CHEMICALLY SENSITIVE - A LIVING HELL

 Amid our busy, complicated society, there exists a parallel world about which most of us know nothing.

Maha Laxmi (pictured) is a well-balanced, intelligent, Canadian woman in her 40s who used to be a professional concert pianist and music teacher, contributing to society and enjoying life with many friends.

Then two things happened. The apartment she lived in was sprayed with a chemical pesticide, and soon after, on receiving treatment from a woman using an electronic footbath to detoxify her body, she was electrocuted, receiving severe burns both to her face and internally. Immediately afterwards, she developed a severe sensitivity to multiple chemicals, and to electromagnetic and wireless signals.

On the chemical side, her body became allergic to the detergents used in washing machines; to sheets, blankets and clothing, even when made from organic cotton or hemp (possibly because of chemicals in dyes); to the scent of other people’s shampoos, soaps, detergents and deodorants; and to coats, bedding, and sleeping bags.

When exposed to these products her face swells and turns red, she has pain at the back of her head and in her stomach and liver area, and she experiences nausea and disorientation. This can lead to severe agitation, shaking and crying.

On the electromagnetic side, signals from WIFI and cell phones cause her face and stomach to burn, even if they come from a neighbouring house.

Laxmi is not alone in experiencing environmental illness or Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS). All over Victoria, there are people who live in this parallel world. Laxmi has also been homeless for five months, finding it impossible to find a place to live. The shelters are not set up to deal with this, and the agencies that help the homeless have told her they cannot help since she is not a drug addict or mentally ill.

What is environmental illness? Laxmi has been to 30 doctors in Victoria, and most said her illness was psychological, even though they agreed that they had never studied the condition.
This is not so. Japan has government funded treatment centres for the disorder; the University of Toronto has a diagnosis centre for it; the Director of the World Health Organization herself suffers from electromagnetic sensitivity.

Until recently, little has been known about environmental illness. In July 2009, however, Martin Pall, Professor Emeritus of Biochemistry at Washington State University, wrote a paper which shows how chemicals act as toxicants in initiating MCS. Professor Pall has been diagnosed as having MCS himself.

His theory is that MCS is produced by a biochemical mechanism in which short-term stressors increase naturally occurring nitric oxide and peroxynitrite levels, starting a vicious NO/ONOO-cycle that leads to long-term illness.

He found that cases of MCS are initiated by seven classes of chemicals. Each acts along a specific pathway, causing increases in N-methyl-D-aspartate activity in the body, lowering their toxicant responses. The role of these chemicals has been confirmed by genetic studies. His research will be published in General and Applied Toxicology, 3rd Edition - a summary can be found here: http://bit.ly/4h5wJU.

I don’t expect readers to understand the biochemistry. My point is that the condition is real. Professor Pall says the view that MCS is a pychogenic illness “is entirely inconsistent with this diverse data on MCS and related illness, and the literature claiming psychogenesis of MCS is deeply flawed.”

So where does this leave Laxmi, and the many other MCS sufferers?

Firstly, Laxmi sorely needs a home - a place to live that has wooden floors, wooden cupboards (not pressboard), and electric or hot water heat, where plug-in air-fresheners and incense are not used, residents do not regularly use perfumes, and people are willing to use cable computers and corded phones. Ideally, a place with its own washer and drier, or one shared with people willing to use natural laundry detergents. If you can help, please call Laxmi at 250-384-3030.

Secondly, our doctors and medical agencies need to treat this with as much seriousness as they would asthma, AIDS, or heart disease. This is medically real.

Thirdly, our landlords and social service agencies need to provide housing for people with environmental illness. In a city the size of Victoria (350,000 people), we probably need 100 natural safe houses where people with MCS can live safely while working with their doctors and naturopaths to overcome this hellish illness. Existing houses could be converted, or new houses could be built.

Finally, we all need to wake up to the reality that WIFI, cell phones, perfumes, pesticides, laundry detergent, fabric softeners and so on make life a living hell for many people. We all need to live more safely, that others may safely live.

Laxmi’s goal is to survive, recover, and do whatever she can to help others with this debilitating condition. By helping her, we can help others too.

