Energy, Climate, Environment

CONTENTS OF CURRICULUM UNIT 09.07.04

  1. Unit Guide
  1. Introduction
  2. Rationale
  3. Background
  4. Final Questions
  5. Intermission
  6. Minamata Bay
  7. Activities
  8. Appendix A
  9. Appendix B
  10. Appendix C
  11. Student References
  12. Video clips -
  13. Chloracne sites
  14. Chemical persistence
  15. Acknowledgments:
  16. Bibliography
  17. Endnotes

Toxic, Persistent Chemicals in Human Environments: Case Studies of Agent Orange Use in Vietnam, 1965-1970 and Methyl Mercury in Minamata Bay, Japan, 1932-1968

Jeffrey C. Davis

Published September 2009

Tools for this Unit:

Final Questions

In 2009, an International People's Tribunal of Conscience in Support of the Vietnamese Victims of Agent Orange gathered in Paris, hearing testimony from 27 victims, witnesses and scientific experts. Testimony from chemists, doctors, scientists and victims 3 0 suggest costs of rehabilitation of the environment and the people including 24 hour care in the billions of dollars. President Richard Nixon promised $ 3.25 billion for reconstruction "without any preconditions," 2 7 but that money was never granted by congress.

Why did this situation develop? If the US government knew of the dangers to people and the environment from using Agent Orange as early as 1963, why did they use it?

Perhaps they thought they were going to win (when has a country gone to war expecting to lose?) and the winners always get to write the history. What went wrong?

Comments:

Aman Baba Gupta

July 8, 2018 at 3:53 am

a bcd

VERY HELPFUL In MAKING MY PROJECT FILE

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