Listen up because now might be a good time to go organic. Why? Because pesticides have been
shown to cause:
- Reduced penis size - 25 percent smaller
- Greatly reduced reproductive rates
- Abnormal ovaries
- Low testosterone levels in males - comparable to the level in females
Now that I have your attention, let's back up and look at this amazing piece of research. The study compared alligators in a pesticide-polluted lake near Orlando to alligators in a less polluted one nearby. That's right, these are alligator results. SO glad I wasn't one of the poor research assistants who had to go out at night to catch these wild critters and measure their dicks. If you suspect me of making this up, here's the study itself and here's a Frontline story about it - cleverly titled "Teeny Weenies".
Hat tip to Mike McGrath, organic gardening educator extraordinaire.








In my files there is a a stack of cut-out Mike McGrath editorials from his days at Organic Gardening Magazine. I was really sad when he left, so it's good to know he hasn't lost either his nose for news or his sense for the skewed.
Ditto on commiserating with the graduate students.
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
Posted by: Annie in Austin | December 02, 2006 at 12:46 PM
It's not just the Alligators whose fertile parts are are coming up short.
http://rcp.missouri.edu/articles/swanedg.html
Human studies are already pointing in the same direction.
Posted by: Christopher C in Hawaii | December 02, 2006 at 12:58 PM
Yeah - these data have been out there for awhile, and it's occurring across species. In general, things seem to be going in an androgeneous direction (due to their endocrine-disrupting abilities) - even more interesting now is that fact that lots of pharmaceuticals are being found in waterways, especially around major cities - things like Prozac (suggested to disrupt mussel reproduction: http://www.nist.gov/public_affairs/techbeat/tb2006_0914.htm). That's not even including all of the antibiotics found in the water, from all of those insane antibiotic-containing products out on the market now...
Posted by: Pam | December 03, 2006 at 04:49 AM
Ahem. That's a hemi-penis, not a dick.
Posted by: Jenn | December 07, 2006 at 02:25 PM
An integrated, segregated society is better
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Parents have no right in spanking you - Or do they? That could be another persuasive speech topic
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The government should be persuaded to pay for all healthcare
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Honesty, integrity and a persuasive mentality are the most important qualities of an elected official
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I've just been letting everything pass me by , but so it goes. I just don't have much to say these days. Pfft. I can't be bothered with anything. More or less nothing seems worth doing. I haven't gotten much done recently, but oh well.
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