Books Briefly
Steif, William
Books Briefly Poisoned Planet THE POISON CONSPIRACY by Karl Grossman The Permanent Press. 253 pp. $15.95. Karl Grossman is as much an editor as an author in The Poison Conspiracy, which argues...
...Karl Grossman is as much an editor as an author in The Poison Conspiracy, which argues that the world is being poisoned by large corporations and that virtually nothing is being done by the Government to stop the poisoning...
...Grossman cites Congressional reports, General Accounting Office reports, corporate advertisements, and other materials showing the extent to which the Government has failed to regulate effectively hazardous chemicals that now exist in our food supply, groundwater, workplaces, and elsewhere...
...Rather than summarize or synthesize these materials, however, he usually resorts to quoting them for several pages (in one case, eighteen) at a time...
...Public recognition of that contribution got President Reagan in trouble over mismanagement and corruption at the Environmental Protection Agency...
...Grossman offers no analysis of the conspiracy alleged in the title and provides no solutions to the problem of environmental degradation he describes...
...Grossman ignores the important, if sometimes limited, contribution to environmental protection that the Government has made over the years...
...Between these lengthy quotations are interviews with harmed citizens, outspoken bureaucrats, and others who are frustrated with regulatory ineffectiveness...
Vol. 47 • July 1977 • No. 7
