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Should it come as a shock that something that would cause girls to mature early would also impact males?

I'm asking, I don't know.

Yes is the short answerThe precocious puberty issue isn't conclusive, some of this could be related to the weight and age of the girl, and since people in general are getting heavier, this could have an effect on menarche. But something appears amiss. I looked at my high school yearbook from the 1970's, and especially the 18 year old young ladies looked like 13 year old girls today. Hypersexualization and too much makeup is one thing, but good grief, somthing is amiss. That's just an observation. Now for some scary stuff. The most common birth defect in males born today is Cryptorchidism and hypospadias. Essentially that the penis doesn't form correctly. The Urethra exits where it shouldn't. Specifically there is a gene problem, but the cause is very likely chemical.

http://www.loe.org/shows/segme... is a script from a radio show with some interesting information.

We are getting dosed with stuff, and no doubt.

No, autism is not caused by anything. You are born with it (or well, you even have it before you are born). It's likely genetics, causing the brain to be wired differently (literally).

Yes and no. Embryonic development can be affected by a number of things. Whether or not that leads to a person with what is called autism is not clear.

One thing is for certain. Vaccines do not cause autism. The vaccine/autism connection has been well debunked as a moneymaking scheme, and those people still making the accusation are right up there with flat-earthers and moon landing deniers.

Certainly the common plastic component Bisphenol A has turned out to be a problem. Whether though it's estrogen mimic effects, and perhaps much more. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... There is some interesting work that points toward insecticide exposure as well http://www.loe.org/shows/segme... .

Regardless, as they say, more studies are needed. For me? If I was still in family production mode, I'd make certain the wife stays away from pesticides out of caution.

But I suspect that a major component of autism spectrum is genetic, even if some of these chemicals might be involved at times.

Greetings from the spectrum!

Greetings to you as well, citizen! I've worked with and become friends with some folks on the Asperger's portion of the spectrum, and have always been fascinated by what seem to be their "super powers." What are your's if any?

if you account for externalities like pollution, risk, defense, and so on. See Amory Lovins' research. That has been an economic tragedy from market failure of the last few decades. Markets don't work well when people don't pay the true price up front but can instead privatize benefits for themselves and socialize costs to other people. For example, some companies in the Midwest got cheaper electricity from coal, but I can't eat fish around where I live because they are contaminated with mercury from Midwestern coal pollution.

More evidence: http://www.pri.org/stories/201...
"A new report from the International Monetary Fund says global use of fossil fuels costs taxpayers and consumers $5.3 trillion year. Thatâ(TM)s trillion â" with a T. "
http://loe.org/shows/segments....
"The report's co-author, IMF economist David Coady tells host Steve Curwood how they calculated fossil fuels subsidies worldwide annually cost taxpayers and consumers $5.3 trillion."

The cost in human lives from wars in the Middle East over oil profits is another enormous part of this as is the consequences to geopolitics. How do you factor in the risk of (ironic) nuclear war over oil profits into the cost of oil? See also:
http://www.iags.org/costofoil.... (lowball)
http://www.energyandcapital.co... (highball)

We westerns had been eating processed foods for centuries as well. Pickling, Smoking, Dehydrating, Salting, Fermenting.... However for westerners as well obesity is also still a rather modern problem.

The issue I expect is beyond food. But lack of exercise.

Lack of exercise is one culprit. There are others as well. The push to cut out proteins and fats is one, and of course sugar intake.

Even then, there is a darker element. We are undertaking a sort of econo-social experiment by making huge increases in the amounts of phytoestrogens in our diets. As well, we have been dosing ourselves with Bisphenol A and pthalates. There is even a group word for these chemicals - obesogens.

And in the world of bizzare studies, feral rats living in close proximity to humans are becoming obese along with us: http://www.the-scientist.com/?...

Some interesting links:

http://loe.org/shows/segments....

http://loe.org/shows/segments....

We westerns had been eating processed foods for centuries as well. Pickling, Smoking, Dehydrating, Salting, Fermenting.... However for westerners as well obesity is also still a rather modern problem.

The issue I expect is beyond food. But lack of exercise.

Lack of exercise is one culprit. There are others as well. The push to cut out proteins and fats is one, and of course sugar intake.

Even then, there is a darker element. We are undertaking a sort of econo-social experiment by making huge increases in the amounts of phytoestrogens in our diets. As well, we have been dosing ourselves with Bisphenol A and pthalates. There is even a group word for these chemicals - obesogens.

And in the world of bizzare studies, feral rats living in close proximity to humans are becoming obese along with us: http://www.the-scientist.com/?...

Some interesting links:

http://loe.org/shows/segments....

http://loe.org/shows/segments....

> Or any hybrid food for that matter. Or plant splicing, like done on tomatoes or fruit trees. Its a scary world.

Not even close. GMO is more "useful". That's why there are so many ninnies like you participating as willing dupes in the Monsanto propaganda campaign. If it were otherwise, then companies like Monsanto simply wouldn't bother. They would have no motive.

