ROOM FOR A PONY

It’s not rocket surgery.

All you have to do is watch the surface of any hot liquid in one of those Styrofoam cups to see it forming a slick on your drink.

When every cell in my body goes “Ew!” I pay attention. I may not be a scientist, but my body knows a few things on its own. It was right about smoking. Even in my infancy I knew that was bad. (“Suck this stinky grey substance into my lungs? um… no thank you.”) I don’t know what was wrong with everybody else, but I did not need to wait for the Surgeon General to publicly declare it harmful in 1964.

And yet I see all these people smoking — friends, relatives — and guess what? They’re smart people too! At least as smart as me, and in some cases smarter. So I remain completely stumped about why everyone didn’t have the same reaction to smoking that I did.

But it’s the same thing with Styrofoam. How can anyone with a set of eyeballs and taste buds see and smell and sip a hot drink in a Styrofoam cup and proceed to drink it?

You want to know what’s known about it so far? You can read about it here. And I think we can safely assume that we don’t know the extent of it yet.

But think about it: So many perplexing illnesses in the world, and we’re ok with ingesting styrofoam? So many people suffering, from both mental and physical illnesses, and we have no idea why?

Really? Can we please start with the obvious toxins? Do we need the scientists to study something as icky as styrofoam for a few more decades before we believe that this is just BAD? Or can we use our own brains RIGHT NOW and JUST SAY NO TO STYROFOAM!?

Next post I’ll tell you where you can dispose of it — which makes us feel a little better, but of course, as I discussed in my last post, it’s not going anywhere. We need to stop it at its source. More on that soon.