— by Lin McNulty, Editor, Orcas Issues —
Step through the door of any store — even on our pure island — and you may be met by odors that either you like or not, notice or not, or might immediately put you in respiratory distress.
If you step into a bakery, you probably would not be thrown aback by the smell of freshly-baked bread; it would well be enticing. If you enter a cafe that specializes in deep-fried fish and oily fries, it would not be unexpected to smell that one even before you walk in the door.
Orcas Issues recently published a piece from Jeff Bossler calling our attention to the outside air quality in our corner of the world. There is obvious worldwide concern about the outside air we breathe.
But outside air is not all we breathe. And there are many of us making our indoor air as toxic as possible with products that promise to bring the freshness of outdoors to your home — whatever that may mean.
Perfumes, colognes, dryer sheets, hair spray, scented candles, air “fresheners,” and even a before-you-go toilet spray have marketed their way into our daily living. What are we trying to cover up with these scents? I have left a local business simply because there was somebody in there reeking of perfume.
Give me a break; if we can all acknowledge that our outside air may not be all that healthy for us, how can we, then, consciously fill our homes and businesses with scents that may be just as deadly.
At the same time how can local businesses assault customers with stinky chemicals? Business owners, please take a long sniff at what you are putting out there, especially businesses that rely on a sensitive or compromised patronage.
You’re joking….right? Would any of the boys that fought in WW1 ask something like this? WW2? Steel workers in the 20s? The strong folks that fought to help create our great country? Spitfire pilots over Britain? How soft do you want our kids and fellow citizens? Lighten up and smell the French fries. Smell the hamburgers. And smell life. This “editorial” is a waste of smelly paper.
I’m glad to read this. Last night as I walked through town I kept thinking “is there a fuel leak somewhere?” The whole town smelled like exhaust, diesel, something was amiss.
Comparing ‘the boys” who fought in WW1 or 2 to these times is
species/myopic. Birds and insects are disappearing all over the world, and we are in line. It’s not about being soft, it’s about caring for our planet and all of life it is trying to sustain. Thanks for the article.
This is a serious concern for asthmatics, one of whom I know very well, and I presume it is for others with different respiratory problems. Readers need to take it seriously. That means YOU, R. R. Davis.
Lin: Thank you for this comment on this ubiquitous issue. The same goes for all the scented detergents. They cannot be washed out of clothes, but worse, they seep into the soil where creatures who do not have eyes, find their way and gauge their responses by chemical cues. If the sewage scrambles their language, they are lost due to our introduction of foreign substances.
By SIMPLY buying an unscented detergent a person can reduce their negative impact on our environment. Please think on this opportunity.