Daily Archives: December 23, 2007

Nalgene bottle problems

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Polycarbonate bottle raises questions

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Catching his breath at a fitness club, Matt McHugh took a gulp of water from his trusty, hard-plastic Nalgene bottle and pondered the idea of switching to an alternative made of glass, stainless steel or another kind of plastic.


Worries about a hormone-mimicking chemical used in the trendy sports accessory led a major Canadian retailer to remove Nalgene and other polycarbonate plastic containers from store shelves in early December.
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Vancouver-based Mountain Equipment Co-op is waiting for Canadian health regulators to finish a preliminary review in May before it reconsiders restocking its 11 stores with the reusable, transparent bottles made with bisphenol A, or BPA, a compound created by a Russian chemist in 1891.

There is little dispute that the chemical can disrupt the hormonal system, but scientists differ markedly on whether very low doses found in food and beverage containers can be harmful. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration sides with the plastics industry that BPA-based products do not pose a health risk.

However, an expert panel of researchers reported at a U.S. government conference that the potential for BPA to affect human health is a concern, and more research is needed. The panel cited evidence that Americans have levels of BPA higher than those found to cause harm in lab animals.

Well thats just great. One of my favorite pieces of gear and it may be trying to kill me. Sure there are stainless and aluminum bottles out there but I will bet you money that they cannnot take the brutal abuse I can inflict upon my Nalgene bottle.

Nah, I’m sticking with my Nalgene bottle. The risk associated with it is worth it for its reliability and durability. Whats next? CamelBack reservoirs ccontain PCB’s?

Economy

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Dammit, I had a post brewing about this and sure enough here comes the news I was wondering when we were going to see:

Unpaid Credit Cards bedevil Americans

An Associated Press analysis of financial data from the country’s largest card issuers also found that the greatest rise was among accounts more than 90 days in arrears.

Experts say these signs of the deterioration of finances of many households are partly a byproduct of the subprime mortgage crisis and could spell more trouble ahead for an already sputtering economy.

“Debt eventually leaks into other areas, whether it starts with the mortgage and goes to the credit card or vice versa,” said Cliff Tan, a visiting scholar at Stanford University and an expert on credit risk. “We’re starting to see leaks now.”

Well who the heck is surprised by this? “Hmmm…pay the VISA bill and lose my house or pay my mortgage and blow off VISA…decisions, decisions.” No brainer…people are going to circle the wagons and pay the mortgage rather than lose their homes. Next up – auto loans. You watch, those are gonna be next. And as the housing industry gets shaken up with construction businesses going under youre going to see that sort of effect carried into other parts of the economy as the ripples from the housing industry spread out.
Credit card debt is, I believe, ‘bought’ like mortgage debt so who ever is holding the note on all that debt may be in for a nasty surprise. I think the only ‘winners’ to come out of all of this are going to be people who kept a calm head, lived within their means and have a few bucks to spend. Who knows, in a few years (or less) you may be able to buy real estate, cars and other big ticket items at some very good prices. What I see in the news says that foreclosure sales are being attended with alot less interest than one would think…meaning that perhaps those people with a yen (so to speak) to invest arent convinced that prices will go down even further.

Theres opportunity in everything and Im sure theres opportunities here for those who are careful and have money. Unfortunately, that aint me.

I’m quite glad Im a pessimist. When I got my mortgage a few years ago the guy said to me “We can give you this rate or we can go with an adjustable rate mortgage.”
“Well, thats definitely a better rate…”
“Yup, it’ll save you $[xxx.xx] a month over this other rate.”
“But that rate could change, right? My monthly payment could go up?”
“Yes, but it could also go down.”
“Not a chance. I’ll take the hgher fixed rate.”

I may be economically ignorant but I knew that I could afford $X dollars a month. No more. So I paid a higher rate but assured myself that my monthly payments would pretty much remain the same. Now I pat myself on the back for being paranoid and pessimistic enough to have taken the safe route.