iVAWtViVAVAVAVAVAVAViVAVAVAVAV/tVAVi'tViVt'iViViVtVtV/i'iVAJi*
ORGANIC
By
Robert Rodale
ENVIRONMENTAL TIME BOMBS WILL SURPRISE YOU
Long Islanders got an unpleasant surprise last winter. The
sewage sludge that communities have been dumping ten
miles out to sea suddenly turned up half a mile offshore.
Aided by ocean currents, the gunk had slowly crept in toward
bathing beaches, going undetected for years.
Surprises like that are becoming more and more common
as man tampers with his environment. Deteriorating air and
water quality attract much attention, but our food supply and
personal health are vulnerable too. Because such processes
usually take a long time before erupting in dramatic change,
I call the phenomenon the “time bomb effect.”
You don’t need too potent a crystal ball to foresee some of
the health surprises waiting for us in the not-too-distant
future. In fact, some of the time bombs have already started
to explode. And we can hear others ticking:
PLASTICS. Six cases of a rare liver cancer among workers
at a vinyl chloride plastics plant have startled health of
ficials. Thousands of workers are now being screened for the
disease.
“We had our fingers crossed that nothing like this would
happen with plastics,” says Dr. Irving Selikoff, an authority
on environmental medicine, but “the plastics era-now about
35 years old-is just coming of age in terms of latency
period.”
Vinyl chloride plastics are all around us, in aerosol sprays,
food wrap, water pipes, shower curtains, phonograph
records and car upholstery. Will this time bomb go off?
“We’re just beginning to see the effects of years of exposure
chloride,” warns Dr. Joseph Waggoner of the
National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health. “The
potential for damage to the public health is open.”
RADIO WAVES. Scientists have long known that
microwave energy, as used in radar, can dangerously heat
up parts of the body. Sight-robbing cataracts are one side
effect of overexposure.
45-degree feeding system
stops plugging, boosts capacity
56 BLOWER
The International® 56 Blower handles 100-
tons of corn silage an hour blows it up to
100-ft or more
• Haylage, corn silage or wet corn is augered
in a straight-line flow to rotor by 45° feeding
system Speeds flow of materials through
blower practically eliminates plugging
• Exclusive 56-inch diamater, straddle-mounted
rotor Independent feed auger clutch.
• Simple, direct 540 rpm PTO drive Transport
wheels adjustable for ground clearance, height
or leveling
■
MLet us show you why this 56 Blower
® works as fast as you can unload.
MESSICK FARM EQUIP.
ELIZABETHTOWN
C. B. HOOBER & SON
INTERCOURSE
R. S. HOLLINGER & SON
MOUNTVILLE, PA
COPE & WEAVER GO.
NEW PROVIDENCE
INTERNATIONAL HARVESTER
EPHRATA, PA
ERB & HENRY EQUIP. INC.
22-26 Henry Ave., New Berlinville, Pa.
1 Mile North of Boyertown
LIVING
K' •*-.
367-131 S
786-8231
285-4538
786-7351
Sales and Service
733-2283
But now a White House agency has warned that ordinary
broadcast radio waves may affect human health and growth
at levels lower than ever before expected. The evidence is not
conclusive yet, but major cities (with many powerful
broadcast stations), airports, military bases and tracking
centers could be the most “radio-polluted” areas.
ASBESTOS. The city of Duluth, Minn., was shocked to
leam last year that its drinking water is polluted with tiny
asbestos fibers that might cause cancer. A metals processing
plant had been dumping asbestos into the water for 18 years
before the trouble surfaced.
HOT DRINKS. Doctors now suspect that people who
consume extremely hot beverages regularly are more likely
to develop cancer of the esophagus. It may take many years
of drinking hot fluids before such throat abuse leads to
disease. A simple test: If you can stick your finger into a hot
beverage without discomfort, it’s probably s of e to drink.
ATOMIC RADIATION. Opponents of nuclear power plants
have long maintained that tiny amounts of escaping
radiation may lead to birth defects and cancer after many
years of exposure.
Pa. Simmental
Association Organized
The organizational
meeting of the Pennsylvania
Simmental Association was
held recently at the Sheraton
Motor Inn, State College,
Pennsylvania. The purpose
of the Association is to
promote the Simmental
breed of cattle in Penn
sylvania. Simmental cattle
originated in Switzerland,
but are popular in most
European countries as a dual
purpose breed-for both milk
and beef production. Sim
mentals offer increased milk
production, increased
growth and leaner carcass.
Application for a corporate
charter was approved by
members attending the
meeting. A board of direc
tors was chosen, and officers
elected.
