Did ya'll know about this? Sometimes I forget that the majority of people don't spend all day everyday thinking about environmental issues like I do. This is an issue that I have seen talked about in the scientific literature for a few years now, and didn't realize that it hadn't hit the mainstream media yet. To me, its so indicative of how every little choice we make can have a large impact on the environment, and we may not even realize it!
Basically, pharmaceuticals that we ingest daily (for example, birth control pills) aren't fully absorbed by our bodies and end up in our pee. This goes to the waste water treatment plant. Because legislation is several years behind science and technology, we don't regulate pharmaceuticals that are discharged from waste water treatment plants. It all goes right into the stream! So, the estrogen (or psychotics or anti-biotics or whatever) is absorbed by fish and other aquatic wildlife and wrecking havoc on the ecosystem. Read the article for more info on how this is affecting fish!
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This is really interesting and something I hadn't thought of before.
ReplyDeleteI'm not actually on the pill but I'm sure there are so many more issues where my choices have a negative effect on the environment when I'm not even aware of it!
Its really scary once you start thinking about it! I guess we just have to do the best we can whenever we can and try not to feel too guilty about the rest!
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