The active ingredient in Drano and other conventional drain cleaners is sodium hydroxide, otherwise known as caustic soda or lye. It is a man-made chemical used for its corrosive properties. According to the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, the substance is not considered a pollutant per se, as it separates into relatively harmless component elements once released into water or moist soil.
Recent revelations by Berkeley researcher Tad Patzek have fueled vigorous debate about the wisdom of using fuels such as ethanol to reduce our reliance on oil and our contribution to global warming. Patzek’s research
Recent revelations by Berkeley researcher Tad Patzek have fueled vigorous debate about the wisdom of using fuels such as ethanol to reduce our reliance on oil and our contribution to global warming. Patzek’s research concluded that producing ethanol actually uses more energy than the resulting fuel can generate.
More than 80 percent of American households use chlorine bleach to whiten their clothes and clean inside their homes, but most consumers don’t realize that the use of this seemingly innocuous cleaning additive could be polluting their home as well as the great outdoors.
Environmentalists have been worried about CD jewel case disposal ever since compact discs first became popular in the 1980s. Jewel cases are made out of Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC), a petrochemical-based plastic that is notoriously difficult to recycle and has been linked to elevated
No single storm or its intensity can be attributed to climate change alone, but scientists do believe that warmer ocean temperatures as a result of global warming may be intensifying the strength of hurricanes—and therefore could have contributed to Katrina’s fury.
Where can I find carpeting without the strong odors and health concerns of conventional synthetic materials?
Electronics manufacturers use arsenic as an efficient conductor of electricity, useful when periodic strong bursts are needed, but is it poisoning us?
Probably the best way to make your worn out sneakers go the extra mile is to recycle them through Nike’s Reuse-a-Shoe program, which since 1993 has converted more than 15 million old athletic shoes (any brand, not just its own) into components in more than 170 community
Environmental groups have been advocating for changes in the paper choices of the publishing industry for years. For one, Greenpeace’s Book Campaign has been working to convince publishers to switch from non-recycled “virgin” paper to more green-friendly recycled varieties.
