Air Pollution
91% of the world’s population breathes polluted air! Yet over one-third of countries have no laws protecting outdoor air quality! The World Health Organization (WHO) released updated air quality guidelines and targets for common air pollutants. WHO’s new guidelines aim to push governments to reduce pollution levels, protect the health of children and adults, and prevent climate change.
Pesticides
Pesticides are chemicals designed to kill, repel or control unwanted pests, such as insects (insecticides), weeds (herbicides), fungus (fungicides), harmful to cultivated plants, humans and animals.
Only a small amount of the pesticides actually reach their target; most of it leaches in the environment, contaminating the air, water, soil, and our food. Persistent pesticides, like DDT, can still be detected in humans 50 years after they were banned. Scientists have found pesticides in:
• Blood, urine and hair
• Breast milk
• Cord blood of newborns
• Placenta
No Safe Level
No safe blood lead level in children has been identified. Even low levels of lead in blood have been shown to negatively affect a child’s intelligence, ability to pay attention, and academic achievement. While the effects of lead poisoning may be permanent, if caught early, there are things parents can do to prevent further exposure and reduce damage to their child’s health.
PFAS: Forever Chemicals
Hundreds of everyday products are made with highly toxic fluorinated chemicals called PFAS. They build up in our bodies and never break down in the environment. PFAS are universally detected in pregnant women and cross the placenta. Very small doses of PFAS have been linked to cancer, reproductive and immune system harm, and other diseases.
Microplastics and Babies
Microplastics are tiny fragments of plastic, often too small for the eye to see. And they’re everywhere.
A new study finds that they are released in huge quantities from plastic baby bottles when they’re used to prepare formula. The study suggests that bottle-fed infants around the world may be consuming more than 1.5 million particles of microplastics per day.
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What We Do
Little Things Matter raises awareness of the growing environmental risks we face as a global community by translating science into free, easy-to-understand and actionable materials. Our goal is to spread awareness about the effects of toxic chemicals on the health of our population and planet.
We believe that every child has the right to a healthy environment.
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Follow Our Footsteps
A new study found that one in every five Norwegian children had harmful levels of PFAS in their blood serum. Younger children had higher levels than older children.
PFAS chemicals–often called “forever chemicals” because they can persist for decades–were detected in every child. PFAS chemicals, which contain a strong carbon-fluorine bond that allows them to accumulate over time in the environment and in our bodies, are used in many consumer and industrial products.
Ways to reduce exposure:
· Be aware of packaging for foods that contain grease-repellent
· Bring your own to-go containers
· Avoid stain-resistant coatings on furniture
· Support clean water action!!
Read the full study here: https://bit.ly/44z763B
#nontoxicliving #healthyliving #PFASexposure
#LittleFact 5: The Impact of Air Pollution on Children`s Health
Every day, over 90% of children breathe polluted air. Learn more about the impacts of #airpollution on children`s health and development, and what you can do to lower your family`s exposure: littlethingsmatter.ca/air-pollution
This past week, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has stirred up controversy by suggesting that cod liver oil, rich in vitamin A, could play a role in treating measles. The reaction? A collective gasp from health experts, followed by the kind of eye-rolling usually reserved for flat-earthers. But before we dismiss this idea as just another relic from grandma’s medicine cabinet, we should take a step back and consider the historical context.
