Pollution is no longer just about belching smokestacks and ugly sewer pipes—now, it’s personal. The most dangerous pollution, it turns out, comes from commonplace items in our homes and workplaces. To prove this point, for one week authors Rick Smith and Bruce Lourie ingested and inhaled a host of things that surround all of us. Using their own bodies as the reference point to tell the story of pollution in our modern world, they expose the miscreant corporate giants who manufacture the toxins, the weak-kneed government officials who let it happen, and the effects on people and families across the globe. This book—the testimony of their experience—exposes the extent to which we are poisoned every day of our lives, from the simple household dust that is polluting our blood to the toxins in our urine that are created by run-of-the-mill shampoos and toothpaste. Ultimately hopeful, the book empowers readers with some simple ideas for protecting themselves and their families, and changing things for the better.
Slow Death by Rubber Duck
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Editorial Reviews
From Booklist
*Starred Review* This is one scary book. Using a variety of test methods, the authors determined individual “body burdens,” or the toxic chemical load we carry. The innocuous rubber duck, for example, offers a poison soup of phthalates that “permeate the environment and humans.” From other products and food, we also have a collection of chemicals shorthanded as PFCs, PFOAs, PSOSs, and PCBs. None of them are good, and they are everywhere, thanks to Teflon (which drew the largest administrative penalty against a company ever obtained by the EPA), Stainmaster, nonflammable pajamas, tuna (hello, mercury), and, would you believe, antibacterial products. The legacy of our chemically addicted society is not just all around us but also inside us, and it is killing us, as the Teflon case proved. (Workers in West Virginia believed that “having a high-paying job often meant getting sick,” and many were reluctant to sue and possibly scare DuPont away.) Poised between chirpy green-living manuals and dense academic papers, Smith and Bruce Lourie have crafted a true guide for the thinking consumer. If readers don’t change their ways after reading this one, then they never will. --Colleen Mondor
Review
Praise for Slow Death by Rubber Duck
“Beware the smiling creature in your bathtub: it’s yellow, it squeaks, your kids love it, and it gets into your bloodstream—literally.” —High Country News
“Enviro-porn.” —Forbes.com
“Undertaking a cheeky experiment in self-contamination, professional Canadian environmentalists Smith and Lourie expose themselves to hazardous everyday substances, then measure the consequences . . . Throughout, the duo weave scientific data and recent political history into an amusing but unnerving narrative, refusing to sugarcoat any of the data (though protection is possible, exposure is inevitable) while maintaining a welcome sense of humor.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Slow Death by Rubber Duck’s real achievement is in documenting how chemical giants stay a step ahead of regulators, and those revelations make the book a fascinating and frightening read.” —The Week
“Slow Death by Rubber Duck . . . isn’t just alarmist environmental shock and awe. It’s a thoughtful look at how pollution has shifted over the years from something tangible and transparent (industrial pollutants as the cause of acid rain) to something abstract and nuanced (BPA’s links to breast cancer). The challenges this change presents, as many of the world’s top scientists explain in these pages, should be of serious concern to us all.” —O: The Oprah Magazine
“Slow Death by Rubber Duck is hard-hitting in a way that turns your stomach and yet also instills hope for a future in which consumers make safer, more informed choices and push their governments to impose tougher regulations on the chemicals all around us.” —The Washington Post
“This is one scary book. Using a variety of test methods, the authors determined individual ‘body burdens,’ or the toxic chemical load we carry. The innocuous rubber duck, for example, offers a poison soup of phthalates that ‘permeate the environment and humans.’ From other products and food we also have a collection of chemicals shorthanded as PFCs, PFOAs, PSOSs, and PCBs. None of them are good, and they are everywhere, thanks to Teflon (which drew the largest administrative penalty against a company ever obtained by the EPA), Stainmaster, nonflammable pajamas, tuna (hello, mercury), and, would you believe, anti-bacterial products. The legacy of our chemically addicted society is not just all around us but also inside us and it is killing us, as the Teflon case proved. (Workers in West Virginia believed that ‘having a high-paying job often meant getting sick,’ and many were reluctant to sue and possibly scare DuPont away.) Poised between chirpy green-living manuals and dense academic papers, Smith and Lourie have crafted a true guide for the thinking consumer. If readers don’t change their ways after reading this one, then they never will.” —Colleen Mondor, Booklist
“Fantastically important—an indispensable guide to surviving in an industrial age.” —Tim Flannery, author of Now or Never and The Weather Makers
“One of the most disturbing facts I’ve heard in the last few years is the new scientific evidence showing that Arctic people who rely on traditional diets—fish and marine mammals—are experiencing a world without baby boys. Well, not quite—but twice as many girls are being born, because male fetuses are weaker (you women knew this!), and baby boys cannot survive the level of PCBs, mercury and other toxins that find their final home in the Arctic. Slow Death by Rubber Duck tells the other end of this story—how ordinary household products we consume here in the U.S. are the font of this toxic rain that falls on the Arctic—but that while the Arctic is the most distant victim of these poisons, we ourselves are the first.” —Carl Pope, executive director, Sierra Club
“This book is a powerful reminder that what we do to Mother Earth, we do to ourselves. Read it to see why we have to change the way we live and get off our destructive path.” —David Suzuki, environmental activist and host of The Nature of Things
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
“Beware the smiling creature in your bathtub: it’s yellow, it squeaks, your kids love it, and it gets into your bloodstream—literally.” —High Country News
“Enviro-porn.” —Forbes.com
