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Downloaded from
YTS.BZ
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Am I the only one that is just,
like, so fixated on microplastics?
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Official YIFY movies site:
YTS.BZ
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{\an8}- Microplastics are in everything now.
- [pensive music playing]
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- [man] Microplastics.
- Hello?
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{\an8}We've all got microplastics in our body…
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- There's microplastics in your balls now.
- Right now?
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Well, you just ruined my day.
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[upbeat music playing]
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{\an8}[man 1] There's plastic in everything,
and you're consuming it all the time.
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{\an8}Literally, your toothbrush
is getting plastic into your mouth.
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{\an8}Do you chew gum? That's made of plastic.
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{\an8}These clothes? This is polyester.
That's made of plastic.
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{\an8}[woman 1] We don't know
what these plastics are doing to us.
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{\an8}[man 2] You and me and everyone you meet
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has enough plastic
in their ******* brain to make a spoon.
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{\an8}[woman 2] We're finding them
all over the body, not just the brain.
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{\an8}The blood, the lungs,
the heart, the arteries,
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{\an8}the gut, the liver, the kidneys,
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{\an8}breast milk.
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{\an8}Okay, I'm full of microplastics.
Now what? What do you want me to do?
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{\an8}Huh? Huh? Huh?
Tell me because I don't know.
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{\an8}I saw a gastro doctor today,
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{\an8}and she said
she never drinks bottled water
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{\an8}because of the microplastics
and their correlation to colon cancer.
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{\an8}[woman 2] Plastic also leaches out
a crap-ton of chemicals.
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{\an8}[woman 3] I was pissed when I found out
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{\an8}that the toxic chemicals
contained obesogens.
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{\an8}Do you know what obesogens are?
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{\an8}[music turns unsettling]
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{\an8}[man 3] The more technology,
the more plastic,
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{\an8}the more plastic in the bodies.
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{\an8}It's causing people's penises to shrink,
balls to shrink,
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{\an8}sperm counts are lowering,
and miscarriages to go up.
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{\an8}[woman 4] This is so crazy and alarming.
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{\an8}[man 3] What do we do
to try to keep the human race alive?
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{\an8}[woman 5] So what are the solutions
to these problems?
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{\an8}We can start by looking inside our homes.
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[dramatic music playing]
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[music fades]
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[man over PA]
And now, tonight's very special guest,
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the one and only Shanna fucking Swan.
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[audience cheering and applauding]
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Well, I have to say… [laughs]
I've never had an introduction like that.
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[laughs]
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In order to understand
the impacts of chemicals in plastic,
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you have to see
the effect on reproduction.
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[pensive music playing]
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{\an8}Fertility worldwide is going down rapidly.
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{\an8}Your book, Count Down,
says that the modern world
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{\an8}is threatening sperm counts and imperiling
the future of the human race.
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That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.
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And it is tightly linked to chemicals
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that are commonly used in plastic.
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[pensive music continues]
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I've been talking about these chemicals
for about a quarter of a century.
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{\an8}More than ever, people are worried about
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{\an8}how all the chemicals
we're exposed to are affecting our health.
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At the same time,
the use of testosterone has increased.
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My audience has always
been other scientists.
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I published in scientific journals
pretty much exclusively.
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And what I realized was that
that hasn't worked.
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- Are human penises getting smaller?
- Yeah.
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Shanna, why didn't you start with that?
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[both laugh]
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Now I am focused, I am honed in.
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This is something
that affects me directly, Shanna.
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[Swan] There's a lot of crises
in the world right now.
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I don't want to scare people,
but I want to tell them
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that this is also an important crisis.
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This is also something
we have to pay attention to.
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And actually,
in terms of our survival as a species,
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it may be
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one of the most important.
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{\an8}[pensive music playing]
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{\an8}One way to understand
the impacts of these chemicals
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that can affect our bodies
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is to look at couples who are having
a lot of problems getting pregnant.
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- Hi!
- [woman] Hi! How are you?
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{\an8}- Are you Monique?
- Yeah, I'm Monique.
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{\an8}- I'm Shanna.
- Nice to meet you, Shanna.
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{\an8}[Swan] We recruited six couples
who are trying to conceive
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{\an8}but have not been able to.
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{\an8}And the question is, if we lower
people's exposure to chemicals
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{\an8}that are in plastic,
can we change their fertility?
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{\an8}[doorbell rings]
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{\an8}- Hi. How are you?
- [Swan] Hi!
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{\an8}Can you just tell me a little bit
about why you want to do this?
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{\an8}- For a baby.
- Yeah.
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{\an8}That's what we've been
working on for a long time now.
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{\an8}We've been trying to conceive
for about 22 months this month.
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After about a year, we said,
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"It's kind of weird
that nothing's happened."
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{\an8}We have been trying since we got married.
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{\an8}So that was about two years ago.
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{\an8}We have been trying to get pregnant
for over ten years now.
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{\an8}Two and a half years, I guess? Yeah.
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Having to, like, have sex
all the time and, like, do these tests.
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And it just becomes…
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It's, like, it's no fun.
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Say what you always call yourself.
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Ah. I say, "You know, Julie,
I'm not a human dildo."
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[both laugh]
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And then we proceed to go ahead and do it,
and I'm happy to be a human dildo.
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But it is a dehumanizing thing.
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- [Julie] I'm really excited about answers.
- That's wonderful.
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- Wonderful, yes.
- [Julie and Eric] Yeah.
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Wouldn't it be great
if we can figure this out?
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So let's turn to products.
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- [both] Okay.
- [Swan] Okay?
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- There's plastic in here.
- [Eric] Mm.
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[Swan] This is a three-month intervention…
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Why don't you read that?
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…to look at the effect
of lowering your exposure
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to plastics and chemicals in plastic
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on your fertility.
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It's not a quote, unquote
"scientific study."
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We have no control group.
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It's very small.
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And all of these couples who are infertile
but have unexplained infertility.
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So nothing in their lifestyle
was obviously causing this,
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with the exception of chemicals
in their environment.
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[ominous music playing]
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These chemicals are ubiquitous.
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They're everywhere in our daily lives.
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In hard plastics.
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In soft plastics.
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They're in fabrics.
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The kitchen is home to obvious examples.
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From utensils and cutting boards
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to tea bags and coffee pods
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and any number of containers.
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Food packaging is often made of plastic.
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And when heated, these chemicals
go into the things that we eat.
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They're often in places you can't see,
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like the linings of tin and aluminum cans
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used for soup and beverages.
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But that's just the tip of the iceberg.
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They're in our closets.
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In the fabrics and dyes of our clothing.
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They're in our personal care products.
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From brushes to shampoos
to deodorants and lotions.
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They're in fragrances.
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And our children are absolutely inundated
with plastics in their toys.
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So we ingest them.
We absorb them through our skin.
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{\an8}We inhale them.
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{\an8}Every which way that they can
get into our bodies, they do.
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And as they pass through our bodies,
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they wreak all sorts of havoc.
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[pensive music playing]
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[Darby] We've done
a lot of research at home
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on chemicals in the environment.
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But learning more about plastics,
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it's opening my eyes
to how much bigger it is.
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- They're all plastics.
- [Darby] Oh, yeah.
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[Swan] It's a plastic kingdom, you know?
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These things we use a lot too.
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- I know.
- [sighs]
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[Monique] Now I cannot live without.
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[Swan] These do contain chemicals
that are concerning.
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And this is a problem. I use it every day.
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[both laugh]
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I think we have a lot of products.
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[Tim] There have been more reports
of plastics and microplastics,
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but I never would have thought
that they're in my body as well.
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[Katie] One of the first things we did,
we threw away a cutting board.
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So that felt good. [laughs]
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[Swan] Thirty-five percent
of the microplastics in the ocean
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come from textiles.
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- Oh my gosh. Here's another.
- Oh!
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[Eric] So this room is like
a chemical warfare room.
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- [Swan] Yeah.
- [Eric] Is what you're saying.
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[Julie] It's just for smells.
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- [Eric] It's the Latino cleaning product.
- Oof! [laughs]
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[Eric] When you actually look at your life
and how much plastic is in your life,
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it's everywhere,
it's everywhere in my house.
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I'm looking at something like,
"I have to throw that away."
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[Swan] So beyond just removing
obvious plastics from all over the house,
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I asked the couples to try these changes.
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Try to avoid food and beverage products
that come in plastic packaging,
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whether it's from the store or takeout.
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Try to avoid
fragrance products and perfumes.
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Try to use only natural
personal care products.
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Avoid synthetic textiles
and petrochemical dyes.
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And avoid handling receipts.
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Almost all receipts contain bisphenol A.
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[pensive music playing]
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Would you mind tossing that for us?
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- [woman] You don't want the receipt?
- No.
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I feel like right now
we are in the movie The Matrix.
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And they said, "Do you want
the blue pill or the red pill?"
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I guess I forgot
which one's the one that enters…
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The red pill is the one that he takes.
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- And I think I just took the red pill.
- [Eric] Yeah.
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[laughs]
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[playing "Sonate"]
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[Swan] What makes
something interesting to me
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is if it's a puzzle
that I think I can help solve.
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The question of,
was sperm count declining?
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And then if so, why?
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And how do you show that?
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That is a puzzle that I've been solving,
you know, for 25 years.
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[pensive music playing]
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{\an8}How I got into this whole area
is because I was appointed to a committee
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{\an8}of the National Academy of Sciences
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{\an8}to look at these newly emerging chemicals,
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which they called "hormonally active
agents in the environment."
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The committee brought this paper to me,
which came out of Denmark in 1992.
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They reported 50% decline
in 50 years in sperm count.
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That's huge.
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When I first saw it, I was skeptical.
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I thought other factors
could explain that decline.
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We reanalyzed the data.
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And to my surprise, nothing had changed.
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The sperm count had declined
by more than 50%.
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That was a big wake-up call for me.
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In fact, in 2023,
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{\an8}we found that the trend
was accelerating dramatically.
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{\an8}The decline was more than twice as fast
as we had reported previously.
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{\an8}What could cause this?
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This was too fast to be genetic.
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Then it's environment.
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{\an8}- Can we talk about these tests?
- [Julie] Oh, yeah.
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- I'm super excited about that.
- Yeah.
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At the beginning of the study,
we get measures
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of their body burden
of environmental chemicals
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by looking in their urine.
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So we asked them for a urine sample.
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[Julie] How do you pronounce the…
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"Phlalatates"?
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- Phthalates?
- Phthalates.
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[Swan] Do you have a preference
where we start?
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Let's start with Jesse.
