Environmental toxins increasingly connected to human disease

There is an urgent need for individual and global action to stem the flood of poisonous substances that is now engulfing humanity and the whole planet.

That's the call in a new book Poisoned Planet: how constant exposure to man-made chemicals is putting your life at risk, released in Australia this week by publishers Allen & Unwin.

Around the world a mountain of scientific evidence is piling up that the diseases of modern society are significantly linked to the growing body-burden of toxic chemicals we carry – the rising incidence of cancers, heart disease, diabetes, obesity, ADHD, autism, Alzheimer's, depression, 'stress', childhood diseases and other ailments are linked in literally thousands of scientific research reports to the toxic soup in which the whole of society, and indeed the entire planet, now swims, says author Julian Cribb.

"There are at least 143,000 man-made chemicals plus an equally vast number of unintentional chemicals liberated by mining, burning fossil fuels, waste disposal etc. Total human chemical emissions from all sources are of the order of 140 billion tonnes (including 36 billion tonnes of climate-destroying carbon dioxide and methane) a year. These blanket the planet, pole to pole and stratosphere to deep ocean. They are in air, water, soil, food, consumer products, homes, workplaces, trade goods, vehicles, wildlife, ourselves and our genes. No individual can escape them.

"Unlike previous generations, we are saturated in man-made chemicals from the moment of conception to the moment of departure. There is evidence we are passing genetic damage caused by these substances to our kids. There is some evidence the global toll from this toxic effusion now exceeds the annual death toll in World War II. Yet steps to prevent it are few.

"Most people know some chemicals are not good for them, but few appreciate the true scale of the toxic deluge that is now engulfing us universally. Even if you live in a well-run country you cannot avoid them, as they are everywhere around you.

"This issue has crept up on us in barely a single lifetime. No previous generations of humans were so exposed. A poisoned planet is the price we are paying for our unthinking consumer lifestyle."

Mr Cribb says the volume of pesticide use alone has increased 30-fold since Rachel Carson warned of the risks in Silent Spring, half a century ago. "Around 1000 new industrial chemicals are released every year, which the United Nations says are largely untested for human and environment health and safety.

"You wouldn't fly in an airliner or drive a car that had never been tested for safety - but billions of people are exposed to untested chemical emissions all the time."

However Cribb emphasises there is hope. "Although the topic is grim, this is very much an optimistic book. Whatever we have done to our world, we can undo, and in ways that will lead to better health, greater prosperity and more opportunity for everyone.

"In it I describe how humans can now come together to tackle global big problems like this – problems which seem beyond the ability of national governments to resolve. We can solve this problem rationally as individuals and as a society - without blaming industry, without recrimination, using the economic might of the connected and educated global consumer."

Mr Cribb says working to make the planet safe from toxins could open a new chapter in human history, in which people come together across the world to tackle otherwise intractable challenges: "So it's a really serious problem – with a deeply hopeful solution."

The book has been commended by eminent critics:

'We have used the biosphere—air, water and soil—as a dump for toxic compounds as if somehow we can remain healthy on an unhealthy planet. It is a tragic illusion as Julian Cribb's Poisoned Planet so urgently warns us.' —David Suzuki, Canadian global environmental activist and author of 52 books.

'Poisoned Planet is a crucially important book, dealing with an environmental threat that could be as serious (or even more serious) than climate disruption—the toxification of Earth. If you care about your children, read this book.' —Paul R. Ehrlich, Bing Professor of Population Studies, Stanford University and author of 'The Population Bomb'

'Poisoned Planet documents the terrifying extent of chemical pollution, the lack of testing and regulation, and the survival threat to countless other species and whole ecosystems. Despite the banning of a few chemicals in at least some countries, the overall problem has actually worsened dramatically since Rachel Carson's day. We need a Silent Spring for the twenty-first century, and Julian Cribb has given us one.' —Richard Heinberg, Senior Fellow, Post Carbon Institute and author of The End of Growth'

'How could one species poison an entire planet, from the poles to the stratosphere and down to the ocean floor? In this meticulously researched yet highly readable book Julian Cribb tells us how it happened, and what we might do about it.' —Clive Hamilton, Charles Sturt University Professor of Public Ethics and author of Requiem for a Species

'The book provides the community with the tools to circumvent their governments and take effective action. It deserves to be widely read – not just by environmental activists, but by anyone who cares about their health and the wellbeing of their children.' Ian Lowe, Emeritus Professor, Griffith University.

More information:
Poisoned Planet: how constant exposure to man-made chemicals is putting your life at risk by Julian Cribb is published by Allen & Unwin, ISBN 978 1 76011 046 8. It is available in bookstores this week, from www.allenandunwin.com or from www.booktopia.com.au

Provided by Allen and Unwin