TV specials on toxins

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Subject: TV specials about Toxins in our environmentJust wanted to let you know about two upcoming TV specials about toxinsin our environment

1) Blue Vinyl: A Toxic Comedy, on HBO, Sunday May 5th (check locallistings)2) Kids and Chemicals: A Special Report on NOW with Bill Moyers, on PBS,Friday May 10 (check local listings for time)Descriptions below:Blue Vinyla Toxic Comedy for the whole familyAn award-winning new film by Judith Helfand and B. Goldwill premiere on HBO's award-winning documentary series AmericaUndercoverSunday night, May 5 (Check local HBO listings) with repeat screeningsthrough May.With humor, chutzpah, and a piece of vinyl siding firmly in hand, PeabodyAward-winning filmmaker Judith Helfand and co-director and awardwinning-cinematographer B. Gold travel to America's vinylmanufacturing capital and beyond in search of the truth about vinyl,America's most popular and second fastest selling plastic.Helfand's parents' decision to "re-side" their house with this seeminglybenign cure-all for many suburban homes turns into a toxic odyssey withtwists and turns that most ordinary homeowners would never dare to take.The result is a humorous but sobering and uniquely personal explorationof the relationship between consumers and industry. Join us for an incredible odyssey that follows the lifecycle of vinylfrom Long Island, NY, to Mardi Gras in Lake , Louisiana, to avinyl community in Venice, Italy, to the heart of your very own home.Along the way, learn how much our reliance on vinyl (a.k.a. PVC plastic)could be costing communities, workers, children, our health and theenvironment. It's a journey you can't afford to miss.Official Selection Sundance 2002 Film Festival** Excellence in Cinematography **2002 Bermuda International Film Festival: **Best Documentary.**Philadelphia Film Festival 2002: **Documentary Audience Award.**"Scary and hilarious!"Elvis , New York Times"That rare muckraking film with a sense of humor." Turan, Los Angeles Times"Frightening and funny! Blue Vinyl has left audienceslingering in the hallways for hours to debate and question."Sharon Waxman, Washington PostFor more information go to: http://www.bluevinyl.organdKIDS AND CHEMICALS, A SPECIAL REPORT ON NOW WITH BILL MOYERSTRACKS THE SCIENTIFIC SEARCH FOR ANSWERS ABOUTHOW ENVIRONMENTAL TOXINS AFFECT AMERICA'S CHILDRENPremieres Friday, May 10 at 9:00 (ET) on PBS (check local listings)ARE WE MAKING OUR CHILDREN SICK?It is a medical mystery marked "urgent." Across America growing numbersof children are suffering from asthma, childhood cancers like leukemia,as well as learning and behavioral disabilities. Scientists aresearching for clues to the causes of these illnesses, and a growing bodyof research suggests that everyday environmental toxins-what kids eat,drink, and breathe-may put them at risk. Equipped with new technologyand more sophisticated analysis, these scientists are asking compellingquestions about the health risks to children growing up exposed to anever-increasing number of untested chemicals in our environment.Kids and Chemicals, a special edition of NOW with Bill Moyers to bebroadcast on PBS, Friday, May 10 at 9 p.m. (ET), features medicalinvestigators and health officials engaged in the latest research onlinks between childhood illness and environmental contamination. Theprogram looks at families around the country who are coping with theconsequences to their children of potentially toxic exposures."The disturbing increases in childhood illness in America cannot beignored," says Bill Moyers. "How does the exposure affect children'shealth? The new research is studying how chemicals enter the human body,and posing questions that they could never ask before: Do chemicalsaffect children, babies and unborn fetuses more than adults? Whatfactors increase toxicity, and how can we protect children from harm?"