Moirs Environmental Dialogues

Lenni Armstrong talks with Rob about two of her eco heroes, Clair Patterson, a geochemist, and Herb Needleman, a pediatrician. These two men shared a passion about the dangers of lead and devoted their lives to measuring lead in the environment, finding out where it was coming from and how it was making people sick. Both men were willing to go to battle to get lead out of the environment to protect public health. Clair Patterson measured the age of Earth and in the process, discovered that the environment was contaminated with lead. Herb Needleman showed the effects of lead on the health of children. Lenni tells of the complex process resulting in a ban on the use of lead in gas and paint, which involved scientists, industry, government and the legal system. She then contrasts this story with the story of today's pollutants, CO2 and the other greenhouse gases.