July 2005 | Choice News

Nanotech Protest

It was the peak Sunday afternoon shopping time on Michigan Avenue when more than a dozen people in front of the Eddie Bauer flagship store stripped down to thong underwear and slogans painted across their bodies.

Topless Humans Organized for Natural Genetics (T.H.O.N.G.) is a local activist group that uses nudity to make its point that “the human body is being exposed to unstable and unpredictable” new technologies through bio- and nanotechnology that’s being used in a growing number of products showing up everywhere from grocery store shelves to clothing outlets.

T.H.O.N.G. targeted the Eddie Bauer flagship store because it is upset with the retail clothing store’s use of “untested nano fibers” in its new Nanotex clothing line, according to Jerry Boyle, the group’s Chicago attorney. “We are not confident the regulatory agencies are taking proper measures to protect public health and the environment.”

A New York-based spokeswoman for Eddie Bauer disputed claims that the clothing was unsafe. “It meets environmental standards … [and] U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission standards,” said Elizabeth Borrelli, director of public affairs and corporate social responsibility for the company. “Eddie Bauer takes the health of our customers very seriously.”

Nanotech supporters say there are many potential benefits to the infinitely small man-made particles that are expected to revolutionize every industry including medicine, warfare and agriculture. But the same properties that make nanoparticles so promising in the lab, also raise questions about the toxicity of substances when they are reduced to the nanoscale.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, the ETC group, an Ottawa-based think tank that monitors technological developments, has scheduled seminars about the potential negative impact of nanotechnology. The July 6 through 8 workshops in Geneva will coincide with the G8 Summit, a meeting of the world’s largest economic powers. Nanotech is among the agenda topics to be discussed by the G8 leaders who are convening in Edinburgh, Scotland for their annual meeting.

ETC has called for a moratorium on the use of man-made nanoparticles in all commercial products until toxicologists have established if the particles have negative health impacts and governments adopt regulatory policies.

“It is ridiculous that we do not have sufficient research to regulate nanotechnology when the U.S. government spends close to $1 billion in tax dollars each year to encourage research and development,” said Hope Shand, research director for the ETC group. “What’s worse, the government is doing so without any public debate.”

There are no nana-specific labeling requirements or regulations for more than 475 commercially available products, including cosmetics, tennis balls and odor-eating socks that already contain the infinitely tiny man-made particles, she said.

“It is true that we don’t have a whole lot of information on how to proceed,” said Vivian Weil, director of Illinois’ Institute of Technology for the Study of Ethics in the Professions, pointing out that that nanotechnology is in the early stages of commercial development. “But the fact is, if the public isn’t informed and involved in the evolution of this new technology there could really be trouble down the line.”

Visit www.etcgroup.org for the ETC report, “Nanotech’s Second Nature Patent.”

— Erin Meyer

Brazilian Coop Wins Major Victory

AFTER 14 YEARS of struggle, the Amazoncoop has secured protection of Parakana Indians land deep inside the rainforests of Brazil. Rapid expansion of soybean plantations in the Amazon has increased the pressure on Indian reserves by land speculators. But the larger challenge of securing the future of the entire reserve in which the Parakana and other indigenous peoples reside still remains.

The Amazoncoop is one of several grass roots initiatives working to preserve the forest. Formed by eight tribes, its land area is larger than New Jersey. The co-op has developed a number of small-scale business activities, including a Brazil nut factory and an Internet service, which generate part of the income needed to fund health and education.

Its Green Pharmacy project produces more than 60 percent of all the medication used by the tribes. Plants are cultivated on the co-op’s medicinal plant farm and the products given to the tribes at no cost.

Because of the Brazilian government’s lack of support, the Indians have relied on donations to fund the legal costs of obtaining rights to their land.

The Amazon is the largest remaining rainforest in the world. It is home to more than 50 percent of the world’s plant and animal species and contains one of the largest sources of fresh water in the world. Many Indian tribes live there.

The current government model for the economic development of the Amazon places Indian tribes and the pristine forest in direct conflict with cattle ranching, logging, soybean farming, mining and exploration for oil. Such development has had a devastating impact on tribal life and is a significant contributor to climate change. At the current rate of destruction, it is estimated that most of the rainforest will disappear within 25 years.

— Conscious Choice is supporting the Amazon Rainforest Foundation with an appeal to our readers to help raise urgently needed funds. Visit www.amazoncoop.org to get involved.

Get Rotten this July

COMPOSTING CAN allow you to turn your kitchen garbage into a garden treasure. And the city of Chicago wants to help you recycle all those vegetable peels, tea bags, citrus rinds and coffee grounds.

As part of the Chicago Home Composting Program the city is offering 80-gallon, rodent-resistant compost bins, which normally run around $75, for under $30. The one-day sale will be from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., July, 23, at Garfield Park Conservatory, 300 N. Central Park Ave. For more information visit www.garfieldconservatory.org or call the “Rotline” at 773-265-9587.

— CC

State’s No Smoking Measure Passes

WHEN FORMER San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown signed a law banning tobacco smoking from public places, he set in motion a trend that swept the country from Eugene, Ore., to New York.

But some Illinois residents who were ready for fresh air indoors ended up choking — ironically — on the Indoor Clean Air Act, which prevented communities from passing anti-smoking laws stronger than the state’s. Instead, they were forced to designate portions of public spaces, including bars and restaurants, as “smoking.”

Nineteen communities, including north suburban Wilmette, which already had fierce anti-smoking legislation on its books, were exempt, but the rest of Illinois remained an icon for the Marlboro Man.

Recently, though, Illinois lawmakers passed House Bill 672, which would amend the Indoor Clean Air Act to undo the restriction, and Illinois smokers are anxiously wondering how long they’ll be able to flick their Bics in public.

“This law doesn’t make Illinois smoke free,” said Rhonda Williams, Deputy Executive Director of Programs and Policy for the American Lung Association of Metropolitan Chicago, “Rather, it gives the option to municipalities to go smoke free.”

And while some Illinois residents are eagerly awaiting the day when they can go to their favorite restaurants without the pall of second-hand smoke hanging over them, the law was fashioned less for the diners and more for the workers at those restaurants. While offices have long been free of second-hand smoke, workers at restaurants and bars have not been able to breathe as easily as their white-collar counterparts. “This is a key public health issue,” said Williams. “All workers should be protected. The standards shouldn’t be different.”

In New York, which famously went smoke-free in 2003, predictions by restaurant owners that a ban on cigarettes would kill their businesses just went up in smoke. “It’s really a boon for the city,” said Williams. “Studies indicate no decline in business among restaurants and bars.”

— Geoffrey Wallin