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- In case mine upset me.
- Here we go.
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And I cry.
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[all laugh]
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00:11:57,007 --> 00:11:59,426
The first page says
that you have high phthalates.
238
00:11:59,427 --> 00:12:01,803
- High phthalates.
- That's gonna come up afterwards.
239
00:12:01,804 --> 00:12:04,139
- You have high phthalates?
- Wouldn't you know it?
240
00:12:04,140 --> 00:12:05,599
This is exciting.
241
00:12:06,183 --> 00:12:07,225
[Darby] I was shocked.
242
00:12:07,226 --> 00:12:12,313
It was really frightening to see
we had accumulated so many chemicals.
243
00:12:12,314 --> 00:12:14,983
[Jesse] It's clearly showing us
the things we're doing right now
244
00:12:14,984 --> 00:12:17,986
are absolutely contributing
to what I would say
245
00:12:17,987 --> 00:12:20,864
are pretty unacceptable
levels of these chemicals.
246
00:12:20,865 --> 00:12:22,824
I can share your frustration, I mean…
247
00:12:22,825 --> 00:12:28,204
And then we look at measures of semen
quality by asking for a sperm sample.
248
00:12:28,205 --> 00:12:30,039
We go to concentration.
249
00:12:30,040 --> 00:12:33,084
That's the number
that most people think about.
250
00:12:33,085 --> 00:12:36,129
- [Jesse] Okay. Mm-hm.
- Like, when I study sperm decline.
251
00:12:36,130 --> 00:12:39,174
So the calculated total motile count,
252
00:12:39,175 --> 00:12:41,676
{\an8}23 is the value.
253
00:12:41,677 --> 00:12:44,679
{\an8}Reference should be
greater than or equal to 40.
254
00:12:44,680 --> 00:12:45,972
Um, we're gonna go over…
255
00:12:45,973 --> 00:12:49,642
[Eric] When Shanna talked about
the results of my sperm test,
256
00:12:49,643 --> 00:12:52,897
it definitely was
a very, very weird feeling.
257
00:12:53,522 --> 00:12:57,777
I don't think most men are running around
getting sperm tests until it's…
258
00:12:58,986 --> 00:13:01,529
right up against the deadline
of when you need to know this,
259
00:13:01,530 --> 00:13:05,074
which is normally after you want to get
pregnant and something hasn't worked.
260
00:13:05,075 --> 00:13:07,619
[Swan] Below this point,
which is maybe 48…
261
00:13:07,620 --> 00:13:10,997
{\an8}[Eric] It's the first time
I had really had explained to me
262
00:13:10,998 --> 00:13:13,792
{\an8}why that count wasn't optimal,
263
00:13:13,793 --> 00:13:15,752
{\an8}or really had anything explained to me.
264
00:13:15,753 --> 00:13:19,005
{\an8}You are technically sub-fertile,
265
00:13:19,006 --> 00:13:20,548
infertile, depending on how you…
266
00:13:20,549 --> 00:13:23,218
- So that's kind of scary, right?
- Yes.
267
00:13:23,219 --> 00:13:26,221
It's like, well, are you less of a man
because of it or anything?
268
00:13:26,222 --> 00:13:27,514
Is something wrong with you?
269
00:13:27,515 --> 00:13:30,683
But I was thinking,
I have to stare at this and look at this
270
00:13:30,684 --> 00:13:33,854
and I have to deal with this
in order to try to make this baby.
271
00:13:35,731 --> 00:13:38,441
[Swan] When I talk about
their test results,
272
00:13:38,442 --> 00:13:42,862
I want to reassure them
that this does not mean
273
00:13:42,863 --> 00:13:45,031
that they cannot get pregnant.
274
00:13:45,032 --> 00:13:47,116
You are making sperm all the time.
275
00:13:47,117 --> 00:13:51,371
It takes 70 days to create a new sperm.
276
00:13:51,372 --> 00:13:54,749
And that's why we chose
this three-month window
277
00:13:54,750 --> 00:13:56,084
for your intervention.
278
00:13:56,085 --> 00:13:57,877
So I think the message is,
279
00:13:57,878 --> 00:13:59,671
"It doesn't look great right now."
280
00:13:59,672 --> 00:14:02,800
"It can change,
and you can help with the change."
281
00:14:03,300 --> 00:14:04,759
[dramatic music playing]
282
00:14:04,760 --> 00:14:08,012
We will also look at changes
in their body mass index
283
00:14:08,013 --> 00:14:12,141
because these chemicals
not only affect your fertility,
284
00:14:12,142 --> 00:14:14,978
they also have other health consequences,
285
00:14:14,979 --> 00:14:17,105
such as increased obesity.
286
00:14:17,106 --> 00:14:19,732
Here's a care package for you.
287
00:14:19,733 --> 00:14:22,944
Then we give them a packet of products
288
00:14:22,945 --> 00:14:25,990
that will help them lower their exposure.
289
00:14:27,533 --> 00:14:31,912
Because the good news is there are
fantastic alternatives out there.
290
00:14:33,205 --> 00:14:37,959
You can replace most of the plastic
in your kitchen with metal,
291
00:14:37,960 --> 00:14:41,004
glass, ceramics, or bamboo.
292
00:14:41,005 --> 00:14:44,340
You can use brushes
and floss made from bamboo
293
00:14:44,341 --> 00:14:48,261
and find personal care products
without scent.
294
00:14:48,262 --> 00:14:51,514
And then at the end
of the three-month period,
295
00:14:51,515 --> 00:14:54,101
we measure everything again and…
296
00:14:54,810 --> 00:14:59,481
we'll see if this lowers
their exposure and maybe even…
297
00:15:00,274 --> 00:15:01,692
they get pregnant.
298
00:15:02,568 --> 00:15:04,777
[Katie] I'm excited for the next 90 days.
299
00:15:04,778 --> 00:15:07,614
I am bound and determined
to get those numbers down
300
00:15:07,615 --> 00:15:10,366
for the plastics
or chemicals in our bodies.
301
00:15:10,367 --> 00:15:13,369
And I live by the motto,
"Happy wife, happy life."
302
00:15:13,370 --> 00:15:17,165
So I'll follow her suggestions
and do everything as well.
303
00:15:17,166 --> 00:15:19,042
I like the cardboard container there.
304
00:15:19,043 --> 00:15:20,627
- Yeah, looks great.
- Looks pretty good.
305
00:15:20,628 --> 00:15:22,545
[Darby] It's 100% plastic-free.
306
00:15:22,546 --> 00:15:24,547
I hope that we get pregnant.
307
00:15:24,548 --> 00:15:26,549
- That would be fantastic.
- Yeah.
308
00:15:26,550 --> 00:15:28,968
- A baby, yeah.
- A baby would be amazing.
309
00:15:28,969 --> 00:15:31,179
- They don't look spongy.
- So it's like loofah.
310
00:15:31,180 --> 00:15:34,016
Will we get pregnant because of it?
I have no idea.
311
00:15:34,975 --> 00:15:36,976
[Eric] I think with infertility,
at least for us,
312
00:15:36,977 --> 00:15:38,895
it's been like, what the hell do we do?
313
00:15:38,896 --> 00:15:40,146
And this is something to do.
314
00:15:40,147 --> 00:15:42,857
And so I'd like to see
those things down in three months.
315
00:15:42,858 --> 00:15:44,108
Hopefully, they are down.
316
00:15:44,109 --> 00:15:45,818
- Hopefully help you.
- Yeah.
317
00:15:45,819 --> 00:15:49,030
[Swan] I don't think anyone
has actually done this experiment
318
00:15:49,031 --> 00:15:52,617
to see the effect on conception
319
00:15:52,618 --> 00:15:54,828
and hopefully live birth.
320
00:15:55,621 --> 00:15:58,082
It's not straightforward. It's not easy.
321
00:15:58,707 --> 00:16:00,792
But it's super important.
322
00:16:00,793 --> 00:16:04,253
Plastics are a huge class
of man-made materials.
323
00:16:04,254 --> 00:16:08,883
But unfortunately, many of the chemicals
added to plastic are toxic.
324
00:16:08,884 --> 00:16:10,677
{\an8}Including phthalates
325
00:16:10,678 --> 00:16:12,804
{\an8}and bisphenols.
326
00:16:12,805 --> 00:16:13,846
[pensive music playing]
327
00:16:13,847 --> 00:16:16,474
Phthalates make plastic soft and flexible.
328
00:16:16,475 --> 00:16:20,728
On the other hand, the bisphenols,
like BPA, make plastic hard,
329
00:16:20,729 --> 00:16:23,357
like a baby bottle or a water bottle.
330
00:16:23,941 --> 00:16:28,737
These are chemicals that we call
endocrine-disrupting chemicals.
331
00:16:29,697 --> 00:16:32,532
{\an8}When talking about endocrine,
we're referring to hormones.
332
00:16:32,533 --> 00:16:35,785
Hormones are our
natural signaling molecules.
333
00:16:35,786 --> 00:16:38,705
They're like text messages that we send
334
00:16:38,706 --> 00:16:42,751
from the brain to the heart or the kidney.
335
00:16:43,419 --> 00:16:48,924
Endocrine-disrupting chemicals
are known to hack these molecular signals.
336
00:16:49,633 --> 00:16:51,759
We have a robust body of evidence
337
00:16:51,760 --> 00:16:55,848
that these chemicals can contribute
to early heart attacks and stroke.
338
00:16:56,640 --> 00:17:00,101
You can have small shifts
in normal thyroid hormone function
339
00:17:00,102 --> 00:17:02,061
in the developing brains of young children
340
00:17:02,062 --> 00:17:04,022
that can produce autism,
341
00:17:04,023 --> 00:17:07,484
attention deficit disorder,
as well as cognitive deficits.
342
00:17:08,068 --> 00:17:11,779
At least 50 or so synthetic chemicals
are obesogens.
343
00:17:11,780 --> 00:17:14,533
Chemicals that literally make us fatter.
344
00:17:15,200 --> 00:17:18,202
Studies have shown that bisphenol A
345
00:17:18,203 --> 00:17:22,081
can actually reprogram the epigenome
346
00:17:22,082 --> 00:17:25,001
such that mice will get bigger.
347
00:17:25,002 --> 00:17:29,630
Those signals get passed
on four or even five generations
348
00:17:29,631 --> 00:17:31,799
down the family tree.
349
00:17:31,800 --> 00:17:35,344
[Landrigan] If a pregnant mother
is exposed to a toxic chemical,
350
00:17:35,345 --> 00:17:40,726
{\an8}she is exposing the reproductive organs
of three generations.
