We did it, thanks to you! We received large and small donations making each one of you a part of the FAN family. We wish to thank everyone who helped make our fundraiser the most successful ever –especially our super-angels who helped put the FUN into fundraising. Our goals were $150,000 from 1000 donors. Our final tallies were $153,687 (including one corporate matching grant of $1,500 which is still in the works) from 818 donors and family supporters.
We would also like to thank everyone for their patience with this process. We realize that over the month you received far more FAN bulletins from us than usual – almost one a day. We would like to believe that the fact that we received very few complaints about possible overload here was because you were interested in the information we provided along with the fundraiser updates. I think many of our supporters were as excited as we were that the EPA petition has given us our best opportunity for a very clear road to end fluoridation, with the caveats we discuss further below.
Premiums
We are in the process of packing and sending out the premiums people requested. We have had to order more copies of the DVD “Professional Perspectives on Water Fluoridation” and we are waiting on copies of the new video produced and edited by Jay Sanders, with key footage provided by Doug Cragoe, “Michael Connett, Fluoride and the Brain.” If you ordered this video please let us know if you want it in the form of a DVD copy or USB-stick (flash drive). This is available for donation of $21.
If you have any questions about the premiums please contact Ellen at ellen@fluoridealert.org
Looking to the future
Now that we have successfully raised the money we were seeking, all our attention must shift to using it wisely to achieve our goal of ending fluoridation. On the surface this appears tantalizingly simple. We just need the US Environmental Agency to do its job and to do it with integrity. But as we know from past experience this is far from simple when it comes to the EPA’s Office of Water, who have dragged their feet for over 10 years in determining a new safe drinking water standard for fluoride (this is called the maximum contaminant level goal or MCLG) as recommended by the National Research Council in 2006.
The US is still functioning on the archaic MCLG level of 4 ppm determined in 1986. This was based on the end point of crippling skeletal fluorosis and not more sensitive end points. This was an unscientific determination in 1986 and outrageously so in 2016, with the large body of evidence that fluoride is neurotoxic and has the potential to lower IQ in children at levels far lower than those that cause crippling skeletal fluorosis. In his brilliant analysis of this body of evidence, Michael Connett has given us hope by shifting our appeal to the EPA under provisions in the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).
This means that a different group at the EPA has to consider the science of our case, rather than the EPA’s Office of Water. The latter has clearly shown subservience to politics not science, in as much as they are far more interested in protecting a policy of the Public Health Service (water fluoridation) than in protecting the health of the public. This was made very clear in the joint press conference held in January 2011 between the Department of Health and Human Services (in reality the Oral Health Division of the CDC, a long term and biased promoter of fluoridation) and the EPA’s Office of Water.
Under TSCA the EPA has just 90 days to either accept or reject our petition (their deadline is Feb 20). If they reject our petition we will have the option to take the issue to Federal Court so that our case can be adjudicated on its scientific merits. In which case instead of the issue of fluoride’s neurotoxicity being resolved by public relations outfits and trolls on the internet, it will be examined more objectively with experts from both sides being cross-examined under oath. This is the last thing that promoters of fluoridation want to see. Thus we can anticipate many attempts by promoters between now and Feb 20 to undermine our case by fair means or foul.
So in the next few weeks our task is very clear: we need to educate as many citizens, scientists, decision-makers and the media as to the science and supporting documents in our petition. So making sure everyone you know – including your representatives – has access to the petition is critically important and for those who need a little help in understanding the breadth and depth of that science, the video “Michael Connett, Fluoride and the Brain” will be very helpful indeed.
For me the issue is even simpler than this. In my view no government has the right to force individuals to take a medicine without their informed consent. Further using the public water supply to deliver medical treatment is a clumsy and irrational way of treating people. If common sense, common decency (some people are extremely sensitive to fluoride’s toxicity) and ethics held sway fluoridation would never have started or ended years ago, as has happened in most of Europe. Unfortunately, in the handful of countries that continue to fluoridate their water ethical arguments don’t seem to carry much weight, so we need something more to end it. Fortunately, Michael along with dozens of research scientists have provided the science to do so – if we can at last cut through the politics.
When it comes to ethical considerations, promoters always use the plight of children from low-income families as the justification for forcing fluoridation on everyone else. But ironically, it is precisely because of these children that we shouldn’t fluoridate the water supply. Not only can their parents not avoid fluoride if they wish to do so, but with the likelihood of a poorer diet they are more vulnerable to fluoride’s toxic effects. The last children who need their IQ lowered in the US are children in low-income families. Instead of taking such risks we should investigate the successful cost-effective methods of reducing tooth decay in low-income families in Scotland and Denmark via their Childsmile and Nexo programs respectively. Children and their parents need better education on dental hygiene and diet (less sugar and soft drinks), not fluoridation.
Recent Fluoride-Free Victories
During our December fundraiser there were several fluoride-free victories that have kept the momentum moving in our favor as we transition into the new year:
- Arab, Alabama – The Alabama Supreme Court ruled that the water board in Arab had the authority to end fluoridation in 2015 due to safety concerns, and can now stop adding the chemical. Not long after the water board voted to end the practice, the city council challenged the board’s authority to do so; racking up a $300,000 legal bill for taxpayers in the town of 8,400.
- Dekalb Utility District, Tennessee –Utility district commissioners voted unanimously to end fluoridation once they launch their new water treatment plant for the town of at least 5,000. The District Manager said the decision was based on opposition from local residents, and the availability of fluoride from other sources.
- La Ville De Trois-Rivieres, Quebec – The city of approximately 135,000 has abandoned the fluoridation of their drinking water after the Mayor brought a resolution to the city council on December 5th. The Mayor introduced the resolution after the Quebec Ministry of Health and Social Services failed to act on the city’s request for the Ministry to consult with residents before initiating fluoridation. Insiders also said that local elections and strong resident opposition to the practice played a significant role in influencing the decision.
Sincerely,
The 2016 FAN Fundraising Team
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