Our Man In Washington
(Page 4 of 5)
January/February 1972
By Mike Kiernan
Meanwhile, the government's recent espousal of phosphate detergents has caused a number of rumors in Washington. The one most often reported is that Bryce Harlow, formerly a chief congressional liaison for President Nixon, played a key role in convincing the government to reverse its stand on phosphates. Harlow is currently P & G's top lobbyist in Washington.
RELATED CONTENT
SOAP, the one washday detergent of known safety, has fallen largely out of use. In soft water, soap is said to be just as effective as most detergents. It is still marketed and, indeed, heavy-duty granulated soaps seem to be making a comeback. But you will have to hunt for them in the supermarket.
RECOMMENDATION: If soap is not to your liking, Meryl Maler of Environmental Quality Magazine suggests that you try liquid organic cleaners. At the very least, check your detergent package and find out how much phosphorus it contains or, if it is a non-phosphate detergent, whether it is dangerous to children. Besides Tide, detergents I found in two local grocery stores with more than 8.7% phosphorus include Gain, Duz, Oxydol and Cheer.
REMEMBER AMCHITKA?
The death toll from the underground nuclear test on Amchitka Island last November was minute compared to the dire predictions from many environmental groups. But the Atomic Energy Commission reports—in a summary that has been largely ignored by the press—that the blast did kill 18 otters, 4 seals, 16 birds and thousands of fish. Three or four bald eagles nesting sites along the Bering coast apparently were lost in cliff falls, and two were lost on the Pacific coast.
The AEC noted, however, that "eagles often change nesting sites, and it is not believed that the losses will affect population (of eagles)."
Meanwhile, in Washington, the AEC's new chairman , James R. Schlesinger, tried belatedly to make peace with his critics. After the test he told a friendly House appropriations subcommittee that "most" environmental groups who sought to block the test "acted with great responsibility."
In his prepared remarks, Schlesinger described predictions of earthquakes and tidal waves resulting from the blast as "melodramatic," but during questions Schlesinger mellowed and at one point defended his critics. He specifically noted without elaboration that the National Wildlife Federation took "an exceedingly responsible position."
A CONVERSATION WITH WESTINGHOUSE
I'm on the phone with Westinghouse public relations man L.E. Rosenstiel, whose voice is a little shaky at first as he tries to explain his company's latest ad campaign.
"Let's put it in perspective," says Rosenstiel. "Our message is: we don't feel we're in the appliance business anymore. We want to tell the consumer that we're involved in improving man's relationship to his home environment. That's how we developed our new concept: Homecology. We are not just interested in selling products. We want to establish a dialogue between Westinghouse and the consumer."
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