This article is an excerpt from "Raising Elijah: Protecting Our Children in an Age of Environmental Crisis" (2011), by Sandra Steingraber. As a scientist, mother, and concerned citizen, Steingraber explores herein the damaging effects of the myriad and ubiquitous environmental pollutants--in homes, schools, and communities--on the lives of children. She argues that "current environmental policies must be realigned to safeguard the healthy development of children and sustain planetary life-support systems on which their lives depend."