Rachel
Carson launched the environmental movement and her message is a “guiding
belief among environmentalists, wildlife biologists, and others who recognize
two fundamental realities—our shared evolutionary inheritance and our shared
environment.” The natural processes that govern our biology, our endocrine
system, has been relatively unchanged in our evolution as a species—nearly hundreds
of millions of years. Variation among living organisms find ingenious solutions
to carry on and pass genes, but the formula remains the same. What makes us
unique is miniscule in the grand scheme of things.
We
share a common environment with all living things as well as a common ancestor.
Although mankind has shaped the environments in ways unimaginable to those in
the past, we still rely on natural systems when continuing down our trodden path. They may seem less familiar than the systems of wildlife for an eagle or an
otter, but we are “no less deeply implicated in life’s web.”
The
exposure in the last half century to persistent chemicals have conveyed this
interconnectedness with all living things. All over the world, from the biggest
species to the small, we have all, in some way, accumulated a buildup of POPs
through our body fat. We partake in a shared contamination, and “there is
little reason to expect that humans will in the long term have a separate fate.” There
are, however, skeptics, that suggest that results of animal testing do not pose
a threat to humans. Although our understanding of cancer is lacking when it comes
to the basic mechanisms that induce the disease, we have conclusive data of the
mechanisms and actions of hormones.
One
example of this is the transferring of chemical substance called
diethylstilbestrol (DES) in studies of pregnant women: laboratory experiments
have confirmed the existence of DES in the children of women who had consumed
the drug during the gestation period. The studies of endocrine disrupters are
still in the infancy stage, and as a result, the “extent of the threat is far
from complete.” The studies as a whole, however, suggests evidence that we are
not immune to the potential harm caused from the persistent pollutants.
In
1991, Theo Colburn and Pete Myers formed a conference of scientists from varying
fields ranging from anthropology to zoology, and convened together to present
what they know about the effect of pollutants on hormones. Together, the
evidence is compelling—and pose a harm to humanity and wildlife. We may very well be paying the consequences from our exposure to
these pollutants; to what extent, time will tell. It will be difficult to
assess, but the general consensus is that the contamination is evident. The
animal studies provide a sort of blueprint to what might happen if we continue
down this path of negligence. They act as the canary in the coal mine, risking
their lives to alert us of the dangers these pollutants pose.
What
effects are environmental hormone mimics known to have on humans?
Because
environmental hormone mimics play a role in influencing the endocrine system
and the mechanisms and actions of hormones, there is an increasing frequency of
genetic abnormalities of children from mothers who may be exposed to these
disruptors during the gestation period. Some abnormalities noted in Colburn’s
articles are “undescended testicles, extremely small penises, and hypospadias,
a defect in which the urethra that carries urine does not extend to the end of
the penis.” These disruptors may produce adverse effects that range from
developmental, neurological, and reproductive in humans as well as in wildlife.
Colborn, Theo, Dianne Dumanoski, and John Peterson Myers. “Our Stolen Future.” Sources: Selection in Environmental Studies. Ed. Thomas Easton. United States, 2014. 158-160.
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