Toxin Talk

I recently had a week that was filled with so much talk of pesticides, chemicals, and toxins that by the end of it I didn't know if I was more inspired or depressed.

During my first week at FMR, we started planning what was to us a very big event. Dr. Tyrone Hayes, a famous and controversial researcher from the University of California Berkeley, was coming to the Twin Cities and we were organizing a public talk. In a nutshell, atrazine is an herbicide commonly used in agriculture. Once upon a time Dr. Hayes was hired as a consultant by Syngenta, a company whose #1 selling product is atrazine. His research showed that atrazine "is a potent endocrine disruptor that chemically castrates and feminizes amphibians", which didn't exactly make Syngenta very happy. So they tried everything they could to keep the results of his research from getting out, he did everything he could to get it out, ties were severed.

In spite of much effort on Syngenta's part, Dr. Hayes now not only gives many public and private talks about his research, but he has also testified in front of the MN legislature twice. He has continued and expanded upon his research, to include the impact of atrazine on humans. His most recent research makes a pretty good case for a connection between exposure to atrazine and breast and prostate cancer. Given the fact that farmers in Minnesota apply almost 2 million pounds of atrazine to crops each year (which then gets in to streams and groundwater), this should set off some alarms. Somehow though, economic concerns seem to only too often trump health concerns, even when you are talking about a significant threat to not just your own health, but that of your children and grandchildren.

Another piece I found interesting: viruses and parasites that cause deformities in amphibians have always been around, but amphibians have always been pretty good at fighting them. However, it seems that atrazine is one of several toxins that impacts amphibians' ability to fight these things, so it is suspected that this is the cause of rising numbers of deformities in frogs. It also can impact their size, making them more vulnerable to predation.

And the extra bummer of it all, to me, is that even if we are eventually successful in getting a ban on the use of this chemical, agricultural practices will most likely just switch to a different chemical, the effects of which have yet to be studied, but which will most likely be just as toxic.

Now get ready for the teeny tiny nerd-out section for those of you whose interest has been more than moderately piqued:


To find out more about Dr. Hayes, his research, and its implications for animal and human welfare, visit:

• Dr. Hayes's University of California, Berkeley faculty profile and bio.
• "Mayo docs hear from researcher on suspected atrazine, cancer links," by Sea Stachura, Minnesota Public Radio, January 4, 2007
• "Transsexual Frogs; A popular weed killer makes some frogs grow the wrong sex organs. Your drinking water may have 30 times the dose they're getting," by Elizabeth Royte, Discover, February 2003
• "Emerging Explorers, National Geographic's Next Generation: Tyrone Hayes, biologist, herpetologist," National Geographic. (National Geographic's Emerging Explorers program "recognizes and supports uniquely gifted and inspiring adventurers, scientists, photographers and storytellers who are making a significant contribution to world knowledge through exploration while still early in their careers.")
• "It's Not Easy Being Green; Are weed-killers turning frogs into hermaphrodites?," by William Souder, Harper's Magazine, August 2006.
• Tyrone's own website: www.atrazinelovers.com
  

The uplifting part is that his talk was incredibly well-received! In our initial planning phases, I was told we should expect up to 200, probably more like 100. We ended up in a space with a capacity of 250, and had to close registration almost a week out because we hit capacity! Some people just showed up anyway, hoping that some registered folks wouldn't show up! You have got to love that.

I also loved it when Tyrone talked about his recent decision to do more than just present the science. To "cross the line" as he put it. He said that an audience member once approached him after a talk and said, "But Tyrone, you only gave us half a talk. You gave us all of this information, but didn't tell us what to do with it. " He thought about it, and decided she was right. So now he's added some slides to his presentation. He talks about the system of supposed checks and balances that is involved in the EPA's approving a chemical, and how the same people work for several of the agencies involved in that system. He talks about current relevant legislation and flat out tells you to do something about it! Knowing what he's already been put through in all these years of just trying to present the science, his decision to take it one step further is all the more remarkable. I recently heard Gloria Steinem say, "The only thing harder than doing it is not doing it", and I immediately thought of Tyrone Hayes.

Tyrone's talk, or Hayes Day, as I was calling it, was definitely the highlight of the week. But later in the same week I went to a presentation for homeowners on organic lawn care, the first section of which discussed the many, many evils of pesticides. The presenter talked about a study that found all sorts of common consumer chemicals in the blood of Inuit Eskimos who never have actually used or even seen any of those chemicals, as well as in the umbilical cord blood of newborns. And then I went to an amazing film at the Walker Art Center called Our Daily Bread that explores the world of industrialized food production. Who knew a film with no dialogue or narration could be so disturbing!

So after all of that, I had the creepy sensation of being completely surrounded by, covered in, and inundated with toxic chemicals of all kinds. Pretty overwhelming. But the fantastic news is that in one week, I had all of those incredible opportunities to raise my awareness and level of education about these issues - 1 week! They were all on different subjects, and yet they all overlapped and drove home (at least in part) the same message. Now it's up to me what I do with it...

Introducing Freshwater Stew, my new blog devoted solely to my awesome job! Through some crazy and wonderful twist of fate, I recently became the Stewardship Coordinator for Friends of the Mississippi River. This means I help plan, coordinate, and implement all of FMR's stewardship and education events. These include restoration activities like planting, invasive species removal, and seed collecting, education events like birding hikes, waterfowl watching, and informational talks, and paddling and touring special places along the river.

For my first month and a half it's been lots of learning and planning, and I've been really itching for an event to actually happen! But last week I finally got to experience my first event, so it is officially on! I will try to write about as many of the events as I can here, because they are all so totally awesome. So stay tuned!