351
00:17:41,310 --> 00:17:43,728
So the mother
is obviously exposing herself.
352
00:17:43,729 --> 00:17:46,856
Then the toxic chemical
goes through to her baby.
353
00:17:46,857 --> 00:17:48,649
That's two generations.
354
00:17:48,650 --> 00:17:50,693
And then in the female child,
355
00:17:50,694 --> 00:17:56,532
the eggs are already forming
in the infant's ovaries even before birth.
356
00:17:56,533 --> 00:18:00,536
And therefore, the reproductive cells
of the third generation
357
00:18:00,537 --> 00:18:02,331
are exposed to the toxic chemical.
358
00:18:02,998 --> 00:18:05,666
You could describe this as toxic trespass.
359
00:18:05,667 --> 00:18:07,919
[McDonald] The thing about
endocrine-disrupting chemicals
360
00:18:07,920 --> 00:18:09,712
{\an8}is not just that they alter hormones,
361
00:18:09,713 --> 00:18:13,175
{\an8}but they also have
carcinogenic principles.
362
00:18:13,884 --> 00:18:17,054
- They are promoting the cell to divide.
- [ominous music playing]
363
00:18:17,805 --> 00:18:20,516
The faster your cells are proliferating,
364
00:18:21,308 --> 00:18:24,560
the faster and the more precise and quick
365
00:18:24,561 --> 00:18:28,941
your DNA repair system needs to be
to correct that.
366
00:18:29,608 --> 00:18:31,318
Sometimes, things don't get fixed.
367
00:18:31,902 --> 00:18:34,237
Now you have a mutation
368
00:18:34,238 --> 00:18:39,326
that has created the ability
of that cell to be carcinogenic.
369
00:18:40,160 --> 00:18:44,539
So now we're seeing
this rise in breast cancer,
370
00:18:44,540 --> 00:18:45,957
ovarian cancer,
371
00:18:45,958 --> 00:18:48,543
endometrial cancer, uterine cancer,
372
00:18:48,544 --> 00:18:51,129
and even prostate cancer.
373
00:18:51,130 --> 00:18:54,382
So it's important to understand
374
00:18:54,383 --> 00:18:58,302
you are disrupting your natural balance
375
00:18:58,303 --> 00:19:01,597
when you have these outside exposures
376
00:19:01,598 --> 00:19:04,892
that can "mimic" your own hormones.
377
00:19:04,893 --> 00:19:06,895
[music fades]
378
00:19:08,689 --> 00:19:13,359
[Swan] I feel very strongly
that it's a basic human right
379
00:19:13,360 --> 00:19:16,238
to have a child if you choose to.
380
00:19:17,573 --> 00:19:20,449
It's always been
extremely important to me.
381
00:19:20,450 --> 00:19:21,534
[tender music playing]
382
00:19:21,535 --> 00:19:25,539
I had my first child at 27,
then I had my son three years later.
383
00:19:26,165 --> 00:19:28,292
And then there was a gap.
384
00:19:29,626 --> 00:19:33,045
I began trying to conceive at an older age
385
00:19:33,046 --> 00:19:36,883
and had several miscarriages,
which were extremely painful.
386
00:19:36,884 --> 00:19:37,925
{\an8}[Naomi babbling]
387
00:19:37,926 --> 00:19:41,305
{\an8}[Swan] I was close to giving up,
but I kept on.
388
00:19:42,389 --> 00:19:45,850
And at 42, I gave birth again.
389
00:19:45,851 --> 00:19:49,520
So I have three wonderful children
and six grandchildren
390
00:19:49,521 --> 00:19:51,315
and one great-grandchild.
391
00:19:53,567 --> 00:19:56,110
Having the privilege to know her
392
00:19:56,111 --> 00:20:01,365
and see that continuity
and see our family in her
393
00:20:01,366 --> 00:20:04,076
and the joy that she brings
to all of us is just--
394
00:20:04,077 --> 00:20:06,037
I can't tell you. I'm almost in tears.
395
00:20:06,038 --> 00:20:08,457
It's so wonderful for me.
396
00:20:10,083 --> 00:20:14,630
And so it's important to me to help
people whose fertility is impaired.
397
00:20:15,672 --> 00:20:20,259
I think it is unethical, criminal,
398
00:20:20,260 --> 00:20:25,473
that chemicals in their environment
or other factors beyond their control
399
00:20:25,474 --> 00:20:26,934
can interfere with that right.
400
00:20:35,108 --> 00:20:37,526
[Darby] We've always known
that we want children.
401
00:20:37,527 --> 00:20:39,363
[hopeful music playing]
402
00:20:40,447 --> 00:20:43,658
[Jesse] Though we've created
a lot of problems here on this Earth,
403
00:20:43,659 --> 00:20:45,201
I do think kids are the future
404
00:20:45,202 --> 00:20:47,411
and they are kind of the answer
and the solution
405
00:20:47,412 --> 00:20:49,121
to a lot of these problems.
406
00:20:49,122 --> 00:20:51,165
[exhaling]
407
00:20:51,166 --> 00:20:53,835
I think there is a harmony
to be struck there.
408
00:20:58,882 --> 00:21:00,049
[Darby] My hope for them
409
00:21:00,050 --> 00:21:03,971
would be they would live
with minimal impact on the planet
410
00:21:04,763 --> 00:21:07,056
and caring for other people.
411
00:21:07,057 --> 00:21:09,267
[chickens clucking]
412
00:21:09,268 --> 00:21:11,270
{\an8}[hopeful music continues]
413
00:21:13,981 --> 00:21:15,524
{\an8}[dogs barking]
414
00:21:17,317 --> 00:21:21,071
{\an8}[Monique] We are trying to get pregnant
for about two years now.
415
00:21:22,781 --> 00:21:27,828
When we met, it was hard
because I was getting divorced.
416
00:21:29,746 --> 00:21:30,831
[Bruno] This weekend?
417
00:21:31,498 --> 00:21:34,793
[Monique] I didn't want
Cecilia to grow up alone.
418
00:21:36,003 --> 00:21:39,297
And I think now
we are with the right time,
419
00:21:39,298 --> 00:21:40,716
with the right person.
420
00:21:42,134 --> 00:21:44,803
It's just like a dream for both of us.
421
00:21:46,096 --> 00:21:50,809
And then Cecilia started asking
all the time, brother or sister.
422
00:21:51,518 --> 00:21:53,437
And we got the first dog.
423
00:21:54,021 --> 00:21:57,106
It was not enough,
and she asked for the other dog.
424
00:21:57,107 --> 00:22:01,153
[laughs] And hopefully,
we have a baby before the third dog.
425
00:22:01,737 --> 00:22:03,029
{\an8}[hopeful music continues]
426
00:22:03,030 --> 00:22:05,698
{\an8}[Eric] Baptism proclaims
the faith of the Church.
427
00:22:05,699 --> 00:22:08,827
{\an8}I baptize you in the name of the Father…
428
00:22:09,494 --> 00:22:11,370
- [laughs]
- And he doesn't like it.
429
00:22:11,371 --> 00:22:12,456
…of the Son,
430
00:22:13,498 --> 00:22:15,708
and of the Holy Spirit.
431
00:22:15,709 --> 00:22:16,960
Sorry.
432
00:22:17,669 --> 00:22:19,754
I've always wanted to have
a family of my own
433
00:22:19,755 --> 00:22:21,547
that's really peaceful and wonderful.
434
00:22:21,548 --> 00:22:24,508
I had amazing grandparents
and an amazing mother.
435
00:22:24,509 --> 00:22:27,346
Um, and there's a piece of that
that's kind of missing,
436
00:22:27,971 --> 00:22:30,849
and always was missing,
so I want it to be that for this child.
437
00:22:31,516 --> 00:22:34,727
And I think that's why
I'll be so disappointed
438
00:22:34,728 --> 00:22:36,562
if we never have a baby.
439
00:22:36,563 --> 00:22:39,065
Just-- I want to see
a little version of you.
440
00:22:39,066 --> 00:22:40,649
I think it'd be so cool.
441
00:22:40,650 --> 00:22:44,321
I think you'd be the best mom ever.
And I really want to see that for you.
442
00:22:44,821 --> 00:22:47,448
- Like, I really want to see that for you.
- Sorry.
443
00:22:47,449 --> 00:22:48,408
You know?
444
00:22:49,910 --> 00:22:51,911
Yeah. Okay, I'm good.
445
00:22:51,912 --> 00:22:53,120
Yeah, I'm good.
446
00:22:53,121 --> 00:22:55,123
[music fades]
447
00:22:57,709 --> 00:23:02,339
[Darby] My fertility routines
have really grown over the last two years.
448
00:23:03,382 --> 00:23:07,259
We want to get pregnant,
and I will do what I can do.
449
00:23:07,260 --> 00:23:09,388
So you take all of these every day?
450
00:23:10,305 --> 00:23:11,931
- Every morning.
- Every morning?
451
00:23:11,932 --> 00:23:13,015
Yeah, actually.
452
00:23:13,016 --> 00:23:17,728
We have unexplained infertility.
There's nothing "wrong with me."
453
00:23:17,729 --> 00:23:20,398
I check my pH every morning…
454
00:23:20,399 --> 00:23:22,983
I've been looking
at what's right for my body
455
00:23:22,984 --> 00:23:25,569
based on blood testing
and hormone testing.
456
00:23:25,570 --> 00:23:28,239
- [Swan] What is this?
- [Darby] To make sure my body's healthy.
457
00:23:28,240 --> 00:23:30,866
So this is when I would have ovulated,
released the egg,
458
00:23:30,867 --> 00:23:33,285
and then they're looking
for my progesterone to rise
459
00:23:33,286 --> 00:23:34,620
four to five days after.
460
00:23:34,621 --> 00:23:37,957
It's a really nice way to be able
to track my hormones every day.
461
00:23:37,958 --> 00:23:40,042
Many of the specialists we've seen
462
00:23:40,043 --> 00:23:44,338
have had very narrow scopes of practice,
um, so they're not interested.
463
00:23:44,339 --> 00:23:48,801
And when I tell them, "Oh, I'm trying
to mitigate my endocrine disruption,"
464
00:23:48,802 --> 00:23:51,262
they say, "What does that mean?"
465
00:23:51,263 --> 00:23:53,222
"Here, take this time-release capsule."
466
00:23:53,223 --> 00:23:55,891
Right? And time-release capsules
have plastics in them.
467
00:23:55,892 --> 00:23:58,853
Do you use that to time your intercourse?
