We Won't Get Fooled Again!

When I asked my chiropractor what type of air purifier he had in the office, he told me it was an awesome ionizer that never needed to have the filter changed. Sounded almost too good to be true, and was: when he showed me the literature, I immediately recognized it as a well-known brand of ozone machine—useful for clearing a room of toxins, not so good to breathe on a daily basis (although he has the level turned so low that I've never smelled ozone in his office).

He was skeptical of my assertion, and promised to research it.

The following week, when I arrived wearing a heavy Polartec fleece pullover and mentioned how warm it was, although I felt kind of sweaty inside, he said, "That's because those are made of recycled plastic bottles." What!? I'm wearing post-consumer coke bottles, something I'd never even consider drinking?

I was skeptical of his assertion, and promised to research it.

Turns out we were both right. His "ionizer" says "ozone" on the inside plate, but not on the face of it; my cuddly fleece does come from plastic and petrochemicals. Yuck! But nobody would buy "PlasticTec" as a garment—just as few people who know the dangers of breathing concentrated ozone would buy the "ionizer" if it said "ozonator" on the outside.

I said, "We have to cross educate and cross pollinate one another!" Staying informed is a full-time job.

En route to his office, and afterwards, the streets of Petaluma were lined, as were many towns yesterday, with protesters holding placards and chanting. In this case, what I heard was, "Show me what democracy looks like!" "THIS is what democracy looks like!" The time for games and gimmicks is over, and everybody but The Shrub knows it.

You may enjoy an article I wrote about the grander perspective on the Iraq war, published in 2003: Deep "E"-cology

So let's stay warm in natural fibers, breathe pure air, and use our arms for hugging...it's up to each of us to educate our sisters and brothers into awareness. It's the only way we won't get fooled again.