1. Join The Members of Arizona Green Chamber Of Commerce To Learn More About A Commercial Reuse, Recycling Program. Learn about the grass-roots efforts behind the scenes on April 17 at 1
1720 W Broadway Rd, Mesa, AZ 85202
Reclaim. Reuse. Rebuild.
Local reuse organization, Stardust Building Supplies, will give you an inside look into the process of building material reuse from the first steps of deconstruction and reclamation to how individuals transform their homes with salvaged materials. Enjoy viewing inspirational photos of deconstruction projects, unique treasures, upcycling, and remodels all while making your own creative reuse project.
2. Monsanto Waging A War Against Science For Months Now. But now it’s time to turn the tables. We have the chance to submit public comments to the Environmental Protection Agency to urge it not to cave to Monsanto’s pressure and to review all the science linking glyphosate – the key ingredient in Monsanto’s herbicide Roundup – to cancer. But we only have until April 30 and we need to FLOOD the EPA with comments if we’re going to get its attention. Make sure Scott Pruitt knows you’re watching. Tell him to stand up to Monsanto and protect public health!
TAKE ACTION: Tell EPA administrator Scott Pruitt to use science, not Monsanto’s lies, to determine glyphosate’s cancer risk.
Monsanto has been attacking the science connecting glyphosate and other pesticides to human health risks for years. Just last year:
- Unsealed court documents revealed Monsanto’s attempts to collude with the EPA to cover up the carcinogenic risks of glyphosate.
- A top-ranking Monsanto executive attacked EWG and called our Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce™ “propaganda.”
- Monsanto-backed Big Ag groups sued to prevent California from labeling glyphosate as a carcinogen.
Monsanto is terrified because in 2015 the International Agency for Research on Cancer classified glyphosate as probably carcinogenic to humans. Glyphosate is the most commonly used pesticide in the United States and the key ingredient in Monsanto’s signature herbicide Roundup. If regulatory agencies like the EPA start restricting glyphosate use, it could be a massive blow to Monsanto’s bottom line.
Scott Pruitt’s EPA has repeatedly sided with the pesticide industry and polluters, but this time we have a chance to make our voices heard. We need to submit 50,000 comments to overwhelm the EPA and make sure Scott Pruitt knows the American people will hold him accountable if he caves to Monsanto again.
- Chemically Induced Hearing Loss New Information from OSHA and NIOSH. NIOSHand OSHA recently published a Safety and Health Information Bulletin, Preventing Hearing Loss Caused by Chemical (Ototoxicity) and Noise Exposure warning of a potentially serious workplace hazard. The Bulletin provides recommendations to employers and safety professionals about identifying ototoxicants in the workplace and establishing hearing conservation programs in workplaces where these chemicals cannot be replaced. Visit NIOSH’s Noise and Hearing Loss Prevention topic pages to learn more about hearing loss prevention programs and their effectiveness.
Since the 19th century, many therapeutic drugs have been known to affect hearing. Known as ototoxic drugs, many are used today in clinical situations despite these negative side effects because they are effective in treating serious, sometimes life-threatening conditions. Research has shown that exposure to certain chemicals in the workplace may also negatively affect how the ear functions, potentially causing hearing loss or balance problems, regardless of noise exposure. Substances containing ototoxicants include certain pesticides, solvents, metals and pharmaceuticals. The risk of hearing loss they pose can be increased when workers are exposed to these chemicals while working around elevated noise levels. This combination often results in hearing loss that can be temporary or permanent, depending on the level of noise, the dose of the chemical, and the duration of the exposure. This hearing impairment affects many occupations and industries, from machinists to firefighters.
A new informational bulletin developed by OSHA and NIOSH raises awareness of this issue, provides examples of ototoxic chemicals, lists the industries and occupations at risk and provides prevention information. The hearing loss caused by chemicals can be very similar to a hearing loss caused by excessive noise. The fact that noise exposure is so common in modern societies might explain the delay in recognizing the risk to hearing that these chemicals can pose. Pure tone audiometry is a basic clinical test used to determine a person’s hearing sensitivity at specific frequencies, i.e., the softest sound that can be perceived in a quiet environment. It clearly identifies various hearing loss characteristics, but not its cause. Other hearing tests such as word recognition or otoacoustic emission tests examine other auditory functions. In some cases, these tests can help differentiate the effects of chemicals from the effects of noise, since chemicals might affect the more central portions of the auditory system (nerves or nuclei of the central nervous system, the pathways to the brain or in the brain itself). These hearing deficits may have a more pronounced impact on the worker’s life because not only are sounds be perceived as less loud, but also as distorted. Word recognition may be compromised, particularly in background noise, making it difficult, for instance, to hold a conversation in a busy restaurant or at a party.
