Visionaries See Dangers Before They're Apparent

Frances “Franny” Reese was a founder of Scenic Hudson and considered by many the mother of the environmental movement -- for standing up to Con Edison and the Federal Power Commission before environmental laws gave citizens a voice. Her role in Scenic Hudson’s groundbreaking lawsuit is considered the cornerstone of this country’s seminal environmental statute, the National Environmental Policy Act, which requires environmental assessments of major projects. Many of us who work to protect the Hudson Valley continue to be inspired by her three-point credo: "Care enough to take action. Do your research so you don’t have to backtrack from a position. And don’t give up!"

Many of Franny’s family remain devoted to environmental stewardship. Recently, an article in Cookie magazine showcased Francesca Olivieri, Franny’s granddaughter, who is co-founder of Sage Baby, an eco-friendly baby store in Manhattan. Francesca realized that while mothers are happy to feed their newborns the healthiest food, many unwittingly expose their children to poisons -- by letting them play with toys coated with unsafe finishes, wiping up with toxic cleaners and decorating their rooms with furnishings made from materials that generate high levels of air pollution. Sage Baby offers "green" alternatives -- organic clothing, bedding and skin-care products as well as non-toxic toys and cleaning supplies.

Francesca, a mother of three youngsters, is no Chicken Little. Recent product recalls by companies whose toys contain lead, a neurotoxin that can cause permanent brain damage, illustrate the dangers. Our homes are full of environmental hazards. For example, it’s been estimated that the average household contains 25 gallons of dangerous chemicals, most of which are found in commonplace cleaning products. These contribute to more than one tenth of all poisonings of youngsters below the age of six. Simple exposure to them poses enormous risks to babies' fragile nervous systems and delicate skin. Cotton clothing and towels contains pesticide residue from some of the worst cancer-causing chemicals classified by the Environmental Protection Agency.

None of us intentionally wants to hurt our children, our most precious gifts. But we’ve got to be more vigilant to ensure we keep them out of harm’s way. And we’ve got to start ridding our environment -- both within our homes and on our land -- of chemicals that are doing irreparable harm to our planet. To quote the famous Native American proverb, “We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children.” If we don’t act soon, our children will never forgive us.