The Chemical World

"Non-Toxic gives insightful, even-handed, evidence-based discussion about the environment in which we now find ourselves living, the environmental hazards and ways in which we may better protect ourselves and our families from increased risk of illness and disease due to harmful chemical and radiation exposure. Espousing the principles developed by famed physician and author, Dr. Andrew Weil, and making them accessible for the general reader, the book takes account of the whole person, including all aspects of lifestyle, in offering guidance to living healthy in a chemical world"--

Understanding Physical Chemistry is a gentle introduction to the principles and applications of physical chemistry. The book aims to introduce the concepts and theories in a structured manner through a wide range of carefully chosen examples and case studies drawn from everyday life. These real-life examples and applications are presented first, with any necessary chemical and mathematical theory discussed afterwards. This makes the book extremely accessible and directly relevant to the reader. Aimed at undergraduate students taking a first course in physical chemistry, this book offers an accessible applications/examples led approach to enhance understanding and encourage and inspire the reader to learn more about the subject. A comprehensive introduction to physical chemistry starting from first principles. Carefully structured into short, self-contained chapters. Introduces examples and applications first, followed by the necessary chemical theory.

Despite people using both natural and synthetic chemicals with (mainly) good intentions, some chemicals have had unintended negative consequences. Chemical residues have contaminated ecosystems the world over and are compromising the health of many ecosystems, animals and humans. The goal of Chemical World: Science in our Daily Lives is to introduce readers to basic chemistry and chemical history, and to show how chemicals are used for particular reasons but sometimes turn out to be harmful to environmental and human health. It invites readers to take a look at the world around them and ask questions about what’s in their environment and how the things they use and eat every day can affect their own health and the planet’s health. Chemical World: Science in Our Daily Lives explores some of the materials—all of which are made of basic chemical elements—that humans use or come into contact with in their day-to-day lives. Some of these chemicals are naturally occurring—clay, mercury, lead. Others have been synthesized by chemists during the past 150 years and used in a bewildering array of products ranging from roof shingles to toothpaste. Many chemical inventions, as well as naturally produced chemicals, have had profound effects on food supply, developing medicines and creating hosts of useful items for modern life.

Silent Winter is about the silent spread of toxic chemicals in our daily lives and their role in the growing prevalence of illnesses such as cancer, chronic fatigue, diabetes, asthma digestive issues, depression, dementia, and others. The scientific evidence about chronic illness and toxic chemicals is withheld from us through stunningly elaborate efforts so that business can continue as usual. Approximately 45% of the adult US population now has at least one chronic illness, and chronic illness is commonly caused by chronic exposure to toxic chemicals. We are often told that these diseases are a result of our lifestyle or our genes. We rarely hear that chronic illness is on the rise as a result of toxic chemicals in consumer products and throughout our environment. Industry does not want to change, so it is forcing us to change on an evolutionary level to deal with the onslaught of chemicals in our daily lives. When we cannot keep up and get ill, we are sold chemical solutions to make us feel better. But individuals and families dealing with chronic illness often know or suspect that toxic chemicals have played a role in the demise of their health. The author also shows how the problem is covered up at a societal level by obscuring what we know, and how discussion of possible solutions is silenced by manipulating the marketplace. Millions of human lives are being muted as a result of chronic illness. Finally, the author discusses our way out of this mess. In the 1962 book Silent Spring, Rachel Carson dedicated one short chapter to the anticipated human health impacts from toxic chemicals. That chapter seeded the present work, Silent Winter, which was written after sixty additional years of scientific research and widespread human exposure to a variety of toxic chemicals. In Our Stolen Future, 1996, Theo Colborn et al. warned of the potential dangers of hormone disrupting chemicals on human health. Nearly another 25 years have passed since that writing. Silent Winter reveals the observed impacts of these hormone disrupting chemicals on human health.

We are entering one of the most exciting periods in the study of chemical communication since the first pheromones were identified some 40 years ago. This rapid progress is reflected in this book, the first to cover the whole animal kingdom at this level for 25 years. The importance of chemical communication is illustrated with examples from a diverse range of animals including humans, marine copepods, Drosophila, Caenorhabditis elegans, moths, snakes, goldfish, elephants and mice. It is designed to be advanced, but at the same time accessible to readers whatever their scientific background. For students of ecology, evolution and behaviour, this book gives an introduction to the rapid progress in our understanding of olfaction at the molecular and neurological level. In addition, it offers chemists, molecular and neurobiologists an insight into the ecological, evolutionary and behavioural context of olfactory communication.

Chemistry is an amazing branch of science that affects us every day, yet few people realize it, or even give it much thought. Without chemistry, there would be nothing made of plastic, there would be no rubber tires, no tin cans, no television, no microwave ovens, or something as simple as wax paper. This book presents an exciting and intriguing tour through the realm of chemistry as each chapter unfolds with facts and stories about the discoveries and discoverers. Find out why pure gold is not used for jewelry or coins. Join Humphry Davy as he made many chemical discoveries, and learn how they shortened his life. See how people in the 1870s could jump over the top of the Washington Monument. Exploring the World of Chemistry brings science to life and is a wonderful learning tool with many illustrations, biographical information, chapter tests, and an index for easy referencing.