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This Borrowed Earth: Lessons from the Fifteen Worst Environmental Disasters around the World

This Borrowed Earth: Lessons from the Fifteen Worst Environmental Disasters around the World

Over the last century mankind has irrevocably damaged the environment through the unscrupulous greed of big business and our own willful ignorance. Here are the strikingly poignant accounts of disasters whose names live in infamy: Chernobyl, Bhopal, Exxon Valdez, Three Mile Island, Love Canal, Minamata and others. And with these, the extraordinary and inspirational stories of the countless men and women who fought bravely to protect the communities and environments at risk.

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Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful 5.0 out of 5 stars
Planetary Mayday, March 10, 2010 By  Joanna Isaak (New York, NY USA) – See all my reviews
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Robert Hernan’s This Borrowed Earth is nothing if not timely. This survey of a number of the major environmental disasters of the last twenty years arrives at a time in which the global environmental situation has arguably become the major issue facing the world today. Hernan’s book is a sobering and gripping narrative of a series of man-made environmental disasters, from Minimata to Chenobyl to Three Mile Island, the consequences of which were fatal to thousands of people. The record of evasions, self-excuses, and outright lying, practiced by the corporations and governments responsible for the disasters makes for disturbing reading, and a strong sense of the need for vigilance in the future. The book’s subject matter is inherently dramatic, and is told in an appropriately minimalist style; the tragedies speak for themselves. A book that should receive wide readership, and a must read for anyone concerned about the state of the planet. -D. O’Connell

 
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful 5.0 out of 5 stars
Helpful, needed, timely, February 7, 2010 By  James D. MorrisSee all my reviews
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Bob Hernan’s book is a tremendously useful summation of fifteen of the worst environmental catastrophes of our time, along with their awful human toll. Clearly and gracefully written, it is transparent and accessible and would be a valuable teaching tool.
 
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful 5.0 out of 5 stars
compelling stories, February 21, 2010 By  Robert Emmet Hernan (New York, NY USA and Donegal, Ireland) – See all my reviews
“This Borrowed Earth” is an amazing book and should be required reading in all classrooms. Described here are fifteen of the worst man-made disasters that have shaped and given urgency to the contemporary environmental movement. Each story is told with clarity and compassion. Hernan lets the facts speak for themselves but in a prose that is limpidly clear, almost hypnotic. Full of information about the causes of these disasters, the book also focuses on the human experiences around the events–often heartbreaking. But the stories of individual courage and achievement are also inspiring and stand in stark contrast to the tales of corporate ignorance and/or indifference. Each new generation should be made aware of this history; many of us born after the l970’s are shockingly unfamiliar with some of these landmark crises. This is a book that will help future generations to avoid the mistakes of the past.
 
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