468
00:23:58,854 --> 00:24:01,647
Um, we just have sex all the time, Shanna.
469
00:24:01,648 --> 00:24:04,275
[laughing]
470
00:24:04,276 --> 00:24:08,446
To know that
there's these environmental factors
471
00:24:08,447 --> 00:24:11,365
that are in the world
that are harming my chances
472
00:24:11,366 --> 00:24:16,287
and taking away
my choice for parenthood is, um…
473
00:24:16,288 --> 00:24:19,165
- It's so overwhelming.
- Yeah, you don't really get a choice.
474
00:24:19,166 --> 00:24:20,583
I don't think anyone does anymore.
475
00:24:20,584 --> 00:24:22,209
- No.
- Because it's in the water.
476
00:24:22,210 --> 00:24:24,295
It's in the air. It's in the soil.
477
00:24:24,296 --> 00:24:26,964
I mean, is it daunting
and overwhelming? Absolutely.
478
00:24:26,965 --> 00:24:28,382
[lively pensive music playing]
479
00:24:28,383 --> 00:24:31,343
[Swan] So how did we get to this place
480
00:24:31,344 --> 00:24:35,182
where we're all surrounded
by toxic chemicals in our homes,
481
00:24:36,349 --> 00:24:37,559
in our stores,
482
00:24:38,935 --> 00:24:41,062
and all throughout the environment?
483
00:24:41,938 --> 00:24:44,106
How does that even happen?
484
00:24:44,107 --> 00:24:46,109
[music fades]
485
00:24:47,027 --> 00:24:50,613
{\an8}120, 130 years ago,
486
00:24:50,614 --> 00:24:52,657
{\an8}most plastics were plant-based.
487
00:24:53,325 --> 00:24:55,576
And then in the early 1900s,
488
00:24:55,577 --> 00:25:00,372
the petroleum industry discovered
polyethylene, polypropylene,
489
00:25:00,373 --> 00:25:03,209
polyethylene terephthalamide, polystyrene.
490
00:25:03,210 --> 00:25:05,878
[male narrator] Reactors
and fractionating columns
491
00:25:05,879 --> 00:25:08,756
crack and reform the oil's molecules,
492
00:25:08,757 --> 00:25:11,967
turning them into new liquids,
gases, granules.
493
00:25:11,968 --> 00:25:14,136
[Warner] When you pump the oil
out of the ground,
494
00:25:14,137 --> 00:25:17,097
they separate it into a whole bunch
of different components.
495
00:25:17,098 --> 00:25:20,476
One of those components
turns into what we now see
496
00:25:20,477 --> 00:25:22,186
as the petroleum-based plastics.
497
00:25:22,187 --> 00:25:23,395
[pensive music playing]
498
00:25:23,396 --> 00:25:28,484
These inexpensive,
lightweight materials were so ubiquitous
499
00:25:28,485 --> 00:25:32,863
that people just went crazy inventing
all different things to do with it.
500
00:25:32,864 --> 00:25:37,077
It's a remarkable
new polyester film called Mylar.
501
00:25:38,245 --> 00:25:39,703
Can you tear it?
502
00:25:39,704 --> 00:25:41,789
It's almost impossible.
503
00:25:41,790 --> 00:25:44,208
[Swan] Scientists could do no harm, right?
504
00:25:44,209 --> 00:25:47,169
- It was a love affair with plastic.
- [music fades]
505
00:25:47,170 --> 00:25:50,798
And it wasn't till quite a lot later
506
00:25:50,799 --> 00:25:53,884
that we realized there was a cost to this.
507
00:25:53,885 --> 00:25:55,887
[ominous music playing]
508
00:25:56,471 --> 00:25:59,014
[Landrigan] Global manufacturing
of chemicals and plastics
509
00:25:59,015 --> 00:26:01,225
is increasing very rapidly,
510
00:26:01,226 --> 00:26:03,686
about three
to three and a half percent per year,
511
00:26:03,687 --> 00:26:06,313
which means if we continue
on the present course,
512
00:26:06,314 --> 00:26:10,609
we will have twice as much plastic
in the world by 2040 or 2050
513
00:26:10,610 --> 00:26:12,237
as we have today.
514
00:26:13,238 --> 00:26:14,363
And at the same time,
515
00:26:14,364 --> 00:26:18,076
{\an8}we live in a world that is awash
in manufactured chemicals.
516
00:26:19,035 --> 00:26:21,036
Since about 1950,
517
00:26:21,037 --> 00:26:26,667
at least 100,000 manufactured chemicals
have been developed.
518
00:26:26,668 --> 00:26:29,545
In many cases,
they've never been tested for toxicity,
519
00:26:29,546 --> 00:26:31,590
{\an8}and so we don't know what they're doing.
520
00:26:33,925 --> 00:26:37,928
It means that we're conducting
a vast toxicological experiment
521
00:26:37,929 --> 00:26:40,639
in which our children
and our children's children
522
00:26:40,640 --> 00:26:43,143
are the subjects without their consent.
523
00:26:44,519 --> 00:26:45,728
[Swan] It's really scary
524
00:26:45,729 --> 00:26:49,858
because we don't even know
the extent of this exposure.
525
00:26:50,650 --> 00:26:53,527
How does that get there?
And what is it doing?
526
00:26:53,528 --> 00:26:55,779
We're finding out,
and it doesn't look good.
527
00:26:55,780 --> 00:26:56,780
[music fades]
528
00:26:56,781 --> 00:27:00,159
{\an8}Recently, the Environmental
Protection Agency, EPA,
529
00:27:00,160 --> 00:27:02,786
{\an8}put phthalates
on a list of chemicals that,
530
00:27:02,787 --> 00:27:06,875
"may present a risk
to the environment or human health."
531
00:27:07,459 --> 00:27:12,421
Congress came under pressure to act
because of a study by Dr. Shanna Swan.
532
00:27:12,422 --> 00:27:16,884
Dr. Swan compared the levels
of phthalates in a group of pregnant women
533
00:27:16,885 --> 00:27:20,304
with the health of the baby boys
they gave birth to.
534
00:27:20,305 --> 00:27:23,515
Did you find that the higher
the level of phthalates
535
00:27:23,516 --> 00:27:26,268
in the mother's urine during pregnancy,
536
00:27:26,269 --> 00:27:28,937
the greater the problems
in the young boys?
537
00:27:28,938 --> 00:27:31,273
- Yes.
- What did you find in the babies?
538
00:27:31,274 --> 00:27:34,401
We found that the baby boys were,
539
00:27:34,402 --> 00:27:38,238
in several subtle ways,
less completely masculine.
540
00:27:38,239 --> 00:27:39,823
[ominous music playing]
541
00:27:39,824 --> 00:27:45,663
The male genital tract requires
testosterone in this critical window
542
00:27:45,664 --> 00:27:47,581
at a certain amount
543
00:27:47,582 --> 00:27:51,126
to kick off what we call
the differentiation
544
00:27:51,127 --> 00:27:54,714
of the male and female reproductive tract.
545
00:27:55,298 --> 00:27:57,633
What would be the ovaries in the female
546
00:27:57,634 --> 00:27:59,969
becomes, for example,
the testes in the male.
547
00:28:00,679 --> 00:28:05,557
When phthalates come in there,
that testosterone is damped down,
548
00:28:05,558 --> 00:28:09,812
{\an8}and that male fetus doesn't
get that signal at the right time.
549
00:28:09,813 --> 00:28:14,692
Consequently, he doesn't
develop the male typical genitals,
550
00:28:14,693 --> 00:28:16,193
or maybe not quite.
551
00:28:16,194 --> 00:28:20,030
That is what's known
as the phthalate syndrome.
552
00:28:20,031 --> 00:28:22,074
It's pretty special
553
00:28:22,075 --> 00:28:26,079
because there aren't other
syndromes named after chemicals.
554
00:28:27,706 --> 00:28:28,914
Okay.
555
00:28:28,915 --> 00:28:34,838
So anogenital distance is a distance
from the anus to the genitals.
556
00:28:35,630 --> 00:28:38,550
And we measure it with these calipers.
557
00:28:39,467 --> 00:28:42,970
Now, Willy is much more agreeable
than a lot of babies…
558
00:28:42,971 --> 00:28:45,639
[laughs] …so it's very easy.
559
00:28:45,640 --> 00:28:49,184
Doing this with real babies
is more challenging.
560
00:28:49,185 --> 00:28:51,019
- [pensive music playing]
- [indistinct chatter]
561
00:28:51,020 --> 00:28:55,023
So what we do is we pull their knees back,
562
00:28:55,024 --> 00:28:58,611
which actually, um,
stretches the area a little bit.
563
00:28:59,863 --> 00:29:04,241
{\an8}And what we do is we just find the anus.
564
00:29:04,242 --> 00:29:06,452
Right? We'll put one side…
565
00:29:06,453 --> 00:29:08,996
- [laughing]
- Oh my God. [laughs]
566
00:29:08,997 --> 00:29:10,831
[Shantal] That is so great.
567
00:29:10,832 --> 00:29:15,586
{\an8}[Swan] This number in a female
would be 50 to 100 percent less.
568
00:29:15,587 --> 00:29:16,962
{\an8}And why is that?
569
00:29:16,963 --> 00:29:18,922
Look at the stuff that has to go in here.
570
00:29:18,923 --> 00:29:20,174
{\an8}[Erik] The equipment, yeah.
571
00:29:20,175 --> 00:29:22,342
[Swan] Yeah, all the equipment in there.
It is amaz--
572
00:29:22,343 --> 00:29:24,970
This measurement is the…
573
00:29:24,971 --> 00:29:27,222
what we call the anal scrotal.
574
00:29:27,223 --> 00:29:29,057
This is the scrotum.
575
00:29:29,058 --> 00:29:31,561
We're measuring gooches.
We're doing science.
576
00:29:32,228 --> 00:29:35,022
[Swan] Boys who had symptoms
of the phthalate syndrome
577
00:29:35,023 --> 00:29:37,649
had a shorter anogenital distance,
578
00:29:37,650 --> 00:29:40,527
which means the male
was somewhat less masculine
579
00:29:40,528 --> 00:29:42,154
{\an8}or perhaps more feminized.
580
00:29:42,155 --> 00:29:47,534
{\an8}So they have a somewhat smaller penis,
more likely to have undescended testicles.
581
00:29:47,535 --> 00:29:50,746
{\an8}It was quite striking seeing the effect
582
00:29:50,747 --> 00:29:53,624
of powerful endocrine-disrupting chemicals
583
00:29:53,625 --> 00:29:55,667
on the development of male genitals.
