[OKC] From NY Times: Cleaner for the Environment, Not for the Dishes

[Miles, Karen]

Cleaner for the Environment, Not for the Dishes


By MIREYA NAVARRO
<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/n/mireya_nav
arro/index.html?inline=nyt-per> 

Some longtime users were furious. 
"My dishes were dirtier than before they were washed," one wrote last
week in the review section
<http://www.cascadeclean.com/en_US/cascadewithdawn/readreviews.do>  of
the Web site for the Cascade line of dishwasher detergents. "It was
horrible, and I won't buy it again." 
"This is the worst product ever made for use as a dishwashing
detergent!" another consumer wrote. 
Like every other major detergent for automatic dishwashers, Procter &
Gamble
<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/procter_and_gambl
e/index.html?inline=nyt-org> 's Cascade line recently underwent a
makeover. Responding to laws <http://www.dec.ny.gov/chemical/67239.html>
that went into effect in 17 states in July, the nation's detergent
makers reformulated their products to reduce what had been the crucial
ingredient, phosphates
<http://www.water-research.net/Watershed/phosphates.htm> , to just a
trace. 
While phosphates help prevent dishes from spotting in the wash cycle,
they have long ended up in lakes and reservoirs, stimulating algae
growth that deprives other plants and fish of oxygen. 
Yet now, with the content reduced, many consumers are finding the new
formulas as appealing as low-flow showers, underscoring the tradeoffs
that people often face today in a more environmentally conscious
marketplace. From hybrid cars to solar panels, environmentally friendly
alternatives can cost more. They can be less convenient, like toting
cloth sacks or canteens rather than plastic bags or bottled water. And
they can prove less effective, like some of the new cleaning products. 
"Most Americans want to do things that are good for the environment, but
not everyone wants to pay the price," said Elke U. Weber, director of
the Center for Research on Environmental Decisions
<http://www.cred.columbia.edu/>  at Columbia University
<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/c/col
umbia_university/index.html?inline=nyt-org> . 
Article continues at: 
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/19/science/earth/19clean.html?th&emc=th
 
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