Bad for the environment, what about us?
Something doesn’t stack up. The health of the environment is critical, yes! But what about human health?
A couple of summers ago I came across this sign in Bindarri National Park in New South Wales, Australia. It was part of a welcome sign with a sub-heading “How can you help care for this place?” There was a list of bullet points outlining some steps, many of them standard, obvious in fact, such as :
“Take your rubbish home with you and protect our wildlife from scavenging behaviour”
This makes sense and aligns with what we have been taught (in New Zealand anyway). I was raised within the “be a tidy kiwi” campaign introduced in the 1960s, aimed at entrenching into society, the importance of keeping our environment free of rubbish.
The first bullet point on this sign however was novel don’t you think? here it is:
“Any sunscreen, perfume, insect repellent and other chemical pollutants will contaminate the water. The animals that live in this river are sensitive to these so please minimise use if you intend to swim”
This was obvious to me because I had previously come to the realisation that I am actually a very sensitive person - especially sensitive* to artificial chemicals and pollution, amongst many things. I therefore endeavour not to put chemical pollutants on my body. But I felt it might not be obvious to a large proportion of the population out there who buy and wear sunscreen, perfume, insect repellent and the like without actual consideration to the impact on their own being. Let alone pondering the impact on their natural environment.
So I was not surprised about the content of this sign, but I was actually pleasantly surprised to see this kind of information on a large sign in a ‘public’ place. I think you will have to agree, we don’t tend to see these types of phrases on signs or billboards for the general public to contemplate when out and about (i.e. not in the bush). I wish there was…
I acknowledge that skin cancer (particularly Melanoma) is a disease that affects far too many people in this part of the world (Australia and New Zealand).Numerous organisations are out there raising awareness of this modern-world problem**. They promote methods to reduce the risk of developing sun cancer and using sunscreen is one of them. My qualm with it now is the lack of education around the risks of wearing it and the possible adverse effects on the humans and the precious environment of this planet.
There are a number of chemicals that have already been determined to have adverse affects on both human and environmental health. A helpful starting point for information can be found at Low Tox Life and at SarahWilson.com. Warning: this will cause you to fall into a pretty large rabbit warren leaving you with many open tabs to explore, but it is important to inform yourself, especially as our society is currently not helping us in this regard.
There is a huge amount of information out there and many companies are now producing healthier products in response, encouraged by those who are already becoming wise to this matter. However since seeing this sign;
“How can you help care for this place?”
and the aforementioned first bullet point;
“Any sunscreen, perfume, insect repellent and other chemical pollutants will contaminate the water. The animals that live in this river are sensitive to these so please minimise use if you intend to swim”.
I can’t help but wonder would a similar statement on signs positioned in public places, schools, institutions, sports clubs, even amongst cancer society campaigns, help empower the general population to actually think for themselves, ask more questions, to want to understand what is actually best for them and the world they live in?
*Being a Sensitive Person is a thing. My story is complex, and has impacted my life so much so that I am incredibly intrigued and hungry for wisdom about ‘all-things-sensitivity’ – yes a ginormous topic!
A read recommendation: The Highly Sensitive Person by Elaine Aaron.
**Humans have been thriving on this same planet for a very long time without man made chemicals. Evolution is complex and historically our DNA has adjusted to suit the local environmental conditions. For example there is a clear reason why different ethnic groups have varying pigmentation of their skin based on the geological location of their ancestral origin. We actually all know this don’t we but I felt the need to state the obvious in this context.