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ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH ASSOCIATION of BC

Are you among those who suffer from environmental sensitivity, as described above? If so, you might want to join the Environmental Health Association of BC, which works as a self-help organization to raise awareness of the condition in the medical community and the general public, and provide support and help to those who want to help themselves. Their newsletter contains details of safe products such as EMF-free phones made in Germany, healing recipes, and people’s personal stories.

This fall, they are starting to run support meetings in Victoria (Wed Sept 23rd, 1:30pm, at the Church of Truth, 111 Superior St.)  See www.ehabc.org, and Nova Scotia’s Guide to Less Toxic Products at www.lesstoxicguide.ca.

COHOUSING IN NANAIMO

Imagine a sustainable, resident-planned development in a beautiful location with an emphasis on community, cooperation and quality of life. Many people’s dream, yes? After many years of persistence, that’s what’s happening in Nanaimo at the new Pacific Gardens Cohousing Community.

Sitting in a natural setting with 4 acres of organic orchards and gardens, the 25-unit project has been built to LEED environmental standards. As well as a large community kitchen and dining hall, its residents will enjoy the use of a woodworking shop, wet crafts room, music/meditation room, guest rooms, and children’s play area. It has all been designed for pedestrian friendliness, and its members get to participate in the Nanaimo car-sharing coop.

If this has you interested, there’s a potluck every Thursday night and ribbon-cutting on Sept 22nd. Congratulations, everyone! See www.pacificgardens.ca.

LONG LIVE TLC

After a long and difficult spring and summer, when Bill Turner was forced out of his job, The Land Conservancy (TLC) is back in strong hands following a clear mandate from 3,000 members who voted in a 55% majority to elect all of the “Save TLC” candidates to the new Board - Briony Penn, Kenneth Millard, Frances Pugh, Carol Pickup, Elspeth Mcveigh, Cheryl Bryce, Barry Glickman, Alastair Craighead, Magnus Bein, David Merner, and Todd Wong.

The new board has moved quickly to reinstate Bill Turner and Ian Fawcett, set up an Audit Committee, and made a commitment to transparency and greater involvement by staff and members. They have also got an independent legal and accounting opinion confirming that TLC’s debts were not crippling, that they were being paid down at a healthy rate, and that independent audits and Revenue Canada had given TLC a clean bill of financial health. Good relationships are also being built with retiring members of the old board.

So now it’s back to the business that matters of saving land and special places. There are three projects that need your help: The Sooke Potholes needs just $37,000 to clear its debt; Merv Wilkinson’s ecoforestry legacy Wildwood Forest needs $250,000 to finalize its protection; and Keating Farm, in the Cowichan Valley, needs $275,000. To donate, call 250-485-2422 or go to www.conservancy.bc.ca.

THE GREEN SCREEN

Calling all environmental film-makers - MediaNet has created a 3-week eco-doc program especially for you from Sept 12th - Oct 4th, partnering with ekosTV, Open Cinema, the Dogwood Initiative and the Community Arts Council.

You’ll benefit from the mentorship of film-makers such as Richard Boyce and Rick Searle and receive help and advice while you go about making an environmental video, with filmmakers and editors on hand to help. The cost to you is just $150. www.media-net.bc.ca

MOBILE PHONE DANGER

They’re everywhere, and while many want them banned from use while driving, we seem to think they are otherwise OK, and that it’s fine for teenagers to walk around with one glued to the ear. In an adult, the radiation from the phone only penetrates a small area around the ear, but children’s skulls are thinner. In a 10 to 15 year old year old, the radiation permeates 30% of the way into the brain on the side where the phone is held (50% for five year olds).
  
So - does it matter? If you want your children to not suffer from brain cancer, the answer is an enormous YES. In a recent study a team led by Dr. Lennart Hardell, a leading oncologist at Sweden’s University Hospital, found that among people who begin using mobile phones before they turn 20, the risk of brain cancer after one or more years of cell phone use is 5.2 times greater than for the general population. For those who begin after the age of 20, the risk is 1.4 times greater.
   
