Perhaps it is fortunate that Men's reproductive capacity is being diminished by all the chemicals now present in the environment. In time it may lead to a reduction in the number of people on the planet, particularly in countries like China, where these pollutants seem to rampant.

I also noticed in last night's SBS program that di-butyl phthalate was one of the chemicals used in a variety of products involved in the men's health problems. What was not mentioned, was that DBP is also a precurser in the production of Nylon, an almost universally obtainable fibre, and this might also lead to its universal presence in humans in significant amounts.

The production of GMO's, whilst being controversial, should at least lead to a reduction in the use of these polluting pesticides, as this seems to be one of the primary aims of their use.

David

VK3AAU

It is estimated that hundreds of thousands of people die each year in China from air and water pollution. The WHO estimates that globally some 3 to 6 million people die annually from air pollution.

However, mortalities from cancers in Australia have also dramatically increased - from memory, by some 34% in a ten year span. Prostate cancer in rural men is higher than those living in an urban environment.

I constantly learn of yet another friend or acquaintance succumbing to cancer and many quite young.

I agree with you that any decrease in global population is a good thing for the environment, however, morbidity and mortalities from exposure to endocrine disruptors reveals that our eco-systems are also dying from exposure and that we, the final link in the food chain, cannot escape the consequences of man's chemical inventions.

Last night's news on endocrine disruptors is nothing new. Vietnamese children are still being born with hideous deformities from their forefather's exposure to Agent Orange during the Vietnam war. These people are still being advised not to grow crops in heavily contaminated areas.

Yet the chlorine industry remains very profitable, alive and "well!"

Carbon emissions are heavily contaminated with endocrine disrupting chemicals such as dioxins. This is a very good reason why CO2 levels should be reduced though our denialist authors on OLO would disagree, whilst endeavouring to contort the science.

GMO's, yet another of the pesticide industry's inventions to monopolise the market, requires a precautionary approach when the food we eat can be sprayed dozens of times with chemicals such as glysophate, without affecting the plant. Again, we have no knowledge of the long-term effects.

I am reminded of the adage:

"Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect."

And yet the modern day Neros fiddle, obsessed only with profit margins - self-destructing whilst the chemical Grim Reaper sits in silence beside them, contemplating his choice of mere mortals. Eeny.... meeny.... miny.... !

Has anyone seen bacteria in a petri dish reproduce in a veritable orgy to the point of extinction, when there is nothing left to sustain life? It starts slowly at first then builds up exponentially. I wonder were the human species is at on their little blue petri dish.

Dialectic Blue, my guess that we have a little way to go before we reach the point of even a reduction in our kind, but logic would suggest that what you are suggesting is inevitable. After all, on a smaller scale, civilisations with more limited resources have succumbed in the past. It is a pity that the disciples of Carter et al can not understand this.

Dickie, you may not be aware that Dioxans are present in decaying leaf litter in quite significant quantity as well as the other sources you mention. It would indeed appear that that "clean country air" is a bit of an urban myth unless you move out into the boondocks with the kangaroos. My farmer father in law died from cancer probably contributed to by his excessive use of weed killers where he worked on the theory that if some is good, more is better.

It would be good if we could get back to the old traditional organic farming methods, but the genie is out of the bottle and these chemicals are already in the environment and will remain for a long time. As well as that, the size of our population demands that we engage in intensive agriculture, because of the lower productivity of organic/bio dynamic farming without the addition of artificial fertilisers/nutrients. Of course, we are ultimately going to deplete our resources of potash and phosphorus with the inevitable decline in productivity, hence the scenario depicted by Dialectic Blue.

David