The first step in preventing exposure to ototoxicants is to know if they are in the workplace. The publications cited in the bulletin identify known ototoxicants for example: toluene, styrene, carbon monoxide, acrylonitrile, and lead. When there is no information on a certain chemical’s ototoxicity, information on the chemical’s general toxicity, nephrotoxicity, and neurotoxicity may provide clues about the potential ototoxicity. Most chemicals that are known to affect the auditory system are also neurotoxic and/or nephrotoxic. NIOSH continues its research on this subject, in collaboration with several partners, including France’s Research and Safety Institute
(INRS) and other institutions in the U.S., Canada and China (Fuente et al., 2018). For more information, see the recent paper in the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, “Use of the Kurtosis Statistic in an Evaluation of the Effects of Noise and Solvent Exposures on the Hearing Thresholds of Workers: An Exploratory Study”
For more information on risk factors for hearing loss please visit the NIOSH Noise and Hearing Loss Prevention topic page.
4. Celebrate Earth Day At An Arizona State Park.
Tonto Natural Bridge State Park, Payson, AZ Brunch at the Bridge – Celebrate Earth Day in Northern Arizona
Sunday, April 22, 2018 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tonto Natural Bridge State Park is hosting an open house and “Brunch at the Bridge” on Sunday, April 22 to showcase the rustic Goodfellow Lodge and update visitors on new planned trails and development at the park.
The event will introduce the new park manager, Dan Roddy, and include a breakfast cooked on site. Attendees can enjoy scrambled eggs, sausage, pancakes, juice, coffee and more. Goodfellow Lodge, which is now open for overnight stays, will be available for the public to tour and experience the Old West charm of the 10 guest rooms.
The cost of the event is $15, which includes brunch and an all-day park pass.
Red Rock State Park, Sedona, AZ
Red Rock State Park is celebrating Earth Day with a full day of fun, educational activities for the whole family.
The Earth Day event will give everyone the opportunity to appreciate the planet while surrounded by the stunning red rocks in Sedona. The day will include special guests, kids’ activities, raptor and reptile displays, local artwork, and hiking and outdoor fun! Events kick off
at 8 a.m. with a guided bird walk and run through 3 p.m.
Exhibits include an art showcase, Jay’s Bird Barn, Keep Sedona Beautiful Dark Sky Committee, Leave No Trace, North Arizona Audubon Society, Oak Creek Watershed Council, Red Rock Reptiles and riparian habitats. There will also be games, crafts, and a pledge board for Earth Day resolutions.
Special event pricing will be in place during the event of $4 for adults over age 14, $2 for kids 7-13 years old and free for kids 6 and under. Kids of all ages are welcome. For more information, visit AZStateParks.com/Red-Rock.
WHAT: Earth Day at Red Rock State Park
WHERE: Red Rock State Park, 4050 Red Rock Loop Road, Sedona
WHEN: Saturday, April 21, 2018 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
What will you be doing to
Celebrate Earth Day?
- Friday the 13th: History: Just like walking under a ladder, crossing paths with a black cat or breaking a mirror, many people hold fast to the belief that Friday the 13th brings bad luck. Though it’s uncertain exactly when this particular tradition began, negative superstitions have swirled around the number 13 for centuries.
| it was courting death. |
The ancient Code of Hammurabi, for example, reportedly omitted a 13th law from its list of legal rules. Though this was probably a clerical error, superstitious people sometimes point to this as proof of 13’s longstanding negative associations.
Fear of the number 13 has even earned a psychological term: triskaidekaphobia.
WHY IS FRIDAY THE 13TH UNLUCKY?
According to biblical tradition, 13 guests attended the Last Supper, held on Maundy Thursday, including Jesus and his 12 apostles (one of whom, Judas, betrayed him). The next day, of course, was Good Friday, the day of Jesus’ crucifixion.
The seating arrangement at the Last Supper is believed to have given rise to a longstanding Christian superstition that having 13 guests at a table was a bad omen— specifically, that
Though Friday’s negative associations are weaker, some have suggested they also have roots in Christian tradition: Just as Jesus was crucified on a Friday, Friday was also said to be the day Eve gave Adam the fateful apple from the Tree of Knowledge, as well as the day Cain killed his brother, Abel.
THE THIRTEEN CLUB
In the late-19th century, a New Yorker named Captain William Fowler (1827-1897) sought to remove the enduring stigma surrounding the number 13—and particularly the unwritten rule about not having 13 guests at a dinner table—by founding an exclusive society called the Thirteen Club.
