Mathis Wackernagel, Phd, co-creator of the term ‘Ecological Footprint’, will be in Israel on Thursday, speaking at a Tel Aviv University Porter Environmental School presentation.
Wackernagel completed his doctorate in Community & Regional Planning at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, and his thesis research led to his development of the concept of the ecological footprint, roughly meaning human impact upon the world.
Clean water is a human right, a life giving force that should be universally available and commonly owned and managed.
Right now, corporations pump billions of litres of water – water that belongs to everyone – out of underground aquifers each year and sell it back to us at a profit. Even worse, bottled water companies are also responsible for hundreds of millions of virgin plastic water bottles each year.
Bottled water also does not always have the same supervision and standards that tap water has. Often your tap is healthier than the plastic bottles of water you buy. If you don’t like the taste of your tap water, then filter it. Save on money, plastics and green your self daily!
Enviro-friendly folks like to extol the virtues of using Ecover. We use some of the products ourselves. Heck, the company’s even been recognized by the United Nations for their work in “cleaning” up the environment.
The plant-based products, which include dish washing soap to floor detergent, are popular among the green types, especially those who consider themselves eco-chic. Admittedly we do feel a bit holier than thou when we use them, feeling as though we have the luxury to pour our washing machine’s grey water all over the garden.
But is Ecover really all that green? The brand may have a brown stain. According to a new survey by Organic Consumers Association, Ecover dish washing detergent has about double the amount of cancer-causing dioxane in it than regular run-o-the-mill washing up detergent.
Dioxane, according to Wikipedia, is a known eye and respiratory tract irritant. It can cause damage to the central nervous system, liver and kidneys. It is a known carcinogen in animals. Used as a solvent, the chemical is also found in foaming agents and as a byproduct in cosmetics manufacturing.
Should we be worried?
The somewhat un-green exposure of Ecover has made it to some of the smaller blogs and community forums such as the Israel_Wholistic_Forum (where we first spotted the find), Allie’s Green Answers and Life Goggles.
Allie wrote Ecover and this is the response she got:
Substantial quantities of dioxane are found in the production of synthetic fibers, such as polyester, a fabric that is worn daily by roughly 85 % of the planet’s population.
Mainly produced by two US companies, the ingredient is also used in high dosages as a solvent in mass production, including the paper and cotton industry as well as the polymer industry for the production of PET bottles.
It is therefore astonishing that the above-mentioned investigation turned a blind eye on such superabundant and well-spread sources and preferred to single out easy-to-research, mere minute traces of dioxine in detergents.
Several years ago, the European detergent industry put a limit on dioxane traces at 100 parts per million of surfactant. Ecover’s own criterion is set at half, namely 50 parts per million.
This leads to values as low as the 2,4 parts detected in the Ecover product. The threshold for reporting the presence of dioxane in tap water in The Netherlands, a country with a stringent environmental legislation, is 3 parts per million parts of water. This means that, in the unlikely event, you drank an entire bottle of pure Ecover Dishwashing liquid you still wouldn’t reach that threshold!”
Perhaps a zero tolerance limit on green products is too much to expect. The news, however, is important for a number of reasons. For one, it will probably blow the lid off the airtight market that Ecover has around the world. Over here in Israel, Ecover is by far the most dominant eco-cleaning product, now being sold even in mainstream grocery stores.
Secondly, do any of us really wonder what makes a cleaning product eco? Other materials in Ecover such as sodium lauryl sulphate are also linked to cancer. Maybe the product is phosphate free, but that doesn’t mean it’s home free (in our green books).
Another thing we’d been wondering about Ecover is all that plastic packaging. Sure it’s possible in some locations to buy the less polluting refillable solutions, but really? Why haven’t the greens thought up a type of cleaning product concentrate, the size of a capsule that one can toss into a bottle and refill with regular tap water? That would save immensely on packaging, transport and disposal waste.
Over here in Israel and on Green Prophet, Sophie from Tinok Yarok imports and sells a Canadian brand called Worx. We’d be interested to hear why Sophie imports this brand and not Ecover.
And back to the survey. Which brands do measure up to the highest green standards?
