Living Well, Living Green: Mommy Greenest Advocates for an Update of the Toxic Substances Control Act

Remember all those John Hughes movies filled with drama and teen-aged angst? That's my daughter, about four days out of the month. Sobbing frenzies predicated by a far-flung brush and "I hate my hair!" A room full of clothes and nothing to wear. Crying jags over misunderstandings.

She's nine.

A new study has me wondering if this monthly moodiness has something to do with PMS. An August, Pediatrics published a study that found one in ten girls have already begun developing breasts--the first sign of puberty--by the age of eight ,and that the cause may be exposure to hormone-disrupting chemicals like Bisphenol A (BPA), found in plastics and food-can linings, as well as preservatives, surfactants, pesticides and plastic additives.

The problem, it seems, is that these chemicals mimic estrogen in the body, thus tricking it into starting the process of puberty earlier than necessary.

The bigger problem is that our government hasn't passed any toxic substances regulation since 1976, so chemicals like these can be developed and added to products without any requirement for safety testing. My daughter's exposure to BPA from a water bottle or pesticides on the soccer field grass may be small in each case, but the cumulative effect of these exposures on her small body is huge. Early puberty means early breast development, which puts her at a higher risk for breast cancer.

Breast cancer from a bottle? Indeed.

Please, please, please, moms, if you care about your daughters and mine, please get involved with Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families and support the Safe Chemicals Act and the Toxic Chemicals Safety Act--pending in the Senate and House of Representatives, respectively--which demands new science that will bring our chemical policies up to date. It doesn't cost anything. It only takes a minute.

And at the end of the day, it can make a difference in our children's lives.

Find out more at MommyGreenest.com.

Savings.com Green Guru Rachel Lincoln Sarnoff is a writer, producer and marketing consultant who focuses on sustainable fashion, beauty, lifestyle and parenting--and the creator of EcoStiletto.com, an online magazine which explains, in real-girl terms, how eco-friendly choices can help turn your carbon footprint from a ginormous Ugg into an oh-so-slender Manolo.