All Our Vital Bodily Fluids Is Contaminated
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 03.14.08
An old trend seems to have resurfaced. Di-Nitro-Chickenwire suddenly is "everywhere".
So, we ask, has the resurgence of green in American politics tempted some to use fear-mongering to get "bad attention?"
First we have Associated Press, which we had thought was a mainly a press syndication outfit, trying to out-Greenpeace Greenpeace by sampling our drinking water for trace levels of synthetic drug residues. The test results got some action: they have drummed up US Congressional hearings and presumably some big Google hit rates.
And we are found to be peeing out tiny amounts of the synthetic sweet stuff.
LA Times reports that:
New tests of 100 "natural" and "organic" soaps, shampoos and other consumer products show that nearly half of them contained a cancer-causing chemical that is a byproduct of petrochemicals used in manufacturing."No kissing tonight my honeys, I might have a 1,4-dioxane, probably-human-carcinogen headache." said the ppt-conscious green demographic.Many items that tested positive for the carcinogen are well-known brands, including Kiss My Face, Alba, Seventh Generation and Nature's Gate products, sold in retail stores across the nation.
Most traditional soaps and shampoos contain 1,4-dioxane. But the discovery that the chemical is present in many housecleaning and personal care products, including some for babies, that are advertised as being natural, organic or "green" comes as somewhat of a surprise.
"Whaaaah", said the possibly-tainted baby as he ate his organic pears. "What on earth is the world coming to if you can't count on green design," asked his parents?
The compound is not intentionally added to products; it is a byproduct of a process used to soften harsh detergents. It is formed when foaming agents, or surfactants, are processed with ethylene oxide or similar petrochemicals.
Nothing is perfect.
Big issues like climate change and energy policy warrant our immediate attention. Politicians are watching.. Every thing we say and read and blog is observed...closely
Fretting endlessly over trace amounts of anything will turn the modern green movement into a politically depreciated Chicken Little, faster than you can say Dr. Strangelove.
We need to focus.
Via::Los Angeles Times, Environment, "Popular 'green' products test positive for toxicant"
Thirsty for more? Check out these related articles:
"IS" contaminated?
===author's response follows ===
Intentional bad grammar, intended to emphasize the "bad attention" getting immaturity of this trend. Sorry that my attempt at humor has failed (again).
Regards.
Dr. Strangelove
@strangelove ha ha, i read the title and felt a throwback to old PC gamer cheats like "all your bases belong to us". Admittedly, that didn't make any sense to the post, but I enjoyed the nostalgia, nonetheless.
I thought the same as Jeffrey. By the way, it was "All your base are belong to us".
ah, that's it anon! it truly has been quite a while since those days. what game was that again? was it the original half life?
Isn't this a good thing? Water was found to be contaminated and now there is a congressinal hearing about it.
The author seems to be arguing that we shouldn't be worried about small environmental lapses, but only go after the big things. That seems wrong to me. For 2 reasons:
1. the more people who are concerned about contaminated tap water, the more who will start to be concerned about the environment in general.
2. (more importantly) these issues are potentially dangerous and we should be concerned about them.
I wonder: if Greenpeace had discovered that some tap water is contaminated, would this post even have been written?
Isn't this a good thing? Water was found to be contaminated and now there is a congressinal hearing about it.
The author seems to be arguing that we shouldn't be worried about small environmental lapses, but only go after the big things. That seems wrong to me. For 2 reasons:
1. the more people who are concerned about contaminated tap water, the more who will start to be concerned about the environment in general.
2. (more importantly) these issues are potentially dangerous and we should be concerned about them.
I wonder: if Greenpeace had discovered that some tap water is contaminated, would this post even have been written?
With all due respect, this probably isn't as small an issue as you're making out. If you don't care about human health, there are plenty of effects on animal health too, which could be contributing to extinctions. The chemicals they're testing for are just the tip of the iceberg.
I'm surprised that Treehugger is downplaying the seriousness of this issue. I am certainly concerned about carcinogenic ingredients in my children's body products and in our household cleaning products. I am sure many other people - parents or not - feel the same. This is no small issue to me and I so no reason why these companies can't find ways to make safe products that do not contain 1,4 dioxane, espeically since they are touting "natural" product lines. Now with the media attention paid to 1,4 dioxane, they will probably make sure to remove it. And I see that as a good thing.