For minimizing dioxane risk, the best grade goes to Dr. Bronner as non-detectable for dioxane. The brand carries soaps which are not only organic and safe, but all purpose. One soap can go from washing dishes, to teeth, floors and laundry. We had a boyfriend in Toronto once who swore by the stuff – using it to wash his teeth and his hair!
See a screener for a new film about Dr. Bronner. Warning, he’s quirky.
Dr. Bronner was a holocaust survivor, who had a vision to promote world peace. Last we heard there was no-one selling Dr. Bronner in Israel, although his website is selling Holy Land fair trade olive oil.
A business opportunity?
Update #2: see the discussion we started unfold at TreeHugger (there are some great comments by chemists)
For better or for worse, Israel has become a leader in the technology industry. Innovations like solar power and drip-irrigation help to conserve scarce natural resources.
But on the other hand, chemical-dependent intensive farming has polluted Israel’s soil and groundwater, not to mention putting the safety of farmers at risk of exposure to pesticides.
So it’s timely that Tel Aviv University’s Porter School for Environmental Studies is hosting a symposium this week (Wednesday 8 April) on environmental technology research, including the issues of renewable energy and environmental rehabilitation.
However, a cursory glance at the programme includes topics on the wonders of biofuels and genetically-modified crops. Could this be a case of greenwash?
Last week we reported the good news about a new environmentally friendly laundromat service in Tel Aviv. But what about those delicate items that you can’t just throw in the laundry? Things like silk, wool, or garments with sequins and embroidery? Usually you’d just take these to the dry cleaner’s, right?
Well, think again. Most dry cleaners use tetrachloroethene or perchloroethylene (PERC), chemical compounds that dissolve organic materials.
The problem with these chemicals is that constant exposure poses a serious risk to the workers in contact with the dry cleaning, to you (causing both short term and long term health damage), and to the environment.
The short term health effects of exposure to these chemicals are dizziness, confusion, nausea, skin irritation, and unconsciousness. Long term effects include spontaneous abortions, fertility problems, and liver and kidney damage.
“The Land, in its depth, does not forget”
S.Yizhar (1916 – 2006)
S.Yizhar (Yizhar Smilansky) was Israel’s foremost writer, professor of literature and education, and long serving MK, but primarily a man of the land. He served the State of Israel in many ways, as soldier in the War of Independence, as peacemaker, formidable politician of the left, and as someone who put the environment, the unrelenting desert soil, first and foremost.
A Green Prophet indeed!
In earlier posts we’ve talked about what to feed your baby—but what about your infant?
Breastfeeding is the number one choice for at least the first six months, and is recommended by many doctors for the first year. But this is not always an option for mothers, and that’s when baby bottles come into play.
The bad news is that baby bottles, nipples and accessories may contain toxic chemicals such as bisphenol-A and phthalates that can leach into your baby’s milk.
So what to do?
The appropriately named “Angel’s Laundromat” chain in Tel Aviv just added a new kind of service to their list of offerings. Environmentally friendly laundry service.
The service is eco-friendly because the laundromat provides a reusable cloth bag for the clothes instead of a plastic bag, uses dryers that are powered by natural gas as opposed to electricity, and uses non-toxic, natural detergents.
Green Prophet recently reported on the growing popularity of organic food in Israel, and the trend towards small farms who are delivering straight to people’s front doors to maximise freshness and reduce costs.
Organic farming produces high quality food using natural processes instead of depending on synthetic chemicals, so it’s music to our ears that to learn that the production of eco-friendly fruit, vegetables and other tasty treats topped 1 billion shekels last year.
Figures just out from the Israel Bio-Organic Agriculture Association (IBOAA) show that sales in Israel grew by 30% since 2006 and organic systems now account for almost 5% of total agriculture in Israel – a figure comparable to many western countries where the organic market is much more developed.
However, much of the fresh produce is still enjoyed by consumers overseas, mainly in Europe, and exports grew by 60%. It’s not just the size of the market that is changing, but also the attitudes of people who are buying organic food.
“They are no longer just ‘fanatics’ but a broad population with an increasing awareness for healthy food,” says Oranit Raz, head of IBOAA.
More smallhold farm stories:
Community Supported Agriculture: Organic, Local and Tasty!
