By Alastair Iles, November 16, 2009 · Posted under Environmental Issues, Health Issues

We recently covered the discovery by British scientists that at least one nanomaterial may affect human cells at a distance. This is only one of the many human health and environmental issues associated with nanotechnology. Unfortunately, some companies are rushing to use nanotechnology without screening it for risks to human health.

Now, the Woodrow Wilson Center’s Nanotechnology Project has released a new application for the iPhone or iPod Touch: findNano. This app allows consumers to look up the Inventory with their phone to see if the product they’re looking at may have nanotechnology. Often, the ingredient list and the package doesn’t mention the presence of nanomaterials, but the Woodrow Wilson Center has gathered data from what manufacturers say about their products. Currently, the inventory lists over 1000 products, with more showing up each week.

Consumers also now have the ability to snap a picture of a product that they think has nanotechnology and send it to the Woodrow Wilson Center for investigation. We’re particularly excited by this innovation, since it gives consumers the power to ask questions of companies. This is an example of making product ingredients more transparent, as the GoodGuide Transparency Manifesto urges.

Professor Alastair Iles is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management at the University of California, Berkeley. Dr. Iles studies science, technology, and environment, with a focus on how technologies – ranging from chemistry, energy systems, environmental health monitoring, to information technology - affect society and the environment. He received his PhD in Environmental Law and Policy from Harvard University, and previously studied Law at the University of Melbourne, Australia.

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By Alastair Iles, October 13, 2008 · Posted under Environmental Issues

The Rainforest Action Network last week called on leading United States companies to stop using palm oil in food and cosmetics products because of the environmental havoc that rapidly growing palm oil plantations are causing in Asia.

The palm oil plantations are helping drive the destruction of the last tropical forests in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Papua New Guinea. These forests contain great wildlife variety, support indigenous societies, and absorb greenhouse gases. Species such as orangutans and the Borneo rhinoceros risk extinction within decades.

Clearing and burning the forests release carbon into the atmosphere, and breaks down the natural cycle in which growing trees absorb carbon every year. Scientists estimate that the forests in Riau, a province of Sumatra, could absorb a year’s worth of global greenhouse gases. Surprisingly, Indonesia is now the third biggest emitter of greenhouse gases worldwide. This is because the country doesn’t control land use by industry. Many United States companies, including Archer Daniels Midland, Burger King, Cargill, Dove Soap, and Procter and Gamble, are buying palm oil from Asia.

To back up its demand, the Rainforest Action Network demonstrated outside supermarkets in cities across the United States, including Austin, Boston, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, and New York City. The group wants supermarkets to put a sticker on products containing palm oil: “Warning! Product May Contain Rainforest Destruction.”

To see if your product contains palm oil, look at the ingredient list, or visit the new database at http://www.theproblemwithpalmoil.org.

Professor Alastair Iles is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management at the University of California, Berkeley. Dr. Iles studies science, technology, and environment, with a focus on how technologies – ranging from chemistry, energy systems, environmental health monitoring, to information technology - affect society and the environment. He received his PhD in Environmental Law and Policy from Harvard University, and previously studied Law at the University of Melbourne, Australia.

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By Alastair Iles, October 02, 2008 · Posted under Environmental Issues

The Sierra Club recently got some ink in the Galveston Daily News for its campaign to remove nonyl phenoxy ethoxylate (NPE) from laundry detergents.

NPE can hurt the growth and reproduction of fish and shellfish by upsetting their hormone systems, and can make male fish more female. And NPE doesn’t break down naturally – in fact, sewage processing may only make NPE more toxic. When your dirty laundry water enters the sewage system, NPE can spread into rivers and oceans.

The chemical is banned in Canada and the European Union, but not the United States, and there’s been little pressure on companies or the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to target NPE.

But you can take action to remove NPE from your laundry. The most obvious way: If your laundry detergent lists ingredients, you can look for NPE on the box or bottle. You can buy a safer detergent. Some detergents contain NPE alternatives such as alcohol ethoxylate, which a recent Sierra Club report suggests is less toxic and can break down naturally. The report also says that some companies have begun eliminating NPE from their products, including Proctor and Gamble and Cintas Corporation.

FOR MORE DETAILS: You can find the Sierra Club report at http://www.sierraclub.org/toxics/laundry.

Professor Alastair Iles is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management at the University of California, Berkeley. Dr. Iles studies science, technology, and environment, with a focus on how technologies – ranging from chemistry, energy systems, environmental health monitoring, to information technology - affect society and the environment. He received his PhD in Environmental Law and Policy from Harvard University, and previously studied Law at the University of Melbourne, Australia.

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