Sound Truth and Corporate Myth$

Description

Dr. Riki Ott exposes the profound legacy of the Exxon Valdez oil spill and how readers can help reshape our global energy future.
The author chronicles the long-lasting environmental harm to Prince William Sound, Alaska, and investigates the health problems suffered by many cleanup workers. Exxon’s spill provided a portal to understanding a startling truth: oil is much more toxic than we previously thought. Sound Truth and Corporate Myth$ frames the larger story of discovery of the truly toxic nature of oil.
This book shows how one particular fraction of crude oil, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons or PAHs, may well be the new DDT of the 21st century. In 1999, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency listed 22 PAHs in crude oil as “persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic (PBT) pollutants.” Sharing this list of extreme human health hazards are the more commonly known pollutants–mercury, lead, dioxin, PCBs, and DDT. The latter are all highly regulated chemicals and some, such as DDT and PCBs, have been banned in the United States.
Sound Truth and Corporate Myth$ traces 15 years of lingering harm to humans and wildlife from the Exxon Valdez oil spill. It reveals how corporate greed, government short-sightedness, and manipulation of the truth and the media have kept the public from learning the deadly nature of PAHs. The author provides relevant information and practical recommendations for people and policy-makers at this critical juncture in the history of civilization. This book will inspire people to reduce their own consumption of fossil fuels and, in so doing, help permanently shift society to a clean energy future.

“Riki Ott brings on-the-water experience, scientific knowledge, eloquence, personal courage and great determination to the task of writing Sound Truth and Corporate Myth$. I first met her in the mid-nineties on her fishing boat in Cordova, Alaska. On paper and in person, she is the same dedicated professional, sounding the bell for justice when others would rather not go to the trouble. As an Exxon shareholder, I sincerely hope this book hits home.” – David Rockefeller, Jr., businessman and philanthropist.

“This book doesn’t just change our view of the Exxon Valdez spill; it forces us to dramatically reassess the risks from petroleum and the enormous costs that industry is imposing on our health and planet.” -Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., President, Waterkeeper Alliance

“Important! Chilling! Courageous! Like David confronting Goliath, Riki Ott challenges the giant Exxon to account for its lies and evasions. Her six years of painstaking research expose the long-term damage caused by the Exxon Valdez oil spill to the environment, wildlife, and human health. Ott also uncovers the chemical poisoning epidemic of our time caused by the petrochemical industries and our use of fossil fuels.
If you care about life on earth you must read this book. And, as Ott begs, do your bit to force Exxon to compensate its victims and revise its safety measures. We must join forces to safeguard our planet from the effects of chemical poisons and global climate change, for our children and those as yet unborn.” – Jane Goodall PhD, DBE, UN Messenger of Peace

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