beautiful monsters

recycled bl*g

Beautiful people surround me. The lovely Jessica and Hinemoana are rehearsing down in the basement, and amazing threads of music are wafting up through the floor. Tommy is writing a new song, and he’s recorded it on our answering machine so he can remember the melody. And we’re all full of waffles and cherries and chocolate - and isn’t life wonderful during such moments?

Writing my list of 100 things has made me really sentimental. I’ve been leafing through old photos, writing to faraway friends, I’ve even dragged out Midnight Oil, and Plankeye, the Christian rock band who came to visit me in the first aid tent. Hmmmm... There’s a thin line between sentimentality and pathetic tragicness, and listening to Christian rock music may be crossing that line...

Speaking of 100 things, for those of you who are busy writing your own lists, there are some others here and here to inspire you!

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Warning – regurgitation ahead. I can’t think of anything interesting to say today so I’m recycling old columns that I wrote for Salient (how tragic). I’m also feeling bad, because I couldn’t get the mould off our bathroom ceiling with natural products, so in desperation (the landlord was coming round for an inspection) I resorted to nasty chemicals. To atone for my sins I am going to recite my spiel about just how nasty cleaning chemicals are – this will make me feel guilty and hypocritical, but hopefully I’ll never do it again, and you’ll learn something from this rant. Some of the ideas are borrowed from Professor Jane Plant’s book "Your Life in Your Hands," which I recommend to all women. And guys too for that matter.

Societal Chemical Obsession Disorder

Before I moved into my flat, the previous tenants were sent back because they hadn’t left the place "clean." When I arrived and turned on the oven, I could tell it was clean, because the kitchen filled up with billowing white smoke. Oven cleaner - burning Sodium Hydroxide. Yeah, that’s got to be good for you.

Cleaning. It’s necessary isn’t it? There are germs and bacteria that we need to destroy so we don’t get sick, right? Well, not exactly. There are bacteria crawling over your skin and inside your body... but don’t worry, some of them are beneficial. You actually need them to stay healthy!

I think we’ve taken cleanliness a bit too far. Take "air fresheners" for example. They don’t make the air fresh; they interfere with your ability to smell by coating your nasal passages with an oil film, or by releasing a nerve-deadening agent. Air fresheners contain chemicals that can burn skin and cause convulsions or circulatory collapse.

People aren’t dropping down dead as soon as they open a bottle of detergent. That doesn’t mean the stuff isn’t making them sick. Have you heard of anyone dying of cancer recently? Do you now what caused the disease? The effect of a chemical depends on the dose, length of exposure, and how many other chemicals you’re exposed to at the same time. Your lungs can cope with a few chemicals now and then. But if you constantly bombard them with fumes from cleaners, combined with cigarette smoke and exhaust fumes, your lungs are likely to go on strike!

So how did we come to understand "cleaning" as filling our homes with toxic chemicals? My theory is that someone realised they could convince people germs were dirty, and sell them chemicals to kill the germs. Then someone found out that if people started getting sick, they could make money by selling them drugs, instead of minimising hazards and teaching people to be healthy. Someone else started a lobby group, to ensure the public wouldn’t find out about the dangers they were exposing themselves to. Then the media discovered they could sell simplistic, unscientific or conflicting information...

There, you see? It’s all capitalism’s fault! Well, yes... and no. I’d like to put up my hand and accept part of the responsibility. I didn’t give my consent for you to be exposed to toxic chemicals: but I failed to ask questions, question answers, and make changes. I’m sorry. But the story doesn’t have to end there...

It’s impossible to avoid all toxic chemicals – but you can reduce your personal risk. Empower yourself! Research harmful substances and avoid buying them. Learn to use alternatives. Did you know baking soda and water makes a great oven cleaner? Lemon juice, vinegar and natural soap make an all-purpose cleaner. Rosemary, manuka and lavender oils are antibacterial.

After the oven incident I went to see a doctor, who tried to prescribe me drugs to treat the side effects of other drugs which I was taking to treat symptoms that were probably caused by inhaling burning oven cleaner... But that’s another story.

Posted by Fionnaigh at January 30, 2003 05:03 PM