You may have already heard of the The Toxies – a satirical red carpet awards ceremony for “bad actor” chemicals. This multi-media campaign was created by the statewide coalition of non-profits, Californians for a Healthy and Green Economy (CHANGE) and led by Physicians for Social Responsibility-Los Angeles (PSR-LA). See highlights from the past award ceremonies here.
This year, we’re ditching those awards (which were probably toxic anyway!) and launching a new websisode series called, The Toxies: Exposed. Through seven short videos, we follow a daring investigative journalist as he chases down toxic chemicals and pollutants, raising awareness about toxics in our homes, schools, workplaces and communities.
We know that failed chemical policies are leading to unwanted chemicals in our bodies, and that every week, studies link chemicals in our environment to rising rates of disease. The Toxies is a project to highlight the real life battle to retire these dangerous chemicals and pollutants and protect our health. The videos feature: Bisphenol-A, Chloropicrin, Flame Retardants, Fracking Chemical Cocktail, Lead, Mercury, and Yellow Soap. Last year, actor D.W. Moffett hosted the event at Silent Movie Theater in Los Angeles, and wrote in the Huffington Post how he and his wife Kristal “learned about the ubiquitous toxic exposures in our daily lives and our country’s broken regulatory system that does not adequately protect us.”
You’re invited to the worldwide premiere of these webisodes and discussion on August 15th at the Downtown Independent Theater in Los Angeles. Visit www.toxies.com to RSVP! Following the screening, a discussion will be held with scientists, advocates, and community members.
Can’t make it to LA on August 15th? Sign up for a post-August 15th Toxies: Exposed screening. After the premiere, when all the videos and materials are online, you can schedule a screening and discussion whenever makes most sense for your organization. At 9pm PT that day, we’ll post all 7 webisodes online at www.toxies.com with accompanying fact sheets, links to take action, discussion guide, and trivia game so you can host a “screening” and discussion whenever makes the most sense for you. All videos will be available in English and in Spanish (short Spanish language intro, then remainder subtitled in Spanish). Online and print materials will also be available in Spanish.
Would you like to support this project? As a popular education and social media-driven educational tool, this web series is helping elevate the conversation around these toxics, mobilizing people to take action in their own lives, workplaces, and calling on representatives to fix our laws so that our health is protected. Visit www.toxies.com to become a sponsor and support the project.
The release of this webisode series is a perfect opportunity to call more attention to the TSCA debate. The petrochemical industry has been fighting tooth and nail against any kind of progress on local, state and federal levels towards restricting dangerous chemicals. In Congress, they are pushing a deeply flawed bill called the Chemical Safety Improvement Act (CSIA), which many leading environmental and health groups are pushing hard to fix it. If passed, the CSIA would fail to protect those communities hit hardest by toxic chemical emissions, pre-empt health protective state policies, and fail to immediately ban chemicals known to have harmful effects on human health.
We need protection from toxic chemicals – let’s put a face on these toxic hazards, and fix the new TSCA proposal to protect our health. Please join us, learn more, and help spread the word by attending the August 15th premiere of The Toxies: Exposed! RSVP at www.toxies.com.
