Sublime

In its lab, the DEP was testing for twenty-four different metals, yet it was reporting results for only eight. Copper, nickel, zinc, chromium, boron, titanium, cobalt, and lithium—all could be harmful and relevant to drilling contamination. However, if any of these were in someone’s water, they were missing from the test results homeowners saw. If

David Freedman, “Lies, Damned Lies, and Medical Science,” Atlantic, October 4, 2010, http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2010/11/lies-damned-lies-and-medical-science/308269/.

Cane toads are native to South America, Central America, and the very southernmost tip of Texas. In the mid-1800s, they were imported to the Caribbean. The idea was to enlist the toads in the battle against beetle grubs, which were plaguing the region’s cash crop—sugar cane. (Sugar cane, too, is an imported species; it is native to New Guinea.)

Dr Needleman demonstrated that a clear association existed between exposure to lead and serious health hazards; his efforts over the course of many years finally resulted in the removal of lead from the manufacture of most motor fuels and most paints.

Globally, freshwater resources are by no means equally distributed. In fact, 2.3 billion people in twenty-one countries live in geo-graphies that are designated “water-stressed basins,” which means that there are only 1000 to 1700 cubic meters of water per person per year. Another 1.7 billion, according to the UN’s Food and Agriculture