Pirate's Cove

It’s time for a little hand wringing from enviro-weenies at Treehugger

What is it with Astroturfers and kids? Whenever there is a “grass roots” campaign, like Citizens for Fire Safety, they fill their websites with kids. Does this one tell them that their bodies are bioaccumulating brominated flame retardants, that, according to the Environmental Health Fund, ” may harm the developing brain, impair sperm development, and impair thyroid function”?

That initial snippet was accompanied by a picture of kids holding a sign reading “fire safety.” Good thing the extreme environmental/climate change movement never does anything as low as using kids for their pseudo-religion.

No, because it is an astroturf site paid for by the bromine and flame retardant industry, now lobbying in California to stop a bill that would give people the choice of buying furniture made without flame retardants.

Wait, it was mostly liberals who made it mandatory that furniture was built with flame retardants. Republicans went along because it seemed like a really good idea to make it harder for fire to spread in buildings, allowing people to hopefully not burn to death. Because Gaia is more important than a child burning to death (oops, sorry, I just used the “won’t someone think about the children” talking point liberals love to use.)

I won’t disagree that many of the chemicals used in the flame retardants are bad for not only the environment, but for people. But I do find it humorous that these same liberals who want to force people by rule of law to change their behavior for “climate change”, and are typically the people pushing for mandating things like, say, health insurance purchase, catalytic converters, seat belt usage, and so many other things, now want people to have a choice. But, don’t worry, the Treehugger writer, Lloyd Alter, Toronto….wait, Toronto? How ’bout worrying about things in your own country, eh?….has a solution

I have advocated a solution that would enable the elimination of flame retardants and would make organizations like Citizens for Fire Safety happy if they cared about fire safety instead of bromine and flame retardant sales: Put sprinklers in every housing unit. I wrote:

Many natural materials burn; when you fill them with chemicals so that they don’t, they are no longer natural. Let’s deal with the problem the way we have for thousands of years; throw cold water on it.

See? His solution is to mandate water sprinklers in every home, taking away choice. So, instead of possibly only losing some of your stuff in a fire, now you get to lose it all from water damage. And you lose your choice to make your own decision.