The board of directors is
comprised of : Dr. Thomas
D. Conrad Bird-in-Hand,
Pa.; John P. Whiting, State
College, Pa; Dalton Kir
schner, Breinigsville, Pa.;
Bill Hart, Leesport, Pa.;
Roger H. Clapoole, Wor
thington, Pa.; Robert E.
Armstrong, New Castle,
Pa.; Joe Etter, Blain, Pa.;
Gerald J. Brown, State
College, Pa.; and Bob
Elliott, New Bethlehem, Pa.
The first president of the
ROBERT GUTSHALL
(717) 933-4616
Lancaster Pipe &
distributors
Acorn unloaders
bunk feeders
tube feeders
generators
chute hoppers
Self Unloading Silage C<
■ ..**ll4), ,tp<
Cattle and hog feeders Model 2012,19” impeller
Automatic roller mills Model 3013,27” impeller
Association is Dr. Thomas D.
Conrad. Mr. Kirschner is
first vice-president, Mr.
Claypoole second vice
president, and Mr. Whiting is
secretary-treasurer.
On Wednesday, September
4,1974, at Beechdale Farms,
Bird-in-Hand, Penn
sylvania, the Association
will hold its first field day.
Dr. and Mrs. Thomas
Conrad, owners of Beechdale
Farms have indicated they
expect a rather large at
tendance from Pennsylvania
and surrounding states.
Guest speakers wifi be Dr. L,
L. Wilson, Professor of
Animal Science at The
Pennsylvania State
University, and Dr. Don
Vaniman, Executive
Secretary of the American
Simmental Association. Dr.
Wilson will speak on
crossbreeding of beef cattle
for increased production. Dr.
Vaniman will present the
goals of the American
Association and the progress
of the Simmental breed in
the United States.
All membership inquiries
should be addressed to the
Pennsylvania Simmental
Association, Inc., P.O. Box
224, State College, Penn
sylvania 16801
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, August 10.1974
At first, the radiation damage goes undetected. “Non-fatal
injury to the cells of certain human tissues may be far, far
more dangerous that the outright, immediate death of the
cell would be,” say physicists John Golfman and Arthur
Tamplin in their book, “Poisoned Power.” “These non-fatal
injuries are especially hazardous because, within a period of
years, a single cell injured in this way has the potential to
initiate a cancer or a leukemia.”
The whole process may take 20 years, “The intervening
period is silent,” they write. “The person doesn’t realize it is
going on. If asked about his health, he would, of course, say,
T feel fine.’'
Sometimes the fuse is even longer. Damage is passed on
through genes to future generations instead. Then when the
time bomb finally goes off, it’s too late to do anything about
the original cause.
Painting a gloomy picture of environmental health isn’t
difficult. But there are pleasant surprises every now and
then, also.
For example, the American Medical Association recently
reported that the age-adjusted death rate for coronary heart
disease is declining. What’s more it’s been going down since
1963, but very few people were aware of it. Some happy,
unnoticed change in our diet or environment may be
responsible, but doctors can’t put their fingers on it yet.
Environmentalists were surprised to leam recently that
the Great Lakes, once given up for dead, are actually
becoming less polluted, thanks to vigorous action. Game fish
like salmon and trout are returning to Lake Erie. And the
Detroit River is reportedly running blue again in spots for the
first time in recent memory.
Those are the kind of surprises we should get more often.
“Hot-Line to Health” is a 48-page guide that pinpoints
present and future threats to our environment and health.
You can get a copy by sending fifty cents to Robert Rodale,
Organic Living, in care of this newspaper. Be sure to ask for
the booklet by name and allow at least three weeks for
delivery.
Dutch School
Natural Foods
LARGEST SELECTION OF
NATURAL FOODS AND VITAMINS
IN CENTRAL PENNA.
RT. 222, AKRON, PENNA.
PH. 859-2339
MARTIN'S MANUFACTURING CO.
Custom
Mode
• FREE STALLS
• BARNYARD FENCES
• SILAGE CARTS in stock
• PIPE GATES 6 ft. to 16 ft.
(every 6") in stock
MARTIN’S
MANUFACTURING CO.
DISTRIBUTOR OF CENTRAL TRACTOR PARTS CO.
R.D.3 Myerstown Phone (717) 933-4151
TAKE RT 645 - 3 MILES NORTH OF MYERSTOWN
FOLLOW DIRECTIONAL SIGNS
New Negley-Miller Silos
silo blowers
conveyors
barn cleaners
calf stalls
free stalls
cow mats
barn fans
Ritchie water fountains
41