I am a major fan of technology and all the benefits it provides, but it just sickens me to see how these chemicals are ruining the planet.

Plastic pollution is now inevitably entering the food chain, and it"s not just marine animals that are being affected. People, too, are ingesting minute levels of plastics every day, and being exposed to a potentially deadly mix of plastic chemicals and additives, including:

• Cancer-causing PFOAs
• PBDEs, which cause reproductive problems
• The reproductive toxins, phthalates
• BPA, which disrupts the endocrine system by mimicking the female hormone estrogen

One fact that should alarm you -- while the EPA has had everything in place to develop a screening program for endocrine disruptors since 1996, thanks to the Food Quality Protection Act, not one test has been conducted to date. In the meantime, the EPA keeps on approving chemicals at a clip of some 700 annually, relying heavily on the manufacturers that make them to be completely honest about their safety.

What is the result of mankind breathing, eating, drinking and absorbing all of this plastic?

Obesity, declining fertility rates and other reproductive problems, cancer and more. Particularly vulnerable are our children, who are exposed to plastics in the hospital, and through baby bottles and toys.

If you"re still looking for a reason to adopt a more natural, healthy lifestyle, this one is as good as any. Avoid these dangerous plastic chemicals in your life as much as possible by:

• Storing your food in glass, not plastic
• Avoiding processed foods (which are stored in bags with chemicals)
• Giving up on plastic shopping bags
• Not drinking bottled water

Giving up bottled water is one of the easiest things you can do to help protest the mess that we are in and that is only growing worse every day.