Green Intelligence: Creating Environments That Protect Human Health

by John Wargo

We live in a world awash in manmade chemicals, from the pesticides on our front lawns to the diesel exhaust in the air we breathe. Although experts are beginning to understand the potential dangers of these substances, there are still more than 80,000 synthetic compounds that have not been sufficiently tested to interpret their effects on human health. Yale University professor John Wargo has spent much of his career researching the impact of chemical exposures on women and children. In this book, he explains the origins of society’s profound misunderstanding of everyday chemical hazards and offers a practical path toward developing greater “green intelligence.” Despite the rising trend in environmental awareness, information about synthetic substances is often unavailable, distorted, kept secret, or presented in a way that prevents citizens from acting to reduce threats to their health and the environment. By examining the histories of five hazardous technologies and practices, Wargo finds remarkable patterns in the delayed discovery of dangers and explains the governments’ failures to manage them effectively. Sobering yet eminently readable, Wargo’s book ultimately offers a clear vision for a safer future through prevention, transparency, and awareness.

Genres: Nonfiction, Environment

400 pages, Hardcover

First published July 11, 2006

Reviews

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Through the "big problems" of nuclear denotations and testing, warfare, pesticides, and air quality, Wargo explores the historic "failure of both government and manufacturers to control the chemical industry." With particular focus on environmental damage and the cost to human health in the US and its territories, Wargo takes straight aim of the government institutions charged with protecting citizens, repeatedly pointing to "regulatory paralysis," "regulatory neglect," and systemic secrecy as harming citizens.

Books like this make me feel like an idiot: Wargo traces particular histories of the late 20th century that I knew about, but didn't allow myself to think deeply about their environmental consequences. In particular, Wargo's descriptions of nuclear testing in the Marshall Islands (I'm forever grateful my family chose not to move out there in the 1970s....) and war-games on Vieques, PR, expose how science has long long long been ineffective to inform government officials more interested in power displays than protecting human health.

I left this book wanting to read more about plastics -- in particular how "hormonally active chemicals in plastics" interfere with human health on a metabolic level.

Also: I'm an institutionalist at heart, so I'm far "for" the outrageous roll-backs we see in a Pruitt-led EPA. That said, can this moment of disruption offer those of us who care about environmental protections and conservations opportunities to improve the system and demand better and more appropriate advocacy for all lifeforms on the planet?

[Will · Rating 2 out of 5]

"The definition of acceptable or legally compliant air quality depends on what is measured, where and when it is measured, and how the data are interpreted. Of the thousands of pollutants commonly released into the atmosphere, the EPA routinely measures only six types. If and when regulated pollutants are measured, readings are taken from fixed monitoring stations and considered chemical by chemical. In addition, the EPA permits states to average levels of some pollutants over extended periods of time and across both urban and rural areas when determining their compliance with federal standards. The effect is that high pollution episodes are often hidden in the data, and the states are deemed to be compliant. Indeed, what we know from the government about air quality in the United States has little relationship to the mixture of pollutants we breathe as we move among indoor and outdoor environments in our daily lives. Moreover, contrary to the EPA's claims, there are many reasons to assume that air quality is declining where children and other susceptible members of the population spend their time."

[Josh Horn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book boarders on being textbook material when considering the structure and density of Wargo's writing (he actually uses it as a textbook for his courses). Regardless, the density is at times necessary due to the incredible volume of research Wargo manages to condense into a single narrative. He effectively considers the history of 20th century environmental contamination through nuclear testing, mercury, pesticides, air quality, and plastics, while raising questions about the efforts, or lack thereof, by government and industry to protect public and ecological health. This book is far more than a simple warning about potential daily hazards to which our population has assented, silently and unquestioned; it also challenges the structure of regulatory mechanisms in the United States, and considers the liability of industry and government. It is important to note that the title and cover are mildly misleading, as it seems to indicate some discussion of natural environments and their role in human health, while the book deals almost exclusively with anthropogenic environments and minimizing hazardous material risks within them.