The group dined regularly on the 13th day of the month in room 13 of the Knickerbocker Cottage, a popular watering hole Fowler owned from 1863 to 1883. Before sitting down for a 13-course dinner, members would pass beneath a ladder and a banner reading “Morituri te Salutamus,” Latin for “Those of us who are about to die salute you.”
Four former U.S. presidents (Chester A. Arthur, Grover Cleveland, Benjamin
Harrison and Theodore Roosevelt) would join the Thirteen Club’s ranks at one time or
another.
FRIDAY THE 13TH IN POP CULTURE
An important milestone in the history of the Friday the 13th legend in particular (not just the number 13) occurred in 1907, with the publication of the novel Friday, the Thirteenth written by Thomas William Lawson.
The book told the story of a New York City stockbroker who plays on superstitions about the date to create chaos on Wall Street, and make a killing on the market.
The horror movie Friday the 13th, released in 1980, introduced the world to a hockey mask-wearing killer named Jason, and is perhaps the best-known example of the famous superstition in pop culture history. The movie spawned multiple sequels, as well as comic books, novellas, video games, related merchandise and countless terrifying Halloween costumes.
WHAT BAD THINGS HAPPENED ON FRIDAY 13TH?
On Friday, October 13, 1307, officers of King Philip IV of France arrested hundreds of
the Knights Templar, a powerful religious and military order formed in the 12th century for the defense of the Holy Land.
Imprisoned on charges of various illegal behaviors (but really because the king wanted access to their financial resources), many Templars were later executed. Some cite the link with the Templars as the origin of the Friday the 13th superstition, but like many legends involving the Templars and their history, the truth remains murky.
In more recent times, a number of traumatic events have occurred on Friday the 13th, including
the German bombing of Buckingham Palace (September 1940); the murder of Kitty
Genovese in Queens, New York (March 1964); a cyclone that killed more than 300,000 people
in Bangladesh (November 1970); the disappearance of a Chilean Air Force plane in the Andes
(October 1972); the death of rapper Tupac Shakur (September 1996) and the crash of the Costa
Concordia cruise ship off the coast of Italy, which killed 30 people (January 2012).
But here is a series of events that have added to Friday the 13th’s reputation for bad luck, and
horror:
- Friday the 13th traces back to a Dutch holiday where mischievous children would sneak into graveyards at night and defecate on tombstones.
- In France, Friday the 13th often fell on the day after the Feast of Saint Imbibecus. Thus the day was often associated with terrible hangovers and poor choices made the night before.
- The Aztecs brutally killed 39,000 in one day on Friday the 13th of August, 1539. This was done at the request of the recently arrived Hernan Cortez, who claimed to be a god seeking
tribute. The next day he overthrew their empire.
- One source says the number 13 has been unlucky since the Last Supper of Christ, where thirteen people were in attendance.
- Hammurabi’s Code, the first set of state initiated laws, omits the number 13, leading some to believe the superstition dates back to Babylon in 1700 BC. However archaeologists agree that there indeed was a thirteenth law that was scratched out. Studies of ancient tablets indicate the law condoned cross dressing of government officials, but was probably removed at the advice of Hammurabi’s aides.
- Genghis Khan is said to have tasted his first defeat on Friday the 13th. This fight between Genghis and five other larger children fueled the inferiority complex which drove him to conquer a continent.
- Most skyscrapers do not include a thirteenth floor. Gregory Johnson bravely included a thirteenth floor in his designs for the Empire State Building in New York. Three days after its completion, on a Friday, the weight of the building caused it to buckle and it crushed the thirteenth floor. It has been structurally sound ever since.
- In London’s summer of 1865, seven prostitutes, two flower sellers, three secretaries and a nun were assaulted on Friday July 13th by a crazy man wearing an athletic mask. The assailant would jump out of the shadows and present them with literature supporting the Conservative Party. As the women screamed and tried to run away, they were asked for donations repeatedly, up to 18 times in one case.
- In 1881, a group of New Yorkers started The 13 Club, aimed at removing the superstitious stigma from the number. At their first meeting on Friday the 13th, all thirteen members walked under a ladder into a room filled spilled salt and broken mirrors. They all died in a freak accident involving a runaway truck and a rabid wolverine on its way to be put down.
- On Friday June 13th of 1952, Massachusetts Governor Kyle McArthur banned all private automotive transportation on the unlucky day. Nine overcrowded city buses crashed into each other in downtown Boston
