Toxic Chemicals Come Alive at The Toxies!
What if the nastiest chemicals found in your cleaning products, makeup, and even pesticide-laden foods came to life? Well, they do, in this year’s 4th Annual Toxies web series. Not only do the most loathsome chemicals that wreak the most havoc come alive as wacky characters before your eyes, a journalist is there to find out more about them and give you the details! The Toxies: Exposed is a satirical 7-part web series that follows a daring investigative journalist as he chases down toxic chemicals and pollutants, raising awareness about toxins in our homes, schools, workplaces and communities.
Failed chemical policies are leading to unwanted chemicals in our bodies, and every week, studies link chemicals in our environment to rising rates of disease. That’s why the Center for Environmental Health (CEH) is promoting a fun and informative campaign to protect communities from toxic chemicals and pollutants. We are a part of Californians for a Healthy and Green Economy (CHANGE)—a coalition of environmental health, policy, labor, environmental justice, interfaith, and other organizations who are working to create a better system for regulating toxic chemicals in California.
“Bad actor” is a term scientists use to describe these chemicals that have dangerous hazardous traits, meaning that no matter how or where they are used, they are likely to cause trouble. In past years, The Toxies has put a face on “bad actor” chemicals by simulating an awards ceremony for the worst toxic characters. This year, a new web series called The Toxies: Exposed will further this mission. As a popular education and social media-driven educational tool, this web series is helping elevate the conversation around these toxics, mobilizing people to take action in their own lives, workplaces, and calling on representatives to fix our laws so that our health is protected.
Following the viewing, a discussion will be held with scientists, advocates, and community members in order to raise awareness about the real life battle to retire these dangerous chemicals and pollutants. If you live in the Los Angeles area, you’re invited to join us at the screening event on August 15th at the Downtown Independent Theater in Los Angeles. If you can’t attend, you can watch the whole series on the Toxies website.
The petrochemical industry has been fighting tooth and nail against any kind of progress on local, state and federal levels towards restricting dangerous chemicals. In Congress, they are pushing a deeply flawed bill called the Chemical Safety Improvement Act (CSIA), which many leading environmental advocacy organizations believe will constitute business as usual, and are pushing hard to fix it. If passed, the CSIA would fail to protect those communities hit hardest by toxic chemical emissions, pre-empt health protective state policies, and fail to immediately ban chemicals known to have harmful effects on human health.
Please join us! Learn more and help spread the word by attending the August 15th premiere of The Toxies: Exposed! RSVP at www.toxies.com<http://www.toxies.com>.
Also urge your senator to work with CEH and support safer chemicals by strengthening the CSIA! Write to your senator at http://org2.salsalabs.com/o/6016/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=14692.