State remediation group elects chair

Over a recent article in the Washington Post Book World section, (October 21, 2001), appeared this headline: “Greener Than You Think.” And so it is, much greener. The article was about environmental problems and the environmental experts. It’s the tale of two opinions, one from the University of Maryland’s Julian Simon, an economist, and the other a statistics professor and political scientist from the University of Aarhus in Denmark. His name is Bjorn Lomborg, a former Greenpeace member.

It all started when Julian Simon said that “the litany” of the Green movement — its fears of over-population, animal species dying by the hour, deforestation — was hysterical nonsense and that the quality of life was radically improving. Lomborg, surprised by such conflicting information, decided to return to Denmark with his team of academicians who were also disturbed by radical opinions of the environmentalists and conflicting opinions of scientists.

Professor Lomborg quickly decided that more research was needed as too many costly decisions were being made unnecessarily. More research had to be done to find out what was right and what was wrong. What they found was that University of Maryland economist, Julian Simon, was right. Professor Lomborg’s research was not for condemnation or fabrication, but for truth. He agreed with Julian Simon, and following are the reasons why.

Back in the 1970s it was predicted that 40,000 species of animals would become extinct. Then in the 1990s, the extinction estimate was raised to 250,000. If that were true, the loss would be very noticeable. It is not. Birds are flying and squirrels keep running up trees.

Greenpeace warns — beware of your toxic neighbors (meaning the drycleaners), they are a source of highly toxic emissions that poison the air, water and food in homes. That is a powerful statement, but it is not true. “Drycleaning chemical linked to hundreds of deaths.” So where are the numbers? Who did the counting? No one. It was just a fabricated opinion and not true.

There is a chemical known as arsenic — an overdose can kill you. But, this same poison is being used in medicine. Arsenic is abundant, like leaves on a tree. It is a natural element found in the earth, in the air, the food we eat and the water we drink. To get rid of it we must talk to Mother Nature or use a flood of sulfuric acid and caustic soda in an effort to eliminate its existence, which is almost impossible.

Now the serious question is how much arsenic is enough and how much of it is too much, knowing that too much can kill you. Fortunately, people shy away from arsenic; the word itself is scary. For them, taking a little bit is too much. When a label on medication reads that the formula contains a percentage of arsenic, people won’t buy it. Just the thought of it scare people into feeling better.

There is no relationship between arsenic and perchloroethylene — none whatsoever. Arsenic is formulated by nature and perc is formulated by man for a particular purpose. You can’t stop nature from producing arsenic or improve upon it. Unlike all chemicals, including water, there is an upside and a downside. The downside is bad and the upside is good. The problem with arsenic is that it is everywhere — perc is not everywhere. Perc is confined in containers; it is controlled in the hands of experienced operators and modern drycleaning equipment. Perc is safe to use without danger of risk.

Perc has been used in drycleaning for more than 50 years. However, the alternatives are trying very hard to phase perc into extinction, which would be a mistake. The alternatives claim their solvent does a good job in drycleaning clothes, but they won’t say alternative solvents clean better than perc. They can’t, because they cannot prove it.

Perc was formulated for the small business people during the early 1950s and continues in use right up to the present. It was a big relief for the tailors who used a wholesale drycleaning service that provided additional income. But they received plenty of abuse from their customers who were infuriated by the service — small things such as missing buttons, belts, spots on garments, lousy pressing, missing garments and never on time when promised. This frustrating, unbearable experience made tailors so nervous and trembling they no longer could thread a needle.

The shakiness disappeared when perc was introduced because then the tailors did the drycleaning and hired a seamstress to do the tailoring. Then Mom and Pop got into the drycleaning business, and why not? It was better than running a candy store or booking numbers.

Drycleaning is good for small business people. There is no need to stock merchandise. Merchandise is what customers are wearing. They bring it into the cleaner when it gets dirty or whatever. Small businesses and consumer spending is what keeps our economy growing, and drycleaners play a big part in the economy.