Challenging Environmental Mythology: Wrestling Zeus - Hardcover

Dini, J. W.; Lehr, Jay

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1891121294 ISBN 13: 9781891121296

Publisher: William Andrew Pub, 2003

Synopsis

Text is an evaluation of the current state of the environmental movement. Covering select areas, the author shares with readers the research showing that much of what we have been led to believe is true, is actually a myth.

About this title

From the Publisher:

Why would someone want to read this book?

For decades, since the publication of Silent Spring by Rachel Carson, the environmental movement has continually had the ear of the media and the American public has been continuously barraged by information that is one-sided. Very few Americans have ever heard "the other side of the story." There has been no ability for Americans to receive information besides that which the media gives them.

This book is extremely well referenced and serves as a "pointer" to scientific literature that flies in the face of what many of us believe regarding issues such as chemicals, EPA regulations, pesticides (especially DDT), nuclear power, radiation, and many others. The book has been written to show Americans (and the rest of the world) that junk science is being used not only to sway our opinions, but as a basis for policy and law.

One shining example of junk science being used to sway government policy is the banning of the use of DDT as a pesticide. This book points to the scientifically proven fact that DDT is (and was) absolutely safe for the environment, had nothing to do with bird egg shell thinning, and that the banning of DDT has directly resulted in millions of deaths worldwide due to malaria. It was an act of genocide, especially in the Third World, which in many countries had eradicated malaria, but now suffers again in record numbers due to pressure from American government and environmental organizations to ban the use of DDT. The banning of DDT in America came from the hypotheses put forth by Rachel Carson in Silent Spring, none of which actually were based in the science of the time.

We continually hear about how bad pollution is, yet, the fact is, the country has never been cleaner. Whether it’s air, water, or soil, America is better now than it was when these issues came to the forefront. In many cases within the book, outright lies by the environmental movement are pointed out, and in every chapter, real science from real scientists is referenced to challenge the status quo. A chapter on journalists vs. scientists rips the door open by showing that journalists often admit that they are swayed by their beliefs and will actually twist scientific findings to fit their belief systems. And, to most journalists, good news about the environment, is bad news.

Several chapters point out how the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is wasting billions of dollars every year trying to live up to standards that are not scientifically sound. For instance, several billions are wasted to ensure that soil at Superfund sites contains so little chemicals that "a child could eat a teaspoonful of dirt every day for the next 70 years" without becoming ill. How many children do you know that eat a teaspoonful of dirt every day, let alone for the rest of their lives? One other important point that is exemplified throughout is the amount of money that could be used to combat the world’s worst carcinogen, poverty, instead of chasing down every part per billion of a chemical that is proven to be non-toxic by science.

The key to this entire book is that science is being twisted by the media, and by activists, in order to further their agenda, and we all suffer for it. Science is the most important component to creating policy, but when junk science is used to create policy, the entire world is affected. Just ask the millions who have died of malaria, a disease that was being wiped out worldwide just 20 years ago.

Even though this book is full of scientific findings and references literature from all over the world, it is written for a very broad audience and is often irreverent and humorous.

Someone in government needs to have the guts to look at the findings in this book, and start taking shots at the Environmental Protection Agency for consistently and continuously wasting taxpayer dollars on programs that are not only based on "junk science" but are also chasing an ever receding zero. Regulations and enforcement are unchecked, and someone needs to do a 'gut-check' and stop this out of control agency

It is unfathomable, the fact that the most technologically advanced country in the world does not use science to create policy and regulations. We use whatever is politically correct at the time, and no one has the guts to point this out at the highest levels. Perhaps there is no one, but this book will hopefully be a foundation for a revolution against "junk science," especially concerning the EPA

From the Author:

I am a supporter of the original intent of the environmental movement. The forward thinking scientists who looked at the problems of our environment and lobbied for change are heroes in their own right. But, their desire to learn, educate, and effect public policy has turned into a movement of scare tactics, junk science, politicking, and extreme activism.

The environmental movement, using a supportive (and forgetful) media to its advantage, has never acknowledged the myriad of positive changes that have occurred over the last few decades. The truth is not being told, or is hidden in obscure places where few tread. This book is an attempt to provide everyone with the other side of the story. I realize that many will not like what I have to say, however I make no statements without a solid scientific basis and years of research behind me. My greatest hope is that readers will come away from this with a sounder knowledge of what science is really saying.

About this edition

• Publisher: William Andrew Pub
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 1891121294
• ISBN 13: 9781891121296
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 207