💫 #LittleChangesBigImpact 💫⠀
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Researchers @columbiapublichealth found that reducing toxic chemicals produced by burning fossil fuels improved cognitive abilities of young children.⠀
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To test whether closing a power plant improved children’s brain function, the researchers examined biomarkers of pollution in a group of children born before and after the plant closed ⠀
After the power plant closed, they found fewer harmful particles in the air and less DNA damage. Children born after the power plant closed also had higher cognitive scores. ⠀
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“Closing this coal-burning power plant was directly beneficial to the health and future well-being of children”, says Frederica Perera, professor of Environmental Health Sciences at the @columbiapublichealth, who co-led the study with Dr. Deliang Tang.⠀
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According to the @U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over 3,400 power plants in the U.S. rely on fossil fuels today.⠀
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Take action by: ⠀
✍️ Writing your local representative ⠀
🗨️ Discussing the negative effects of burning fossil fuels with your friends and family⠀
📲 Sharing this post ⠀
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#childhealth #toxinfree #brainhealth #fridaysforfuture⠀
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Read the study here: https://bit.ly/3CghO3x
#inthenews📰
Makeup and cosmetics commonly contain toxic metals chemicals, hormone disruptors, and allergens. Yet, 79% of American children younger than 13 years use beauty items like glitter, lip gloss, hair products and face paint, according to a new study by @ccceh_columbia
All children are potentially exposed to toxic substances in beauty products- based on other research on beauty products. Parents reported that one-third of children had ingested makeup products in the last year, often through hand-to-mouth behaviors.
“In addition to exposure through the skin, children can unintentionally ingest makeup chemicals through hand-to-mouth activity,” says study senior author Julie Herbstman, PhD, professor of environmental health sciences and director of the Columbia Center for Children’s Environmental Health at @columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.
Read the article here: https://bit.ly/3TerTVt
Read the press release: https://bit.ly/3l7QvlW
#personalcareproducts #lipstick #toxic #HealthyLiving @earthjustice
Air pollution isn’t made up of one thing – it’s a cocktail of #toxic gases and particles. These minuscule particles are comprised of a complex mixture of carcinogens, sulfates, nitrates, elemental carbon and toxic metals, like lead and arsenic.
The key to protecting people from the deadly impact of airborne particles is to produce less #airpollution. We need to consume less, promote cleaner technologies, regulate sources of pollution and redesign our cities. If every city around the world took these steps, we would be closer to fulfilling our right to a healthy environment.
Watch the full 4-minute LTM video here: https://bit.ly/39x1fSn
Meet Teresa Vincente
Teresa Vicente led a historic, grassroots campaign to save the Mar Menor ecosystem—Europe’s largest saltwater lagoon—from collapse, resulting in the passage of a new law in September 2022 granting the lagoon unique legal rights. Considered to be the most important saltwater coastal lagoon in the western Mediterranean, the once pristine waters of the Mar Menor had become polluted due to mining, rampant development of urban and tourist infrastructure, and, in recent years, intensive agriculture and livestock farming.
Worried by the slow death of the Mar Menor, Teresa was moved to action after a mass fish die-off in 2019. She became convinced that the only way to give the lagoon a chance of survival was to grant it legal personhood and recognize its rights. “Rights of nature” has been proposed and debated for years, but the theory did not gain much traction until recently: Ecosystems in Latin America and New Zealand had been granted such legal rights but none in Europe. Despite being told by experts that it was impossible, Teresa pushed ahead. Courtesy of the Goldman Environmental Prize
The Toxic Chemicals Line Up
Phthalates
Phthalates
EDCs
EDCs
Pesticides
Pesticides
Lead
Lead
Air Pollution
Air Pollution
PFAS
PFAS
Fluoride
Fluoride
Microplastics
Microplastics
PFAS
PFAS
little Steps big impact
Sometimes the events that alter history and have enduring impact happen behind the scenes or without much fanfare. Little Steps, Big Impact takes a moment to highlight those significant events and celebrate their contributions.
Shifting to phthalate-free products
can quickly lower toxin levels
A new study shows that young women who use conventional foundation, blush, and mascara have higher levels of phthalates in their blood. Phthalates are hormone-disruptors, and can mimic or block hormones from properly signaling in the body, disrupting important reproductive and neurological systems.
When the young women in the study stopped using
products with phthalates, the level of some chemicals
in their blood lowered up to 45% after three days.
To reduce the amount of phthalates in your blood, swap personal care products for those without phthalates, parabens, or PFAS (or just stop using them). Products without these chemicals can be found by searching EWG’s SkinDeep database.
little videos that capture the big picture
Expand your mind and understanding of how environmental toxic chemicals affect all of us with these short educational videos.
The Deadly Impact of Airborne Particles: air pollution is all around us, what can we do?