Just because we’re asleep to the danger, don’t think everyone is. In Britain, the Chief Medical Officers want to see no child under 16 using a cell phone except in emergencies. In France, cell phones have just been banned in all primary schools, and cellphone advertising aimed at children will soon be banned. The campaigners were furious, since they wanted the ban to extend to all 13 year-olds, combined with drastic measures to limit the power and location of transmitter masts. Studies funded by the cellphone industry throw doubt on the concerns, but every independently funded study has found an association between long-term use (over ten years) and brain tumours. Since we only started using cell phones in the late 1990s, this should have every parent alarmed. See www.wiredchild.org.

THE CARDINAL DIVIDE

Q: How do you combine eco-activism, a hammock, and a darned good crime-thriller?

A: You put Victoria local author Stephen Legault on your radar as a hot new crime writer, put on your grey raincoat and dark glasses, and hotfoot it to Munro’s or Bolen Books to buy a copy of his new book, The Cardinal Divide.

His hero Cole Blackwater is a murky and confused environmental activist who - as well as heavy drinking and bar-brawling - loves the grizzly bears and wild open space of Alberta’s Rocky Mountain foothills. When he is invited to help a conservation group save the Cardinal Divide from being strip-mined for its coal, and the mine’s boss is suddenly murdered, he is forced to turn detective while confronting his past.

Stephen is a pioneer in a new genre of crime-writing which has a host of themes to offer. As I dug in, the plot ceased to be fiction, and my pleasure increased. His next book, due out in the spring, is set among the fish farms of the Broughton Archipelago.

Stop the Press: Stephen is doing a public reading of his book on Thur Sept 10. See Green Diary.

WHAT’S CAUSING AUTISM?

Autism is a tragic brain development disorder that causes much distress and suffering to both parents and children. In California, the number of cases being reported increased sevenfold in the 16 years between 1990 and 2006.

Increased reporting and changes in the method of reporting may account for a 1.7-fold increase, but that still leaves a 5-fold increase to be explained. Genes can not change this fast, so there must be something harmful in the environment that is interfering with a baby’s brain development during pregnancy or early childhood.

For a while, people suspected a mercury compound (thimerosal) used in vaccines - but that was phased out by 2001 (though it is still used in some vaccines), and the autism rate is still rising. Attention is now turning to the hundreds of neuro-developmental toxins that mothers and babies are exposed to.

The evidence so far shows that mothers with autism spectrum children were twice as likely to have used pet shampoos containing organophosphates or pyrethrins as mothers of healthy children. (Scientific American, Jan 9, 2009). This should send an urgent signal to stop using the products, and to pet shops and vets to stop selling them.

Another study found a link between autism and phthalates, commonly used in cosmetics. Anti-bacterial soaps could also contain ingredients that harm the brain.

Until the suspect is nailed down and banned, pregnant mothers should avoid all artificial chemicals including things like air fresheners, all pesticides and all cosmetics.

Until we have cleansed our environment of toxic chemicals, we need to treat pregnancy as a time of simple purity, with lots of contact with nature and none with modern chemicals.

THE SEASON OF FOOD

Tis the season of homegrown tomatoes, beans and mellow fruitfulness - and there are courses galore if you want to learn the skills of growing, gathering, bottling, canning, and seed-saving that our grandparents took for granted (see Green Diary).

How many times do we need to say it? Locally grown organic food tastes better, is better for our health, has a lower carbon footprint, and stores more carbon in the soil. We can all make a difference, either by growing the food ourselves or by buying it from farmers markets, pocket markets or chain stores that stock local produce. If you have fruit that needs picking, you can also share your harvest through the Lifecycles Fruit Tree Project.

This is an important area where governments can play a role. This summer, Chicago became the first city in North American to pass a Green Food Resolution specifically linking climate change with our food choices and production systems.

New York was quick to follow with a resolution calling for the immediate implementation of a citywide initiative to establish climate-friendly food policies and programs, financial and technical support, a public awareness campaign, and greater access to local, fresh, healthy food. (See www.bit.ly/1QHTPE).

Hospitals and schools can get involved too. In August, Stanford Hospital and Clinics in Palo Alto, California, announced the launch of a new inpatient menu that features organic, locally grown ingredients from within a 200-mile radius.

In London, UK, a two-year project is aiming to increase the amount of local and/or organic food to 10% of the catering in four London hospitals.