“Undertaking a cheeky experiment in self-contamination, professional Canadian environmentalists Smith and Lourie expose themselves to hazardous everyday substances, then measure the consequences . . . Throughout, the duo weave scientific data and recent political history into an amusing but unnerving narrative, refusing to sugarcoat any of the data (though protection is possible, exposure is inevitable) while maintaining a welcome sense of humor.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Slow Death by Rubber Duck’s real achievement is in documenting how chemical giants stay a step ahead of regulators, and those revelations make the book a fascinating and frightening read.” —The Week
“Slow Death by Rubber Duck . . . isn’t just alarmist environmental shock and awe. It’s a thoughtful look at how pollution has shifted over the years from something tangible and transparent (industrial pollutants as the cause of acid rain) to something abstract and nuanced (BPA’s links to breast cancer). The challenges this change presents, as many of the world’s top scientists explain in these pages, should be of serious concern to us all.” —O: The Oprah Magazine
“Slow Death by Rubber Duck is hard-hitting in a way that turns your stomach and yet also instills hope for a future in which consumers make safer, more informed choices and push their governments to impose tougher regulations on the chemicals all around us.” —The Washington Post
“This is one scary book. Using a variety of test methods, the authors determined individual ‘body burdens,’ or the toxic chemical load we carry. The innocuous rubber duck, for example, offers a poison soup of phthalates that ‘permeate the environment and humans.’ From other products and food we also have a collection of chemicals shorthanded as PFCs, PFOAs, PSOSs, and PCBs. None of them are good, and they are everywhere, thanks to Teflon (which drew the largest administrative penalty against a company ever obtained by the EPA), Stainmaster, nonflammable pajamas, tuna (hello, mercury), and, would you believe, anti-bacterial products. The legacy of our chemically addicted society is not just all around us but also inside us and it is killing us, as the Teflon case proved. (Workers in West Virginia believed that ‘having a high-paying job often meant getting sick,’ and many were reluctant to sue and possibly scare DuPont away.) Poised between chirpy green-living manuals and dense academic papers, Smith and Lourie have crafted a true guide for the thinking consumer. If readers don’t change their ways after reading this one, then they never will.” —Colleen Mondor, Booklist
“Fantastically important—an indispensable guide to surviving in an industrial age.” —Tim Flannery, author of Now or Never and The Weather Makers
“One of the most disturbing facts I’ve heard in the last few years is the new scientific evidence showing that Arctic people who rely on traditional diets—fish and marine mammals—are experiencing a world without baby boys. Well, not quite—but twice as many girls are being born, because male fetuses are weaker (you women knew this!), and baby boys cannot survive the level of PCBs, mercury and other toxins that find their final home in the Arctic. Slow Death by Rubber Duck tells the other end of this story—how ordinary household products we consume here in the U.S. are the font of this toxic rain that falls on the Arctic—but that while the Arctic is the most distant victim of these poisons, we ourselves are the first.” —Carl Pope, executive director, Sierra Club
“This book is a powerful reminder that what we do to Mother Earth, we do to ourselves. Read it to see why we have to change the way we live and get off our destructive path.” —David Suzuki, environmental activist and host of The Nature of Things
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
65 of 66 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A positve, empowering book about toxins,
By
This review is from: Slow Death by Rubber Duck: The Secret Danger of Everyday Things (Hardcover)
Toxins are a common and widespread problem that is even more inconvenient and has even more personal impact than global warming. The topic leaves most people feeling a mix of overwhelm, anger and hopelessness. But as you may have guessed from the title, "Slow Death by Rubber Duck: The Secret Danger of Everyday Things" takes a different approach.
What started out as a funny joke and dare between friends actually became an amazing project that will empower consumers. Two Canadian environmentalists exposed themselves to everyday products and watched the toxin levels in their body's skyrocket. Sadly, this experiment is something most of us do unknowingly every day. The authors show how our everyday exposures and product choices impact our toxin levels and health risks. Although I am still shocked by how common the toxins are, I was very encouraged to learn that many of them will leave the body in just a few days after reducing the exposure. Despite the light title, this book is packed with intelligence insights, is backed by research and is fascinating to read. It will help you take actions that will measurably reduce your exposure to harmful toxins. Congratulations to the authors for turning this heavy topic around and pointing to a more positive and hopeful approach that is within our control.
45 of 46 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Not just the what and the why but also the HOW,
By DC Book Angel (Washington DC) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Slow Death by Rubber Duck: The Secret Danger of Everyday Things (Hardcover)
The personal touch that Lourie and Smith employ in explaining just how prevalent chemicals are in our everyday lives, and more important, HOW to reduce our exposure to those chemicals by choosing products in an informed way make this book both readable and useful. Every parent and child care provider should read it to see how to reduce the exposure of our vulnerable young. It does leave you wondering why so many toxins are allowed to be used in our food, cleaners, clothes, and furniture.
77 of 83 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Eye-Opening,
By scientific illustrator (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Slow Death by Rubber Duck: The Secret Danger of Everyday Things (Hardcover)
I always considered myself to be rather savvy when it comes to where I come into contact with carcinogens on a daily basis. I have known about phthalates and BPA and fire-retardants now for many years, but I had no idea the extent to which the chemical companies have infused their questionable chemicals into every crevice of our daily lives. It is shocking and appalling and completely reckless. The only way we can turn this tide around is to arm ourselves with knowledge and demand change. Read this book! If you're not angry after reading it, you weren't paying attention!
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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