The Obligation To Endure By Rachel Carson

The environment is among some of the top issues to be looked upon by the human population in the world today. Sustainability is a word often times used when speaking of this subject. This is a concept represented in the articles “Sustainability” by Christian R. Weisser and “Attention Whole Foods Shoppers” by Robert Paarlberg. Each author addresses the issue in different ways; one giving examples of this issue and the other clearly defining it. Each author is writing to spread awareness of this issue. As overlapping topics, each article has similarities and differences to the other.

The decisions that Gina McCarthy, the Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, makes have a direct impact on the health of the nation. Gina and her agency ensure the safety and cleanliness of the environment through standard setting, monitoring levels of chemicals and pollutants, and making sure these standards are enforced throughout all levels of industry. One group of industrial chemicals that have been receiving attention recently are the environmental endocrine disrupters (EED), such as DDT and Bispehnol A, that can be found in a wide range of products that Americans use in their everyday life. From household cleaners, food and beverage containers, beauty products, and even children’s toys, these chemicals are widely

Phthalates are used in almost every product, from foods to plastics (Fda, 2014). However, not all the health effects of this have been studied, and the ones that have been done, show that it is harmful. Why is it still around then? This essay will investigate the biochemical effects of phthalates as well as the advantages and disadvantages of its use to answer the following question: Should phthalates be allowed to be used in children’s toys? This paper, will be looking at the uses for phthalates, and then looking at the possible health effects that it may have. Then, it will be determined if the benefits out way the bad, or the other way around.

It would be expected that as out lives increase in comfort and hygiene with the creation of plastic, disposable and sterile things, the decent of life threatening diseases would follow. This has been the case with some diseases, but not all. In the last 45 years, there have been increases in childhood brain cancer, Asthma, Leukemia in children, early onset puberty, ADHD, genital deformities in baby boys and life-threatening birth defects. While genetics may be able to account for some of that increase, the rise has been too high in such a short amount of time for there to be no other external factors. The biggest culprit? Chemicals. In the last 50 years, there has been a 2000% increase in the use of chemicals in industry; most of these chemicals have never been tested for safety. One of these chemicals is Bisphenol A (or BPA), to which hundreds if not thousands of studies have linked to some of these conditions and more, which is a HUGE problem. Thanks to all these studies, we know that BPA is detrimental to our health, and so in order to benefit the long-term health of students and faculty, Wayne State should ban BPA products sold on campus, and replaced them with safer alternatives.

Every year in the United States four million babies are born, but it’s very unlikely that the parents know that many baby items contain BPA. Popular early baby items such as baby bottles, toys, and sippy cups are made using BPA. The early exposure to BPA many have long-term effects on the baby's life such

Cornelia Dum's website (2013) lists several activists that have put pressure on the industry to change its practices. The David Suzuki Foundation, for example, published an 2010 report providing an overview of toxic chemical products in commonly used cosmetics. Many of these are also proven to be harmful to the environment. The purpose of the report is to stimulate better regulation and more accurate labeling of cosmetics.

About eleven states have done this from containers, baby bottles, and even receipt paper. The reason for this is that it can hinder the development of children and it can harm pregnant women. There are toys that have BPA and in the peer review journal “International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health” items such as toys and baby bottles can have a negative effect on the development and behavior. In an animal study the researchers noticed that after being around BPA the animals had “alterations in anxiety-like behavior and general motor activity.” There was another study that was done on children in Spain from the article of the peer review journal called “Exposure to Bisphenol A and Behavior in School-Age Children.” In this study they wanted to see how BPA effects children from being in the womb until the child was of the age 9 or 10. What they found out is that some children had trouble with their behavior. They found that the young boys had more internal problems such as anxiety and

Whereas sustainability is defined by the environment, economy, society and the fairness between inter and intra-generations are all interlinked and have impacts on each other. So there is a need for provision when we are unsure of the impacts of decisions. Sustainability could also be defined as the

The chief concern that motivates the authors of the article is the lack of documentation and clarity regarding the toxic level flame retardant chemicals. The factors that raise the levels of specific chemicals to scientific, social movement, and regulatory scrutiny and concern are not well defined. The concern is serious as it the chemicals pose a health threat. The authors advance several theoretical arguments regarding the issue. First, the factors that cause the levels of the chemicals to rise to scientific, social movement, and regulatory concern are poorly documented. Second, the scientists have no clarity on how their research impact the policies of the country of operation.

The word ‘sustainability’ has always inspired many ongoing debates among leaders, philosophers, researchers etc. These days it has become more like a stamp of approval.

Sustainability is a simple term with a fairly simple definition, a way of doing something that can be continued rather than having a finite limit. However, the much more difficult part is defining what things are actually meet the definition of sustainable. As a concept, we all understand it, but the great challenge is figuring out what it will look like in the real world and, perhaps even more difficult, putting the idea into

Rabin begins their article by discussing certain child’s toys that were banned due to harmful chemicals, and then states that these chemicals still exist today in the food we eat! The chemicals known as phthalates have been known to particularly affect the male sex. To be specific, testosterone can be affected, as well as a fetus in a mother who consumes these products. Obviously,

It has been complicate issue what the US government approach regarding the use of chemicals. Reports revealed concern chemicals are an absolutely necessary component of our daily lives. But some chemicals, known as endocrine disruptors, can have harmful effects on the body's endocrine (hormone) system. According to researcher’s endocrine disruptors may be existence in many everyday products including plastic bottles, metal food cans, detergents, flame retardants, food, toys, cosmetics, and pesticides. Medical finding shows that endocrine disruptors are chemicals use in plastic product that may interfere with the body's endocrine system and produce adverse developmental, reproductive, neurological, and immune effects in both humans and wildlife

Sustainability is a word that can be defined in many different ways, according to the world view of an individual. I personally define sustainability as a term that allows an individual or a population to use natural resources without degrading their ability to regenerate to provide for the future generation. The term itself is too problematic because it does justify the limit of consumption.

“increasingly, children’s exposures to chemicals in the environment are understood to contribute to the causation and exacerbation of certain chronic, disabling diseases in children including asthma, cancer, birth defects, and neurobehavioral dysfunction,” (Landrigan). This displays that every child is exposed to chemicals in the environment and this causes them to have or develop many problems. This is certainly a safety hazard and should be stopped as soon as possible.