Toxic Tropics: A Horror Story of Environmental Injustice
by Jessica Oublié with art by Nicola Gobbi
PUBLICATION DATE: November 2024
6.25” X 9”
240 PAGES
TRADE PAPERBACK
ISBN: : 9781951491345
EBOOK ISBN:
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List Price
US $23.99
What People Are Saying
“Environmental justice is fundamentally about people, and this beautifully rendered graphic novel captures the human relationships and communities involved in a chemical catastrophe that spans generations. At a time when we too often take food security and safety for granted, this novel weaves together the true story of dangerous chemical residues from insecticides with colorful graphic panels, reminding us to ask questions and fight for global environmental justice.” —Dr. Jessica L. Ware, Curator and Division Chair of Invertebrate Zoology at the American Museum of Natural History
“Oublié interviews experts, journalists, farmers, and others to unpack the scientific evidence of harms to humans and the environment. She unspools a nuanced story of racism, business interests, governmental indecision, and infuriating imprecision about the alleged health effects, which range from cancer to autism. [To] effectively remind readers of the human cost behind the headlines. The result is a nuanced conversation starter about the long tail of pollution.” —Publishers Weekly
“Investigative journalism has rarely been so thorough and yet so thoroughly beautiful.”—Zach Weinersmith, author of the New York Times bestseller Soonish
Synopsis
An in-depth piece of comics journalism exploring the persistent use of the deadly chemical Chlordecone to support the banana crops in Martinique and Guadeloupe.
In 1975, pesticide producer LifeSciences closed their plant that produced the chemical chlordecone, after numerous employees had toxic chemical poisoning, and the local river had been polluted. But in the French Antilles, farmers continued to use the pesticide. Even after it was banned in 1993, planters continued to illegally import and use it. Chlordecone use became so widespread that it was in almost everything people on the islands ate and drank.
Today, 95% of the inhabitants of Guadeloupe and 92% of the inhabitants of Martinique are contaminated by the chemical, and the islands have one of the highest cancer rates in the world.
In this richly illustrated work, the author brings her personal experience and connection to the story as she interviews scores of local people as well as scientists and government officials to uncover the true story behind the decision to continue poisoning the water and the soil for the sake of global commerce. We, as global citizens, are urged to consider the decisions we are making through our consumer choices and how they affect the health of the planet and the survival of communities throughout the world.
About the Author
Jessica Oublié studied art history and was the editor of the magazine Africultures. She worked with artist Marie-Ange Rousseau to create a graphic novel on institutionalized West Indian emigration from the 1920s to the 1960s, which won the France Culture Student Prize for Political Comics. After settling in Guadeloupe, she discovered the impact of chlordecone on the health of the people, the land, and the water, and is working to bring it to the attention of the world. Follow the author on Instagram @jessicaoublie.bd
Nicola Gobbi has created several graphic novels and children’s books in Italy, and then she moved to Paris, where she lives now and continues to make books. Follow the artist on Instagram @nicola_gobi
