Do humans have the right to live on this planet?
We have, in much less than a century, managed to fill the earth with so much plastic waste that tiny fragments of plastic have been found on the highest mountains and the deepest ocean depths. Not satisfied with doing that, we stupidly continue to do it. That's not the only stupid thing that humans have done, however. I wont try to enumerate the silly/stupid things we do, but focus on this one: This headline describes what may possibly solve the human problem for the earth.
TOXIC CHEMICALS THREATEN HUMANITY’S ABILITY TO REPRODUCE
In a new book, epidemiologist Shanna Swan looks at the impact of environmental chemicals on human sexuality and reproductive systems.
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That's a headline in The Intercept (requoted in the UK Guardian.
Quote: "SHANNA SWAN IS the senior author of a 2017 study that documented a dramatic drop in sperm counts in Western countries over the past half-century. That meta-analysis of 185 studies involving 42,935 men found that total sperm count fell 59 percent between 1973 and 2011. Swan, a reproductive epidemiologist, pointed to the role of environmental chemicals in that trend. Now she has written “Count Down: How Our Modern World Is Threatening Sperm Counts, Altering Male and Female Reproductive Development, and Imperiling the Future of the Human Race,” a book that ties industrial chemicals in everyday products to a wide range of changes taking place in recent years, including increasing numbers of babies born with smaller penises; higher rates of erectile dysfunction; declining fertility; eroding sex differences in some animal species; and potentially even behaviors that are thought of as gender-typical."
The link to full articleis: https://theintercept.com/2021/01/24/toxic-chemicals-human-sexuality-shanna-swan/?fbclid=IwAR0y4mp4B54pe0cMuejoEeewqr2oAVvDV1odaRShry65naNdlrowxS1zUM8
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The UK Guardian's re-write of the article cites some details; (Link:https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/mar/18/toxic-chemicals-health-humanity-erin-brokovich?fbclid=IwAR0NFDk1TVZDqjmJY3ecBLK7hSQFh2L-y8owNsQ0VpNym3TFkdBMzsNSs08 )
Quote: "Following the trajectory we are on, Swan’s research suggests sperm counts could reach zero by 2045. Zero. Let that sink in. That would mean no babies. No reproduction. No more humans. Forgive me for asking: why isn’t the UN calling an emergency meeting on this right now?
The chemicals to blame for this crisis are found in everything from plastic containers and food wrapping, to waterproof clothes and fragrances in cleaning products, to soaps and shampoos, to electronics and carpeting. Some of them, called PFAS, are known as “forever chemicals”, because they don’t breakdown in the environment or the human body. They just accumulate and accumulate – doing more and more damage, minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day. Now, it seems, humanity is reaching a breaking point.
Swan’s book is staggering in its findings. “In some parts of the world, the average twentysomething woman today is less fertile than her grandmother was at 35,” Swan writes. In addition to that, Swan finds that, on average, a man today will have half of the sperm his grandfather had. “The current state of reproductive affairs can’t continue much longer without threatening human survival,” writes Swan, adding: “It’s a global existential crisis.” That’s not hyperbole. That’s just science.
As if this wasn’t terrifying enough, Swan’s research finds that these chemicals aren’t just dramatically reducing semen quality, they are also shrinking penis size and volume of the testes. This is nothing short of a full-scale emergency for humanity.
Swan’s book echoes previous research, which has found that PFAS harms sperm production, disrupts the male hormone and is correlated to a “reduction of semen quality, testicular volume and penile length”. These chemicals are literally confusing our bodies, making them send mix messages and go haywire."
