Count Down: How Our Modern World Is Threatening Sperm Counts, Altering Male and Female Reproductive Development, and Imperiling the Future of the Human Race

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Overall the book does a good job in the end by proving practical steps everyone can take including using metal water bottles, not heating meals in plastic containers, etc. Long story-short, male fertility (sperm count and motility) have dropped my more than half since the 1980s. That being said, I can't say I'm terribly worried about population decline among humans, given that humanity is still increasing at a rate of just over 1% per year.

For all their horror, it would be less disturbing if it were at least the case that a “reset” button gets hit for the next generation and our progeny start from square one. On an individual level, there are actions one can take such as avoiding cosmetics and hygiene products with endocrine disrupting chemicals and avoiding non-stick cookware. It’s fairly well-known that birth rates have been declining significantly in Western democracies for decades. And that is where the biggest part of my ambivalence comes from: we get "chemical interference" as an explanation for a variety of things such as trans identification, homosexuality, spatial ability in girls, language skills in boys, and a desire to have less kids.I genuinely want more people to gain awareness of this issue…I just think there are better sources of information that get the point across without wasting so much of your time. But as sperm counts lower and as more and more sperm get defective, his chances of procreation dwindle.

I came across this work by reading few articles about the fertile decline around the world at staggering rates.But the useful information is intercut with chapters on infertility in general, with lots of handwringing about demographic decline and harangues on avoiding smoking, alcohol, and waiting too long, that I could have gotten from Buzzfeed. I highly recommend this book for anyone who is concerned about the future of life here on this planet.

I hoped the book would put all the stats and numbers into some bigger context or critique; as it is, though, it just felt like a data dump. Whether you’re looking for fakeaway curries, tempting puds or healthier versions of your favourite comfort foods, there’s a Slimming World recipe book to suit you.While the book can seem very doom and gloom the author highlights studies which show that we have the power to limit our exposure to altering chemicals and improve our reproductive chances (men more so than women). Socioeconomic explanations are usually advanced to account for this, given that higher earnings tend to correlate with individuals choosing to have fewer children as do advances in political rights for women.