Reviews: Conveying Environmental Health Information and Context: Sandra Steingraber's Raising Elijah Furnishes an Example

Abstract

The effective use of scientific environmental health information is necessary to reduce exposures of vulnerable populations through changes to customary practices and to regulations. There is a need to educate the public on toxic threats to empower us to effectively advocate for such changes. There are few sources available to the general reader that present recent findings accurately, clearly, and interestingly. Sandra Steingraber's recent book, Raising Elijah: Protecting Our Children in an Age of Environmental Crisis, furnishes an example of how to meet this need, utilizing descriptive and powerful language. In this article the impact of scientific knowledge is explored through the experiences of an engaged community. Topics focused on as examples are arsenic playgrounds, sexuality and reproduction, and neurotoxins. The book focuses on the additional topics of climate change, fracking, food, plastics, and asthma.