In Rome, 92% of the food served in the city’s schools is now organic, seasonal, and cooked from scratch. When might the Legislature here in Victoria offer its first menu of local, organic food, and its first all-vegetarian menu?

THE WATERSHED SENTINEL

If you enjoy reading EcoNews, you will enjoy our sister publication, The Watershed Sentinel, a magazine published 5 times a year by Delores Broten, with 36 pages full of insight and inspiration. A subscription is just $25 a year from Box 1270, Comox, BC V9M 7Z8, and you can find it online at www.watershedsentinel.ca. Click here to subscribe…

CANADA’S ASBESTOS EXPORTS

This is one of Canada’s most shameful secrets, which successive Liberal and Conservative governments have pushed under the carpet. Thetford Mines, in Quebec, has been producing asbestos for over 100 years. We have banned its use in Canada since it is such a lethal carcinogen, but we still allow - and encourage - its export, with the government giving a big annual cheque to the Crysotile Institute to help them promote its sale overseas.
  
The Institute pretends that it is safe to use, provided people take precautions, but Canada sells 95% of its asbestos to poor countries where protection is non-existent. The CBC did us a huge service recently by showing terrible footage of young asbestos workers in India being covered in asbestos dust - all heading for a painful and early death.
  
The Green Party and the NDP both support a ban; the Conservatives support the industry line; the Liberals, believe it or not, have yet to support a ban, despite MPs like Hedy Fry, Dr. Carolyn Bennett and Dr. Keith Martin calling for one. After years of neglect, there is critical chance to end this awful shame if we act now, in the run-up to a likely federal election.
  
Action: Write to Stephen Harper (pm@pm.gc.ca), Michael Ignatieff (IgnatM@parl.gc.ca), or Gilles Duceppe (DucepG@parl.gc.ca), urging that they end Canada’s shame. There is a form letter here http://bit.ly/RJ1G9, or you can use your own words. For letters, the address is House of Parliament, Ottawa K1A 0A6. For the background details, see www.preventcancernow.ca

Some noteworthy sites that have passed my way:

• 75 Things You Can Compost, But Thought You Couldn’t

• American Clean Energy and Security Act - the full text (all 900 pages)

• B Channel News - a new online local video news collective in Victoria.

• Canning Peaches with Carolyn Herriot

• Do the Green Thing and watch this video

• Earth 2100 - the Final Century of Our Civilization? (TV film)

• Folding Travel Bicycles by Bike Friday

• Global Meat-Free Petition

• Global Poverty Facts and Stats

• Greenland - the Big Picture (photo essay)

• Homegrown - the 21st Century Family Farm (film)

• Jordan Stratford - I Coach Creatives - with Victoria’s (and soon to be Salt Spring’s) Jordan Stratford

• Logicity - a real climate challenge game. Will you survive?

• Network of Spiritual Progressives

• Radiation Rescue, with Victoria’s Kerry Crofton

• Solar Rating - can solar help your house?

• T’Sou-ke First Nation Smart Energy Group

• TckTckTck - an unprecedented global alliance of civil society organizations, trade unions, faith groups
  and people like you—all calling for an fair, ambitious, and binding climate change agreement

• The 100 Foot Diet Challenge - Little Homestead in the city

• The Carbon Quilt - making greenhouse gases visible

• The Climate Challenge: 101 Solutions to Global Warming - Guy Dauncey’s new book, out in November

• The Fountain of Peace Project, for Canadian early and middle schools

• The Little Earth Charter - Eight Principles for a Better World (for children)

• The Truth about Bottled Water (video)

• Trailblazer Business Adventures, with Victoria’s Brent Hammond. “Out of the Grind -- Into the Adventures”

• Writing an Effective Op-Ed piece or Letter to the Editor + Canadian media emails addresses

• Twitter - I am posting on Twitter, so if you want to become a follower, use the “Find People” button to sign up. -Guy Dauncey

To buy ad space in the next EcoNews, or to submit your event to next month's Green Diary, please contact:

Guy Dauncey, Editor
395 Conway Road, Victoria, BC
CANADA V9E 2B9
Tel (250) 881-1304
guydauncey@earthfuture.com

The deadline for the October issue is September 28th.

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