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Thread: Loss of mankind due to chemicals?

  1. #11
    Senior Member razz's Avatar
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    Catherine, this article was based on the release of the new book, https://www.amazon.com/Count-Down-Th...s%2C172&sr=8-1.

    It was interesting to read the readers' responses to this article in the Guardian. Some said that world population needs control anyway; nature will correct itself when the population is sufficiently reduced; magically the long lasting chemicals will be found to have neutralizers; a big yawn; apathy as it is too late or too big a problem...
    Not sure what it will take to awaken the world to the realization that toxic chemicals while very profitable to the boards of directors and shareholders may not be a good idea and just maybe corporations that produce them should stop. There is an ethical aspect that is seriously lacking. Funny how the impact on the individual and his/her choice is the main focus and not on The Common of humanity and the world. It really puzzles me.

    Isn't that what simple living is really all about?
    As Cicero said, “Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.”

  2. #12
    Senior Member catherine's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by razz View Post
    Not sure what it will take to awaken the world to the realization that toxic chemicals while very profitable to the boards of directors and shareholders may not be a good idea and just maybe corporations that produce them should stop.

    Isn't that what simple living is really all about?
    Well, there have been a handful of movies and books about corporate cover-ups of pollutants that have killed people in the surrounding communities--such as Erin Brockovich--there are tons of pollutants that kill--it would be too hard to name them all--whether to talk about Phillip Morris and their cover up about smoking or cover-ups around people killed by glysophate and DDT..the list could go on and on. So, yes, ethics are lacking, but criminal behavior is not.

    Polly Higgins was an environmental lawyer. She used to "represent" the environment and tried to litigate "crimes against the planet." We need more of her.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polly_Higgins
    "Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it--every, every minute?" Emily Webb, Our Town
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  3. #13
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    I haven't read the article yet but will. Aren't most of these chemicals derived from oil? It seems like they must make as much off of plastic as they do oil and gas.

  4. #14
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    I haven't read the article yet but will. Aren't most of these chemicals derived from oil? It seems like they must make as much off of plastic as they do oil and gas.
    so I don't know, but if carbon is tied up in plastic isn't it carbon that is at least not presently in the atmosphere? I mean if we are going to extract every last drop of usable fossil fuel, maybe it's less bad than burning it.
    Trees don't grow on money

  5. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by razz View Post
    Because this is affecting all families now and the future of families and impacts all human relationships not just political or financial wealth issues, I placed it in the Families forum. This is not just more politics, it is the wellbeing of society itself. Chemicals are killing mankind and its future. Some will flatly deny that this possible, some will snarkly comment, "maybe that is a good thing for the earth" but what I hope is that some will examine the facts realistically.


    In this article in the Guardian news https://www.theguardian.com/commenti...CMP=GTUK_email, "a new book called Countdown, by Shanna Swan, an environmental and reproductive epidemiologist at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, finds that sperm counts have dropped almost 60% since 1973. Following the trajectory we are on, Swan’s research suggests sperm counts could reach zero by 2045...

    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.

    Given everything we know about these chemicals, why isn’t more being done? Right now, there is a paltry patchwork of inadequate legislation responding to this threat. Laws and regulations vary from country to country, region to region, and, in the United States, state to state. The European Union, for example, has restricted several phthalates in toys and sets limits on phthalates considered “reprotoxic” – meaning they harm the human reproductive capacities – in food production.

    In the United States, a scientific study found phthalate exposure “widespread” in infants, and that the chemicals were found in the urine of babies who came into contact with baby shampoos, lotions and powders. Still, aggressive regulation is lacking, not least because of lobbying by chemical industry giants.

    In the state of Washington, lawmakers managed to pass the Pollution Prevention for Our Future Act, which “directs state agencies to address classes of chemicals and moves away from a chemical by chemical approach, which has historically resulted in companies switching to equally bad or worse substitutes. The first chemical classes to be addressed in products include phthalates, PFAS, PCBs, alkyphenol ethoxylate and bisphenol compounds, and organohalogen flame retardants.” The state has taken important steps to address the extent of chemical pollution, but by and large, the United States, like many other countries, is fighting a losing battle because of weak, inadequate legislation."
    My first thought on all this was the exchange from Jurassic Park:

    “Dr. Ian Malcolm, "God creates dinosaurs, God destroys dinosaurs. God creates Man, man destroys God. Man creates dinosaurs"
    Dr. Ellie Sattler, "Dinosaurs eat man..... Woman inherits the earth”

    Seriously, I think individual apathy is huge. I believe that, even little steps each individual does to help will make a difference, but it seems most people want to leave it to the next generation or think it will "work itself out", or whatever - I can only guess at what other people might be thinking. Overall, it's just sad and makes me glad that I am old and probably won't live to see the devastating results that I believe are coming. I will not, however, let that prevent me from continuing to do what I can - reduce consumption, avoid as much plastic as I can, reduce my environmental footprint and, yes, even do without.
    To give pleasure to a single heart by a single act is better than a thousand heads bowing in prayer." Mahatma Gandhi
    Be nice whenever possible. It's always possible. HH Dalai Lama
    In a world where you can be anything - be kind. Unknown

  6. #16
    Senior Member catherine's Avatar
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    Regarding apathy:

    gus-speth-quote.jpg
    "Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it--every, every minute?" Emily Webb, Our Town
    www.silententry.wordpress.com

  7. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by catherine View Post
    Regarding apathy:

    gus-speth-quote.jpg
    +1
    To give pleasure to a single heart by a single act is better than a thousand heads bowing in prayer." Mahatma Gandhi
    Be nice whenever possible. It's always possible. HH Dalai Lama
    In a world where you can be anything - be kind. Unknown

  8. #18
    Senior Member razz's Avatar
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    As Cicero said, “Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.”

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