Very informative. Thanks!
PS How was your raking?
I live but to serve. Write. Whatever.
Raking was surprisingly not-bad (I've left a summary in the last batch.) Whew. And... don't have to do it again for 6 months!
This Gentle Reader is very happy with the response, not just that it means she is not contaminating her food too much, and because it makes sense and counteracts those scary e-mails that go around every so often. The next time I'm in a store I'll look for some waxed paper, so I'll at least feel a little better about my environmental impact. Congrats on surviving the raking!
Thanks for the information, JF, this is great. I did read a lot of scary stuff about microwaving plastics, not so much plastic wraps, but actual plastic containers. One thing about microwaving plastic that I do not like at all is that there is often melting or warping of the plastic, which is just gross, even if arguably harmless. Also gross is the staining that occurs if you put tomato sauce in them. OK, so I'm a little squeamish. 
I bought a few small Pyrex glass dishes with plastic lids, and use those for all microwaving now (minus the plastic lids). The great thing is they can also go in the oven, so I have a choice as to how to reheat my leftovers, which you don't have with plastics.
Awesome, thanks for spreading the science news and info!
Glass pyrex dishes with lids MUCH better, I agree, Sara! The staining/smell that is left in the plastic tupperwar-ish ones is ick. I'm going to go the wax paper route now too. I used to buy saran wrap because you know, it's supposed to stick to the thing you are wrapping. But it never does really. So what's the point. Down with (petroleum-based) plastic, I say!!!
Wow, what a cool blog - I'm so glad I followed the link back from you delurking on my blog. I'll be back!
JF, you rock! I love the diagrams! (I'm married to Bill Nye the Science Guy, by the way (okay, not the real one), who on one of our first dates drew a diagram on the back of a placemat to explain to me why the sky is blue.)
Aw, shucks, y'all! And come back Monday for the second half now, y'hear?
Sara, the FDA's recommendation is in fact "don't use stuff that melts. 'Cause it melts." And that red thing you get from tomato sauce? Ick. I've been known to throw stuff out rather than wash it.
My sister gave me some unwanted glass pyrex with lids (I microwave the lids too!) and yeah, they're great! I make souffles in them sometimes too. All-purpose.
I get so angry at alarmist pseudoscience, and especially elevation of risk: I refer to it as the local-news 'Something YOU use EVERY DAY could KILL YOU!' Yes. And so could getting hit by lightning. Raise your hand if you worry about that regularly, beyond not standing in a field. Nobody? Yeah.
Songbird, thank goodness for Wikipedia! Amazing what people do with their free time. Your dear spouse sounds charming in the very best geeky-science way.
Thanks for this good info.I'll be back, too.
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