Earth Detox - How and Why we Must Clean Up Our Planet

Every person on our home planet is affected by a worldwide deluge of man-made chemicals and pollutants - most of which have never been tested for safety. Our chemical emissions are six times larger than our total greenhouse gas emissions. They are in our food, our water, the air we breathe, our homes and workplaces, the things we use each day. This universal poisoning affects our minds, our bodies, our genes, our grandkids, and all life on Earth. Julian Cribb describes the full scale of the chemical catastrophe we have unleashed. He proposes a new Human Right - not to be poisoned. He maps an empowering and hopeful way forward: to rid our planet of these toxins and return Earth to the clean, healthy condition which our forebears enjoyed, and our grandchildren should too.

Contents

Preface; 1. Chemical avalanche; 2. Poisoning a Planet; 3. Are you a contaminated site?; 4. Diabolic cocktail; 5. Unseen risks; 6. Sick society; 7. Getting away with murder; 8. Clean up Society; 9. Clean up the Earth; 10. Averting disaster; Postscript. A warning from deep time; Index.

'In Earth Detox, Cribb shows that humanity's chemical emissions are a threat to civilization on the scale of climate disruption - slaying more people every year now than any war in human history. On a bedrock of hard scientific evidence, he shows the way for urgent universal action to stem this colossal menace to our future. Another must-read by an outstanding science communicator.'

Paul R. Ehrlich, author of The Population Bomb and Jaws: The Story of a Hidden Epidemic

'Future generations will see this book as the 21st century equivalent of Rachel Carson's 1960s classic, Silent Spring. It documents in frightening detail how manufactured chemicals are poisoning us and the Earth's natural systems. Every day, about a kilogram of chemicals are produced for you and for every other human. About 25,000 people will die today from the effects of these chemicals. Read it and be empowered to help turn back the chemical tsunami which is drowning us all.'

 Ian Lowe, Griffith University

'… Earth Detox is impeccably researched, starkly engaging, beautifully written, and deeply unnerving. Telling us we are existentially awash in deadly dangerous, man-made chemical toxins. A must read for those who want a future in which humans can survive. Julian Cribb is one of the world's most important voices on the existential threats of our time.'

Geoffrey Holland, author of The Hydrogen Age

'… harrowing, tenacious and precise analysis of humanity's poisoning of the planet … From traces of arsenic on the high slopes of Mt. Everest, to flame-retardant chemicals in deepsea squid and bears in the Arctic, pesticides and nanopolluters, to neurotoxins, endocrine disrupters and chemical weapons, Cribb documents the unbearable orgy of toxins we are willy-nilly unleashing … This is not a book about hope versus despair. It is far more urgent and pragmatic than that. This is about your next breath.'

Michael Charles Tobias, author, filmmaker, President of Dancing Star Foundation

'Earth Detox is a compelling, albeit unsettling book about the ways billions of tons of toxic chemicals are killing the planet - including people … Julian Cribb takes a no-holds-barred look at how dependence upon manufactured chemicals threatens the world. Every living being is touched in one way or another by toxic chemicals. They're in the air, in the oceans, in the soil, in the foods we eat, on our skin. In fact, almost every facet of our lives is touched by pollutants, whether we know it or not. Earth Detox lays out shocking facts about the many ways we've allowed pollutants to poison the planet. Fortunately, Julian also lays out many actions we can take, and policies to support, to change course and save lives. I encourage readers to pick up Earth Detox, learn the facts about toxic pollutants, and begin sharing some of the solutions with others so we can move toward a safe and healthy world for all beings.'

Suzanne York, Director of Transition Earth

'Earth Detox is truly a masterpiece of deeply researched facts exposing a very, very big story, as big as the survival and condition of Earth's basic resources that support existence.'

Robert Hunziker, CounterPunch