A Modern Parent's Nightmare....

Possibly brought to you by the companies that give us plastics and other modern day "conveniences". Are we quite literally "conveniencing" ourselves out of existence?

The number of male babies born with reproductive disorders is rising rapidly, and some scientists blame a group of chemicals that are around us.

....Sue and her husband John had just become parents to a beautiful child that looked like a boy, but his sexual organs were terribly deformed.The baby had been born with a condition called hypospadias, a malformation whereby the opening in the penis through which urine is passed is in the wrong place. In mild cases it is slightly off centre, but in more severe cases it might be at the base of the penis or even beneath the scrotum.

...As yet, no one can say for sure what causes the problems. However, there are suspicions about chemicals in the environment — compounds that have the potential to upset the delicate balance of hormones in the body. Prosaically called “endocrine disrupters”, they touch on every aspect of our lives. They are found in the plastics, carpets and fabrics all around you. Tiny amounts are found in your milk, vegetables and in some packaging surrounding your food. They are in your make-up, perfumes, face creams and the sun lotions that protect your skin. They are in the pesticides that allow your food to grow — and even in the coatings of slow-release medicines. In fact, there is nothing that you can do to avoid them.

In May, more than 120 scientists from around the world met in Prague and issued a declaration to Western governments giving warning that reproductive problems were increasing in developed nations, and calling for more research into what was causing them.

Read the entire article on Timesonline.com. The NRDC has some background information, as does Greenpeace. And, I highly recommend reading "Our Stolen Future"  (You can buy it at Powell's)

But beware, you won't look at the world in quite the same way again.