A Spring of Disruptors and Hope

On these fine mid March mornings there is clear evidence spring is progressing.  Never mind the temperature or weather, the bird song is our cue. Days are lengthening and life in its infinite forms is awakening.  An age old force is at work, adjusting, refining, weeding out the ill suited, favoring the most qualified. As long as basic elements exist, spring comes with new life in one form or another.  

We humans are occupying this wondrous blue sphere in a tiny snapshot of time.  It’s hard to wrap our heads around the eons of geological and ecological seasons that led to this utopia, these perfect conditions that allow for our existence.  It’s hard to imagine the poles clothed in vegetation, the great inland seas, the dinosaurs, but there is no arguing with geology and the fossil record.  We are much more comfortable with our grasp of the past century or two, a period when our history and influence has been most evident, when everything lined up to support a rapid increase in population and an explosion of technological development.  As a result, we tend towards an illusion that this is how it’s always been and our plundering of resources and waste generation will not lead to insurmountable consequences.  We believe we are the superiors, the ones gifted with advanced intellect and unwavering spirits.  We will surely find a way to carry on without sacrificing our comforts or want of stuff. 

Dr Shanna Swan is a broadly recognized and respected environmental and reproductive epidemiologist at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York.  Her work has focused on the recent decline in human reproduction stemming from widespread environmental contamination of “forever chemicals'' known as PFAS.  They are considered “forever” because they don’t break down in the environment or the human body but instead accumulate. They are used extensively in common household products, waterproof clothing, and carpeting.  They are in dust, plastics, breast milk. In her new book, Count Down, Dr Swan lays out evidence of reduced fertility in both men and women due to PFAS, and warns that sperm counts in men will diminish to zero by 2045 if the current trajectory holds (there has been a 60 percent decline since 1973).   And, yes, a zero sperm count would effectively mean the end of the human species aside from those we choose to clone.  PFAS are endocrine disruptors that lead to a host of physiological and some anatomical changes, including decreased penis length in newborn boys.  Imagine if adult males were similarly affected; the crisis would command a level of urgency heretofore unseen in human history. 

It is correct to assume that widespread endocrine disruptors have repercussions beyond the human species. Successful reproduction in mammals, birds, fishes, amphibians, and many other organisms requires a balanced and functioning endocrine system.  A few years ago we attended an off campus talk in Lafayette where the speaker, a Purdue professor, summarized her work with fishes and reptiles in the Wabash River.  She found the river high in endocrine disruptors and traced them to multiple sources, including wastewater treatment plants and a local pharmaceutical company. The disruptors were found to change the sex of some fish postbirth, shifting the normal 50:50 sex ratio to 80:20, and were also linked to deformities in amphibians such as an extra appendage on frogs.  The researcher shared the frustrations and difficulties with findings that pointed an accusatory finger at a corporation that provided major funding for her work.  Biting the hand that feeds you has repercussions, and too often scientific findings are modified in the interest of financial survival.

In the past couple decades my wife and I have watched precisely two documentaries that have given us genuine hope for the future of the planet.  Both focused on broad scale adoption of agricultural practices that would effectively rewrite our approach to soil health and food production and result in a cascade of ecological benefits. The most recent is entitled Kiss the Ground, and it is wrought with evidence and advice for restoring soil health while improving operator profitability. Credibility is lended by a long time federal soil scientist and a salt of the earth grain and livestock producer from North Dakota who is willing to bet his farm that permaculture methods will work anywhere for anybody.  They are common sense, proven strategies that are largely held at bay by chemical companies and tax dollar subsidies aimed at encouraging the status quo.  Tying into the work of Shanna Swan, there is no shortage of endocrine disruptors in modern agriculture, including such popular chemicals as atrazine and glyphosate (roundup).  Adopting a more sustainable and permaculture based approach to farming promises a greatly reduced reliance on harmful persistent chemicals, healthier, more nutritious, more localized foods, cleaner air and water, and a massive sequestration of carbon from the atmosphere.  The concept is being held back by familiarity and a misguided confidence that current practices will stand the test of time, that crops will continue to be produced given the right chemical concoction, that soil is healthy enough, and loss to erosion is not an existential threat.  A vastly superior alternative lies at the ready.

It rained almost 2.5 inches today, a real soaker, badly needed, and as it slacked off in late afternoon I took the dog on a walkabout.  The mercury hovered around 40 degrees but it felt strangely warmer.  Bird song was crazy, as if the rain had flushed away any lingering hesitations and the breeding season was now officially underway.  Spring Creek was up and running hard until it hit the beaver flowage where it slowed, fanning its volume wide over willow hummocks and the remains of last year’s grasses and sedges.  A pair of barred owls hooted and cawed from a patch of evergreens.  The air smelled of earth awakening.  The peepers were screaming.   Spring is happening as it has from time immemorial, but if land use practices remain unchanged, if the planet continues to be awash with endocrine disruptors and a nearly endless stream of man-caused environmental threats, the season of grand awakening will one day soon look and sound much different.