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
![Plastic poses significant threats to both humans and the environment. Let’s uncover the dark side of plastic…Did you know that plastics are made from oil and gas refining by-products? And some of the chemicals used, like benzene and vinyl chloride, are known to cause cancer! 😱 As plastics break down, the chemicals used in their production can leak out and create new compounds. These compounds might be even more harmful than the original ones!The excessive use of plastic, compounded by its unique difficulty to recycle, is causing a major problem; plastic is ending up in our babies, oceans, beaches, and wildlife! 🐬🌳👶Matt Simon, a science journalist at Wired, writes, “So long as we’re churning out single-use plastic . . . we’re trying to drain the tub without turning off the tap. We’ve got to cut [plastics] out.”So what can we do?-Stop using plastic not labeled No. 1 or No. 2.
-Properly recycle No. 1 and No. 2 plastics.
-Bring and use reusable bags while shopping
-Package your food in glass containers rather than plastic.
-Support companies that use biodegradable packagingTo read the whole article: https://bit.ly/3DA1IBpTo learn more about microplastics:https://bit.ly/3WEtBAx](https://littlethingsmatter.ca/wp-content/plugins/instagram-feed-pro/img/placeholder.png)
Plastic poses significant threats to both humans and the environment. Let’s uncover the dark side of plastic…
Did you know that plastics are made from oil and gas refining by-products? And some of the chemicals used, like benzene and vinyl chloride, are known to cause cancer! 😱 As plastics break down, the chemicals used in their production can leak out and create new compounds. These compounds might be even more harmful than the original ones!
The excessive use of plastic, compounded by its unique difficulty to recycle, is causing a major problem; plastic is ending up in our babies, oceans, beaches, and wildlife! 🐬🌳👶
Matt Simon, a science journalist at Wired, writes, “So long as we’re churning out single-use plastic . . . we’re trying to drain the tub without turning off the tap. We’ve got to cut [plastics] out.”
So what can we do?
-Stop using plastic not labeled No. 1 or No. 2.
-Properly recycle No. 1 and No. 2 plastics.
-Bring and use reusable bags while shopping
-Package your food in glass containers rather than plastic.
-Support companies that use biodegradable packaging
To read the whole article: https://bit.ly/3DA1IBp
To learn more about microplastics:
https://bit.ly/3WEtBAx
Over 200 schools, parks, and neighborhoods are now free from toxic pesticides thanks to @NonToxicNeighborhoods, which champions removing harmful chemicals from the spaces where children live, work and play. 🌳🤾🌱
Pesticides can cause childhood leukemia, impair children’s learning abilities, and decrease fertility.
Scientists have found pesticides in humans, including their:
• Blood, urine and hair
• Breast milk
• Cord blood of newborns
• Placenta
Reduce your family’s exposure to pesticides by:
• If possible, choose organic produce 🍓
• Advocate for policies that support organic farmers 🧑🌾
• If your children’s schools and recreational facilities are using pesticides, ask them to stop 🛑
Start a community coalition to remove pesticides from your neighborhoods with the support of @nontoxicneighborhoods 💪
#nontoxicliving 🌳
#healthychildren 🍎
📰inthenews📰
Help keep your kids safe by choosing a backpack without toxic chemicals🎒
In a new study, 13 out of 18 brands of backpacks were found to contain PFAS, or "forever chemicals". PFAS exposure has been related to thyroid disruption and decreased vaccination efficacy.
Levels in six of the backpacks were greater than 100 ppm, indicating that the chemicals were purposely applied to the fabric. PFAS chemicals are frequently used to waterproof garments and outdoor equipment.
Read the article here: https://bit.ly/3Eic6yc
Check out which backpacks are PFAS free here: https://bit.ly/3EhKYiE
#PFAS #healthyliving
✋ You asked… we answered! 👇
What is epigenetics?
How does a cell with the same DNA turn into a brain cell or a kidney cell?
Every cell in our body: brain cells, muscle cells, kidney cells – has the same sequence of DNA. Epigenetics are naturally occurring chemical modifications of DNA that turn on or off a gene without changing the DNA sequence. The genes in our DNA needed for a brain cell are left on and the other ones are turned off. The same thing happens to kidney cells.
Picture a tall office building with many windows full of highly trained technicians. The building is our DNA, the technicians (each trained in the formation of specific cells) represent the normal epigenetic process, and the windows are the genes. As the technicians come and go from their normal work, some lights in the windows are turned on, some are turned off in the process of creating healthy cells.
Can the environment change our DNA?
Toxic chemicals in the environment, like pollutants and heavy metals, can mimic and confuse the natural epigenetic process and incorrectly turn on or off genes. Imagine if the technician’s schedule was disrupted and they came and went at the wrong times. The genetic sequencing would be altered affecting the normal growth of cells.
Why is epigenetics important for children’s health?
We are still learning about how this impacts our health but we do know that some of these abnormal epigenetic changes can increase the risk for cancer or degenerative disease. This is especially important for children because fetal development and infancy are critical phases of developmental processes and fast growth takes place.
For more information on how epigenetics is affected by exposure to toxic chemicals, read here: https://bit.ly/3KGcN59
#Health #nontoxicliving #epigenetics
Researchers from ISCHE and the ABCD Study found reduced cognition and cortical #brain volume of #children who lived in neighborhoods with high #lead exposure, especially poor children.
Small reductions in lead exposure might provide greater benefit to children experiencing more environmental adversity. #littlethingsmatter
Original article here: go.nature.com/2Tmqe30
@childrensla @uscehc
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?