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Consumers like such programs because they
can contribute to the charitable causes
of their choice through the shopping they
are already doing. Charities like them because
they reap donations with hardly any effort.
And credit card companies benefit by gaining
access and marketing to millions of potential
new customers.
Plastic-wielding environmental advocates
can choose credit cards benefiting the Sierra
Club, Nature Conservancy, Humane Society
of the U.S., National Audubon Society and
Wilderness Society, among many others. The
credit card companies usually donate one
half of one percent to the non-profit for
every purchase, balance transfer or cash
advance. Typically, the groups also get
a donation for each new cardholder they
sign up and for each renewal.
Some 55,000 card-carrying members of the
Sierra Club have donated more than $1 million
to the group since it started its affinity
program in 1986. And the Humane Society
of the U.S. reports that its decade-old
affinity credit card program with MBNA has
accounted for donations of hundreds of thousands
of dollars each year from 37,000 account
holders.
Working Assets is another affinity program
worth considering for anyone who wants a
portion of their consumer dollar to help
environmental and other charitable causes.
The company, according to its website, has
generated over $47 million for nonprofits
since it began in 1985, helping such organizations
as Rainforest Action Network, Greenpeace,
Oxfam America and Human Rights Watch. The
company's long distance and wireless phone
services also donate to nonprofits and allow
their customers to have a say as to which
organizations receive donations and how
much.
Consumer advocates warn, though, that racking
up credit card debt is not economically
responsible even if payments benefit charities.
And customers should beware that affinity
cards usually have higher interest rates
than other cards. Also, savvy marketers
have realized that pasting scenic photos
of forests, mountains or wildlife on credit
cards can attract more customers even without
a specific donation-based affinity tie.
Websites such as CardRatings.com and CreditCardGuide.org
can help potential customers see the forest
for the trees when it comes to signing up
for credit cards, affinity-based or otherwise.
CONTACTS:
MBNA Cause-Related Credit Cards, www.mbna.com/creditcards/enviro_causes.html
Working Assets, www.workingassets.com/creditcard.cfm
CardRatings.com, www.cardratings.com
CreditCardGuide.org, www.creditcardguide.org
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Dear EarthTalk:
Is it true that toxins in some common childhood
vaccines cause
autism, and if so should I not have my children
vaccinated?
-
Peter Fox, Brewer, ME
Researchers studying neurological disorders
in children have zeroed in on thimerosal,
a mercury-based preservative once common
in vaccines, as a potential culprit in the
rise of autism cases in recent years. Preservatives
like thimerosal are used to prevent infection
in the event that a dose is accidentally
contaminated. Due to recent heightened concerns
over the potential effects of mercury on
child brain development, though, most vaccines
for U.S. children under the age of six no
longer contain thimerosal.
The issue received considerable attention
following a June 2005 Rolling Stone article
entitled “Deadly Immunity,”
by environmental lawyer and activist Robert
F. Kennedy, Jr. Kennedy claims that federal
officials covered up proven scientific links
between thimerosal and a 15-fold increase
in autism cases since 1991. At that time,
the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC)
had recommended that three additional vaccines
containing thimerosal be given to infants.
“More than 500,000 kids currently
suffer from autism, and pediatricians diagnose
more than 40,000 new cases every year,”
says Kennedy. “The disease was unknown
until 1943, when it was identified and diagnosed
among 11 children born in the months after
thimerosal was first added to baby vaccines…”
Due to the concerns of Kennedy and thousands
of like-minded parents, vaccine manufacturers
have begun to phase thimerosal out of injections
given to American infants. Unfortunately,
though, they have continued to export their
back stock of tainted vaccines to developing
countries, according to Kennedy. For instance,
autism was virtually unknown in China prior
to the introduction of thimerosal by U.S.
drug makers in 1999; today approximately
1.8 million Chinese children suffer from
the disorder. Even so, industry groups complain
that a direct link between autism and thimerosal
has not been definitively proven.
To be safe, parents may want to ask their
pediatrician if the vaccines he or she uses
contain thimerosal. Some flu and tetanus
shots containing thimerosal are still given
to pre-teens in the U.S., although preservative-free
versions are usually available upon request.
The FDA provides a listing on its website
of common children’s vaccines and
their thimerosal content, if any, and also
lists thimerosal-free alternatives.
Parents who are considering not vaccinating
their children at all should know that this
is a hotly debated topic--and this column
is in no position to recommend a course
of action. Most medical professionals argue
that vaccines have saved more lives than
any other kind of medical intervention and
recommend their use to guard against such
diseases as polio, diphtheria, rubella,
hepatitis B and many others. On the other
hand, critics believe that the medical benefits
of vaccines are exaggerated and that negative
reactions owed to toxic chemical ingredients
in many vaccines have been grossly under-reported.
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