584
00:29:55,668 --> 00:29:57,961
[pensive music playing]
585
00:29:57,962 --> 00:30:00,464
And then the question becomes,
586
00:30:00,465 --> 00:30:02,591
does it matter for his health?
587
00:30:02,592 --> 00:30:04,551
That's the key question here.
588
00:30:04,552 --> 00:30:09,515
And, by the way,
is it related to his later function?
589
00:30:09,516 --> 00:30:12,977
For example, his production of sperm
or his fertility?
590
00:30:13,978 --> 00:30:17,564
What we found
was a direct linear relationship.
591
00:30:17,565 --> 00:30:21,653
Longer anogenital distance,
higher sperm count. Very clear.
592
00:30:22,195 --> 00:30:24,905
This was really important
because it says those little changes
593
00:30:24,906 --> 00:30:28,909
that you hardly see at birth
actually play out during your lifespan
594
00:30:28,910 --> 00:30:31,454
in terms of your reproductive success.
595
00:30:34,707 --> 00:30:37,835
{\an8}There's something
which is very key to my research,
596
00:30:37,836 --> 00:30:40,254
{\an8}which is something you might know
by the name of the taint.
597
00:30:40,255 --> 00:30:42,130
That's not really a technical term, is it?
598
00:30:42,131 --> 00:30:44,091
Or the gooch or the grundle.
599
00:30:44,092 --> 00:30:46,385
- The gooch? I've never--
- [man] Also known as the gooch.
600
00:30:46,386 --> 00:30:47,970
- You know about the gooch?
- [man] Yeah.
601
00:30:47,971 --> 00:30:52,432
[Swan] Most scientific findings
are lost to the general public.
602
00:30:52,433 --> 00:30:55,394
There's a little bit of news about it,
and they're gone.
603
00:30:55,395 --> 00:30:57,938
It's got to be
pretty disturbing to be the--
604
00:30:57,939 --> 00:31:00,358
You're the Paul Revere
of tiny testicles and taints.
605
00:31:01,109 --> 00:31:04,820
[man] Penis sizes are shrinking,
which you might have seen from headlines…
606
00:31:04,821 --> 00:31:08,073
{\an8}There's been a huge decline
in fertility rates among men.
607
00:31:08,074 --> 00:31:11,535
We may have a future where men
do not have enough sperm to reproduce.
608
00:31:11,536 --> 00:31:14,162
{\an8}Did you know phthalates
found in fragrances…
609
00:31:14,163 --> 00:31:17,916
{\an8}[Swan] What surprised me
was the reception of the media
610
00:31:17,917 --> 00:31:20,919
and the public
to the message I was putting out.
611
00:31:20,920 --> 00:31:23,755
It's so sad because
so many people don't know
612
00:31:23,756 --> 00:31:27,009
{\an8}that these products
and toxins are harming them.
613
00:31:27,010 --> 00:31:29,803
{\an8}[Swan] People were really
kind of hungry for this information.
614
00:31:29,804 --> 00:31:33,056
{\an8}Babies are being exposed
to microplastics in utero.
615
00:31:33,057 --> 00:31:37,311
[Swan] I think in part
because phthalates are in everybody.
616
00:31:37,312 --> 00:31:39,897
This is not just an American problem.
617
00:31:39,898 --> 00:31:42,400
We're seeing these issues
all across the world.
618
00:31:43,860 --> 00:31:45,862
{\an8}[lilting Italian folk music playing]
619
00:31:50,867 --> 00:31:53,077
[music turns pensive]
620
00:32:03,546 --> 00:32:09,593
[Ragusa] I chose to be an obstetrician
because everything begins at birth.
621
00:32:09,594 --> 00:32:11,346
[medical devices beeping]
622
00:32:12,472 --> 00:32:15,474
Every time a child is born,
623
00:32:15,475 --> 00:32:19,519
it's a new world
that opens up on the horizon.
624
00:32:19,520 --> 00:32:20,730
Ciao.
625
00:32:22,565 --> 00:32:24,358
[woman in Italian] Push hard.
626
00:32:24,359 --> 00:32:28,947
Very good, very good. Very good.
627
00:32:29,906 --> 00:32:33,450
[Ragusa in English] The moment
when you see your son or daughter
628
00:32:33,451 --> 00:32:34,993
for the first time,
629
00:32:34,994 --> 00:32:40,540
all the neurotransmitters
inside your head, inside your body,
630
00:32:40,541 --> 00:32:45,630
in fraction of a second,
when you see your child, they change.
631
00:32:46,631 --> 00:32:48,256
It's an explosion.
632
00:32:48,257 --> 00:32:50,259
[groaning]
633
00:32:53,513 --> 00:32:54,721
[woman in Italian] My God.
634
00:32:54,722 --> 00:32:56,307
Congrats, Vane.
635
00:32:58,101 --> 00:32:59,643
[baby crying]
636
00:32:59,644 --> 00:33:02,771
My love.
637
00:33:02,772 --> 00:33:04,398
He looks like his father, once again.
638
00:33:04,399 --> 00:33:06,441
[all laugh]
639
00:33:06,442 --> 00:33:09,612
[Ragusa in English]
Everything is concluded in a single word.
640
00:33:10,530 --> 00:33:12,155
Ciao. Hey.
641
00:33:12,156 --> 00:33:13,365
[Ragusa] Joy.
642
00:33:13,366 --> 00:33:14,282
[crying]
643
00:33:14,283 --> 00:33:16,369
[in Italian] Yes, love. Hello.
644
00:33:18,329 --> 00:33:20,331
[chattering in Italian]
645
00:33:22,166 --> 00:33:24,168
[tender music playing]
646
00:33:25,962 --> 00:33:30,882
[Ragusa in English] When I first
saw plastic inside the human placenta,
647
00:33:30,883 --> 00:33:32,510
I didn't feel joy.
648
00:33:33,052 --> 00:33:34,970
Quite the opposite.
649
00:33:34,971 --> 00:33:36,973
[ominous music playing]
650
00:33:37,974 --> 00:33:41,227
We asked mothers
to donate their placentas,
651
00:33:41,811 --> 00:33:46,107
being careful
not to corrupt them with plastic.
652
00:33:54,157 --> 00:33:56,159
[ominous music continues]
653
00:33:57,410 --> 00:33:59,411
- [in Italian] Can you show me?
- [woman] Of course.
654
00:33:59,412 --> 00:34:01,997
[man] Yes. We have some good results.
655
00:34:01,998 --> 00:34:05,042
In my opinion,
we found something interesting.
656
00:34:05,043 --> 00:34:07,044
We found this object.
657
00:34:07,045 --> 00:34:09,755
We see that it has multiple layers,
658
00:34:09,756 --> 00:34:14,010
like other microplastics described.
659
00:34:14,719 --> 00:34:16,970
[Ragusa in English]
We analyzed the samples
660
00:34:16,971 --> 00:34:20,766
and in some of them
we found microplastics.
661
00:34:20,767 --> 00:34:24,144
And we found various types of plastics.
662
00:34:24,145 --> 00:34:27,147
Polypropylene, polyethylene and so on.
663
00:34:27,148 --> 00:34:28,566
[in Italian] Have a seat.
664
00:34:30,568 --> 00:34:34,446
[Ragusa in English] We thought,
"If microplastics are in the placenta,
665
00:34:34,447 --> 00:34:38,575
perhaps they are in other places as well."
666
00:34:38,576 --> 00:34:42,497
[nurse in Italian]
The movement is this and this.
667
00:34:43,247 --> 00:34:46,084
[Ragusa in English]
We asked mothers to donate milk.
668
00:34:46,751 --> 00:34:48,002
[in Italian] Excellent.
669
00:34:48,920 --> 00:34:52,090
[Ragusa in English]
And we saw that in many of these samples,
670
00:34:52,965 --> 00:34:54,383
there are plastics.
671
00:34:55,093 --> 00:34:57,469
- [ominous music continues]
- [speaking indistinctly]
672
00:34:57,470 --> 00:35:00,056
[Swan] Plastics are in everybody.
673
00:35:01,516 --> 00:35:03,643
I mean, that's really scary.
674
00:35:04,685 --> 00:35:07,271
[ominous music playing]
675
00:35:15,113 --> 00:35:18,824
I would say the approach of industry
is to ignore the problem,
676
00:35:18,825 --> 00:35:20,826
to make more of these chemicals,
677
00:35:20,827 --> 00:35:24,330
to put more of them into plastic,
and increase production.
678
00:35:26,457 --> 00:35:31,002
No company is going to change
making a product willingly
679
00:35:31,003 --> 00:35:33,588
if it's going to affect their bottom line.
680
00:35:33,589 --> 00:35:34,966
That's the reality.
681
00:35:38,511 --> 00:35:43,598
So just as I won't stop
talking about the harms that I see,
682
00:35:43,599 --> 00:35:48,436
they are not going to stop
following what they feel is their duty,
683
00:35:48,437 --> 00:35:51,899
which is, I guess,
to protect the value of their stocks.
684
00:35:53,067 --> 00:35:54,484
We have different goals.
685
00:35:54,485 --> 00:35:56,862
[woman 1 on TV] After a decade
of planning and construction,
686
00:35:56,863 --> 00:36:00,532
Shell's cracker plant
in Beaver County is finally about to open.
687
00:36:00,533 --> 00:36:01,950
[woman 2] In the course of a year,
688
00:36:01,951 --> 00:36:05,996
the plant will produce
3.5 billion pounds of plastic pellets.
689
00:36:05,997 --> 00:36:07,998
[man 1] In its short span of operations,
690
00:36:07,999 --> 00:36:11,209
the multibillion-dollar
Shell cracker plant
691
00:36:11,210 --> 00:36:12,794
has been beset with problems.
692
00:36:12,795 --> 00:36:14,754
[man 2] According to Shell's own data,
693
00:36:14,755 --> 00:36:17,716
the malfunction resulted
in elevated levels of benzene,
694
00:36:17,717 --> 00:36:20,552
a colorless chemical
that can cause cancer.
695
00:36:20,553 --> 00:36:23,180
[Salter] The EPA knows
that toxic petrochemical facilities
696
00:36:23,181 --> 00:36:26,766
{\an8}are some of the most toxic
polluting facilities in the world…
697
00:36:26,767 --> 00:36:28,143
{\an8}I'm trying to give you the floor.
698
00:36:28,144 --> 00:36:30,187
{\an8}…and are killing Black people
throughout Louisiana.
