The end of humanity? It may be arriving sooner than we think, thanks to chemicals that deregulate the hormones that are decimating fertility at an alarming rate around the world. A new book called Countdown, by Shanna Swan, an environmental and reproductive epidemiologist at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, found that sperm count has dropped by almost 60% since 1973. Following the trajectory we are on, Swan’s research suggests sperm counts could reach zero in 2045. Zero. Let it penetrate. That would mean no babies. No reproduction. There are no more humans. Forgive me for asking: why isn’t the UN calling an emergency meeting on this now?
The chemicals responsible for this crisis are in everything from plastic containers and food packaging, to waterproof clothing and fragrances in cleaning products, to soaps and shampoos, to electronics and carpets. Some of them, called PFAS, are known as “chemicals forever” because they do not degrade in the environment or in the human body. They just accumulate and accumulate – causing 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 surprising in its findings. “In some parts of the world, the average woman in her mid-20s today is less fertile than her grandmother was at 35,” writes Swan. In addition, Swan discovers that, on average, a man today will have half the sperm his grandfather had. “The current state of reproductive affairs cannot continue for much longer without threatening human survival,” writes Swan, adding: “It is a global existential crisis.” This is not hyperbole. This is just science.
As if that weren’t scary enough, Swan’s research found that these chemicals are not only dramatically reducing semen quality, they are also decreasing penis size and testicle volume. This is nothing short of a large-scale emergency for humanity.
Swan’s research echoes previous research, which found that PFAS impairs sperm production and disrupts the male hormone. Andrea Di Nisio, a biologist who co-authored an article on the health impacts of PFAS, said: “The structures of testosterone and PFAS are very, very similar,” adding, “We said, ‘They look the same, so maybe PFAS act like testosterone in the cell. ‘And they did. ”These chemicals are literally confusing our bodies, causing them to send mixing messages and get out of control.
Considering everything we know about these chemicals, why isn’t more being done? At the moment, there is an insignificant patchwork of inadequate legislation in response to this planetary crisis. Laws and regulations vary from country to country, from region to region and, in the United States, from state to state. The European Union, for example, has restricted a number of phthalates in toys and has set limits on phthalates that are considered “reprotoxic” – meaning they harm human reproductive capacity – in food production.
In the United States, a scientific study found that exposure to phthalate is “widespread” in babies, as chemicals have been found in the urine of babies who have come into contact with shampoos, lotions and powders specially developed for babies. Still, aggressive regulation is lacking, mainly because of the lobbying of giants in the chemical industry.
In the state of Washington, lawmakers were able to pass the Pollution Prevention Act for Our Future, which “directs state agencies to address classes of chemicals and distance themselves from a chemist by chemist approach, which historically has resulted in companies moving to equally bad or worse substitutes. The first chemical classes to be addressed in products include phthalates, PFAS, PCBs, alkylphenol ethoxylate and bisphenol compounds and organohalogen flame retardants ”. The state has taken important steps to deal with the extent of chemical pollution, but in general, the United States, like many other countries, is fighting a losing battle because of weak and inadequate legislation.
In the United States today, for example, you cannot eat the deer meat captured in Oscoda, Michigan, as the health department issued a “do not eat” warning for deer caught near the old air force base because of Levels of PFOS in the muscle of a deer.
And the following week, hundreds of residents who live near Luke’s airbase in Arizona were advised not to drink water when the tests detected high levels of toxic chemicals. Scientists found these substances in the blood of almost everyone who tested in the United States. No country or region on the planet is untouched by PFAS contamination. It is a global problem. PFAS has been found in every corner of the globe. It is virtually present in the body of every human being. It is found in fish under the sea and birds flying high in the sky.
And it is killing us, literally, by harming and attacking the very source of life: our reproductive abilities. The rapid death and decline of sperm must be resolved, and must be resolved now. There is simply no time to waste.