Plastics, Pesticides, and Other
POPs
| "The chemicals to which life is asked to make its adjustment are no longer merely the calcium and silica and copper and all the rest of the minerals washed out of the rocks and carried in rivers to the sea; they are the synthetic creations of man's inventive mind, brewed in his laboratories, and having no counterparts in nature." --Rachel Carson, Silent Spring, 1962 |
Miller, pp. 227-232; 219-226; 328-329
Assigned online reading
About
persistent organic pollutants (POPs) [tutorial,
1,500 words]
How
corporate capitalists export hazards, causing environmental degradation
abroad: Pesticides in the "circle of poison"
Video shown in class
The chemical revolution of the past 50 years has altered nearly every aspect of our lives. Many of the products we rely upon every day-- from plastic bags to computers-- would not exist without synthetic chemicals. Most of us believe the chemicals in consumer products have been tested and approved by some government agency. In fact, until they are proven harmful, most chemicals are presumed safe. Of the more than 75,000 chemicals registered with the Environmental Protection Agency, only a fraction have gone through complete testing to find out whether they might cause problems for human health. Not a single child today is born free of synthetic chemicals. The chemical industry has used its wealth to win favorable treatment from politicians, sponsored surrogates to promote the industry point of view with the media, and now is quietly pushing legislation through state legislatures that will overturn many of the gains citizens believe they have made in their right to information about toxic chemicals. At a PBS web site (optional) you may learn about the problem, the evidence and the options. --For ANOTHER VIEW (optional), see "How Long Shall We Grovel? A Memo for the Record," by Richard Grossman, provoked by the Bill Moyers PBS Special, Trade Secrets (April 2001).
Questions to answer concerning plastics,
pesticides, and other POPs:
1. Define each of these terms:
(a) toxicity--
(b) dose--
(c) acute effect--
(d) chronic effect--
(e) threshold level--
(f) mutagen--
(g) teratogen--
(h) carcinogen--
2. Briefly describe each of the three methods scientists use to determine toxicity:
3. What is the pesticide treadmill, and what is its environmental significance?
4. What is the circle of poison?
5. What is integrated pest management (IPM), and what are its environmental advantages and disadvantages?
6. What four qualities do nearly all persistent organic pollutants (POPs) have, and what, briefly, is the ecological importance of each?
7. [from video] If you drink a quart of water which is contaminated with 1 part per billion (ppb) of trichloroethylene (TCE), how many TCE molecules are entering your body?
8. [from video] Name four systems of the human body that can act as "biological amplifiers" to magnify the effects of extremely small amounts of toxic chemicals:
9. Name at least five illnesses that are tied to vinyl chloride exposure:
10. Describe three methods that the vinyl chloride industry has used to falsify information about vinyl chloride's health effects:
11. Provide at least three facts that would support Charles Lewis' statement that '"When it comes to pesticides, the agenda in Congress today seems to be set by the [pesticide] industry."--
12. To what extent do you think corporate capitalism is responsible for faults in the U.S. chemical-use system? --Explain your answer.
Optional Resources concerning Plastics
Optional Resources concerning Pesticides
Optional Resources concerning Other Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)
Thomas Detwyler maintains this page (tdetwyle@uwsp.edu)
Last updated 8 June 2001