Living Downstream: An Ecologist’s Personal Investigation of Cancer and the Environment, Chapters 1-6

Sandra Steingraber weaves her personal story of developing bladder cancer as a young adult with a scientific review of the state of environmental causes linked with cancer in Living Downstream: An Ecologist’s Personal Investigation of Cancer and the Environment. The result is a touching story that engages audiences and reminds them of the devastating personal effects that cancer has on individuals, families, and communities as well as a review of the current state of knowledge and a charge that communities should demand limitation of exposures to contaminants even in the face of incomplete evidence that certain contaminants cause cancer.

“How much evidence do we need before we act?” This question was posed to a group of academic and governmental agency scientists about a year ago during a workshop I was taking on amphibian and reptile diseases. The speaker was a young scientist studying amphibian immune response to the deadly chytrid fungus. She was focused on the mechanism of how the pathogen leads to disease in amphibians, but she made a point that the focus on the mechanisms is not essential to put into place strategies for conservation of populations in the wild. It seems that since that time this question has come up again and again, especially during this seminar. How much evidence do we need that amphibian are declining from disease before we act? How much evidence do we need to know where to place protected marine sanctuaries? How much evidence do we need about climate change before we enact policies? How much evidence do we need about environmental causes of cancer before we limit our exposures? The answer to this question seems to becoming a bit clearer. Well, at least we know what we don’t need.  We know we do not need perfect data to move forward with action.

Steingraber convincingly makes the case that we know that our mothers, sisters, husbands, fathers, and children are suffering increased incidence of cancers that could be caused by environmental exposures of classes of contaminants that mimic hormones of the human body. And though the data are not perfect, there is enough evidence to suggest that limiting our production and release of these compounds may reduce cancer incidences. Steingraber artfully makes this argument by summarizing a massive amount of literature on documented causes of cancers. She deftly describes why it is so difficult statistically and experimentally to prove this point beyond doubt while at the same time pulling on the readers emotions as she relates her own experiences of living with cancer. While I am convinced that she is making an important point that the public needs to hear and in a way that would connect with many readers, I am anxious to see if she proposes how we become a community that demands the precautionary principle over the financial gains of industry.

Oil and Honey Ch 1-4

A spoon full of honey makes the climate change story go down.  In Oil and Honey, author and activist Bill McKibben eases the delivery of a frustrating story of efforts to prevent construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline by showcasing the development of an apiary with his friend, Kirk Webster. Without this balance of story telling, I don’t know if I could have kept trudging through the endlessly challenging story of the formation of 350.org and their abilities to organize people and protest against big oil.

I’m not quite certain of McKibben’s intent showcasing the story of his bee-keeping friend against his development as a climate change activist, but I do know what effect it had on me as a reader. First, reading about the honest development of an apiary from a personal viewpoint gave me a reprieve from the draining story of McKibben working as an activist. McKibben recounts the development and organization of 350.org with a group of undergraduate students from Middlebury College in Vermont. The group has achieved quite a lot since their development including organizing multiple worldwide demonstrations and helping to galvanize other climate change activist groups in brining attention to the construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline. However, this side of the story is not without struggle. Although the group has faced insurmountable power and influence of big oil, they have contributed to the stalling of construction. But these challenges set against them will likely never end. As a reader, it makes me feel grateful for their efforts and hopeful for their success, but fearful of what they’ve taken on and the challenges that lie ahead.

At just the right times, McKibben interjects with Webster’s story which shows a person committed to developing a sustainable, honest lifestyle through organic bee farming. Of course, Webster’s story is not without challenges as well. The apiary faces the impacts of extreme weather events caused by climate changes, threats of mites, the flooding of the honey market by cheaply produce honey from China, and developing practices devoid of using pesticides. Webster, with the financial support of McKibben, succeeds in developing an apiary that overcomes these challenges and at the same time minimizes it’s impact of the world that surrounds it. Simply, hearing about this story makes me want to keep reading. It is a story of hope through commitment to the land and community that is hopefully one that we all might gain a little inspiration from in the face of the challenges of climate change and our reliance on fossil fuels.