|
women and life on earth bookshelf |
||
|
Environmental health
"Over 30 years ago, Rachel Carson's Silent Spring first warned that man-made chemicals were taking a deadly toll on birds and wildlife. Only now ... are we recognizing the full consequences of this insidious threat, which is derailing sexual development and reproduction - not only in a host of animal populations but, it appears, in humans as well." (cover text) This work by two environmental scientists and environmental journalist Dianne Dumanoski explores the effects of synthetic chemicals on health and reproduction. The "chemical age" that began around World War II has left us with quantities of pollution that is hard to fathom: "Around the world, one hundred thousand synthetic chemicals are now on the market... only a fraction of this number actually do get tested... The world trade in chemicals includes fifteen thousand chlorinated compounds - a category of chemical that has come under attack because of their persistence and a record of causing health and environmental problems." The research on the effects that hormone-disrupting chemicals have on people and (other) animals should be enough to lead to demands for broad international bans on chemical production and use. |
