The Secret Life of Dust: From the Cosmos to the Kitchen Counter, the Big Consequences of Little Things [Hardcover]

In this compelling presentation, Hannah Holmes traces the origins of the dust around us. She explains how a distant star, exploding with immeasurable fury, sent a shock wave through our region of the galaxy. Adding its own burden of particles to a dust cloud already present, it disturbed whatever structure that cloud possessed. In time, the cloud coalesced into a star, with the leftovers becoming our solar system. Among the planets emerging in that system, was the one we call "Earth". The sun's and planets' formation, while removing much of the previous dust, left enough remains for the Earth to sweep up every day. Thus, dust from space adds to the multitude of dusts our living planet produces. More dusts, produced by one of the primate species on this world, provides further contribution to your "personal cloud".

As ubiquitous as dust is, Holmes' title is hardly misleading. Although we're surrounded by billions of tiny, microscopic particles, information about what they are, where they originated and how far they've travelled is usually an enigma. Volcanoes make them. Trees and plants shed them [we'll pass over the household pets]. Birds, cows and fleeting deer add to the envelope of dust around us. Even micro-organisms make a contribution by eating rocks and attacking living things. When they haven't settled somewhere and turned themselves into spores. Yet, discoveries about dust are only now coming to light. Dust crossing the Atlantic from the Sahara, while observed long ago, was only recently verified. Vast clouds rise from Asia to drift across the Pacific Ocean to sprinkle over North America. What do those particles carry as burden?

The author demonstrates vividly why we should know more about dust. Nearly a chapter is dedicated to the problems of asthma alone. For starters, it's not clear what causes asthma and how it works. What is clear is that in the industrialised nations the number of asthma sufferers is on the upswing. After her description of coal-burning housewives in China, why are nations with insulated houses and hydro for heating and cooking suffering bronchial problems? Part of the answer lies in who is suffering. It's the children. Partly because "superclean" houses have deprived children of the means to develop their immune systems to deal with their own "personal cloud". Another [wait for it!] is the sedentary life of school, TV and video games. Keeping the children indoors and relatively still makes that situation worse. More outdoor activity keeps the body active and helps flush the lungs and bronchial passages of invading particles.

Holmes has interviewed many scientists and dust observers in the course of making this book. She explains her research path with a list of printed works and Web sites to see what she has seen and what is becoming visible [Note, however, that Web sites listed in books tend to be quickly outdated. This list is no exception]. She presents the material well, provoking our interest and giving us inspiration to follow where she leads. It isn't enough to say "This book is for everybody". Since we are all surrounded by dust, since we all contribute to the dust density, and since it is, after all, the final state of the body, it behooves us all to see what Holmes has seen. In some cases, you will need to act on what you've found. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]