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Poisoned for Pennies

The Economics of Toxics and Precaution

Frank Ackerman

Published: 05/23/2008
Publisher: Island Press
352 p. 6 x 9
Tables. Figures.
Appendix. Manuscript.
ISBN: 9781597264013
Paperback: $27.50

Also Available: Hardcover

Biographies | Table Of Contents

“Cost-benefit analysis” is a term that is used so frequently we rarely stop to think about it. But relying on it can lead to some dubious conclusions, as Frank Ackerman points out in this eye-opening book. For example, some economists have argued that states should encourage—and even subsidize—cigarette smoking by citizens because smoking will shorten life spans and therefore reduce the need and expense of caring for the elderly. How did the economists reach that conclusion? The answer is cost-benefit analysis, Ackerman explains.

Then in clear, understandable language, he describes an alternative, precautionary approach to making decisions under uncertainty. Once a mere theory, the precautionary principle has now been applied in practice through the European Union’s REACH protocol. Citing major studies, many of which he has directed, he shows that the precautionary approach has not only worked, but has been relatively cheap.

Poisoned for Pennies shows how the misuse of cost-benefit analysis is impeding efforts to clean up and protect our environment, especially in the case of toxic chemicals. According to Ackerman, conservatives—in elected office, in state and federal regulatory agencies, and in businesses of every size—have been able to successfully argue that environmental clean-up and protection are simply too expensive. But he proves, that is untrue in case after case.

Ackerman is already well known for his carefully reasoned attacks on the conventional wisdom about the costs of environmental regulation. This new book, which finds Ackerman ranging from psychological research to risk analysis to the benefits of aggressive pesticide regulation, and from mad cow disease to lead paint, will further his reputation as a thought leader in environmental protection. We can’t afford not to listen to him.

Biographies

Frank Ackerman is the director of the Research and Policy Program at the Global Development and the Environment Institute at Tufts University. He is the author of Why Do We Recycle? (Island Press) and Priceless: On Knowing the Price of Everything and the Value of Nothing (with Lisa Heinzerling). He has conducted research for many environmental groups, including Greenpeace, Riverkeeper, and the Farmworker Justice Fund.

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Chapter 1: Pricing the Priceless

Chapter 2: Was Environmental Protection Ever a Good Idea?

Chapter 3: The Unbearable Lightness of Regulatory Costs

Chapter 4: Precaution, Uncertainty, and Dioxin

Chapter 5: The Economics of Atrazine

Chapter 6: Ignoring the Benefits of Pesticides Regulation

Chapter 7: Mad Cows and Computer Models

Chapter 8: Costs of Preventable Childhood Illness

Chapter 9: Phasing Out a Problem Plastic

Chapter 10: The Costs of REACH