Monday, May 5, 2008

Danger, Danger!

When I was a kid we used to watch a TV show called "Lost in Space" and there was a robot who was always yelling out a warning, "Danger, Will Robinson, Danger! Danger!" After having a conversation with my son, who has a PhD in chemical engineering, about the potential hazards of plastic bottles , I suddenly had a voice in my head yelling, "Danger, danger!"

After years of thinking that plastic was so great and putting it in just about everything, we are now finding out that maybe it isn't so great after all. Plastic baby bottles are being pulled from shelves in stores because the bisphenol A (BPA) in the plastic of those bottles is causing some serious effects in mice such as damage in egg cells. While the government insists that this plastic is safe there are numerous scientists who have voiced alarm. I tend to side with the scientists because the government has proven to be stupid on more than one occasion. While reading the articles about BPA and baby bottles I didn't put two and two together to realize that our hiking water bottles have that same ingredient in them.

Besides looking for my old Girl Scout canteen to start carrying my water in, I also see that now I need to get rid of all of my plastic bowls. They now are finding that heat and plastic combined with fat when placed in a microwave oven releases dioxins. Hence that spaghetti and meatballs that tasted so good for lunch really was loaded with cancer causing compounds. YUM! Folks, this means that tupperware, rubbermaid, plastic wrap is not to be used for warming up food in the microwave...even if it says "microwave safe". We are going back...back in time to glass. Put your food in tempered glassware and heat it in the microwave. As for all my plastic bowls, it looks like a garden sculpture is in the works...after all we know that plastic will last for years and years and years. Mom

1 comment:

  1. Very well written and enjoyable to read! I will probably use BPA as an excuse now for a variety of ailments, when projects don't get finished on time, when I sleep late on a Saturday or skip church... "Sorry, I've had prolonged exposure to BPA, and..."

    -Craig

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