Synopses & Reviews
When you order a meal in a restaurant, you wont find
malathion,
kelthane or
arsenic listed on the menu as an ingredient of your entrée, but these and scores of other pesticides and dangerous chemicals are in the food we eat. They are dumped into the environment where they seep into our water supply and float in the air we breathe. The use of these poisons is approved—or in some cases, simply ignored—by the Environmental Protection Agency.
Poison Spring documents, in devastating detail, the EPAs corruption and misuse of science and public trust. In its half-century of existence, the agency has repeatedly reinforced the chemical-industrial complex by endorsing deadly chemicals, botching field investigations, turning a blind eye to toxic disasters, and swallowing the self-serving claims of industry. E. G. Vallianatos, who saw the EPA from the inside for more than two decades with rising dismay, reveals in Poison Spring how the agency has allowed our lands and waters to be poisoned with more toxic chemicals than ever. No one who cares for the natural world, or for the health of future generations, can ignore this powerful exposé.
Review
"In this riveting indictment, Vallianatos and Jenkins valiantly divulge the blinding greed and unfathomable stupidity behind the unconscionable lies and travesties—assaults against the very fabric of life. A resounding call for genuine and sustained environmental responsibility." —Booklist, starred review "An alarming, comprehensive account of a ‘fatally compromised EPA mission crippled by bad enforcement practices and numerous corrupting influences." —Publishers Weekly, starred review "Poison Spring is Vallianatos call to arms, urging American consumers to hold their government accountable for policies that protect and reward polluters." —Associated Press "Like biologist Rachel Carson, Vallianatos, former staff scientist at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and Jenkins sound the alarm about toxins in common use . . . An indictment that implicates pesticides in wildlife and livestock die-offs, as well as in human maladies and deaths." —Library Journal
Synopsis
An insiders account of how political pressure and corporate arm-twisting undermined the Environmental Protection Agency, with devastating effects on public safety and the environment.
Synopsis
When you order a meal in a restaurant, you won't find "malathion," "kelthane "or "arsenic" listed on the menu as an ingredient of your entree, but these and scores of other pesticides and dangerous chemicals are in the food we eat. They are dumped into the environment where they seep into our water supply and float in the air we breathe. The use of these poisons is approved-or in some cases, simply ignored--by the Environmental Protection Agency.
"Poison Spring" documents, in devastating detail, the EPA's corruption and misuse of science and public trust. In its half-century of existence, the agency has repeatedly reinforced the chemical-industrial complex by endorsing deadly chemicals, botching field investigations, turning a blind eye to toxic disasters, and swallowing the self-serving claims of industry. E. G. Vallianatos, who saw the EPA from the inside for more than two decades with rising dismay, reveals in "Poison Spring" how the agency has allowed our lands and waters to be poisoned with more toxic chemicals than ever. No one who cares for the natural world, or for the health of future generations, can ignore this powerful expose."
About the Author
E. G. Vallianatos worked for the Environmental Protection Agency for twenty-five years, and is the author of six books, including Harvest of Devastation and This Land is Their Land. He has written for Alternet.org, Truth-Out.org, and the Huffington Post. He now lives in Claremont, California. McKay Jenkins is an acclaimed environmental journalist and the author of Whats Gotten Into Us? Staying Healthy in a Toxic World. Jenkins is the Cornelius Professor of English, Journalism, and Environmental Humanities at the University of Delaware.