Letters to my kid. By Neville Agnew
Hi Emma,
Not a fun story but a diatribe against glitter.
Love, Pa
If it were gold glinting in the miner’s pan it could well start a gold rush as has happened before—in California, South Africa, Australia and elsewhere over the centuries. No, I’m not talking about gold with its universal allure, and its enduring sheen (that is, it doesn’t react easily with other substances to dull its surface, like silver which tarnishes) nor even fool’s gold, iron pyrites, but Glitter, that pernicious substance so beloved by Christmas card manufacturers and those who buy their products. Glitter is a pollutant that is in your body and mine, in the ocean depths, in fish, buried in archaeological sites, in lipsticks and nail polish, and it’s here to stay with adverse health problems for all of the biosphere. I opened a card a year ago and glitter was on my hands, on my desk, and it took some effort to remove. I felt I had been glitter-bombed – have you heard of that stunt? Even so, today I noticed one or two tiny reflective flakes lodged in the grain of the wood of my desk. They have been there for a year. I picked them out with a needle, decided to find out more and turned to Wikipedia, that wonderful self-correcting source.
So, what is the stuff made of? We know what it is used for—to make something or person attractive like a cosmetic, by drawing attention by means of the reflective sparkles of light that emanate from the object. Glitter is like a microform of sequins which are sewn onto a garment for the same purpose. It’s no surprise then that this type of cosmetic has been around since antiquity. Mica, malachite, galena and even crushed beetles have been found in archaeological sites from Egypt to the Americas. But modern glitter was invented in the 1930s at first from pieces of glossy cellulose and later from scrap plastic. Today some 20,000 varieties are manufactured in different colors, sizes and shapes and Wikipedia reports one estimate of 10 million pounds being purchased or produced between 1989 and 2009 (but without reference). The commercial products range in size from 0.002 to 0.25 inches a side and are cut from sheets of plastic containing coloring and reflective materials like aluminum, titanium dioxide, iron oxide, and bismuth oxychloride.
Some environmental scientists have proposed bans on glitter as a health hazard and impact on species, as it is estimated to take about !000 years to degrade, though some degradable glitters have now appeared on the market few people seem to be aware of its widespread permeation throughout the ecosphere. We should remember that GLITTER IS LITTER and never use the stuff, particularly where it can get into the air, water, and food and lead to as yet poorly understood health effects on children as well as the environment.
Neville Agnew, now retired, worked in the Getty’s heritage preservation programs in many countries for over thirty years. He and his wife Nancy are longtime Topanga residents. He is by avocation an environmentalist and enthusiastic gardener.
“I, the Blue Jay” (a Holiday at Red Rock Canyon Park, CA) by Kiel Shaub
I’m not broke if that’s what you’re talking about
no
I am rich
rich in all things
if you will
please
let me share them with you
let me share
the ant’s sojourn forth
and back again
along each layer of
the brittle red boulder
on which I sit
and am come to greet you
baking in the winter sun
Not quiet
no not quiet at all
the ravens would not keep quiet
for all the world
nor even the little lizard
taking the shade under
my indigo towel
whose departing legs
made a sound you wouldn’t believe
among the oldest
of breathing things
all here
if you are listening
in the echoing canyon
not an escape from
but a part
no
the foundation
of everything else
Ah!
That yellow warbler
whirring past
and down
down
into the vast recess
of the canyon
a bright projectile
above the chaparral,
climbing now
climbing into the shadow immense
of the Awful Family
Oh Holy
Holy
Holy
Holiday
It is the winter holiday
we arrive once again
to feast
the ancient rock
Mira! Mira! come the walkers calling
It is I, the blue jay,
who sing the ocean’s breezes
upon this circle here
of human make
a rock necklace
wreathed with the crimson husks
of wild buckwheat
blown across the layers
Kiel Shaub lives in Topanga and teaches at the University of Southern California, where he is Academic Curator for the EXL Lab, designing and teaching dynamic experiential-learning courses at the intersection of mind-body health, sustainability, and creative expression. His favorite poet is William Blake
