[Jewelry making - Article 01153] - Re: [Orchid] Environmental lead contamination

[Ian W. Wright]

========[ Invite a Friend - http://www.ganoksin.com/invite.htm  ]========

>     a direct correlation between the removal of lead from paint and
>     gasoline and the drop in violent crime 

    I didn't intend to take this discussion any further but I think the
    above statement needs some comment. 

    Firstly, I would question that violent crime has, in fact, fallen -
    how many times before 10 - 15 years ago would you hear of a child
    running into a school with a gun and massacring many people? In my
    youth and before, violent crime was much rarer than it is now - so
    rare in, for example, the 19th century that songs and ballads were
    made up about the few notable transgressors such as, in my area,
    Charlie Peace who murdered two people and then went on the run until
    he was caught and hanged a few weeks later (his second murder was
    committed less than 1/2 mile from my house) - compare that with
    todays crimes! http://tinyurl.com/2a4rg2 Most of todays criminals
    were brought up in an age where lead levels were already being
    drastically reduced and that contamination was being replaced with
    contamination from copper and Polyphenols in plastics ! 

    The increase in violent crime - and other types of crime - were more
    the result of two main factors. 

    The first of these was the economic and social pressure which
    persuaded women that it was appropriate for them to take full time
    jobs. This lead to the generation of 'latchkey kids' who lacked the
    home supervision, control and the teaching of respect that earlier
    generations enjoyed. These kids also learned the true meaning of
    boredom and frustration as they were not taught how to occupy their
    minds in handicrafts, youth clubs etc. and it is probably this
    factor more than any other that pushed the more impressionable kids
    into the 'macho' world of crime. Not only that but the deterrent of
    corporal punishment was removed so that they knew that simply saying
    'sorry' coupled with a bit of good acting would get them out of 90%
    of the trouble they got themselves into. The second likely cause was
    the large amount of immigration in the 1960 - 70's from nations in
    which violence was considered a normal way of settling disputes. What
    percentage of current crime centres about these former immigrant
    communities? Thankfully, due to the hard work of community leaders,
    this crime does seem to be reducing but, in my area at least, it is
    still the biggest percentage of all crime committed. 

    Unfortunately our politicians like to base their decisions and
    policies on 'studies' rather than on common sense - this is why they
    are currently targetting CO2 emissions of industry rather than the
    methane emissions of termites, ants and, to a lesser extent, cattle
    which have a bigger effect on global warming (methane is up to 60
    times more damaging to the ozone layer than CO2) - no one has yet
    thought to 'study' these and there might not be an easily visible
    solution but how many termites do you think you have in the US
    constantly belching out methane?? 

Best wishes,
Ian
Ian W. Wright
Sheffield UK
____________________________________________________________________
T h e   O r c h i d   L i s t
Open Electronic Forum for Jewelry Manufacturing Methods and Procedures
____________________________________________________________________
Orchid FAQ:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/orchid/faq.htm
Orchid Archives:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/orchid/archive
Orchid Galleries:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/orchid/gallery.htm
Invite a Friend:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/invite.htm
____________________________________________________________________
Tips From The Jeweler's Bench - Article Archive
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/borisat/tip_sear.htm
The Jeweler's Selected Bibliography List
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/jewelry-books
Buy Orchid Jewelry:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/shop
____________________________________________________________________
-Unsubscribe:
-Email: orchid-request AT ganoksin.com Body=unsubscribe subject=blank
____________________________________________________________________