Sunday, November 29, 2009

Great Article in Men's Health Magazine About Pollution and Our Health


I know this may seem a little strange (being a woman and all), but one of my favorite magazines to read is Men's Health. The reason I love this magazine has nothing to do with the tips from "The Girl Next Door", or the info found in their "Tech Guide". No, the real reason I really enjoy this magazine is (the pictures of the hot guys....) the great articles by their writers.

This past month, their very talented writer Melody Petersen, composed a fantastic article about the health hazards of the various pollutants in our in environment. In this article, she visits an Indian Reserve in southern Ontario, Canada and exposes how two large industrial chemical plants have changed the lives of the residents living in that area. Although she focuses on how these chemicals are reducing the number of males being born, it also shares how these chemicals are influencing their pets and wildlife.

For example, check out this one passage:

"SHARREN FISHER IS FIGHTING her way through the thigh-high brush on a warm July afternoon, taking me to the water-filled ditch where Stella, her dog, would often stop for a drink. Fisher, a member of the tribe, says she's seen what looks like oil in the water. It's impossible to see where the water in the ditch comes from in the tangle of cattails and tall grass, but Fisher believes it drains from two industrial plants that are a quarter of a mile from her house, so close you can hear the roar of machinery.

"I used to take the dogs to the creek all the time," she says. But then Stella, a terrier-poodle mix, gave birth to three deformed pups. One stillborn pup, Fisher says, had no muzzle or fur. It also had webbed feet. That was in 2005, she says; Stella hasn't had any puppies since.

"We lost our ducks and geese," she says. "I couldn't keep them out of the water."

Her two ponies have had three stillborn foals. "We've never had a live baby from them," she says."

Disturbing? Isn't it?

To read more about what Melody has uncovered, visit the article online here. After reading it, you'll start to wonder just how companies are allowed to contribute this type of pollution to our world and how it influences the health of our children.

1 comment:

Amy said...

That is incredibly creepy. Here in Belgium we have terrible air pollution, just too many people and cars in a small space. I really wonder sometimes what the long term implications are for my kids.