Our polluted bodies

• Male semen quality

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Dramatic drops in sperm counts

Research has found that sperm counts have dropped 50 percent during the last 50 years. These results have been confirmed by sperm banks, where sperm counts have decreased by almost 40 percent in the past 20 years.

20-fold increase in infertility

Today, a staggering 100 out of every 1000 men are functionally infertile. This number is 20 times higher than it was in 1939.

Man-made chemicals are part of the explanation

Decreased sperm counts have, among other things, been linked to the fact that we increasingly are being exposed to chemicals which mess up our hormone system (endocrine disruptors).

The quality of sperm is also declining

About 85 percent of the sperm produced by a healthy man is DNA-damaged. Damaged sperm have been linked to a 300 percent increase in testicular cancer - a form of cancer that affects young men in their 20s and 30s. Check out the alarming documentary “The Disappearing Male”.

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• Male semen quality

  The projection is based on the assumption that the development identified by Carlsen et al. persists (extrapolation). This is, of course, an overly simplified projection that can only say what will happen IF the trend continues. The purpose of such an simplified projection is to create awareness of an important problem and not to estimate future fertility levels. (Projection data: 113 x 106/ml in 1940 to 66x 106/ml in 1990). Original source: Carlsen, E., A Giwercman, N Keiding, N Skakkebæk. 1992. Evidence for Decreasing Quality of Semen During Past 50 Years. British Medical Journal 305:609-613. We are aware that the issues of male sperm quality and fertility levels are very complex and that there are disagreements in the research community on the topic. However, we support the precautionary principle arguing caution in the case of scientific uncertainty. But we encourage you to explore the topic further. We can also recommend the documentaries “Men in Danger” and “The Disappearing Male”. They certainly convinced us that something really scary is going on.
  • Our stolen future: Sources on human impacts of endocrine disruption

• 1. Dramatic drops in sperm counts

     • Our Stolen Future: The science of sperm count declines
     • Filmakers Library: Men in Danger documentary

  2. 20-fold increase in infertility

     • Chem-tox.com: Environmental causes of infertility

  3. Man-made chemicals are part of the explanation

     • Our Stolen Future: The science of sperm count declines

  4. The quality of sperm is also declining

     • CBC documentaries: The Disappearing Male

Content

• ALL FACTS
• Contaminants in your body
• Male semen quality
• Infertile men
• Chemicals tested for 'cocktail effects'
• Babies born
• Boys born with deformed genitals
• New cases of cancer
• Synthetic chemicals on the market

• OK, I get it. Bad things are going on
• Now what?