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Some 'green' products contained over 50 per cent petroleum-based carbon components
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Posted on 04/03/2011 10:23:46 PM PDT by neverdem
Household and personal products making claims about the sustainability of their ingredients may not be all they seem. According to analysis by US researchers, many such products contain surprising amounts of petroleum-derived ingredients.
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Some 'green' products contained over 50 per cent petroleum-based carbon components
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For products sold in the US that make label claims such as 'naturally sourced' or 'plant based', they found between between 3 and 57 per cent petroleum-derived carbon. 'We were particularly surprised by one product claiming to be "petrochemical free",' says Kay Gebhardt, a product analyst from Seventh Generation. 'It contained 31 per cent petroleum based carbon.'
If a product contains no carbon-14, its carbon must be entirely derived from fossil petroleum sources - the carbon-14 present when prehistoric forests or organisms last absorbed CO2 from the atmosphere has long since decayed underground. If carbon-14 is present, the percentage can be used to calculate the proportion of plant based, renewable ingredients.
The researchers shared their results at the American Chemical Society meeting in Anaheim, US. They didn't name products. 'We weren't aiming to embarrass our competitors. This started out as an internal project to quantify our own products,' explains Gebhardt. 'We tested competitors' products out of interest and were surprised by the results.'
Sustainability claims are not currently regulated by the US government - but the team hope that others will adopt the method, which they have registered with voluntary standards agency ASTM. They see it as a tool for validating raw materials and backing up product claims.
The team also tested a wide range of products that made no claims about the source of their ingredients. 'We were pleased to note that products making no sustainability claims contained between 28 and 44 per cent non-fossil carbon. Five years ago it was hard to find good naturally-derived raw materials for personal and home care products,' recalls Gebhardt. 'The palette has expanded considerably, formulators appear to be selecting them even when they don't wish to make sustainability claims - which is great news,' she adds.
Deep-ocean vents are a source of oil and gas (evidence of abiogenic hydrocarbons)
They found no carbon-14 in the methane from the vent, but what is the carbon-14 level of carbon dioxide from all sources that are natural, e.g. volcanic emissions. IIRC, only 3 % of atmospheric carbon dioxide is anthropogenic, i.e. man made for those of you in Rio Linda.
“Green” is about marketing today. Nothing more.
Green doesn’t live up to their labels in more ways than one. They don’t do the job.
“New and Improved - Now with 30% more carbon-14 and Mammoth!”
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FReepmail me if you want on or off my health and science ping list.
See how your dishwasher performs with “green products”. Why do you have to buy a product to “clean” your HE washer? It’s a WASHER. Shouldn’t it self clean?
These people are not taking into consideration that we go the extra mile in manufacturing formulating blending our Artisanal, Hypoallergenic, Locally Sustainable, All-Natural, Organic Boutique Personal Products.
To guard our Valued Customers Clients User Partners, we used Advanced Cyclonic and Osmotic Membranes to REMOVE all of the C^12 from our (already the finest obtainable) plant extracts. We go the EXTRA MILE to insure that NO UNSTABLE NUCLEAR ISOTOPES remain to possibly cause harm! We do NOT use petroleum products...though a bit of coal does seem to slip in now & then.
Good, can I have my phosphates back, please?
We'll leave that to someone else now that we've shown the method, heh, heh.
That's the right answer. The carbon has been in the ground long enough that the radioactive C14 is gone. Living things incorporate radioactive C14 as it's made in the atmosphere and inhaled (plants) or ingested (animals).
Other processes that take up C14 and store it in the ground usually keep it long enough for the C14 to disappear, about 60,000 years.
I wonder if they took into account the amount of time the “green” products sat on the store shelf.
Regulating carbon and CO2. to achieve more ‘’green’’ products is a politicans dream. They are imaginary boogy men that nothing can stop but that won’t prevent the pols. from spending trillions of the taxpayers money endlessly.
Not to those of us who have been paying attention. It's a scam.
Who would have thought?
With a side of "charge more."
Green is newspeak for Red.
Yeah, that always made me laugh. People always are shocked when they find out that a "green" company's product isn't that great and actually worse for the enviroment. Seems like people would figure this scam out by now, but I'm not holding my breath.
crap cost more, and doesn’t work as well.......enough said. Especially the recycled TP, might as well use a corn cob.
“New and Improved - Smaller, more convenient packaging yet the Same Price. 0% Trans Fats. Radon-Free. 2% of Minimum Daily Requirements for detergent. Less than 99% fillers. Lifetime, Money-back guarantee. “
many such products contain surprising amounts of petroleum-derived ingredients
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