Poisoned Nation: Pollution, Greed, and the Rise of Deadly Epidemics

by Loretta Schwartz-Nobel

Deadly Greed

An award-winning investigative journalist links the soaring epidemics of cluster illnesses and many other diseases to the chemical contamination of our water, air, food, and everyday products for the profit and power of a reckless few.
With irrefutable evidence and moving personal stories of the sick and dying, Loretta Schwartz-Nobel demonstrates that the human equivalent of global warming is already upon us. She shows how governments of both parties operate in tandem with America's most notorious polluters and how they have deceived the public, buried evidence of spreading disease, and suppressed critical scientific data. She traces relationships between organizations whose products cause diseases and those who profit from diagnosing and treating them, as well as their efforts to avoid research into environmental causes and possible cures.
Poisoned Nation is an urgent call for action that delineates the problem with such clarity that the truth shines through. The author issues a plea to religious leaders of all faiths to work together for change, to create a movement to defeat greed and guide us toward a safer, healthier future.

Genres: Nonfiction, Environment

240 pages, Hardcover

First published August 21, 2007

Reviews

[Terri · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always knew we had exposure to lots of toxins in our bodies and that was contributing to disease. But this book explores how much and areas, Like Camp Lejune, where there were really high concentrations of poisons that the government knew about and did nothing. The book examines percholates, and airborne mercury and childhood asthma, thimersol in vaccines and autism (which I did know a bit about) which is also a form of mercury. Hello, we are injecting our kids with mercury? How can that be a good thing? There was a mercury spill at a local school a year or two ago and they closed the school and had hazmat teams clean it up. The mercury comes from coal burning power plants. the pesticides on our food, the increase in breast cancers and the lack of research into PREVENTION. It is so affected by money. Big business and therefore the government funded by big business contributions like the money we spend on drugs and mammograms etc...

Sure, the author is biased. But it appears that the bias is pushing her to get the information out and get us to do our own questioning and become more informed.

I think more people, esp. those with children need to start doing research about what is going into their bodies. Recommend this book to everyone.

[William Schram · Rating 2 out of 5]

A well-meaning nutcase links chemicals to diseases. Hugs and Jesus will fix everything. This was my first impression of Poisoned Nation by Loretta Schwartz-Nobel. It was not aided by reading the introductory portion of the book.

Poisoned Nation makes an attempt to tug at your heartstrings with the powers of Ethos, relating these personal stories to everyone who reads this book. It was written in 2007 so I don’t know if there are any new developments from that time to this modern era of the Trump presidency. The book is not timeless.

So I read as much as I could stomach about this. I realize that people are upset about their children getting weird diseases, and it is possible that chemicals are to blame. I just figure that there are probably other reasons for these diseases and problems. The author cares, this is obvious enough from the word choice and so on.

Even more surprising is the final conclusions met by the author. She claims that people who believe in the Second Coming are most to blame since they don’t value the environment and believe it to be temporary. It took a weird turn, if I may say so.

This book has a lot of problems, but I don’t think it is a terrible book, I just think it was rashly put together. All in all, the book is okay.

[Chris Demer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a brilliant, concise and very readable expose about toxins in our environment that has major health implications for us all. It is carefully researched but includes poignant and interesting anecdotes to bring home specific points.

Among the highlights:
PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) and DDT - long ago restricted, are still contaminating pristine environments. They are found in high levels in Inuit communities in Greenland because of being concentrated in large sea mammals on which they depend for food.

Massive well water contamination in Camp Lajeune by chlorinated hydrocarbons. Contamination that has been going on since the 1950s. Many families who have lived there - especially children have a high incidence of Leukemia. Toxins were dumped into unlined ditches, where they leached into the water supply for the base.
The author states that the Department of Defense ironically is the largest polluter by far - way ahead of the five largest corporate polluters.
Perchlorate, from rocket fuel has leaked into the Colorado River, potentially poisoning millions who derive their drinking water from the Colorado. (Kerr-Magee and Lockheed Martin mainly to blame for this one.)
Not only is the drinking water contaminated, but it is used to water fields and crops, resulting in high levels in many fruits, vegetables and even milk. Perchlorate is implicated in thyroid disease and cancer.

