This episode was taped in front of a live audience at SPACE Gallery in Portland, Maine. It was an event to celebrate the publication of Mariah Blake’s brand new book: They Poisoned the World: Life and Death in the Age of Forever Chemicals.
Mariah is an incredible investigative journalist. She’s written for The New York Times, The Atlantic, Mother Jones, The New Republic, and other publications. She was a Murrey Marder Nieman Fellow in Watchdog Journalism at Harvard University. And I was truly honored that she asked me to be in conversation with her to launch her book tour.
The book is a landmark investigation that required years of her on-the-ground reporting and reviewing tens of thousands of documents. The topic is PFAS, substances that are more commonly called “forever chemicals.” Her book tells the story of these incredibly dangerous substances and the lives they’ve impacted — from their genesis in the Manhattan Project, to becoming so ubiquitous that they are present in the blood of virtually every human being, and in the drinking water of about half the people in America.
They Poisoned the World is a true crime story on the scale of what the tobacco and fossil fuel industries have done to knowingly imperil our health and our futures. But this book also highlights what’s possible when unlikely advocates, regular folks, come together and unite for a common cause. In other words, there are heroes in this story too.
But, as Mariah explains, these chemicals affect us all. And her reporting is so important – and timely – because just last week the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that they plan to weaken restrictions for certain forever chemicals in our drinking water.
Now, just how concerning that move is will be clear once you’ve listened to our conversation. And after you listen — or even while you’re listening — buy this book from your local bookstore. It’s an amazing read and something we all need to know about.
CALLS TO ACTION:
Advocate for stricter standards and a class-wide ban on PFAS. Find a local organization working on this and join them. (Like Brunswick Area Citizens for a Safe Environment, some of whose members were in the live audience.) Track your state’s progress here.
Reduce your own PFAS exposure — use natural materials for cooking and storing food, filter drinking water (consider reverse osmosis, look for NSF certification).
Mentioned in the episode:
Mariah’s book:They Poisoned the World: Life and Death in the Age of Forever Chemicals
Washington Post’s review of Mariah’s book: Chemical makers they the harm. It didn’t matter.
News: EPA will weaken rule curbing ‘forever chemicals’ in drinking water
News: Massive Brunswick PFAS spill is Maine’s largest ever firefighting foam contamination
Op-ed in Washington Post (coining the term ‘forever chemicals’): The EPA is trying to regulate 6 forever chemicals. Just 10,000 to go.
Story of Fred Stone: The curious case of tainted milk from a Maine dairy farm
News: Maine bans use of sewage sludge on farms to reduce risk of PFAS poisoning
News:Taco Bell to remove chemicals of concern from packaging
Overview of NSF certification
Research Article: Outside the Safe Operating Space of a New Planetary Boundary for Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS)
Research Article: Historical Comparison of Perfluorooctanesulfonate, Perfluorooctanoate, and Other Fluorochemicals in Human Blood
CREDITS
This podcast was made possible in part with the support of Future Being, a grantmaking and special projects studio which supports the healing of our planet and the safeguarding of biological and cultural diversity.
It’s produced and edited by Matthew Nelson/Stramash Media and me, with help from Jenisha Shrestha. And many thanks to our guest Mariah Blake.
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