In the 1962 book Silent Spring, Rachel Carson dedicated one short chapter to the anticipated human health impacts from toxic chemicals. That chapter seeded Silent Winter: Our Chemical World and Chronic Illness, which was written after sixty additional years of scientific research and widespread human exposure to a variety of toxic chemicals. Silent Winter is about the silent spread of toxic chemicals in our daily lives and their role in the growing prevalence of illnesses such as cancer, chronic fatigue, diabetes, asthma, digestive issues, depression, dementia, and others.
The scientific evidence about chronic illness and toxic chemicals is withheld from us through stunningly elaborate efforts so that business can continue as usual. Industry does not want to change, so it is forcing us to change on an evolutionary level to deal with the onslaught of chemicals in our daily lives. When we cannot keep up and get ill, we are sold chemical solutions to make us feel better.
Silent Winter is about the silent spread of toxic chemicals in our daily lives and their impacts on our health. It is also about the silencing of the problem on a societal level by obscuring what we know, and silencing of solutions by manipulating the marketplace. It is further about the muting of millions of human lives as a result of chronic illness. Finally, it is about our way out of this mess.
Silent Winter is available from Algora Publishing, Amazon, Apple Books, Google Books, and Kobo.
My Professional background for this book
I spent a decade working on eliminating toxic chemicals from consumer products as an attorney, consultant, and entrepreneur. I first became involved in the enforcement of environmental and consumer protection laws related to environmental health as an attorney. I subsequently started a software company focused on helping industry find safer alternatives to toxic chemicals. Before writing Silent Winter, I consulted for sustainability entrepreneurs.