699
00:36:30,188 --> 00:36:32,189
{\an8}Everything you have,
700
00:36:32,190 --> 00:36:34,941
{\an8}your clothes, your glasses,
the car you got here on,
701
00:36:34,942 --> 00:36:38,987
{\an8}your phone, everything you've got
is petrochemical products.
702
00:36:38,988 --> 00:36:40,530
What would you do with that?
703
00:36:40,531 --> 00:36:45,953
To know how people are making chemicals
with absolutely no regard
704
00:36:46,662 --> 00:36:48,330
to their impact on human health,
705
00:36:48,331 --> 00:36:50,123
it makes me extremely angry
706
00:36:50,124 --> 00:36:51,959
and want to fight,
and that's why I'm fighting.
707
00:36:55,421 --> 00:36:57,881
{\an8}Tell me some of the changes you've made,
708
00:36:57,882 --> 00:37:01,384
both what you eat and how you handle food.
709
00:37:01,385 --> 00:37:04,262
{\an8}- We do eat out a lot less than we were.
- Oh, yeah.
710
00:37:04,263 --> 00:37:06,514
{\an8}The study can feel daunting.
711
00:37:06,515 --> 00:37:09,517
{\an8}Plastics are so pervasive.
They're everywhere.
712
00:37:09,518 --> 00:37:11,729
And the question then becomes, "Well…
713
00:37:12,396 --> 00:37:16,191
boy, can I even make any changes
that are going to make a difference?"
714
00:37:16,192 --> 00:37:17,275
So, like…
715
00:37:17,276 --> 00:37:19,361
But I think having
Shanna here has been great
716
00:37:19,362 --> 00:37:23,365
because she's been able to guide as far as
what are some alternatives we can do?
717
00:37:23,366 --> 00:37:27,869
And maybe we can't get rid of everything,
but here are a few key areas that we can.
718
00:37:27,870 --> 00:37:30,538
At least reduce
and see if that'll make a difference.
719
00:37:30,539 --> 00:37:33,917
Of course, we'll always
be a little sad if nothing comes of it,
720
00:37:33,918 --> 00:37:35,585
but you don't know until you try.
721
00:37:35,586 --> 00:37:37,837
You've got to give it a shot,
see what happens.
722
00:37:37,838 --> 00:37:39,089
[pensive music playing]
723
00:37:39,090 --> 00:37:41,967
One way that I've tried
to reduce my plastics exposure
724
00:37:41,968 --> 00:37:45,387
is by wearing more sustainable clothing
with natural fibers.
725
00:37:45,388 --> 00:37:47,305
That's really hard to find.
726
00:37:47,306 --> 00:37:49,432
I saw the paper, and I was really excited.
727
00:37:49,433 --> 00:37:52,852
I thought they had plastic-free
shipping materials.
728
00:37:52,853 --> 00:37:54,813
But they don't.
These are all wrapped in plastic.
729
00:37:54,814 --> 00:37:59,026
"95% micromodal, 5% elastane."
730
00:37:59,527 --> 00:38:01,528
I have no idea what any of that means.
731
00:38:01,529 --> 00:38:06,700
"88% polyester recycled, 12% elastane."
732
00:38:06,701 --> 00:38:07,701
So, yeah.
733
00:38:07,702 --> 00:38:10,328
This is cotton, 100% organic cotton.
734
00:38:10,329 --> 00:38:13,540
So yay, um, one out of three.
735
00:38:13,541 --> 00:38:14,749
Yay, let's try it.
736
00:38:14,750 --> 00:38:16,877
[music fades]
737
00:38:24,593 --> 00:38:26,594
[Wendt] Your skin is your largest organ,
738
00:38:26,595 --> 00:38:30,558
and it can absorb over 60%
of the chemicals that are put on it.
739
00:38:31,642 --> 00:38:35,812
These toxins that are part
of our dye and our fabric
740
00:38:35,813 --> 00:38:38,189
are being absorbed into our skin,
741
00:38:38,190 --> 00:38:41,651
so it's going to shorten
our lives and our fertility.
742
00:38:41,652 --> 00:38:44,029
{\an8}[hopeful music playing]
743
00:38:44,030 --> 00:38:46,281
{\an8}I am a natural fashion designer,
744
00:38:46,282 --> 00:38:49,618
{\an8}and I began in the fashion industry
as a fashion model.
745
00:38:50,494 --> 00:38:54,414
I did a lot of street wear,
body wear, beauty.
746
00:38:54,415 --> 00:38:56,666
It definitely taught me something.
747
00:38:56,667 --> 00:39:00,628
Everything is about the drape
of the fabric and the fit of the garment.
748
00:39:00,629 --> 00:39:04,716
So as a model, I actually knew
how a garment should fit
749
00:39:04,717 --> 00:39:07,970
before I ended up
working in the industry for designers.
750
00:39:09,347 --> 00:39:13,767
{\an8}I worked with Calvin Klein
and Jones New York, Perry Ellis America.
751
00:39:13,768 --> 00:39:16,437
Then I moved into private label design.
752
00:39:16,937 --> 00:39:20,732
Those large department stores would love
the designs that we would create,
753
00:39:20,733 --> 00:39:22,901
but then they would say
it's way too expensive.
754
00:39:22,902 --> 00:39:25,904
A lot of companies
are skimping on quality.
755
00:39:25,905 --> 00:39:27,989
[Wendt] And so we would
have to pull pennies
756
00:39:27,990 --> 00:39:29,783
out of every step of the supply chain
757
00:39:29,784 --> 00:39:31,659
so that we could meet their prices.
758
00:39:31,660 --> 00:39:35,246
[man] At prices like these, it can be
more expensive to clean your clothes
759
00:39:35,247 --> 00:39:38,500
than it is to throw away
your dirty clothes and buy all new ones.
760
00:39:38,501 --> 00:39:43,505
[Wendt] We would substitute acrylic
for wool, polyester for cotton,
761
00:39:43,506 --> 00:39:47,133
nylon for silk, and spandex for rubber.
762
00:39:47,134 --> 00:39:51,054
And what I didn't realize then
was that all those substitute fibers
763
00:39:51,055 --> 00:39:53,473
are plastic and endocrine disruptors.
764
00:39:53,474 --> 00:39:58,521
By 2030, 70% of all fibers
and therefore fabrics
765
00:39:59,397 --> 00:40:02,816
are projected to be from plastic.
766
00:40:02,817 --> 00:40:04,276
[pensive music playing]
767
00:40:07,780 --> 00:40:09,030
[music fades]
768
00:40:09,031 --> 00:40:12,200
[Wendt] When I was raising my two kids
769
00:40:12,201 --> 00:40:16,329
and weaning my second
off of breastfeeding,
770
00:40:16,330 --> 00:40:20,500
I discovered a lump,
and it was breast cancer.
771
00:40:20,501 --> 00:40:22,043
[unsettling music playing]
772
00:40:22,044 --> 00:40:25,840
I was told it was a rapidly growing,
pretty aggressive cancer.
773
00:40:26,549 --> 00:40:32,012
It was very difficult for me to accept
taking chemotherapy, which is a toxin.
774
00:40:32,513 --> 00:40:33,722
But I did it.
775
00:40:34,598 --> 00:40:38,519
They then told me I had to do
a heavy round of radiation.
776
00:40:40,020 --> 00:40:43,899
So I asked if I could just do
a double mastectomy instead.
777
00:40:45,609 --> 00:40:46,485
So…
778
00:40:47,069 --> 00:40:51,198
um, yeah, the cancer
took my breasts and my fertility.
779
00:40:52,867 --> 00:40:56,829
A few years later, I founded this company
and did a photo shoot.
780
00:40:58,456 --> 00:41:00,206
There were nine women,
781
00:41:00,207 --> 00:41:04,086
and one had just done
a topless photo for us.
782
00:41:05,129 --> 00:41:08,631
Across her chest it said,
"Fuck breast cancer."
783
00:41:08,632 --> 00:41:10,342
I said, "Well, I had breast cancer."
784
00:41:11,552 --> 00:41:15,848
We realized that out of nine women,
three of us had breast cancer.
785
00:41:16,765 --> 00:41:19,685
That was a little bit
of a flame underneath me.
786
00:41:20,352 --> 00:41:22,812
I thought if we create healthy clothing,
787
00:41:22,813 --> 00:41:25,774
maybe we can heal,
in some way, the industry.
788
00:41:26,942 --> 00:41:30,862
Hello, and welcome back to my channel.
We're doing another "best of."
789
00:41:30,863 --> 00:41:33,323
{\an8}I'm going to be sharing
my top ten hair care favorites.
790
00:41:33,324 --> 00:41:36,284
Because, yes, I have found the secret.
791
00:41:36,285 --> 00:41:39,204
[McDonald] We have routines as humans,
792
00:41:39,205 --> 00:41:44,709
and routines create routine exposures.
793
00:41:44,710 --> 00:41:47,670
Have you ever walked around
the personal care section of a store
794
00:41:47,671 --> 00:41:50,673
and looked at the ingredients
in the products you put on your skin
795
00:41:50,674 --> 00:41:51,842
and on your body every day?
796
00:41:52,426 --> 00:41:54,302
[McDonald] Personal care products
797
00:41:54,303 --> 00:41:58,640
and makeup contain
endocrine-disruptor chemicals.
798
00:41:58,641 --> 00:42:00,517
{\an8}Formaldehyde, PFASs,
799
00:42:00,518 --> 00:42:02,977
{\an8}which are also used in flame retardants,
800
00:42:02,978 --> 00:42:05,647
phthalates, xenoestrogens, sulfates,
801
00:42:05,648 --> 00:42:08,066
triclosan, EDTA, parabens…
802
00:42:08,067 --> 00:42:12,947
[McDonald] All of these chemicals
are added to enhance the product.
803
00:42:13,656 --> 00:42:16,616
You see phthalates added in hairspray
804
00:42:16,617 --> 00:42:20,162
because it helps
with the flexibility of the hair.
805
00:42:21,205 --> 00:42:24,999
It's also added because
it helps the product smell good.
806
00:42:25,000 --> 00:42:27,545
It's part of the ingredients for scent.
807
00:42:28,254 --> 00:42:32,341
But these chemicals
that are added to enhance the product,
808
00:42:33,175 --> 00:42:36,553
actually adversely affect our health.
809
00:42:36,554 --> 00:42:38,012
[pensive music playing]
810
00:42:38,013 --> 00:42:42,141
My research found that the earlier age
811
00:42:42,142 --> 00:42:45,103
that women started using hair products,
812
00:42:45,104 --> 00:42:48,815
the earlier the age they had their period.
