Our Children's Toxic Legacy - How Science and Law Fail to Protect Us from Pesticides (Paperback, 2 Revised Edition)

Bitter experience has taught us not to accept bland reassurances from government ministers, scientists and civil servants when denying yet another environmental disaster. Wargo, an American authority on environmental policy, has catalogued a damning litany of negligence and ignorance in the way we risk our health and that of future generations. Pesticides and herbicides, all generally developed to treat problems in designated areas, often have unforeseen consequences when the combined effects of all these local uses become evident. Without hysteria or hyperbole, Wargo urges us to examine the way we are dousing our planet with a potentially lethal cocktail of chemicals. Recommended for lecturers and professionals working in this area, this book, which outlines the history of pesticide law and our scientific understanding about pesticides, is rather technical and policy-oriented. Addressing the legal ramifications of environmental policy Wargo argues that more reforms are needed to deal with the substantial health risks faced by children. (Kirkus UK)

During this century, hundreds of billions of pounds of pesticides have been released to the global environment. How are we exposed to them? What can we do to protect ourselves? In this extraordinary analysis, John Wargo, one of the nation's leading experts in pesticide policy, traces the history of pesticide law and science, with a focus on the special hazards faced by children. By 1969, nearly 60,000 separate pesticide products were registered for use by the U.S. government, each with the expectation that pesticides could be used safely, that they quickly broke down into harmless substances, or that dangerous levels of exposure could be accurately predicted and somehow avoided. Faith in these assumptions was gradually eroded as experts grew to understand the persistence, movement, and toxicity of the chemicals involved. Nevertheless, government continues to hold the discretion to balance risks against economic benefits in its licensing decisions. The underlying legal strategy, Wargo claims, has been one that places extraordinary faith in government's ability to somehow ensure that only safe levels of contamination and exposure occur. And the effect has been systematic neglect of those exposures and risks faced by children. Wargo presents a compelling case that children are more heavily exposed to some pesticides than adults and are especially vulnerable to some adverse effects. How should the fractured body of environmental law be repaired to manage the distribution of risk? This is the central question Wargo addresses as he suggests fundamental reforms of science and law necessary to understand and contain the health risks faced by children.

General

Imprint:	Yale University Press
Country of origin:	United States
Release date:	April 1998
First published:	April 1998
Authors:	John Wargo
Dimensions:	229 x 152 x 28mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Paperback - Trade
Pages:	402
Edition:	2 Revised Edition
ISBN-13:	978-0-300-07446-8
Categories:	Books > Social sciences > Politics & government > Central government > Central government policies Books > Law > Laws of other jurisdictions & general law > Social law > Environment law Books > Law > Laws of other jurisdictions & general law > Private, property, family law > Property, real estate, land & tenancy law Books > Earth & environment > The environment > Pollution & threats to the environment > General Books > Professional & Technical > Agriculture & farming > Pest control > General Promotions
LSN:	0-300-07446-8
Barcode:	9780300074468

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