For years, gays have been looking for a gene that would legitimately give them the right to say nature has turned them into the opposite sex. As a result, they believe same-sex marriage should be a natural thing. To gays, same-sex marriage should be something beautiful, natural, and part of God’s big plan. But the reasons may be anything but natural.
A few years ago, right after the sexual revolution of the 1960’s, a large number of chemical ‘cocktails’ that inhibit the function of the male hormone testosterone were found in United Kingdom rivers.
Richard Sharpe (in the afore-linked article) says a specific combination of chemicals is likely the culprit for the condition known as Testicular Dysgenesis Syndrome (TDS). TDS represents a number of disorders of the male reproductive system. The more common ones include reduced sperms counts, malformed penis and testicular cancer.
The female sex hormones (estrogens), as well as many estrogen-mimicking chemicals, are leading to the ‘feminization’ of male fish, which is documented here. Exposed fish become ‘feminized’ producing a protein found in females.
Geoffrey Lean’s dissertation of some of the unheeded warning signs. In the 1970’s there were only female gulls nesting together all over the US. In the 1980’s researchers in Florida detected that the male alligators seemed to have strangely tiny penises, and had developed female hormone patterns. In that same water, they found turtles that had developed into hermaphrodites—having both female and male reproductive organs.
Lean also found that even after repeated studies in England, one third of the male roaches in rivers and streams across the country had started producing eggs coming from female sex organs.
It finally dawned on some humans that estrogen may be the culprit. In England, almost one third of the drinking water comes from rivers, some of which is directly downstream of sewage outlets. In an article on CBC News, Sebastien Sauvé describes how estrogen levels in the water downstream of major population zones are “about 100x more than the level known to have significant endocrine-disrupting effects”.
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Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Mark
Definitely something to investigate further. Any idea if this is something that can be eliminated via additional processes at water treatment facilities?
2 - Kevin Roeten
Mark,
I do know they were going to try UV and see if it was going to eliminate the estrogen. I have not heard if they have had any success. I do know that the estrogen problem will continue, if not get worse. Even if UV radiation does work, there are very few water treatment facilities that have UV. When I was in college(~30 years ago) we tried UV and it did clean the water up well. But I don't know what the beginning and ending concentrations of estrogen were.
3 - Fran
Excellent article. I have been reading about this and putting it together myself as well. Not only estrogen but radiation other drugs from cancer treatments as well and all the drugs from the hospitals.
It is a scary thing when you start putting it all together.
Thanks for a very much needed article.
4 - Kevin Roeten
Fran,
Thanks for your comments. It is true that a whole slew of chemicals that we thought were harmless are causing problems. The only thing about estrogen is that few if any treatment facilities remove it from the water. And estrogen is what's causing the gender change. And we worry about over population?!?
5 - Scott D.
As a water quality guy, there has been a lot of focus on chemical pollutants in stormwater runoff, including estrogen and other prescription chmeicals. There is an awareness of the issue and a real move towards finding ways to address the problems through various treatment technologies. I don't deal with this much in my day-to-day job so I do not know what the latest advances are, but it's defintely on the radar.
6 - Fran
Kevin, Yes, very sad when you start to realize all the potential repercussions of having all these drugs, chemicals and hormones in our water - and their potential interactions, and maybe even how they could potentially 'enhance' each others abilities as well.
Scott, as a water quality guy, I would really want to see the water specialists looking into this more closely than on the radar, but I am happy to see that it is at least on the radar.
7 - Kevin
Scott,
I'm afraid as a "water quality guy", you're definitely not qalified to judge what the effects of estrogen are in the drinking water.
You know, all the estrogen from all those billions of pills that contain estrogen that are discharged into the sewer from women's urine? You know, the organic chemical that there is no treatment method that is used (to date) to destroy any estrogen that might be there?
Have you checked lately what the actual estrogen level in ppm is in your drinking water?
All the data accumulated over the last 30 years says something. Did you look at the data in the reports outlined in the column? "On the radar screen" is just not good enough when men's fertility counts have been dropping like rocks ever since the invention and marketing of the pill.
Fran--As far as I know, and other chemical and hormone has been removed, or they certainly aren't able to pin any characteristics on any particular chemical as they have with estrogen.
If either you or Scott have been responsible for any estrogen in American's drinking water, I'd be worried. Very worried...
8 - Kevin W.
Kevin,
I'm not sure you've made the link from excess environmental estrogen to an "increase" in homosexual behaviour. Is there an increase, or is this perception the result of years of education removing the stigma and the shame? I actually don't see the need to include homosexuals in your article at all. Surely the science behind the decreased sperm counts and dropping fertility rates are persuasive enough without tainting your article with hints of homophobia.