813
00:42:48,816 --> 00:42:51,442
{\an8}Girls in America
are reaching puberty earlier.
814
00:42:51,443 --> 00:42:55,029
The percentage of girls
getting their period before the age of 11
815
00:42:55,030 --> 00:42:58,534
almost doubled from about
eight and a half to fifteen and a half.
816
00:42:59,577 --> 00:43:02,495
[McDonald] Having your period early
817
00:43:02,496 --> 00:43:04,998
is a risk factor for breast cancer.
818
00:43:04,999 --> 00:43:07,792
{\an8}Increased risk
of breast cancer, uterine cancer,
819
00:43:07,793 --> 00:43:11,547
{\an8}again, because there's more time that
they're subjected to the hormone estrogen.
820
00:43:12,590 --> 00:43:16,259
[McDonald] The fact of the matter
is that certain populations
821
00:43:16,260 --> 00:43:20,346
are more exposed to environmental toxins.
822
00:43:20,347 --> 00:43:24,225
Research shows that Black girls are more
than twice as likely as white girls
823
00:43:24,226 --> 00:43:26,144
to start their puberty early.
824
00:43:26,145 --> 00:43:29,647
Black women have
the highest rate of breast cancer,
825
00:43:29,648 --> 00:43:31,941
fibroids, obesity.
826
00:43:31,942 --> 00:43:36,904
This correlation has been
linked to toxic ingredients
827
00:43:36,905 --> 00:43:39,407
in their beauty products that they use.
828
00:43:39,408 --> 00:43:42,285
Some groups are more exposed than others,
829
00:43:42,286 --> 00:43:44,663
but we're all exposed.
830
00:43:49,835 --> 00:43:52,171
[poignant music playing]
831
00:43:57,926 --> 00:44:02,972
{\an8}Here in Louisiana, they let industry,
in particular the fossil fuel industry,
832
00:44:02,973 --> 00:44:06,101
{\an8}just build there and build
and build and build and build.
833
00:44:07,561 --> 00:44:10,730
You have these communities
that are completely surrounded
834
00:44:10,731 --> 00:44:12,940
by the fossil fuel industry.
835
00:44:12,941 --> 00:44:14,776
[woman 1 on TV]
A stretch of land in Louisiana
836
00:44:14,777 --> 00:44:17,403
that used to be known
as plantation country,
837
00:44:17,404 --> 00:44:20,406
residents whose ancestors
have lived here for generations
838
00:44:20,407 --> 00:44:22,117
are now fighting for clean air.
839
00:44:22,701 --> 00:44:27,456
[woman 2] Community after community,
all surrounded by industrial plants.
840
00:44:29,750 --> 00:44:33,294
{\an8}[Yearwood] Petrochemical industry
impacts people of color
841
00:44:33,295 --> 00:44:35,756
{\an8}from a location standpoint.
842
00:44:36,465 --> 00:44:39,884
In this country, 68% of Black people
843
00:44:39,885 --> 00:44:42,804
live within 30 miles
of a coal-fired power plant.
844
00:44:42,805 --> 00:44:46,557
And then on top of that, within plastics
and petrochemicals here in Louisiana,
845
00:44:46,558 --> 00:44:49,019
they're living literally
within just miles.
846
00:44:49,978 --> 00:44:51,896
The term "fenceline community"
847
00:44:51,897 --> 00:44:56,901
literally means that there's a fence
between your backyard,
848
00:44:56,902 --> 00:45:00,947
your swing set,
and petrochemical facilities.
849
00:45:00,948 --> 00:45:02,950
[ominous music playing]
850
00:45:04,493 --> 00:45:07,245
There is a region within Louisiana
851
00:45:07,246 --> 00:45:10,581
from Baton Rouge to New Orleans,
852
00:45:10,582 --> 00:45:13,127
and that is "Cancer Alley."
853
00:45:13,627 --> 00:45:16,755
{\an8}One of my co-workers,
she died with cancer.
854
00:45:17,464 --> 00:45:19,090
{\an8}Right there in that house.
855
00:45:19,091 --> 00:45:22,719
{\an8}When you go straight,
my uncle and his wife both have cancer.
856
00:45:22,720 --> 00:45:26,597
My neighbor on one side of me,
she had stage four cancer.
857
00:45:26,598 --> 00:45:28,933
Went in hospital,
I ain't never seen her no more. She died.
858
00:45:28,934 --> 00:45:31,936
After the plants came here,
start polluting, Oliver died.
859
00:45:31,937 --> 00:45:34,814
Oliver got sick and died.
And I know because I was dating him.
860
00:45:34,815 --> 00:45:36,899
And my friend Matt just died.
861
00:45:36,900 --> 00:45:38,735
Matt told me to fight.
862
00:45:38,736 --> 00:45:40,653
And I'm gonna fight for Matt.
863
00:45:40,654 --> 00:45:43,239
Miss Sharon, we done drove
just about a mile…
864
00:45:43,240 --> 00:45:44,157
[Lavigne] Mm-hm.
865
00:45:44,158 --> 00:45:46,617
…and you called about 40 people who died.
866
00:45:46,618 --> 00:45:47,453
[Lavigne] Yes.
867
00:45:48,245 --> 00:45:51,957
It hurts that I know all these people,
and they're dying.
868
00:45:52,666 --> 00:45:54,917
Everybody got cancer. What's wrong?
869
00:45:54,918 --> 00:45:56,545
[somber music playing]
870
00:45:58,756 --> 00:46:00,882
I mean, you ain't gotta go far.
871
00:46:00,883 --> 00:46:03,176
- No.
- You got the home right here.
872
00:46:03,177 --> 00:46:04,218
[Lavigne] Right there.
873
00:46:04,219 --> 00:46:06,304
[Yearwood] Got the
fossil fuel industry right there.
874
00:46:06,305 --> 00:46:07,305
[Lavigne] That's right.
875
00:46:07,306 --> 00:46:09,891
- [Yearwood] And the cemetery right here.
- [Lavigne] That's right.
876
00:46:09,892 --> 00:46:11,934
I mean, we all gonna die.
877
00:46:11,935 --> 00:46:14,395
We just want to…
We don't want to die too quick.
878
00:46:14,396 --> 00:46:17,398
- Too quick. That's right.
- And not for someone else's greed.
879
00:46:17,399 --> 00:46:18,442
That's right.
880
00:46:19,026 --> 00:46:20,277
It's heartbreaking.
881
00:46:21,487 --> 00:46:24,030
- But we gotta fight.
- Mm.
882
00:46:24,031 --> 00:46:26,033
[somber music continues]
883
00:46:30,537 --> 00:46:32,873
[Yearwood] Their business plan
884
00:46:33,540 --> 00:46:37,920
is a death sentence for our communities.
885
00:46:39,338 --> 00:46:44,425
I mean, they're making money
and profit off of the deaths of people,
886
00:46:44,426 --> 00:46:46,636
like, to make plastic?
887
00:46:46,637 --> 00:46:48,639
Like, to make plastic,
888
00:46:49,389 --> 00:46:50,681
they're killing us.
889
00:46:50,682 --> 00:46:52,684
[somber music continues]
890
00:47:06,615 --> 00:47:08,617
{\an8}[music fades]
891
00:47:13,580 --> 00:47:14,498
{\an8}[Jesse sighs]
892
00:47:15,791 --> 00:47:16,874
{\an8}[hopeful music playing]
893
00:47:16,875 --> 00:47:18,334
{\an8}All right. So update here.
894
00:47:18,335 --> 00:47:20,294
{\an8}We're in, uh, January,
895
00:47:20,295 --> 00:47:23,923
{\an8}about a month
into the plastic study thus far. Um…
896
00:47:23,924 --> 00:47:26,968
Last month, we did, uh, get pregnant,
897
00:47:26,969 --> 00:47:31,306
um, but it ended up being
an early miscarriage.
898
00:47:31,932 --> 00:47:34,684
It's a little bit hard
with family and everything
899
00:47:34,685 --> 00:47:38,813
and trying to stay positive
during the holidays
900
00:47:38,814 --> 00:47:41,400
and not being able to talk to anybody
901
00:47:42,526 --> 00:47:44,319
about it. [sighs] Um…
902
00:47:44,903 --> 00:47:45,987
So, yeah.
903
00:47:45,988 --> 00:47:51,033
Uh, seems it brought us some hope, though.
904
00:47:51,034 --> 00:47:53,828
It's definitely a good sign, I think. Um…
905
00:47:53,829 --> 00:47:57,039
It's a good sign that my body
can get pregnant.
906
00:47:57,040 --> 00:48:01,294
You know, we've been really careful
with our plastic consumption,
907
00:48:01,295 --> 00:48:03,796
really diligent about the study.
908
00:48:03,797 --> 00:48:08,801
Um, and we have seen the best results
as far as pregnancy goes so far.
909
00:48:08,802 --> 00:48:11,596
So hopefully, by the end of the study,
910
00:48:11,597 --> 00:48:14,600
we can check back in with better news.
911
00:48:15,517 --> 00:48:17,519
[music fades]
912
00:48:18,937 --> 00:48:22,983
[Warner] Plastic is only possible
because of chemistry.
913
00:48:24,026 --> 00:48:28,864
And chemists don't want
to poison and destroy the world.
914
00:48:29,531 --> 00:48:33,868
Companies know if you kill your customer,
that's going to be bad for sales.
915
00:48:33,869 --> 00:48:36,287
So it's not a revolution to say,
916
00:48:36,288 --> 00:48:38,873
"Gee whiz, we should have nontoxic,
safe things."
917
00:48:38,874 --> 00:48:39,832
[somber music playing]
918
00:48:39,833 --> 00:48:43,210
But if you look
at the education of chemists,
919
00:48:43,211 --> 00:48:47,506
you'll be shocked to find
there is no fundamental classes
920
00:48:47,507 --> 00:48:51,344
that teach people
how to anticipate the negative impacts
921
00:48:51,345 --> 00:48:53,513
on human health and the environment.
922
00:48:54,306 --> 00:48:57,308
They don't know
the mechanisms of toxicity.
923
00:48:57,309 --> 00:49:00,938
They don't know
the mechanisms of biodegradation.
924
00:49:01,855 --> 00:49:05,733
It seemed to me, shouldn't that be
the first thing a chemist learns,
925
00:49:05,734 --> 00:49:08,569
you know, is how not to hurt people?
926
00:49:08,570 --> 00:49:13,325
But the fact that it's absent
from the curriculum is shocking.
