I'm an inclusive "Big Tent" third wave feminist, which is why I recognize that there's an entire segment of feminism that is, shall we say, not environmentally active.  But there are a lot of environmental issues that directly impact feminist ideals. 

Things that, in the immortal words of Sarah Palin, make me "stand up on my hind legs and growl."

Most recently there has been a lot of media attention to the issue of the increasingly early age of the onset of puberty in little girls.  On average, girls are now reaching puberty while their age is in the single digits, between 8 and 9 years old.

While we regular folks have been standing around scratching our heads about this "mystery," big corporations are well aware that they are polluting our environment and our consumer products with endocrine disruptors like BPA.

These chemicals mimic the natural hormones in the human body.  Estrogenic endocrine disruptors in particular trick your body into thinking that they are estrogen.  On the left side of the age scale, this causes little girls' bodies to be tricked into starting puberty early.  On the right side of the age scale, they trick grown women's breasts into developing breast cancer.

This isn't wacky-ass paranoid conspiracy talking.  This is data from the FDA, the EPA, and other government agencies.  This is information from the companies themselves, who advise that you rinse off shampoo containing endocrine disruptors.  But what about the amount which is absorbed into your skin as you wash yourself?  Well, the companies assume that's too small an amount to matter.

"But surely companies aren't allowed to sell cosmetics that contain dangerous chemicals," you may be thinking.  "Surely the levels have been tested and proven safe."

Untrue.

The FDA covers these issues with food.  By law, you can only put something in food if it has been specifically proven safe.  But the FDA has no regulatory power over cosmetics and cleaning products like shampoo, leave-in conditioner, toothpaste, dryer sheets, and dishwashing detergent.  In fact, as you will learn if you watch the new mini-documentary The Story of Cosmetics, there are over 2,000 chemicals which are being used by the cosmetics industry which are COMPLETELY untested.

Hormones in milk and meat are also cited as a reason why puberty is happening earlier.  This again is a phenomenon which is well known in the dairy and meat industry.  They just don't care - or not enough to risk cutting their profits by skipping the growth hormones.  These hormones cause cows to lactate earlier and for longer, and they have the same effect on our young daughters.

Organic meat and dairy products are the answer here.  Or at least hormone-free meat and dairy.  It's no big secret!

Early onset puberty is bad for our daughters' health, obviously.  The same factors that lead to earlier puberty ages also lead to breast cancer.  And a girl who hits puberty at 8 is at risk of getting pregnant, which means that the discussions about birth control, sexual education, and abortion all need to be shifted to a far younger age than we're accustomed to discussing.  

These are all unquestionably feminist issues - and so, therefore, is the issue of endocrine disruptors polluting our environment, our food, and our consumer products.