Clearing the air bruce lourie and rick smith, keynote address

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Bruce Lourie and Rick Smith Authors of Best-Selling Books Toxin Toxout and Slow Death by Rubber Duck


TOXIN TOXOUT: The problem with harmful chemicals...and the solution


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Experimenting on Ourselves

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Can we see these chemicals in our bodies?

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Can we alter the levels by exposing ourselves to everyday products?


Plastic pollution


MEP level 900

Methyl paraben level

800

Conventional Products

700 600

Green Products

500 400 300 200 100 0 0h

4h

6h

48 h

52 h

54 h

Absorbing Your Cosmetics


Inhaling the New Car Smell


Pesticide Levels of 9 Kids

0.16 0.14 0.12 0.1

0.08 0.06 0.04 0.02 0

Day 0

Day 6

Day 12


Triclosan as seen on Dateline NBC 1600 1400 1200 1000 800

Triclosan

600 400 200 0 1

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Not just us… “there is currently no evidence that [Triclosan chemicals] are any more effective at preventing illness than washing with plain soap and water. Further, some data suggest that long-term exposure to certain active ingredients used in antibacterial products—for example, triclosan (liquid soaps) and triclocarban (bar soaps)—could pose health risks, such as bacterial resistance or hormonal effects.” - US FDA Dec. 16, 2013


A New Way to Look at Health •Timing not quantity •Very small amounts can be deadly •Chemicals that mimic our hormones •Toxic effects that span a life time or multiple generations •Links to modern epidemics


Chemicals and Asthma “…children born to mothers who were exposed to high levels of phthalates had a 72 percent and 78 percent increase in asthma risk between the ages of 5 and 11 years as compared to other children”


Stolen Future However great our knowledge, our ignorance is also vast. In this ignorance we have taken huge risks and inadvertently gambled with survival.

-Theo Colborn



“Canada applauds the decision by Prime Minister Abbott …to repeal Australia’s carbon tax. …Our government knows that carbon taxes raise the price of everything, including gas, groceries, and electricity.”

Parliamentary Secretary, Paul Calandra November 12, 2013


Environment 2.0


Deadly Health Costs


Shutting Down Coal


Last coal power plant in Ontario closes

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YEAR

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0

03

0

2

5

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17

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DAYS

30

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53

ONTARIO SMOG ADVISORIES

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Lawn pesticides decline 80 percent in Ontario streams following province-wide pesticide ban. In 2015 Ontario introduces new rules to restrict neonicotinoids toughest in North America

PBDEs in California in 2014 “The new study found that the banned toxins have declined in the bay’s mussels by up to 95 percent.”



The Bottom Line 1. These chemicals truly are in all of us and increasingly linked to serious human health effects. 2. It is possible to lower (or raise) the amounts in your body by paying attention to what you eat, buy and use. 3. Consumer purchasing actions drive corporate behaviour and government regulation. 4. Linking health to environment leads to faster and more significant progress.


Thank you

ToxinToxout.ca #toxintoxout



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