Guardian: Plummeting sperm counts, shrinking penises; toxic chemicals threaten humanity

[China]

Plummeting sperm counts, shrinking penises: toxic chemicals threaten humanity

 

The chemicals to blame for our reproductive crisis are found everywhere and in everything

 

he end of humankind? It may be coming sooner than we think, thanks to hormone-disrupting chemicals that are decimating fertility at an alarming rate around the globe. 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. 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.

 

Click on the link for the full article

 

 

Edited March 19, 2021 by China

[China]

Case in point:

 

Plastic particles pass from mothers into foetuses, rat study shows

 

Tiny plastic particles in the lungs of pregnant rats pass rapidly into the hearts, brains and other organs of their foetuses, research shows. It is the first study in a live mammal to show that the placenta does not block such particles.

 

The experiments also showed that the rat foetuses exposed to the particles put on significantly less weight towards the end of gestation. The research follows the revelation in December of small plastic particles in human placentas, which scientists described as “a matter of great concern”. Earlier laboratory research on human placentas donated by mothers after birth has also shown polystyrene beads can cross the placental barrier.

 

 

Microplastic pollution has reached every part of the planet, from the summit of Mount Everest to the deepest oceans, and people are already known to consume the tiny particles via food and water, and to breathe them in.

 

The health impact of tiny plastic particles in the body is as yet unknown. But scientists say there is an urgent need to assess the issue, particularly for developing foetuses and babies, as plastics can carry chemicals that could cause long-term damage.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[Dan T.]

Perhaps the answer to this problem is plastic penises.

[Die Hard]

1 hour ago, Dan T. said:

Perhaps the answer to this problem is plastic penises.

 

So.... many..... jokes....

[China]

2 hours ago, Dan T. said:

Perhaps the answer to this problem is plastic penises.

 

I think that may be the source of the problem.

[NoCalMike]

Another issue where all the usual folks will claim this is a hoax or interfering with "freedom" which will eventually help lead to the demise of the human race, but the older I get, the more helpless I feel to tackle these issues so I am left wishing good luck to future generations.

[China]

 

[Destino]

Human beings, in general, seem to prefer to respond after a crisis than suffer even the most minor personal inconvenience needed to prevent one.  When we’re all living in a Children of Men style dystopia, we’ll finally be ready to start discussing  how to move on from most plastics.

[China]

Air Force says it won’t follow Michigan law during Wurtsmith cleanup

 

The U.S. Air Force drew pointed criticism from activists and former state regulators during a meeting this week in which cleanup managers defended their intention to ignore new Michigan environmental rules by arguing they don’t apply to plans for expanding a groundwater treatment system near a highly polluted wetland.

 

Air Force attorneys said Wednesday that new state rules severely limiting how much toxic PFAS “forever chemicals” a treatment system can discharge back into the environment don’t apply to their plans to expand an existing system.

 

That position has angered locals who were already upset about transparency issues with the Air Force’s proposal for expanding pollution capture near Clark’s Marsh, a contaminated wetland in the Huron-Manistee National Forest adjacent to the former Wurtsmith Air Force Base in Oscoda.

 

Local officials and members of Need Our Water (NOW), a local activist group, say they were blindsided by an Air Force’s announcement about plans for the new cleanup; only learning the draft plan had been released after being contacted by journalists.

 

The Air Force uploaded its Clark’s Marsh plan to an obscure military administrative public record site on March 1 but did not disclose the plan’s existence until March 16, when it issued a press release announcing a 30-day public comment window that ends April 17.

 

Activists in the Wednesday, March 24 meeting want the Air Force to increase public involvement in cleanup planning and design the expansion to comply with state law, arguing it’ll have to be redone to meet that standard in the future anyhow.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[@DCGoldPants]

 

 

[tshile]

On 3/19/2021 at 3:30 PM, NoCalMike said:

Another issue where all the usual folks will claim this is a hoax or interfering with "freedom" which will eventually help lead to the demise of the human race

This was my first thought. 
 

[PokerPacker]

On 3/19/2021 at 3:30 PM, NoCalMike said:

Another issue where all the usual folks will claim this is a hoax or interfering with "freedom" which will eventually help lead to the demise of the human race, but the older I get, the more helpless I feel to tackle these issues so I am left wishing good luck to future generations.

Hmm, do I call it a hoax and claim I don't have a small penis, or do I latch onto the idea and use it as an excuse?

[China]

A new study indicates that penis sizes are actually increasing, not decreasing, but still conclude that the cause of the change may be a bad thing:

 

Does size matter? Age-old penis debate finally settled in ‘groundbreaking’ study

 

Academics at the University of Kent, in the UK’s south, have just released a “groundbreaking” study that debunks some of the biggest myths about sexual pleasure for women.

 

By analyzing 265 sex toys, the study assessed factors such as size, material, price, and customer reviews to uncover what women really like in bed.

 

The findings were very revealing, showing circumference trumps length in importance when it comes to women’s preferences.

 

Research published in the World Journal of Men’s Health last year discovered that the average penis size had grown 24 percent over nearly three decades.

 

But while many may think the findings are good news, experts warn it’s actually a “concerning” discovery.

 

Researchers at Stanford University who conducted the study fear the phallic inflation is due to unhealthy habits, like bingeing junk food or being mostly sedentary, or even pollution.

 

“Any overall change in development is concerning, because our reproductive system is one of the most important pieces of human biology,” Dr. Michael Eisenberg, the study’s author, told Stanford Medicine’s blog Scope.

 

“If we’re seeing this fast of a change, it means that something powerful is happening to our bodies.”

 

To get to this alarming conclusion, data from 75 studies with over 55,000 men from 1992 to 2021 focusing on the length of an erect penis was analyzed.

 

“Erect penile length is getting longer, from an average of 4.8 inches (12.1cm) to 6 inches (15.2cm), over the past 29 years,” Dr. Eisenberg said.

 

Click on the link for the full article