Carl F. Cranor has written an authoritative book of exquisite clarity that explains why American environmental laws and its tort system neither protects its citizens nor offers a path to justice for those injured by untested or poorly tested chemicals. The book should be required reading for anyone who wishes to understand why it takes a quarter of a century ... Read moreto withdraw a toxic chemical from the marketplace, but months to get it approved.
Sheldon Krimsky,Tufts University, author of Hormonal Chaos:The Scientific & Social Origins of The Environmental Endocrine Hypothesis
Cranor masterfully integrates insights from science, law, and ethics in order to identify major social problems and propose concrete steps that can be taken to fix them.
Kevin C. Elliott, author of Is A Little Pollution Good for You? Incorporating Societal Values in Environmental Research (OUP 2011)
An important and timely book.Tragic Failures reminds us of the moral importance of societal decisions about how science is used (and can be abused) in efforts to protect the public's helath.
Christina Ruden, Professor in Regulatory Toxicology, Stockholme University
Dr. Carl Cranor has to be the foremost legal thinker with the deepest understanding of the system that, far too often, makes many people sick and results in premature death. Illness and death could have been, as shown by Dr. Cranor, almost entirely preventable if only decision-makers had chosen to serve the public interest rather than the interests of the manufacturers of hazardous products. In Tragic Failures, Dr. Cranor shines a light on mechanisms of malfeasance that have long been systemic in the USA and its trans-national conglomerates. With these mechanisms now revealed in this, the latest of his books, the goalposts are made evident for those wishing to rectify what are truly tragic failures in our attempts at good governance.
Colin L. Soskolne, Professor emeritus, University of Alberta, Canada
an engaging and provocative discussion of the history of regulatory and tort law, covering the history leading up to the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Toxic Substances Control Act, and the precedents in toxic torts, including but not limited to the Daubert v. Merrill Dow Chemical. In addition, it brings readers up to date with the current law, providing a nuanced explanation of the science of environmental toxins, and its import for law and policy. I would not hesitate to assign this book in any course in philosophy of public health, bioethics, environmental ethics, law or policy. Philosophers of science, law and environmental policy especially can gain from this book, not only in teaching, but also in informing their own thinking.
Anya Plutynski, Kennedy Institue of Ethics Journal
Show Less