The Polluters: The Making of Our Chemically Altered Environment

by Benjamin Ross, Steven Amter

The chemical pollution that irrevocably damages today's environment is, although many would like us to believe otherwise, the legacy of conscious choices made long ago. During the years before and just after World War II, discoveries like leaded gasoline and DDT came to market, creating new hazards even as the expansion and mechanization of industry exacerbated old ones. Dangers still felt today--smog, pesticides, lead, chromium, chlorinated solvents, asbestos, even global warming--were already recognized by chemists, engineers, doctors, and business managers of that era. A few courageous individuals spoke out without compromise, but still more ignored scientific truth in pursuit of money and prestige.

The Polluters reveals at last the crucial decisions that allowed environmental issues to be trumped by political agendas. It spotlights the leaders of the chemical industry and describes how they applied their economic and political power to prevent the creation of an effective system of environmental regulation. Research was slanted, unwelcome discoveries were suppressed, and friendly experts were placed in positions of influence, as science was subverted to serve the interests of business. The story of The Polluters is one that needs to be told, an unflinching depiction of the onslaught of chemical pollution and the chemical industry's unwillingness to face up to its devastating effects.

Genres: Environment

240 pages, Paperback

First published August 4, 2010

Reviews

[Darren Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

Was ok, talked more about the people in corporate and government than the incidents of pollution that spurred change 1910-1950s mostly then talking about 1970s and Earth Day.

[Clairette · Rating 3 out of 5]

In The Polluters Ross and Amter discuss a few highly publicized incidents of environmental poisoning and the choices the (ir)responsible companies made surrounding each incident, and thereby show how the incident came about and how in many cases firms were able to continue to stave off effective regulation. The book also discusses the personalities who assisted in formulating industry’s typical stance in the face of regulation (eg “more research before regulation”) as well as those individuals who encouraged effective legal regulation. By telling the history of these events, a well and subtly formed argument is made: industry is incapable of regulating itself because by nature pollution mitigation and success are at odds for this industry.

I found it very interesting that in many of these cases polluters knew of the potential deleterious effects of their actions, but since no regulation existed and it was easier to plead innocence, proactive measures were not taken.

If the book weren't so dry and hadn't seemed a bit cherry-picked, I would have given it four stars.

[Stuart Elliott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Benjamin Ross and Steven Amter have written a fascinating and eye-opening history of the companies, institutions, and policies that have created our chemically altered environment over the last century.

If Earth Day or the Love Canal tragedy were the events that brought the environmental crisis into your consciousness, then you owe it to yourself to read The Polluters. Even more so, if it was Global Warming or the BP oil spill.

Killer smog in LA and mass zinc poisoning in Denora, Pennsylvania are two dramatic events, just after WWII, covered by Ross and Amter. But there is also the story of DDT and leaded gasoline. The coverups by companies and the obfuscations of industry-influenced scientific groups are constants in the story.

Government has rarely been an effective regulator. The chemical industry in pursuing its own pecuniary interests has promoted and exploited an ideology of market fundamentalism, which has helped to negate and undermine efforts at regulation.

[S.D. · Rating 4 out of 5]

With extensive and annotated evidence, Ross & Amter have documented a not-so-well-kept secret of America’s deepest pockets: There’s no crime if you control the law. Will their amassed evidence convince the public that better living through chemistry comes by compromising the better life? Probably not. It takes time to verify facts, and the public prefers to be shown “fear in a handful of dust” that can be easily dispersed with another handful of platitudes. There’s little in the evidence to suggest an easy – if any – fix for a problem so rich in profit for so few; who has time for such real problems, when there are so many non-existent ones with simpler solutions? Ross & Amter do, at least… and so should everyone else who reads their book.

[Donald · Rating 3 out of 5]

While the authors are obviously biased in favor of environmentalism and against polluting corporations, this book was a good look at the history in the United States of clean air/water laws and regulations. Unfortunately, they couldn't resist putting in at the end something on global warming (that they hadn't really talked about through the rest of the book) with this little phrase about a symposium in 1954:

"A brief survey of warming temperatures followed, from New York to Iceland to Siberia. Whether this was a temporary fluctuation or the onset of a worldwide trend was not certain, but the problem of global warming was real and it demanded attention."

[Jason S · Rating 3 out of 5]

A concise history of pollution in America from the 1920s to the 1970s. Seeks to answer the question why the government failed to deal with the growth of industrial pollution in this timeperiod, even though science had established the consequences.