Read 'n' Seed 4: Third Quarter of "Exposed"

Through this section of “Exposed” I am now 105 pages into the book and have completed two more chapters; Chapter Five “Genetic Boomerang” and Chapter Six “Rise and Fall of the Machine.”
Once again this book seems to hold strong to the same trends that it has in the previous four chapters. That being the United States’ lack of recognition for that other countries (namely Europe) have done to take action in protecting their citizens. Chapter Five primarily discusses Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) and the ways it has significantly impacted not only farmers through the U.S., but also our countries environment as a whole. I find it very interesting how this book seems to be lagging by about one chapter from what we have been discussing in class; it helps me truly understand these issues. This chapter continued to discuss further the effects of GMO’s , such as the economical impact it has for our country as well as the dangers. As we learned in class when we reduce a specific product to just one or two simple strains in order to become resistant to certain hazards (pests, insects, disease), the product becomes resistant to some and more dangerous risks begin to evolve. Once again much of the world as began to follow the European Union’s lead and implemented regulations on this type of chemical alteration. Over thirty countries have imposed high restrictions on these GMO crops and even refuse to accept donated crops from the United States, including the African Union who used to receive donations through an aid program.

Chapter Six brings to life the reality of what we as U.S. citizens deal with regarding electronic devices. It takes a look at how convenient our devices are and how they have become essential for us in our everyday lives, but then breaks down the reality that things break and quit working and then what do you do with them? This chapter breaks down the importance of properly disposing of our electronic devices and no just sending them off to some land fill or local dump, where the chemicals inside further release and impact our environment. It surprised me that even Europe, who is supposed to be our cornerstone for this whole environmental health topic, had considerable trouble dealing with their electronic waste issue as well. However unlike the United States, they are taking a very proactive approach to this issue and trying to stop even bigger problems before they start. Further through the reading of this chapter It also provided an informative way to recycle certain household items such as electronic devices, this surprisingly went along with a field trip I had just taken for Community Health to Western Lake Superior Sanitation District (WLSSD). Towards the end of the chapter the author also looked briefly into the manufacturing of cars, mainly the production of more efficient automobiles and how it has impacted some of the major companies throughout the U.S. It provides insight from both spectrums on how cars are being developed, and the guidelines that are to be followed in their production. One thing that stood out to me was the Global Automotive Declarable Substance List (GADSL), this list was created by the Auto Industry Action Group. The GADSL is a list that provides a glimpse into the chemical insides of an automobile, and a sense of how absent the U.S. has been in regulating them.

Once again this book never ceases to surprise me on how slow the United States is to react to these extremely important and dangerous issues. It seems a bit pathetic to me that other countries can kick back and know they are protecting their citizens, while the United States (who is supposed to be the most powerful of all) does nothing to protect their people, but rather continues to chase the almighty dollar.