The Great Airways Debate Part 2: Food for Thought
Eating Organic at Reasonable Prices (supplier list)
It’s nice to know that on trendy Sheinkin Street in Tel Aviv, where many new clothing stores last only a few months, the Shtaim second-hand clothing store – a store with both an environmental and social conscience – has been able to thrive since 2001. (Update 2022 – the shop is out of business).
Located at 38 Sheinkin the store was opened by two former lawyers, Monica Adler and Daniella Levansart, who have an affinity for second-hand clothing and items as well as a strong desire to promote recycling.
The items for sale at Shtaim are obviously second-hand and therefore recycled, but the store even goes a few steps further than that in terms of advancing their green ideology.
Cross-border environmental NGO, Friends of the Earth Middle East (FoEME), is getting work underway on establishing what it calls a ‘Peace Park’ to help rehabilitate the ailing River Jordan which runs along the border between Jordan and Israel (plus parts of the West Bank).
The Jordan Valley is an area with a rich natural, historical and cultural heritage, however, “excessive diversion and pollution of the Jordan River have left it little more than a sewage channel,” says Gidon Bromberg from FoEME, who believes that “as long as the public is denied access to the river bank, the river will continue to be polluted and local residents will be denied the opportunity to develop the area for tourism.”
The Peace Park would span both sides of the River so Mayors, municipal representatives and community members in both Jordan (Muaz Bin Jabal) and Israel (Jordan Valley and Beit Shean) have been working together with FoEME to kick-start the initiative.
The project is being dubbed the ‘King Abdullah I – Rotenberg Peace Park’, after Pinchas Rutenberg, a Russian immigrant and founder of the Palestine Electric Company (PEC), who, in 1927, reached a unique agreement with HM King Abdullah I of Jordan to build the company’s main hydroelectric power station.
Dams and canals were built to harness the flow of the water at the junction between the Jordan and Yarmouk Rivers, creating a man-made island – the intended site of the Peace Park.
Want to know the best place to cloud-gaze in Canada, how to recycle bottles in Berlin, or where you can climb into a treehouse in Tel Aviv? The Green Map System gives us another way of looking at our world — and the movement is starting to take hold in Israel. (See our last post on Green Maps in Israel here — there’s also a video).
Green Prophet wants to tell you more about Green Maps, in the hopes that more can be created around Israel:
The Green Map System, founded in 1995, gives us another way of looking at our world. It is a global word-of-mouth database, which can help us locate and take note of green, sustainable components in our communities.
Israel’s desert climate make keeping your car clean very difficult – especially when the sandstorms take hold of the region.
When you wash your car don’t run the hose. Instead, use a bucket of water and a quick hose rinse at the end. It can save 150 gallons each time.
I was very excited to happen upon this Designboom’s feature article on the Israeli design student art exchange and training program in Chinese bamboo production and craft. Back when I first posted about it, I could only find photos of three bamboo toys.
Now we can all drool at the super cool Metropolis cityscape set by Israeli design student Michal Zohar (above) or the hipster-meets-scooter by Israeli design student Etay Amir (below) and plenty of other toys – which I’ll put up on my flickr group – show how cool bamboo is for kids and parents alike.
With the world markets being down in the dumps it’s heartening to see that some are still making it. Israel Chemicals Ltd., which harvests minerals from the Dead Sea to make fertilizers and chemicals, said fourth-quarter profit jumped 82 percent as demand for potash and phosphate fertilizers led prices higher.
Earlier this week we posted about their recent deal with Yam Thetis. It seems that not only natural gas is profitable but “ICL showed very strong results in fertilizers,” Limor Gruber, an analyst at Psagot Investment House Ltd. in Tel Aviv, expalins.
“The surprise was that fertilizer prices were higher than forecast, and the company paid very little tax.”
Let’s hope that green paying off inspires more and more companies to befriend our home.
Source: Bloomberg
Have news to share? Renewable energy news, architectural, artificial intelligence, biotech, sustainable design ideas, eco-architecture, green travel?
Email us: [email protected]
Get important news delivered directly to your inbox and stay connected!
© 2007 to 2026 Green Prophet, All Rights Reserved
“The Land, in its depth, does not forget”