Cone, M. (2005). Silent snow: The slow poisoning of the Arctic. Grove Press.Marla Cone is deputy editor at CalMatters covering environmental issues. She is one of the nation’s most experienced environmental journalists.Cone's book presents an apocalyptic landscape considering contamination's scope and its ill effects on animals and humans. Perhaps you, as I, naively assume that the Arctic Circle must be the most pristine, untouched wilderness on the planet. If only this were true, instead, the "arctic paradox" is a term used to describe how the Arctic Circle, her wildlife and her people are among the most contaminated on earth. Cone's purpose was to explore the Arctic Paradox through visiting Greenland, Qaanaaq, Barrow, Svalbard, and the Faroe Islands to learn of the "impacts of contaminants on the indigenous people and animals; familiarize [herself] with this vast region's diversity of species and cultures; detail the effects of contaminants (both physical and cultural) and understand why people there are so reliant on a diet that leaves their bodies contaminated." What she found was that through wind and wave currents, contaminants from North America, Europe, and Russia travel to the Arctic Circle to be absorbed and ingested within the food chain. Through a process called bioaccumulation, these contaminants build up over time. Inuit's indicated that "you are what you eat" a belief that is horrifying in face of the research. Specifically, research has shown: "About 200 toxic pesticides and industrial compounds have been detected in the bodies of the Arctic's indigenous people and animals, including all 12 of the "Dirty Dozen," the so-called 'legacy' organic pollutants such as PCBs, DDT, mirex, dieldrin, and chlordane that are capable of inflicting the most ecological damage. They are joined by mercury, a potent neurotoxin released by coal-burning power plants and chemical factories. Mercury is on the rise in many animals of the Arctic and so are a variety of new contaminants such as brominated flame retardants [PFOS], widely applied to plastics and foam, and perfluorinated acids, formerly used in Scotchgard and still used in making Teflon. Unlike PCBs, DDT and brominated flame retardants, which accumulate in fat, mercury and perfluorinated chemicals build up in protein-based tissues such as the liver." She presents no easy answers dividing her research into three parts: (a) the arctic paradox; (b) the research on the effects of the toxicity and contamination, and (c) actions taken thus far such as the 2004 environmental treaty: Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants which seeks to eliminate or restrict the production of persistent organic pollutants (POPs). It must be noted that the US failed to ratify the 2004 treaty.No one on earth is untouched by contaminants: PCBs, mercury, and other chemicals. Cone observed, "No life-form, virtually no food, is free of them. They spread throughout the web of life and build up in the human body." The contrast is striking between the creation story of Genesis 1 where "God saw all that he had made, and it was very good" (NIV) and the haunting scripture of Romans 8:22ff (NIV), "We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves..." This book left me feeling a bit breathless given its seemingly apocalyptic message.This book would be of interest to those interested in environmental issues, animals, humans, culture, leadership, and ethics. So want to have coffee to discuss this!!