Book Review: COLD, CLEAR, AND DEADLY
I read Mel Visser’s intriguing book, Cold, Clear, and Deadly
In fact, in his introduction Mel describes the book as a “mystery novel, with chemicals as the characters.” That’s a pretty good description but I’d also add that Mel casts himself as the sleuth, a loveable rogue who fits well in the tradition of dime store detective novels.
By his own admission, Mel is a man obsessed with this mystery: how have toxic levels of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) continued in the waters of the Great Lakes decades after they were banned? His obsession springs from an intense personal identification with Lake Superior and is fueled by his long career as a chemical engineer and environmental compliance officer for Upjohn Corporation.
That Upjohn association might lead activists to suspect that Mel comes from the “enemy” camp. Well, the truth is Mel doesn’t have much regard for environmentalists, regulators, or researchers either. At best he considers them misguided in their efforts to clean the Great Lakes by scouring contaminated sediments from their shores. But he also accuses them of more nefarious motivations, at one point referring to them as the “regulatory-research complex” interested only in perpetuating their own funding.
So be prepared, Mel is a curmudgeon on a mission. And if at times he offends, you have to appreciate his motivation and applaud his goal: a global ban on POPs like PCBs, DDT, chlordane, and toxaphene.
COLD, CLEAR AND DEADLY is a personal account, a memoir really, of Mel’s dawning awareness of the effects of POPs on the environment and his dogged determination to find their source. His awareness develops in the first half of the book as he attends a series of environmental meetings, symposia, colloquia--you get the picture. Potentially dry stuff this, but here’s where Mel’s personality really shines giving a unique insider, behind-the-scenes view that I found quite engaging.
The second half of the book documents Mel’s post-retirement investigations and growing commitment to a ban on POPs. He becomes convinced that the primary source of POPs in the environment is their continued use in the developing world and their global transport in the atmosphere. His research takes him on two trips to the Arctic. At times his accounts have a travelogue quality, but his description of the horrific exposure of the Inuit to POPs in their traditional diet is riveting--and sure to make you share his outrage.
Fittingly, Mel finishes the book with a call to action. I, for one, wish him every success.
For more about Mel and his mission, see his website, http://coldclearanddeadly.com/, and a series of interviews with Mel on Dave Dempseys excellent blog: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.
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