Something Freaky...
 

...is happening to America's fish!

the males are taking on the characteristics of females!

Why?

It may tell us something alarming about our water!

More than 70% of males in some river in WI (small mouth bass) are showing female characteristics!

chemicals in the water - like birth control pills - are to blame!

Makes you wonder what else this super-freaky female water is doing?!

sorry - just channelling the news....

Many fish are hemaphroditic as we know, and sometimes the sex is determined by the temp of the water. Maybe that's it?

Don't plastics contain oestrogen? Or is that an urban myth?

you mean this is NOT a sign of the apocalypse? damn.

You want the apocalypse?

I don't know, but a NZ researcher has recently published an article about facial cleansers being dangerous to the aquatic environment. Apparently the 'micro-beads' they use these days are plastic as opposed to traditionally being apricot husks etc. So anyway, little teeny tiny fishies (krill etc) are gobbling them up and apprently it's no so good for them.

Sounded like a bit of BS to me in that the impact is likely to be marginal, however it was interesting to know that even those sorts of things can have an effect on our environment.

As I said to Dazza, it doesn't make much difference to my way of life, but I'll try not to choose those types of cleansers although I usually use organic stuff because my skin is pretty sensitive to begin with.

We have had a real problem in the Uk with fish in some stretches of river. I think one of the reasons put forward was it might have been plastics getting into the water and increasing the oestrogen levels thus having an impact on gender levels and increasing hermaphroditism.

But that might just have been tv-science. And it was several years ago, so I am hazy on detail.

Apparently there are chemicals in some plastics that mimic estrogen.

ahhh. Ok, thanks.

Not sure if this is the place for this or if this has been said before (get the disclaimer in first)...but I've heard (from a CSIRO scientist) that apparently the Western world is slowly sterilising itself by taking oral contraceptives which end up back in the water.

Well depending on your point of view this could be viewed as a good thing.

Children of Men. If you've never seen it, do so. An amazing movie.