Robyn O'Brien | The New Food Economy | TEDxFrontRange2014
Published on Jun 19, 2014

http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/mmaffini/_chemical_name_cas.html

Thyroid and kids' brains: Using modern tools to screen food chemicals

Posted June 17, 2014
Maricel V. Maffini, PhD’s Blog

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The American Academy of Pediatrics’ Council on Environmental Health has just released a policy statement noting that “Adequate thyroid hormone production is critical in pregnant women and neonates because thyroid hormone is required for brain development in children.” Studies show that children born to mothers with low thyroid hormone have slow cognitive responses and impaired mental and motor development. The poster chemical for toxic effects on the thyroid is perchlorate. Perchlorate interferes with thyroid hormone function, likely causing neurodevelopmental problems in children. Even though the science behind perchlorate’s adverse effects on the thyroid is indisputable, and its mechanism is well understood, FDA approved its use as an anti-static agent in food containers in 2005. Want your confectionary sugar not to stick to the bag? Perchlorate does the trick!

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Previously, we showed that there are 24 chemicals used as food ingredients that FDA identified in its own database as having adverse effects in the thyroid gland. But we know that less than 22% of the thousands of chemicals used as food ingredients have relevant toxicology information in FDA’s database. One alternative to fill in this massive data gap is to screen chemicals using new technologies that do not involve traditional animal testing, such as those developed under the Tox21 program — a multi-agency (including FDA) effort to quickly and efficiently identify potential toxic effects for thousands of chemicals that lack information.

To date, Tox21 has run nearly 8,000 chemicals (including chemicals in food and consumer products and drugs) through hundreds of tests (including interactions with the thyroid receptor), and has made these data available to the public. Nearly 1,800 chemicals reacted with the thyroid hormone receptor, and we checked to see how many of these chemicals were allowed in food and whether they were inhibiting or activating the receptor.

We identified 259 chemicals allowed in food or food packaging that the Tox21 data indicate were active in the thyroid receptor assays (based on data published in PubChem here and here):

26% (66 chemicals) were direct additives or food ingredients (these are chemicals added on purpose to the food and commonly listed as ingredients);

41% (107 chemicals) indirect additives or food contact substances (these are chemicals that can get into the food through the manufacturing process or leaching from packaging material); and

33% (86 chemicals) were pesticides used in agriculture that can end up in our food (more on food contact substances and pesticides on follow-up blogs - stay tuned!).

Of the 66 food ingredients that were active, 59 inhibit and 7 activate the function of the thyroid receptor. Fifty-nine percent (39 chemicals) of these ingredients were flavors (See the full list below). Four of the 66 food ingredients that were inhibitors of the thyroid receptor —ethoxyquin, FD&C Red No. 3, heptyl paraben and vitamin D3 — were already identified by FDA as having an adverse effect on the thyroid in animal studies. Some of you might be thinking, “Wait, isn’t vitamin D3 good for me?” Yes, in the right amount it can be good for you. Vitamins, like many other natural and man-made chemicals may have a range of safe doses outside which too much may cause harmful effects. Toxicology helps us identify the highest amount of an additive that can be consumed without causing adverse effects.

It’s worrisome that at any given time, a pregnant woman or a child may be assaulted by a slew of chemicals, all affecting their thyroid system. Each individual chemical may or may not have a harmful effect, but the real concern is that we know next to nothing about the cumulative effect of how being exposed to multiple chemicals can impact thyroid hormones and their ability to support the healthy development of a child’s brain. A cumulative effect occurs when two or more chemicals affect the same tissue, organ or system in the body.

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http://www.amazon.com/The-First-Years-IAlert-Black/dp/B00A8EZQ0M

Customer Questions & Answers

Q: How does the device connect to the internet to send alerts? If it's connected to the bluetooth on my phone and I leave the car, doesn't do much good?
A: We actually bought it to evaluate the technology (http://smallonessafety.com/our-story.html). We were developing our own technology (SOS, coming July) to remind you that you have a baby in the car: http://smallonessafety.com. Consumer Reports didn't have much good to say about the iAlert. I think they are going to stop making the iAlert. Bottom line: it doesn't work.

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2013/09/the-first-years-true-fit-ialert-car-seat/index.htm

Published: September 19, 2013 09:00 AM
by Michelle Tsai

An average of 38 children die each year from heat stroke after being left in a hot car. It is a tragic mistake that can happen to anyone, particularly when someone alters his normal schedule. Despite public awareness campaigns, it has been difficult to prevent these horrible accidents, but an innovative new child safety seat may help.

