Can you tell us which chemicals we should concentrate on?
PFAS ("forever chemicals"), flame retardants and phtalates, for starters:
PFAS:
Toxic ‘forever chemicals’ widespread in top makeup brands, study finds | The Guardian
The peer-reviewed study, published in Environmental Science & Technology, detected what the study’s authors characterized as “high” levels of organic fluorine, an indicator of PFAS, in over half of 231 makeup and personal care samples. That includes lipstick, eyeliner, mascara, foundation, concealer, lip balm, blush, nail polish and more.
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The chemicals, which are highly mobile and easily move through the environment and humans, can be absorbed through the skin, absorbed by tear ducts or ingested. Green Science Policy Institute notes that people who wear lipstick can accidentally ingest several pounds of the product throughout their lives.
Companies often do not list PFAS on their labels when they use the chemicals, making them nearly impossible for consumers to avoid, Bruton said. Regulatory agencies often allow companies to claim PFAS as a trade secret; however, the study found fluorine was often present in products advertised as “wear-resistant”, “long-lasting” and “waterproof”.
Study finds alarming levels of ‘forever chemicals’ in US mothers’ breast milk | The Guardian
Toxic chemicals known as PFAS found in all 50 samples tested at levels nearly 2,000 times what is considered safe in drinking water
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Evidence also suggests that the problem is getting worse. The study is the first in the US since 2005 to check breast milk samples, and shows an increase in the newer generation of PFAS, while older compounds that were phased out by industry are still present, and some at high levels.
The study also analyzed breast milk data from around the world and found PFAS detection frequency is increasing.
Among steps that the authors recommend pregnant women and mothers take to protect themselves are avoiding greaseproof carryout food packaging, stain guards like ScotchGard, waterproof clothing that uses PFAS, and cooking products with Teflon or similar non-stick properties, though manufacturers often do not disclose the chemicals’ use.
‘Forever chemicals’ found in home fertilizer made from sewage sludge | The Guardian
Sewage sludge that wastewater treatment districts across America package and sell as home fertilizer contain alarming levels of toxic PFAS, also known as “forever chemicals”, a new report has revealed.
Sludge, which is lightly treated and marketed as “biosolids”, is used by consumers to fertilize home gardens, and the PFAS levels raise concerns that the chemicals are contaminating vegetables and harming those who eat them.
Phtalates:
Chemicals in plastics damage babies' brains and must be banned immediately, expert group says | CNN
Synthetic chemicals called phthalates are damaging children's brain development and therefore must be immediately banned from consumer products, according to a group of scientists and health professionals from Project TENDR.
Phthalates Factsheet | Center for Disease Control and Prevention
Phthalates are a group of chemicals used to make plastics more flexible and harder to break. They are often called plasticizers. Some phthalates are used as solvents (dissolving agents) for other materials. They are used in hundreds of products, such as vinyl flooring, adhesives, detergents, lubricating oils, automotive plastics, plastic clothes (raincoats), and personal-care products (soaps, shampoos, hair sprays, and nail polishes).
People are exposed to phthalates by eating and drinking foods that have been in contact with containers and products containing phthalates.
Phthalates: The Everywhere Chemical | Zero Breast Cancer
What negative health effects have phthalates been shown to have in laboratory animals?
Very few studies have examined the health effects of phthalates on humans. In lab animals, phthalate exposure has been found to be associated with numerous reproductive health and developmental problems such as:
Phthalates are weak endocrine disruptors and androgen blocking chemicals. This means that when absorbed into the body phthalates can either mimic or block female hormones, or in males, suppress the hormones involved in male sexual development.
Phthalates cross the placenta
Last I tried, I was able to reliably ABX 128 kbps Opus vs. lossless (sourced from CD rip of a single track) nine times in a row with a decent pair of studio headphones. That being said, it's really hard to tell the difference in normal usage. Opus is quite a versatile codec. I hope to see hardware codec support in consumer devices.
I haven't yet investigated how well Opus handles inter-sample peaks, though MP3 is somewhat infamous for failing in this area vs. AAC.
I use subaddressing whenever possible, usually printing something related to the service/organisation in question. On several occasions I've run into issues:
Anyhow, on many occasions, subaddressing has helped me confirm instances where an organisation's email list has been leaked to spammers/scammers, and in turn notify the organisation themselves.
Why can't--why shouldn't--a highly-developed nation run fibre-optic cable to its premises, where practical? Hasn't the USA already done so with copper lines? A national roll-out could be achieved and pay itself back, provided government and industry momentum allowed for it.
Such a thing was almost achieved here in Australia--93% of premises were to have a fibre connection, the rest serviced by fixed-wireless and satellite. That was, until politicking got in the way and achieved an outcome suiting only politicians (particularly of the Liberal Party/Nationals camp) and international corporate interests (Telstra, Foxtel), after the originators of policy (Labor) were outed in 2013. 32% of our population is rural--double that of the USA.
For music, there's the amazon mp3 store. You get DRM-free mp3s that you can copy to a USB stick if you want. I've been using them for years and am quite happy, and they carry a lot of indie music, not just the big-name MPAA based stuff, so there's a lot to pick from.
For movies, I dunno.
Not everything is DRM-free; many recordings contain personally-identifiable metadata:
Record Company Required Metadata: Music file contains unique purchase identifier.
(example)
Windows 7 also requires you to right-click the icon if you want to open multiple terminal windows -- it's the "standard behavior" nowdays.
Or you could use middle-click (which might be left-click + right-click on a touch-pad). Same deal with Ubuntu Unity.
The problem with ads is that they, like top 40 music, are much more heavily compressed than movies or newstalk. The maximum amplitude isn't any higher though. So what measure of "loudness" is it going to be? Because if it's amplitude, then this law will do precisely nothing.
I suggest implementing the Don’t Be a Dick protocol and sentence offending sound producers to “rehabilitation” imprisonment at Guantanamo Bay.
Actually, at least according to OSA's website, they "care on your behalf about...payments for the use of your works in the territory of the Czech Republic and other foreign countries through the network of reciprocal agreements with our partner societies abroad" and provide "... detailed statements on the usage of your works in the Czech Republic and abroad with each payment of royalties". This includes usage statistics of works.
Thus, I imagine the system is quite similar to APRA and PPCA in Australia, where film productions and the like are required to denote which recordings and works were used in the end product and performance artists are encouraged to record and submit which works they performed at any particular public event. This information is usually submitted via web-form and the songwriters etc. eventually receive royalty payments. I think it's generally a different story with radio stations though, due to the volume of tracks played.
(Forgive me if I've made erroneous claims, I'm just a Music Business student.)
When I left you, I was but the pupil. Now, I am the master. - Darth Vader
