Exposed by Mark Schapiro
Sorry I haven't posted in a while. I changed servers for my website, and had technological challenges getting the blog migrated.
I just finished reading Exposed: The Toxic Chemistry of Everyday Products and What's at Stake for American Power by Mark Schapiro (Chelsea Green, September, 2007) and would recommend it to others. Schapiro not only looks at how chemicals are affecting our health, but also how the United States’ failure to maintain our world leadership in the environmental arena is now costing us economically as well. In particular, he looks at how the Eurpean Union’s environmental initiatives are changing the world stage and impacting the decision making at key US industries, including electronics, chemical production, and consumer products manufacturers.
Schapiro also looks at how our head-in-the-sand approach to environmental protection is now leaving us vulnerable to becoming the world’s dumping ground for seriously nasty chemicals that are outlawed in other countries. For example, he points to data that shows China "exports five hundred million dollars a year of processed wood to the United States that has been treated with formaldehyde, a binder in plywood and other home- and office-construction materials. Formaldehyde is a 'known carcinogen,' according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer, and a contributor to asthma in young children and respiratory problems in adults, according to the Harvard School of Public Health. In the spring of 2006 a timber company in Oregon, Columbia Forest Products, conducted tests on imported Chinese birch planks that it purchased at a Home Depot (such tests are not done by the U.S. government, thus our primary information on such matters comes from the private sector or NGOs [nongovernmental organizations, or nonprofits]). The company discovered levels of formaldehyde far in excess of the permissible levels in Europe or Japan."
He makes a pervasive argument that "US economic influence is quietly fading as its political and corporate leaders fall out of step with the forces of global integration that they once avidly pressed upon the world."
In spite of tougher regulations, the twelve-member Eurozone (the historic core of the EU) is outpacing us economically. The Eurozone 2.7% growth in 2006 compared to our own 2.2% growth. We need leaders who will help keep us safe, and by doing so, help protect our economic status and world leadership.
I just finished reading Exposed: The Toxic Chemistry of Everyday Products and What's at Stake for American Power by Mark Schapiro (Chelsea Green, September, 2007) and would recommend it to others. Schapiro not only looks at how chemicals are affecting our health, but also how the United States’ failure to maintain our world leadership in the environmental arena is now costing us economically as well. In particular, he looks at how the Eurpean Union’s environmental initiatives are changing the world stage and impacting the decision making at key US industries, including electronics, chemical production, and consumer products manufacturers.
Schapiro also looks at how our head-in-the-sand approach to environmental protection is now leaving us vulnerable to becoming the world’s dumping ground for seriously nasty chemicals that are outlawed in other countries. For example, he points to data that shows China "exports five hundred million dollars a year of processed wood to the United States that has been treated with formaldehyde, a binder in plywood and other home- and office-construction materials. Formaldehyde is a 'known carcinogen,' according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer, and a contributor to asthma in young children and respiratory problems in adults, according to the Harvard School of Public Health. In the spring of 2006 a timber company in Oregon, Columbia Forest Products, conducted tests on imported Chinese birch planks that it purchased at a Home Depot (such tests are not done by the U.S. government, thus our primary information on such matters comes from the private sector or NGOs [nongovernmental organizations, or nonprofits]). The company discovered levels of formaldehyde far in excess of the permissible levels in Europe or Japan."
He makes a pervasive argument that "US economic influence is quietly fading as its political and corporate leaders fall out of step with the forces of global integration that they once avidly pressed upon the world."
In spite of tougher regulations, the twelve-member Eurozone (the historic core of the EU) is outpacing us economically. The Eurozone 2.7% growth in 2006 compared to our own 2.2% growth. We need leaders who will help keep us safe, and by doing so, help protect our economic status and world leadership.
Labels: book review, Mark Schapiro, US becoming dumping ground
posted by Carol Ekarius @ 9:42 AM
2 Comments:
At January 7, 2008 1:22 PM ,
Anonymous said...
Hi Carol,
I've been reading Schapiro's book, too and am left feeling outraged at the U.S. government's inability to take human health and environmental risks seriously when it comes to exposure to these toxic chemicals in our everyday products. With the chemical industry's huge lobbying force in Washington that results in keeping politians quiet about this issue, what can the U.S. consumer do to protect his/herself? I'm already researching alternative cosmetics and cleaners w/o toxic chemicals and am considering retiring my Teflon pans. But, how do I know these toxins aren't already in my drinking water? If no one's mandated to protect us from it, water treatment facilities are not going to test for these chemicals in the water. I applaud Schapiro for getting this important information out there. I plan to spread the word as much as possible!
Signed,
Concerned consumer
At January 7, 2008 1:51 PM ,
Carol Ekarius said...
Thanks, for the comment.
Chemicals are so ubiquitous that you can't completely avoid them but you are doing the right thing (and do get rid of those Teflon pans). My tips page (www.toxicburden.com/tips.html) has some suggestions to help, and you'll find more there as time goes on. There are cumulative impacts, so the more you reduce your exposures overall, the better off you and your family will be.
I'll also be continuing to cover these things so consider subscribing to my blog.
As for drinking water, most Americans are served by municipal utilities and these do have monitoring requirements in place, though those requirements may not cover every potential contaminant. Your utility is required by law to produce a report each year about what their monitoring has showed, so call and request a copy of the report or check at http://www.epa.gov/safewater/dwinfo/index.html to see if the report is online.
Educated consumers can change the system, and the government will respond when they hear from concerned citizens, so let your voice be heard. Call your elected officials, local, state, and federal, and tell them that you are concerned about contaminants in our environment and their impact on our health!
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