9 - rdh
I don't know a great deal about this topic however, you seem to have ignored the possible inclusion of Bisphenol A as an agent of feminization. It is ubiquitous in the environment and in plastic bottles, cans etc. Exposure in utero leads to feminization...
Rather than engaging is what appears (appears mind you) as a stepping stone to call for regulation/limitation of women's access to their choice of contraceptive... perhaps you should review all possible contributors.
As a side note... the abortion pill's contribution to the feminization of males is a bit of a stretch. It arrived late in the game (time wise)and as a one time use drug has limited ability to contaminate waterways... it's not as though every sunday morning every woman in the world is going out and after a Saturday night of debauchery she is making sure that she aborts any possible evidence of her behaviour.
I agree with Kevin W. that you should try to avoid "tainting" your writing with bias... especially sci/tech writing...
10 - Kevin
KW,
Making the link to homosexual activity to environmental estrogen in the drinking water was never planned. The link to decreased male sperm count and the feminization of males due to increased estrogen WAS planned.
The years of education about the natural path to homosexuality was false indoctrination at best.
Surely you understand that "homophobia" is NOT was is happening with homosexuals. You need to check out the definition of "homophobia". Many have simply said that homosexuality is simply wrong, and is not the right way to go...
Certainly you understand the differentiation between "homophobia" and the scientific belief that being homosexual is not a correct way to grow the human population?
11 - Kevin
RDH,
I know of NO data indicating "bisphenol A" as an agent of feminization. It has a fire retardant application, however. And its concentration in drinking water is minute compared to estrogen and estrogen-like chemicals in the drinking water
Regulation of estrogen (and identification) is only a minor start. It's getting into the water because of its rampant use (in killing a fertilized ovum) and water treatment options that are not used to take it out.
As a direct note, estrogen from the abortion pill has been proved conclusively to feminize males. I'm surprised you didn't pick that up from the column.
You should understand that the "pill" is not a one time use thing. I did not mention the millions of pounds of estrogen getting into the waterways because of items used in contraception.
I don't believe I mentioed anything about a woman's decision to go out on any kind of debauchery spree. Does that indicate what persuation you might be under?
I didn't think that actual scientific tests were considered "biased". Maybe you should rethink what sci/tech writing is actually about...
12 - S L
What a load of homophobic twaddle, there were plenty of gay people in ancient Greece, long before the pill was invented. The suggestion that gay men are somehow feminized is simply heterosexist stereotypical nonsense, liking male company to the exclusion of female company is a positive trait in many predominantly male environments - eg Army, Navy, Police etc. The idea that homosexuality is somehow unnatural is based on what evidence? Zoologists have found homosexual behaviour in most animals (eg the gay penguins in Bremerhafen Zoo) and it would appear to be as 'natural' as any other kind of behaviour. Question yourselves guys (and you all sound like guys) and stop letting your prejudices interfere with the science.
13 - Kevin
SL,
You aren't a homosexual,are you? There were plenty of gay people in Sodom and Gomorrah as well, but did numbers make it right? The fact that feminization of males has taken place is scientific fact, whether you want to believe it or not.
We know that homosexuality cannot expand the population, and that we cannot be fruitful and multiply.
It sounds like the end result of homosexuality is for enjoyment only. In fact, I cannot remember a long term homosexual relationship--ever.
Homosexuals are never to be hated. But they need to be corrected. If you look at science, homosexuality exists, but is highly unfavorable in most cases to most species. I wonder why?
14 - zingzing
ewww. disturbing thread.
15 - El Bicho
"In fact, I cannot remember a long term homosexual relationship--ever."
That doesn't mean there aren't any. The world is more than the bubble you live in
16 - Kevin
zing,
I guess that's because you haven't opened your mind yet...
17 - Kevin
Bicho--That doesn't mean there ARE any, either...
18 - Dr Dreadful
Well, despite Kevin's denials, it didn't take much to bring his homophobia out, did it?
I see another major flaw in his argument besides the one pointed out by Kevin W.
Which is that by no means all gay men are 'feminine'.
19 - Clavos
That doesn't mean there ARE any, either...
I personally know of three gay relationships of at least 20 years duration each.
20 - El Bicho
Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas were together about 40 years until Stein's death. You lose.
21 - Dr Dreadful
Gay people may, it seems, actually be more likely to form long-term relationships than their straight counterparts.
22 - Kevin
Dreadful--It seems you'll have to crack a dictionary to get the actual defintion of homophobia.
When did I say that ALL gay men are feminine? But most are...
23 - Kevin
Clavos--Congratualtions! What does that mean, 6 out of 320,000 people. I can believe that...
24 - Kevin
Bicho--You're sure you know the reasons they stayed together? Ever conceive of the fact that no one else wanted to get married to them?
25 - Kevin
Dreadful--I'd sure like to know where you came up with that piece of information...