On page 168, we find an interesting but brief analysis of how humans fit the standard for an endangered species based on the US Fish and Wildlife Service's requirements. Chapter 12 has less obvious [but still kind of obvious] ideas such as: don't microwave plastic and don't use air fresheners.

It highlights what we should and shouldn’t be doing to our bodies if we plan to give a healthy life to our future offspring. Chapter 11 includes common sense ideas such as: don't smoke, eat healthfully, and manage your stress levels. But to hear it all put together in one book and linked to the biological effects associated with it - very unsettling. Her primary reference on Japan seemed to be one Japanese hairdresser living in San Francisco and a bunch of ‘weird Japan’ articles from tabloid news outlets about family rental services and men falling in love with sex dolls, which in spite of Swan’s ridiculous claims are far from common. The implications of our having placed nature out of balance, much like we have with climate change, are troubling.On an individual level, there are actions one can take such as avoiding cosmetics and hygiene products with endocrine disrupting chemicals and avoiding non-stick cookware. They found that over the prior four decades, sperm levels among men in Western countries had plummeted by more than 50 percent.

We live in a chemical environment and the deployment and control of harmful agents is needed and often thwarted by bad actors, but dose / selection are important factors as well. The CIA's highly classified Special Activities Division is in the business of tracking people down and keeping secrets hidden. And for a book that’s really about systemic and environmental issues, it’s a little weird that all its recommendations center on individual actions like not microwaving plastic containers. Yes we live in a dangerous time considering the climate, nukes, financial disparity, government corruption, chemical pollution, etc.

But rest assured, she made sure to state multiple times that even if toxic chemicals are responsible for gender dysphoria, the rise of gender fluidity is something to be celebrated and embraced. Dr Imafidon completed A-Levels in mathematics and computer science at the age of 11, and by the time she was 20 had become one of University of Oxford’s youngest ever masters graduates. Cook the orzo according to the pack instructions, then drain, rinse under cold running water and leave to drain well.

So, why in the world are such potent, dangerous chemicals so ubiquitous in the environment and man-made processes and products? Bisphenol-A (BPAs) and phthalates are commonly found in plastic bottles and containers (you’d better microwave those leftovers on a glass plate), PFAS are non-stick coatings frequently used in cookware (is this the cost for avoiding burnt eggs? Persistent chemical pollutants in our households, air, oceans, drinking water and food supply are having measurable effects on our ability to reproduce. And the constant intrusion of slang-like language (“scrambled eggs”, “little swimmers”, and “spoiler alert”) set my teeth on edge since the author didn’t use one style (journalistic vs.It is also interesting how the decreasing fertility problems are linked to many of our other environmental, nutrition and pollution problems. What Swan does not state that many in the media have since her book released is that the end state could be a broadly infertile population. Dent is the longest-serving member of the show's current on-screen team, first appearing in 1992; she has made more than 5,000 appearances. These chapters instead had strange pseudo science, an overabundance of stats and numbers, and "interviews" that felt made up.

I have concluded that plastics, fertilizers, and other chemicals have continually homosexualized our species since their rise after WW2. Despite the omnipresent handwringing about women waiting too long, the idea that they want fewer kids for reasons other than chemical interference isn't really addressed. It highlights that our sperm counts have been dropping by 1% per year for the past 50 years, which means that we have half the sperm as did men in 1970.

The scary part is that this topic isn't a hypothetical- it is already happening in some places and is starting to impact societies in others. For example, the author says, "Getting to the root of whether endocrine disrupting chemicals are influencing gender identity is difficult" [page 60], then on the next page we get a strange attempt at measuring gender identity: a scale with masculine on one side and feminine on the other. The book ends with things all of us can do to alter these impacts, many of which any individual can do on their own. What Swan seemed to fail to grasp is that just like many of us in Europe, the US and elsewhere, Japanese young people don’t know how they’re ever going to be financially secure enough to support themselves, let alone any children.