Christie Brinkley Wants Your Baby Teeth

Christie Brinkley

Photo: David Shankbone/Wikimedia Commons

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Supermodel, mom and environmental activist Christie Brinkley looks as fantastic as ever on the August 25 cover of New York magazine. She's also busy as ever.

The Hamptons denizen told the mag she's currently designing a line of organic bedding and towels, considering a line of green furniture and returning to painting. (She's also recently been busy publicly extricating herself from her latest ex-husband.) New York described the inspiration for Billy Joel's hit "Uptown Girl" as looking "as if she's fortified herself with only the most local, organic, and expensive of foods since before she was born."

Last Spring, Brinkley was honored by Cookie Magazine for her advocacy for children. (Other honorees were Lee Woodruff -- wife of ABC correspondent Bob -- Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Karenna Gore Schiff --daughter of Al and Tipper -- Areva Martin, Kim Raver and Roni Lomeli.) In her acceptance speech, Brinkley asked Dr. Joe Mangano to stand up in recognition of his work with the Radiation and Public Health Project.

Mangano is public enemy number one of the nuclear power industry (although Sherwood Martinelli may be giving him a run for his money). The industry has tried to dismiss Mangano's Tooth Fairy Project for years. The idea is to collect baby teeth and analyze their Strontium-90 levels to determine whether nuclear weapons fallout and nuclear power reactors are affecting public health.

Brinkley believes that nuclear technologies are indeed putting our children at risk, and she made this video outlining what people can do. At the Cookie awards Brinkley also praised the work of the anti-nuke group the Global Security institute.

Brinkley and others have been recently stepping up their efforts to get the word out about their concerns with nuclear power, since the Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant -- just 40 miles from Manhattan -- will be up for relicensing soon. Some activists believe the best chance at stopping a revitalized nuclear industry is the shutdown of Indian Point, which they feel would focus attention on the risks and solutions. (In one innovative idea, Rock the Reactors has suggested that converting the New York City area's lights to LEDs would offset enough power to compensate for the loss of the plant).

Given Barack Obama's recent mention of nuclear power at the DNC, the controversial, multi-faceted issue will likely feature prominently in the nation's energy debate.

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