Ummm, spare me the "ninnies" comments. Truce? Or are you in the liberal version of the Fox News bubble?

Because trying to equate Monsanto's herbicide resistance malfeasance and my supposed usefulness to that program is perhaps less then insightful when you make it the equivalent of producing a fish that grows faster. herbicide resistance as part of the genetic makeup in plants is a lost cause in a crop because all it does is make the pest plants stronger. Which is already happening in roundup ready seeds. It's a dumbass lost cause.

http://www.usnews.com/news/art...

Fact is, we aren't supposed to be consuming herbicides like that.

We aren't supposed to be using utensils made of bisphenol A, or many other nasty-ass modern things.

Now you want to see interesting weed control?

http://loe.org/shows/segments.... The only resistance that can be gained against blasting is a thicker weed. What's more instead of the walnut shells they used as the original grit, they will be blasting with organic fertilizers. Two factors for th eprice of one

But on to your assessment that I am completely off, that hybrids are nothing like genetic manipulation.

You need to affirm that you are saying that hybrids or cross breeds are genetically identical to the plants they were bred with. Could you do that?

Because if they are not genetically identical across all the varieties that we hybridized or crossbred, then that is exactly genetic manipulation, and you are only facing a truth that is inconvenient for your worldview. Can we chat about crossbreeding as safe and GM as dangerous? The Lenape potato.

The Lenape Potato, a conventionally crossbred potato. A fine looking speciman that looked like it was going to take over the potato chip world for a while, had one slight problem. It was toxic.

http://boingboing.net/2013/03/...

Many scientists, based on this truth, are saying that the crossbred pant, which to you seems acceptable, should be held to the same standards as GM. Perhaps a new field for deniers?

howeever setting all that aside, I am willing to put my money where my mouth is, and eat only GM salmon for the rest of my life that have been produced this way.

Do you have the strength of your conviction to eat one meal of conventionally crossbred Lenape Potatoes in return? It's even vegan, so no problem there. Sounds like a fair test to me.

Really, please don't. I may be a useful ninnie, but I don't want anyone to come to harm. I'll still eat those salmon. I'll bet they are yummmmmy.

Seriously. They shouldn't have killed them all.

That is a misconception. They do not have to withstand 'big doses' of the herbicide; do you honestly think that farmers are spending extra money on seed so they can spend extra money on herbicide?

They are no tilling, and spraying herbicide to kill the weeds among the roundup ready corn, which is generally tolerant.

But aside from jumping on my use of the "big doses" perhaps you can proofread this page and let me know what is incorrect.

http://www.gardenguides.com/12...

But to your question of what they can do......

One of the interesting methods of killing weeds among crops is being developed by the USDA, and it sounds crazy, but works.

Oragnic farmers have a real problem with weed control, as you might imagine.

So some USDA researchers have found a weird but very effective way to "weed" without any chemicals.

They blast the bastards with fertilizers or soil conditioners.

http://loe.org/shows/segments....

Depending on the grit used in the blaster, it also acts as fertilizer, Or if you live in an acidic soil area, you can use a soil conditioner like limestone. It's an interesting read, and while at this time expensive- ~100 dollars an acre, there are a lot of offsets when a fertilizer or soil conditioner which will be applied anyhow. Just with more vigor. They are working on automating the process as we write. Not a perfect solution, but then again, neither is eating herbicide.

Not many plants can develop resistance to being sandblasted. I couldn't say this is the wave of the future, but it was sort of a headpalm moment for a lot of people, myself included.

Ever heard of this one? My father in law told me about it.

A Nuclear Incident "Worse Than Three Mile Island"

The wikipedia version.

And this one is fairly close to where I live (though thankfully not WHEN I lived here. Which is now. And not then).

Most things which we use oil for today could be done with other chemical components, it's just that oil has been the cheapest and most heavily developed source. That of course is changing, as the easy to get oil is used the cost goes up.

Lubricants can be done effectively without oil these days, most of the companies that sell motor oil provide at least one line of synthetic oil.
Plastics just use petroleum products because they're an easy source of carbon chains. There isn't any reason why the carbon has to come from oil, it could also be produced from things like vegetable oil.

