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In the industrialized nations of the global North, well-funded agencies like the CDC attend to citizens' health, monitoring and treating for toxic poisons like lead. How do the under-resourced nations of the global South meet such challenges? In Edges of Exposure, Noémi Tousignant traces the work of toxicologists in Senegal as they have sought to warn of and remediate the presence of heavy metals and other poisons in their communities. Situating recent toxic scandals within histories of science and regulation in postcolonial Africa, Tousignant shows how decolonization and structural adjustment have impacted toxicity and toxicology research. Ultimately, as Tousignant reveals, scientists' capacity to conduct research—as determined by material working conditions, levels of public investment, and their creative but not always successful efforts to make visible the harm of toxic poisons—affects their ability to keep equipment, labs, projects, and careers going.

Human senses have the potential to play a significant role in inspiring action to combat climate change. When we smell pollutants in the air, for example, or feel the blast of a polar vortex, we are more likely to act in response to these changes in environmental conditions. However, the sensorium—and particularly our sense of smell—is often downplayed when we consider the rhetorics of environmental crises. In Olfactory Rhetoric, Lisa L. Phillips argues that how we sense the world around us should be a crucial piece of rhetorical evidence when evaluating environmental injustices. Specifically, Phillips elevates olfaction (what we smell) and olfactory rhetoric (how we talk about and experience what we smell) when discussing three contemporary environmental crises set in historically marginalized communities: the Sriracha sauce factory controversy, the Salton Sea scent events, and the Blue Ridge Landfill emissions problem. On a broader scale, Phillips develops an intersectional ecofeminist sensory-rhetorical approach for evaluating how olfactory and sensory persuasions work and how they can be used to advocate for environmental justice and a more breathable future.