Waiter, There’s Petroleum in my Chocolate
Bruce Forster/Getty Images
From USAToday.com: “Did you know that chocolate bars have petroleum-based paraffin in them?”
Look around you. What do you see? A computer screen, the print on this page, a pen, your shirt. Chances are there’s petroleum in all of it. Petroleum-based substances are in everything from lipstick to laundry detergents, clothes to computers to chocolate bars—even fertilizers and pharmaceuticals. Petroleum for non-fuel use made up just over 5 percent of total oil consumption in the United States last year, according to the Department of Energy.
Five percent may not seem like a lot, but it’s still 1 million barrels a day, more or less. That’s enough to demand the attention of a new generation of industry and academic scientists who are working to find natural, non-toxic alternatives to petroleum for consumer products. They have dubbed their field “green chemistry.”
[via Hugg]
Tash said,
May 30, 2006 at 7:15 am
Unfortunately petroleum-based chemicals are everywhere nowadays. I am finding it particularly difficult to eradicate certain plastics from our household - but slowly and surely we’re getting there.
Our drive is to find sustainable alternatives, at reasonable prices, from ethically-safe sources. It’s not that difficult if you know where to look, but can be difficult if one lives anywhere but a large city (we don’t, but we’re not that far from one).
Love your blog, very informative :)