Methyl bromide - a pesticide known to cause cancer and birth defects in farm workers. Although the US signed a treaty in 2005banning all but critical uses, The Bush Administration sought multiple non-critical exemptions to please agriculture and manufacturing moguls.

Mercury from coal-fired power plants: implicated in a huge increase in asthma in those living downwind of these plants and of course mercury is toxic to the nervous system especially in the very young. In some areas 25% of the children are diagnosed with asthma, which can often be controlled, but also causes death in many cases. Even "cap and trade" while it could decrease overall levels, would cause "hotspots" for some - probably the poor.

While the author does not suggest eschewing vaccinations, she is adamant that the thimerosal a mercury compound used as a preservative, can be toxic to some susceptible children and may be responsible for the dramatic rise in autism. Although the vaccines can be made available in single dose vials without thimerosal, the drug companies can package them more cheaply in multidose vials with the mercury preservative.
The Breast Cancer Industry: There is no doubt among those who study the issue (that are not being paid to come to specific conclusions)that many environmental toxins, particularly those that mimic estrogen, along with estrogen replacement drugs and mammography, which involves radiation, are major causes of breast cancer. And yet, the organizations with the most money and visibility are spending massive amounts of money on developing treatments. This make sense to the drug companies that heavily support these organizations of course. They really have no interest in prevention. (These organizations include the National Cancer Institute and the American Cancer Society. (DO NOT support these organizations!)Breast Cancer Action would be a better bet.
Meticulously researched, Loretta Schwartz-Nobel gives suggestions, discusses foods that are more safe and less safe, chemicals to look for in cosmetics. She provides helpful websites.

Everyone who values his or her health and the health of others on the planet should read this book!

[Ridzwan · Rating 4 out of 5]

In July 2005, a renowned non-profit organization known as the Environmental Working Group conducted a study on newborn babies in US hospitals. They found 287 industrial chemicals and pollutants in the umbilical cord blood taken from a sample of ten babies. These chemicals included pesticides, flame-retardants, chemicals from non-stick cooking pans and plastics. On average, each baby has been exposed to 200 chemicals even before they were born.

Since when did we and our babies have so much chemicals swimming in our blood? It could be due to the fact that we have taken the chemicals around us for granted. It could also be that the interests of big corporations have taken precedence over the common man’s right to breathe in fresh, unpolluted air. Author Loretta Schwartz-Nobel shows us that it’s usually a lethal combination of the two.

Poisoned Nation is a thoroughly researched work that dwells upon real-life accounts of people who have suffered and died directly because of pollution and chemical poisoning. These include the rapid rise of cancer, autism among children and pollution related deaths worldwide. Through first hand interviews with ordinary citizens and environment experts alike, the issue of how so many different chemicals are now residing in our blood is given a much-deserved and through discourse

Immensely riveting read and highly recommended.

[Mary Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this book, the author goes through different cases where environmental toxins have had horrible impact on individuals, families and communities. The stories are fascinating, heart-breaking and shocking examples of how we either knowingly or unknowingly pollute the environment to the extent where it has long-term, unforseeable consequences. I question the scientific accuracy of some of the author's statements, which are often presented as facts. For example, she talks about mercury and arsenic as though they are man-made pollutants, when in fact these are chemical elements that can be found in nature. But overall, her premise is respectable and deserves attention.

[Heidi · Rating 2 out of 5]

There wasn't a whole of information in this book. It wasn't meant to be scientific, which is fine, but it never really seemed to come together for me. It is true that I read it years after publication, but my issue isn't with the timeliness of the information, it's more that there wasn't a ton of information on anything really.

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although this book is sometimes lacking in hard science and references newspapers for factual data (not exactly reliable) it still gives you A LOT to think about. This has inspired me to keep digging and learning more about the chemical swimming pool that surrounds us.

[Grace Hunt · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book was extremely eye opening and well written. I loved reading and it was an easy read for a non-fiction book. I would definitely recommend this book!