John Stossel's Logic And Proportion Have Fallen Softly Dead Over Chemical Toxins
Reported by Guest Blogger - May 10, 2010 -
Guest blogged by Dan
In a recent Fox Business column, John Stossel argues that because the rise in life expectancy in the United States has risen over the last 80 years, that's proof that chemicals are not harming us.
In his column, Stoseel wrote, "The MSM always obsess about terrible things that chemicals will do. They predicted the cancer epidemic that never happened. They predicted the male sterility crisis that never happened. Now they claim that the preservative BPA in plastic bottles is injures us. If these omnipresent chemicals are so evil, where are the bodies? We’ve been exposed for years now, and yet Americans live longer than ever."
Stossel provided a chart showing a rise in life expectancy in the USA from 1929 to present. But isn't his argument exactly backwards? Since 1914 and the "Progressive" Food and Drug Administration; a number of dangerous products have been banned. Thalidomide. Asbestos. PVC. Saccharine. The Environmental Protection Agency has produced significantly cleaner air and water. Automobiles now have seat belts and many people must use them or risk a citation. Others can add to the list. The point is simply that Government Regulation has restricted the use of toxic chemicals or dangerous products and the average life expectancy has risen. Does Stossel argue that because a specific chemical has not been banned and the life expectancy has risen that the chemical ipso facto is harmelss?
