Introduction
When I came back to live in the United States after a decade and a half absence I was surprised to discover a number of physical and behavioral changes in the population . The first and most obvious was the alarming number of very stout people that included teenagers and college students. Another change was the number of people complaining of allergies, depression, hyperactivity and autism. "Gee", I thought. "What a bunch of hysterical individuals these people have become!" But as time went by I began to notice that these problems were real and that people were honestly concerned but unable to identify the reasons for their poor health.
These people were exceedingly careful to buy products that would reduce the amount of germs, arachnids, and insects that could collect in their houses and lawns. They continuously used gels to sanitize their hands; tightly tied up a garbage in plastic bags to avoid smells and of course, germs. For the sake of expedience prepared meals were bought in microwavable containers which only required a few minutes to go from frozen to hot and on the table. So many marvels! Mankind had resolved so many difficulties: Houses did not need to be repainted, the walls within could be washed with soap and water; soiled diapers could be disposed of with hardly a thought. Children could have all the toys their little hearts could desire because they were made of plastic and therefore disposable. In this fascinating world even your teeth could be whitened with just a few strips applied for a short while. Why then, in this fairyland, were people constantly sick taking pills for their allergies, headaches, acid reflux and depression?
I wondered about the layers of garbage that were forming in the not so sanitary land fills and thought of how the sealed plastic garbage bags would possibly contain, for untold years, germs that would perhaps mutate. I thought maybe allowing the garbage to be exposed to the air might be healthier for future generations. I also wondered about the miracle of food being able to resist the natural processes of decay so that it could be shelved at the store a bit longer than normal, but questioned the food's ability to disintegrate adequately in the consumer's digestive system. Could the preservatives in our food be at least partially responsible for the unnatural numbers of obese people?
After thinking about these and other evidences of material well being versus ill health I began to consider the possibility that the people were ingesting something that was not readily identifiable, but which was negatively affecting their well being. I was not, however, prepared to learn that it was the ever present plastic that was causing these and greater, more devastating health problems not only for people but for all life forms of the earth
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