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Our preliminary findings are consistent with a study previously done by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia that found similar technologies unreliable. What’s more, the True Fit IAlert currently retails for a $299.99, exclusively through Amazon. That’s between $70 and $100 more than the standard True Fit C680 without the IAlert technology. A big price difference for a feature we’re not so sure of.

Rather than go the high-tech route, here are a few no-cost ways to remember your precious cargo in the back seat.

* Simple rule: Never leave a child unattended in a vehicle, not even for a minute. In addition to being dangerous, it is against the law in many states.

* Check the car to make sure that all occupants leave the vehicle or are carried out when unloading. If you lock the door with a key, rather than with a remote, it would force that one last look in the car before leaving it.

* Always lock your car and keep keys and remotes away from children.

* To serve as a reminder, keep a stuffed animal on the front passenger seat when carrying a child in the backseat.

* Place something in the backseat that you would need, such as a purse, briefcase or cell phone, when transporting kids.

* Have a plan that your childcare provider will call you if your child does not show up as scheduled.

https://www.facebook.com/gaslandmovie/posts/654000421295199



Stanford Professor Mark Jacobson at Pathways to 100% Renewable Energy Conference
April 13, 2013

11:30 PM - 13 Jun 14
VICE News @vicenews
On #VICEonHBO, we check out Camden NJ cops' surveillance tools & Sudan's humanitarian crisis: http://bit.ly/1jqpNst pic.twitter.com/EFcOenrbWY

VICE on HBO Debriefs: Surveillance City
By VICE News
June 14, 2014 | 7:40 am

Vikram Gandhi went to Camden, New Jersey, where the police are using cutting-edge surveillance technology to monitor the streets. This is his debrief from Season 2 Episode 12 of VICE on HBO.

http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/entertainment/television/WATCH-Vice-HBO-finale-features-Camdens-crime-problem.html

WATCH: ‘Vice’ HBO finale features Camden’s crime problem

Nick Vadala, Philly.com
POSTED: MONDAY, JUNE 9, 2014, 11:49 AM

Last December, Rolling Stone’s Matt Taibbi penned “Apocalypse, New Jersey,” detailing Camden’s fall into crime and poverty and how police are surveilling the problem. Since then, it’s been denounced as “poverty porn” and held up as a fiery screed on our police sector’s growing ills. Now, Vice is getting in on the action.

The crew for Vice’s popular half-hour HBO news show made their way to Camden in February on the heels of Taibbi’s article to get a closer look at the story. Their take will air next week for the Show’s finale, a typical dual-topic episode that will fit Camden’s crime and surveillance problem next to the forgotten genocide in Darfur.

As the story goes, Camden police are essentially turning the city into a surveillance state in order to keep up with the high crime rate they’re faced with on a daily basis. The result, it seems, has been the removal of privacy from Camden’s residents in the name of better policing through technology.

Judging from the trailer, it seems to be that way. See for yourself below (Season 2 Episode 12 Preview): http://www.hbo.com/video/video.html?autoplay=true&vid=1380744#/

http://www.aansneurosurgeon.org/2014/06/11/risks-to-babys-brain-development-from-wireless-radiation/

June 11, 2014 9:00 — 0 Comments

Risks to Baby’s Brain Development from Wireless Radiation

A national public-awareness campaign, called the BabySafe Project is being coordinated to urge pregnant women to limit their exposure to wireless radiation from cell phones and other devices by taking simple steps to protect themselves and their unborn children. The effort is based on research that links exposure to wireless radiation from cell phones during pregnancy to neurological and behavioral problems in children. Although more research is needed to determine how the developing brain is affected, evidence suggests potential harm.

Researchers recommend taking simple precautions, such as avoiding carrying your cell phone on your body or avoiding prolonged or direct exposure to nearby Wi-Fi routers. To read more about this study, click here.

This article was written by AANS Neurosurgeon on Wednesday, June 11th, 2014 at 9:00 am.

Joel Moskowitz ?@berkeleyprc 11h
Amer Assn Neurological Surgeons: Risks to Baby’s Brain Development from Wireless Radiation http://bit.ly/1linLPu

Let's Cook! with Richard Sherman and the Seattle Seahawks



Published on May 29, 2014

Richard Sherman of the Super Bowl Champion Seattle Seahawks goes into the White House Kitchen to cook up something special.
http://www.letsmove.gov

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014818197

Cell phone study - #KnowYourExposure

Source: Ernie Anastos/ Dari Alexander/ Stacy Delikat - Fox5News

A study on pregnancy, cell phone radiation and behavioral changes in mice was released. (No additional text)

EXCELLENT INTRO VIDEO. Watch it go viral.

Read more: http://www.myfoxny.com/Clip/10229270/knowyourexposure