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Luckily consumers have many alternatives
to choose from. A handful of forward-thinking
companies have risen to the challenge of
developing car care products that won't
harm our bodies or the environment. Many
car wax manufacturers have discovered that
wax naturally-extracted from the Carnauba
palm of Brazil does a great job of protecting
auto paint and clear coat from bird poop,
dead bugs and other nasties. Optimum Car
Wax, for example, can protect your car’s
finish without abrasive chemicals and instead
combines Carnauba wax with lanolins (obtained
from sheep’s wool) like those found
in gentle hand lotions.
For washing your vehicle, Simple Green Car
Wash Cleaner handles automotive dirt, grime,
grease, bug stains and everything in-between
without polluting. The concentrated formula
contains none of the toxic volatile organic
compounds (VOCs) found in most such cleaners.
It can be used safely to clean paint, clear
coat, windows, chrome, rubber, canvas and
vinyl. Another environmentally sensitive
way to clean off caked-on bug guts and other
gooey debris without resorting to noxious
chemicals is by dissolving baking soda in
warm water, then gently rubbing the mixture
into the car with a soft cloth.
Detailer’s Pride Gel Wheel Cleaner,
available online at driveit.com, among other
retailers, is an environmentally sensitive
choice for removing caked on brake dust
on wheels and grime off trunk lids and engine
compartments. It also gets stains off of
vinyl and convertible tops, cleans greasy
door jams, and is ideal for loosening and
removing bug and white wax residues. It
is water based, and contains no harmful
solvents or chemicals.
For keeping your vehicle’s moving
parts at optimal performance, Balchip Corporation,
based in Toronto, Ontario, offers a wide
range of environmentally friendly engine
treatments and fuel additives that serve
to dissolve corrosive build-ups and keep
parts working together smoothly. Based on
the pioneering research of Canadian biochemist
Paul Deogrades, all Balchip products are
derived from plants and trees and as such
are completely biodegradable and non-toxic.
CONTACTS:
Simple Green, http://consumer.simplegreen.com
driveit.com/Detailer’s Pride Gel Wheel
Cleaner, www.driveit.com/tirewheelcare.html
Balchip Corporation, www.greencarcare.com
Optimum Car Wax, www.optimumcarcare.com
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Dear EarthTalk:
What’s the story with electro-magnetic
fields? Can you really get
cancer from living near clusters of power
lines or from sleeping
near the fuse box in your house?
-
Tim Hutchins, Arcata, CA
Over the past 25 years, there has been growing
concern and controversy in the scientific
community--and in the public domain--about
possible links between electro-magnetic
fields (EMFs) and any of several forms of
cancer.
EMFs are invisible lines of force that radiate
from sources of electricity, including power
lines and transformers, interior home wiring
and all electrical appliances, gadgets and
machinery. These fields have both electric
and magnetic components that diminish in
strength with distance. The electric segment
of the field may be at least partially blocked
by physical barriers, such as walls, trees
and partitions, but the magnetic segment
is much less easily shielded.
In an attempt to clear up concerns and uncertainties
about the health effects of EMFs, the federally
funded National Institute of Environmental
Health Sciences (NIEHS) conducted a multi-million
dollar, five-year study of all relevant
EMF research during the mid-1990s. Although
NIEHS concluded in 1998 that there was still
no clear answer to the question of risk,
it did affirm that extremely low frequency
(ELF) EMFs should be classified as possible
human carcinogens in the case of two cancers:
childhood leukemia related to residential
exposure; and chronic lymphocytic leukemia
in adults in occupational settings.
A few years later the World Health Organization
concluded, based on studies of childhood
leukemia, that ELF magnetic (but not electric)
fields were possibly carcinogenic to humans.
But uncertainty remains. One of NIEHS’s
key conclusions in 1998 was: “Despite
a multitude of studies, there remains considerable
debate over what...health effects result
from exposure to EMF. There is still no
clear answer to the question, ‘Can
exposure to electric and magnetic fields
resulting from production, distribution
and use of electricity promote cancer or
initiate other health problems?’”
NIEHS decided there was inadequate evidence
to draw any clear conclusions.
But while the evidence of EMFs effects on
humans is not conclusive, May Dooley, whose
company Enviro Health Environmental Home
Inspections provides comprehensive on-site
EMF testing, cites several scientific studies
showing that EMF exposure has increased
the size and number of tumors in laboratory
animals. She recommends reducing exposure
as much as possible: “If someone with
cancer knew that eating a certain food would
speed up the growth of tumors, you can bet
that he or she wouldn’t eat that food.”
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