I'm not endorsing or otherwise saying that I've thoroughly looked into it but it lies well within the realm of known science:
http://www.loe.org/shows/segments.htm?programID=07-P13-00015&segmentID=5

According to this article http://www.loe.org/shows/segments.htm?programID=05 -P13-00024&segmentID=7 the chances are high... Here is an extract

BURDICK: It is surprisingly difficult. I spent some quality time with a microbiologist at the Jet Propulsion Lab out in Pasadena, and this guy works in the spacecraft assembly facility where they build, well they built the Mars Rovers that are now out there on Mars. And this guy, his job is to kind of inspect what's left over and to see well, gosh, did any microbes survive the incredibly kind of harsh decontamination process that we've devised to get rid of them? And to his great surprise they have, and he's found at least one microbe that not only thrives in the spacecraft assembly facility, but seems to have actually evolved in it. It's a tough little spore, it eats aluminum. He found it growing on the surface of one of the Mars Rovers. It forms these spores and then the spores kind of group together to form a little, what he calls an igloo. It looks kind of like a macaroon under a microscope and when he cuts it open and exposes it to the light detection techniques that NASA's developed to look for life, he finds no sign of life and then when he puts this little igloo back together, the microbe comes back to life amazingly. And I asked him, "So you know you found this thing on the Mars Rover when it was being built. Do you think it's up there on Mars right now?" And he said, "oh yes, I'm quite certain, I'm almost certain that it is." So you know, I mean, it's just indicative of how life wants to spread. Either they're moving around inadvertently with us or they're moving around intentionally with us, but they are kind of reflections of our ambition, our desire to reshape the nature around us in a way that makes us more comfortable. You know, we can kind of demonize these things, but in a way they're really kind of impressive little critters. They're sort of doing what nature permitted them to do. And in a Darwinian sense, I mean, they're winners. I mean you've got to be, even if you don't like aliens, and there is quite a number of reasons not to, I think it's worthwhile sort of stopping and at least being impressed by their ability to thrive in a world that we think that we dominate. So far as we know, Earth is the only planet with life on it and the wind is blowing outward. We may well be the dandelion in the solar system.

Interesting...

As a side note, NPR had an interesting piece on pebble bed reactors just this morning.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?story Id=5345501

Older piece from '04, on Living on Earth:
http://www.loe.org/shows/shows.htm?programID=06-P1 3-00008#feature3

Any claim to the first link's S.African detractor/environmentalist that pebble beds create more nuclear waste per killowatt generated? Can the spent fuel of a pebble bed reactor recycled?

The wiki doesn't seem to answer either question (yet).

Well for those who care but are not into SACRIFICE check out the Lazy Environmentalist. I subscribe to his podcast. Other related podcasts I subscribe to are that are environmental related Earth & Sky, Living On Earth, Pulse of the Planet, and Science Friday. Avoid The Green Peril or you too could suffer the fate of South Park in Smug Alert!

Indeed he does have cojones. There was a good special on Living on Earth about cold fusion. Turns out, the experiments have in fact been replicated but it's difficult to do so. Seems that Pons and Fleischmann jumped the gun with their discovery. Instead of publishing it and subjecting it to peer review, they put it to the media first.

That was their first mistake because in the process, critical details about the procedure for producing cold fusion were left out.

http://www.loe.org/series/fusion.htm where you can download mp3's of the show.

GELLERMAN: And in the '70s when they had the oil shock prices then in the long gas lines. Ethanol was in the news and people were using it. So, what's new here is that, instead of making it from corn, now we can make it from other things.

COLEMAN: Correct. There's a term called cellulosic ethanol and the end product is the same. However, cellulosic ethanol comes from the leaves, stems and stalks of the plants instead of just the fruits and the seeds. So if today's ethanol producers grow corn to harvest a corn kernel, tomorrow's producers may be choosing from rice, wheat, oat, barley, straw, switch grass. Some companies even want to make it out of urbanized waste streams and municipal waste and even stale beer.

GELLERMAN: And in the '70s when they had the oil shock prices then in the long gas lines. Ethanol was in the news and people were using it. So, what's new here is that, instead of making it from corn, now we can make it from other things.

COLEMAN: Correct. There's a term called cellulosic ethanol and the end product is the same. However, cellulosic ethanol comes from the leaves, stems and stalks of the plants instead of just the fruits and the seeds. So if today's ethanol producers grow corn to harvest a corn kernel, tomorrow's producers may be choosing from rice, wheat, oat, barley, straw, switch grass. Some companies even want to make it out of urbanized waste streams and municipal waste and even stale beer.

The Russians did it all the time while Mir was up. Read this:

MCDOWELL: Well, there's all kinds of trash. And, indeed, on the Mir space station, every few weeks we would see five or six new space debris objects be catalogued, and we eventually discovered that they were putting their trash in plastic bags and shoving them out the airlock. And so, that's happened all through the space program. On the Shuttle to the present day, they don't throw trash overboard, but they do jettison water. But in general, all of that stuff is in low orbit. It doesn't stay up very long, and so it's not a huge problem compared to the exploding rocket stages higher up.

With the possible exception of BattleBots and Farscape, but that's a different issue entirely.

Headline News is little more than predigested pablum designed to plug Ted Turner's other assets anyways... I say stick with professional, independent media.

A couple of great streaming NPR news sites that definitely fall within that category:

NPR Online Hourly news updates.
Living On Earth (environmental news)
WHYY Online Philadelphia's NPR station... has Fresh Air, which is a great interview program.

Bless RealAudio.