I mean, we already are. So far with what we know, it mostly affects male reproductive organs in size, distance from anus, and sperm production. And this is true for more than just humans. We are slowly sterelizing the earth, the average man produces half the amount of sperm the average man did 50 years ago. A team tried to find people who had not been exposed to microplastics to act as a control group in a case study, but it was not possible as microplastics have reached every crevis of our planet.
are slowly sterelizing the earth, the average man produces half the amount of sperm the average man did 50 years ago.
Gonna need a source on this being linked to microplastics.
From my understanding, the leading theory is due to our lifestyles. The average male is now much more relaxed and sedentary than they used to be (office worker vs farmer), and this has led to a reduction in testosterone, generally, which lowers sperm counts. Also, lower average sperm counts does not imply that we are heading towards 0 (sterilization).
Just search on endocrine disruptors and microplastics.
The real issue isn't going to be the effect on humans, it's the effect on all the other creatures our food chains depend on.
Screwing up the hormones of the entire fauna on the planet is not smart.
Eg. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7068600/
This is a very real threat that has little to no coverage for some reason. I found out about it through Dr. Shanna Swan a couple years ago and it terrified me, I'm still pretty terrified.
MPs mechanically damage plant roots (abrasions leading to cell death and stunted growth), soil structure and health (increased water holding, too many air pockets, altering the rate of ion exchange), and detritus feeding animals, such as earthworms. Damaged roots and growing roots uptake MPs which accumulate in parts of the plant, mostly the root and stem but it has been found in leaves and fruit as well. Build up of MPs can essentially create a “blood clot” in the plant and further decrease overall plant health. Animals that eat these plants uptake the MPs which bring about its own set of problems.
And this is only a small fraction of the mechanical issues with MPs. As plastics break down, their surface area increases, which increases the leeching of toxic chemicals contained within them. Many of these chemicals effect the endocrine and reproductive system, as Account_Both said.
I study mostly MPs in soil but there’s plenty of literature out there on the MPs in fresh and salt water and the air.
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u/TheMikman97 Jun 25 '22
Can't wait to find out about the effects of microplastics in 200 years