American Ingenuity

I recently came across an article in the New York Times {http://arieff.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/01/not-new-but-improved/}. It was written by Allison Arieff, an author and editor at large for Sunset magazine.

She was writing specifically about Renuva, which is a soy-based alternative to conventional, oil-based polyurethane. The latter, of course, is fraught with all the associated toxic VOC complications as well as the geo-political overtones. The former is an environmentally friendly product, made by Dow Chemical, which is now exploring its potential applicability to products as diverse as sponges and children’s toys. Apparently, it is also more resistant to UV decomposition and more water repellant than oil-based polyurethane. And, if Dow can eventually market it for less cost, it seems to me that everybody wins.

However, what surprised me most was not the content of the article itself; it was the skepticism of the comments that followed. The article appears to have attracted a flood of nay-sayers and critics, including several who suggested that by redeploying soy Dow was contributing to world hunger. Is our society so contrarious that our first reaction to good ‘ole American Ingenuity is to sling mud? I say let’s pat ‘em on the back and ask for more!