Forwarded by Jane Clark From: Defenders of Wildlife Rural Updates! June 27, 2003 STUDY LINKS PESTICIDES TO SPERM DEFORMITIES A study published last week in the online journal "Environmental Health Perspectives" linked low sperm counts in rural Missouri men to three pesticides that are widely used in the area. A study published in 2002 had revealed that these men had lower sperm quantity and quality than their urban counterparts. The research released this week "confirmed that men with lower sperm counts and quality had higher concentrations of alachlor, diazinon, and atrazine metabolites in their urine than men with higher-quality sperm." A dozen other pesticides tested were not correlated with lower sperm counts or quality. Many of the men affected are not farmers and were not handling the chemicals directly, leading researches to conclude that exposure to the pesticides is coming from drinking water. Groundwater in the area had been previously shown to be contaminated with the chemicals. The study did not look at whether the reduced sperm counts were impacting fertility. More research is needed in that area, and also to assess the impacts to women, children, livestock and wildlife. More information is available at: http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/press/swan2003.html NEW BOOK: FARMING WITH THE WILD Watershed Media has a great new book out called, "Farming with the Wild: Enhancing Biodiversity on Farms and Ranches." Written by Dan Imhoff, the publication features profiles from more than 20 states and "offers a compelling view of a future in which farming and ranching operations are integrated into regional networks of protected wildlands." With an inspiring foreword by Fred Kirschenmann, the book explores and highlights pioneers in modern agriculture; farmers and ranchers striving to foster methods of agriculture that protect and restore the wildness, and the wilderness, that is the great America's legacy. Beautifully illustrated, the book articulates a new path; one leading from accepted assumptions that food production and biodiversity cannot coexist, towards a future where agriculture and biodiversity exist in mutually-enhancing, mutually profitable systems. With regional highlights, individual profiles, and even a "getting started" checklist, the new book is important reading for anyone searching for a truly sustainable future. You can order a copy on line at: http://www.watershedmedia.org/store.html#FWTW. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To get off the IOWA-TOPICS list, send any message to: [log in to unmask]