduce your exposure. Dr. Gilbert is Director and Founder of 
the Institute of Neurotoxicology and author of A Small Dose of Toxicology- The Health Effects of Common Chemicals. He received his Ph.D. in Toxicology in 1986 from the University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, is a Diplomat of American Board of Toxicology, and an Affiliate Professor in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, University of Washington. His research has focused on neurobehavioral effects of low-level exposure to lead and mercury on the developing nervous system. Dr. Gilbert has an extensive website about toxicology called Toxipedia, which includes a suite of sites that put scientific information in the context of history, society, and culture. www.toxipedia.org
How to Protect Your Health From Toxic Mercury Dental Fillings
Today my guest is Pamela Seefeld, R.Ph, a registered pharmacist who prefers to dispense medicinal plants and other natural substances instead of prescription drugs. We’ll be talking about mercury dental fillings, which were front page news in our local newspaper last week. Senior US health officials stopped a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) proposal that would have told dentists they should not use mercury fillings in cavities in pregnant women, nursing moms, children under 6 and people with mercury allergies, kidney diseases or neurological problems. It also urged dentists to avoid using fillings that contain mercury compounds in any patient, where possible. Pamela and I will discuss the toxic effects of mercury in your body and what you can do to protect your body from the dangers of mercury fillings. Pamela has more than 25 years experience choosing and selling top quality medicinal supplements, so she’s seen it all. Pamela is a 1990 graduate of the University of Florida College of Pharmacy, where she studied Pharmacognosy (the study of medicines derived from plants and other natural sources). She has worked as an integrative pharmacist teaching physicians, pharmacists and the general public about the proper use of botanicals. She is also a grant reviewer for NIH in Washington D.C. and the owner of Botanical Resource and Botanical Resource Med Spa in Clearwater, Florida. www.botanicalresource.com
Handmade, Toxic-Free Wood Furniture That Helps Rainforests Too
My guest today is Peggy Farabaugh, owner and operator of Vermont Woods Studios, an online furniture store specializing in high-quality, eco-friendly, handmade wood furniture from Vermont. She’s a CEO who breaks for salamanders, has bottle-fed rescued squirrels, and spends her vacations volunteering to plant trees in the rainforests of Central and South America. She believes in the future and in the people who build it. A former distance learning instructor at Tulane University with a master’s in Environmental Health and Safety, Peggy turned an interest in forest conservation and endangered species into a thriving, local furniture business. Now in it’s 10th year, Vermont Woods Studios exists not only online but in a lovingly restored 200 year old farmhouse in the woodlands of southern Vermont. www.vermontwoodsstudios.com
Toxic Drugs and Your Mental Health Rights
My guest today is Laurie Anspach, Director of Mental Health Rights. Laurie has spent 20 years as a mental health advocate in Florida, working side-by-side with legal and medical professionals to assist individuals in protecting their mental health rights. Well be talking about how individuals—particularly children and the elderly—are often given toxic drugs for mental health conditions that can be handled without them, and the rights we have to refuse such drugs. Laurie says, “Having helped people over such a long span of time, it is clear that when an individual gets full information of the facts, and specifically in regards to their situation, they are able to assert their rights.” www.mentalhealthrights.org
Keeping Babies Toxic-Free
My guest today is Laura Saville, one of three co-founding sisters of The Soft Landing, a comprehensive website with blog, safe product guides, and store for moms wanting to protect their children from toxic chemicals. Her years spent in business management prior to becoming a wife and mother helped her hone the ability to handle the fine details and mountains of research her job at The Soft Landing requires. Laura has a love of common sense and practicality, and finds great pleasure in helping parents on their journeys to reducing their family’s exposure to toxic chemicals in everyday products, one baby step at a time. www.thesoftlanding.com