927
00:49:18,580 --> 00:49:22,626
I actually am not someone
who grew up wanting to be a chemist.
928
00:49:23,377 --> 00:49:26,671
Had anyone told me that I was gonna
end up being an industrial chemist,
929
00:49:26,672 --> 00:49:28,256
I would have laughed at them.
930
00:49:29,633 --> 00:49:32,259
But when I realized
that scientists created,
931
00:49:32,260 --> 00:49:35,721
scientists designed, scientists imagined,
932
00:49:35,722 --> 00:49:39,767
I saw chemistry as an artistic expression.
933
00:49:39,768 --> 00:49:40,977
[auspicious music playing]
934
00:49:40,978 --> 00:49:43,647
So I went,
and I became a medicinal chemist.
935
00:49:45,399 --> 00:49:49,318
I published five papers before I was 21,
936
00:49:49,319 --> 00:49:52,154
and I went to graduate school,
to Princeton.
937
00:49:52,155 --> 00:49:54,240
And by the time I was 25,
938
00:49:54,241 --> 00:49:57,369
I had 25 publications.
939
00:49:58,745 --> 00:50:02,708
I worked on an anti-cancer drug
that's now called Alimta.
940
00:50:04,292 --> 00:50:07,628
And I went to work
in industry for Polaroid.
941
00:50:07,629 --> 00:50:11,048
And before very long,
I had dozens of patents,
942
00:50:11,049 --> 00:50:15,094
inventions, products, awards, prizes.
943
00:50:15,095 --> 00:50:16,637
And then disaster hit.
944
00:50:16,638 --> 00:50:18,640
[music turns poignant]
945
00:50:20,767 --> 00:50:25,104
My son John was born
with a disease called biliary atresia.
946
00:50:25,105 --> 00:50:26,731
[music fades]
947
00:50:26,732 --> 00:50:30,943
It's a disease where his liver's
detached from his intestines,
948
00:50:30,944 --> 00:50:34,281
and he can't metabolize
water and soluble nutrients.
949
00:50:35,449 --> 00:50:38,451
He was given a surgery at birth,
950
00:50:38,452 --> 00:50:41,954
and at two years old, we lost him.
951
00:50:41,955 --> 00:50:43,581
[somber music playing]
952
00:50:43,582 --> 00:50:48,335
We never really acknowledged
he was terminally ill until the end.
953
00:50:48,336 --> 00:50:50,212
We always kind of had hope.
954
00:50:50,213 --> 00:50:52,299
But yeah, it's, uh… it's difficult.
955
00:50:54,259 --> 00:50:57,094
Lying in bed
the night of my son's funeral,
956
00:50:57,095 --> 00:51:00,389
staring at the ceiling, I asked myself,
957
00:51:00,390 --> 00:51:03,392
"I wonder if something I touched
in the chemistry lab
958
00:51:03,393 --> 00:51:05,979
caused my son's birth defect?"
959
00:51:08,482 --> 00:51:09,857
I'd say, "Why?"
960
00:51:09,858 --> 00:51:13,486
"Why would anybody
invent something hazardous?"
961
00:51:13,487 --> 00:51:15,071
"But wait a minute."
962
00:51:15,072 --> 00:51:19,867
"If it's not part of their education
to recognize and anticipate it,
963
00:51:19,868 --> 00:51:21,328
how could they not?"
964
00:51:26,458 --> 00:51:28,209
[Schuh] Good, okay.
965
00:51:28,210 --> 00:51:29,419
Is it?
966
00:51:30,128 --> 00:51:32,088
Oh, yeah. Wow, that has a lot more--
967
00:51:32,089 --> 00:51:35,049
You dissected that away
from the yolk of one?
968
00:51:35,050 --> 00:51:36,467
Yeah, from right here.
969
00:51:36,468 --> 00:51:39,804
[Schuh] Me and my students,
we look at various different chemicals,
970
00:51:39,805 --> 00:51:42,682
ranging from BPA compounds and phthalates,
971
00:51:43,350 --> 00:51:47,103
{\an8}and we look at the effects
on developmental pathways
972
00:51:47,104 --> 00:51:49,855
{\an8}going from very, very early in development
973
00:51:49,856 --> 00:51:54,693
{\an8}that sort of mimic the time
that a human embryo in a womb
974
00:51:54,694 --> 00:51:56,655
would be exposed
to some of these chemicals.
975
00:51:57,864 --> 00:52:00,367
We use animal models
like the chick embryo.
976
00:52:01,076 --> 00:52:02,743
It's really easy to do.
977
00:52:02,744 --> 00:52:05,955
We micro-inject,
using little micropipettes,
978
00:52:05,956 --> 00:52:08,541
various doses of the compounds.
979
00:52:08,542 --> 00:52:13,420
We incubate them, and then on day 12,
we analyze them under the microscope.
980
00:52:13,421 --> 00:52:15,549
[pensive music playing]
981
00:52:18,343 --> 00:52:21,637
You don't have to be a scientist
to even figure it out.
982
00:52:21,638 --> 00:52:26,142
You can just look at the control embryos
versus the phthalate-treated embryos.
983
00:52:26,143 --> 00:52:28,687
And the differences are quite stark.
984
00:52:29,312 --> 00:52:31,814
All right, so this is classic
phthalate exposure.
985
00:52:31,815 --> 00:52:34,441
So all those characteristic things
that we've been seeing,
986
00:52:34,442 --> 00:52:38,028
we see decreased pigmentation
across the whole body,
987
00:52:38,029 --> 00:52:41,824
decreased pigmentation
in the eye and the retina and the iris.
988
00:52:41,825 --> 00:52:43,701
And then in this case, especially,
989
00:52:43,702 --> 00:52:46,370
we see an opening up
of the abdominal wall,
990
00:52:46,371 --> 00:52:49,039
some of the internal organs
actually coming out,
991
00:52:49,040 --> 00:52:50,958
protruding outside of the body wall.
992
00:52:50,959 --> 00:52:54,837
So a lot of these, uh,
deformities or malformations
993
00:52:54,838 --> 00:52:57,506
that are very characteristic
of phthalate exposure.
994
00:52:57,507 --> 00:53:02,178
We took some representative pictures
of all of the embryos
995
00:53:02,179 --> 00:53:05,097
that were treated with,
in this case, it was BPA,
996
00:53:05,098 --> 00:53:07,057
even at the low doses,
997
00:53:07,058 --> 00:53:09,518
and then going
to the intermediate-to-high doses.
998
00:53:09,519 --> 00:53:14,231
There are extreme embryonic defects,
cranial facial disruptions.
999
00:53:14,232 --> 00:53:16,275
The size of the body in this case
1000
00:53:16,276 --> 00:53:18,986
is a third of that
of the control situation.
1001
00:53:18,987 --> 00:53:22,323
Organs protruding outside of the body.
1002
00:53:22,324 --> 00:53:26,577
Some embryos that are just completely
malformed that they stop developing.
1003
00:53:26,578 --> 00:53:30,706
These are reminiscent
of many common human birth defects.
1004
00:53:30,707 --> 00:53:36,129
And we see that with these very low doses
of phthalates and BPA compounds.
1005
00:53:38,548 --> 00:53:39,882
[Trasande] Unfortunately,
1006
00:53:39,883 --> 00:53:43,761
many of us have been taught
that only the dose makes a thing a poison.
1007
00:53:43,762 --> 00:53:44,887
It's common sense.
1008
00:53:44,888 --> 00:53:47,765
Like, everything in moderation,
if you will.
1009
00:53:47,766 --> 00:53:51,936
{\an8}But the reality is that even
the smallest levels of exposure
1010
00:53:51,937 --> 00:53:53,354
can have profound effects,
1011
00:53:53,355 --> 00:53:57,358
particularly when we're talking
about our hormones.
1012
00:53:57,359 --> 00:54:01,820
{\an8}It takes only a tiny amount of a chemical
to alter the behavior of genes.
1013
00:54:01,821 --> 00:54:03,656
{\an8}That's what endocrine disruption
is all about.
1014
00:54:03,657 --> 00:54:05,324
[tense, pensive music playing]
1015
00:54:05,325 --> 00:54:07,534
So that as a fetus is developing,
1016
00:54:07,535 --> 00:54:10,621
the wrong gene gets turned on
at the wrong time,
1017
00:54:10,622 --> 00:54:13,374
and development goes along the wrong path.
1018
00:54:13,375 --> 00:54:16,794
Now we know that parts per billion
can be harmful,
1019
00:54:16,795 --> 00:54:18,588
and that seems like
a really little amount.
1020
00:54:19,464 --> 00:54:21,924
But if you have a drop of water
1021
00:54:21,925 --> 00:54:25,135
in which there is one part per billion
of bisphenol A,
1022
00:54:25,136 --> 00:54:26,845
how many molecules of bisphenol A
1023
00:54:26,846 --> 00:54:29,139
do you think
are in that one drop of water?
1024
00:54:29,140 --> 00:54:32,142
2.65 trillion molecules.
1025
00:54:32,143 --> 00:54:34,271
And one of them can cause harm.
1026
00:54:34,854 --> 00:54:35,854
That's a problem.
1027
00:54:35,855 --> 00:54:39,358
And we're only now reaching the state
of science that we understand that.
1028
00:54:39,359 --> 00:54:41,361
{\an8}[music fades]
1029
00:54:42,445 --> 00:54:44,446
{\an8}[Swan] So, first of all,
it's good to see you.
1030
00:54:44,447 --> 00:54:46,240
Should we talk about your results?
1031
00:54:46,241 --> 00:54:47,199
- I think--
- Yeah.
1032
00:54:47,200 --> 00:54:52,329
Well, Darby, your BPA
at the beginning was really high.
1033
00:54:52,330 --> 00:54:55,917
- And in the follow-up, they dropped a lot.
- [hopeful music playing]
1034
00:54:56,793 --> 00:54:57,960
- That's amazing.
- Wow.
1035
00:54:57,961 --> 00:55:00,963
Jesse, you've really dropped in your BPA.
1036
00:55:00,964 --> 00:55:02,172
- [Jesse] Really?
- [Darby] Wow.
1037
00:55:02,173 --> 00:55:04,466
So all of those efforts have paid off.
1038
00:55:04,467 --> 00:55:05,593
- That's crazy.
- Wow.
1039
00:55:06,469 --> 00:55:10,222
[Swan] I was extremely happy
with the results of the intervention.
1040
00:55:10,223 --> 00:55:11,641
After six weeks,
1041
00:55:12,225 --> 00:55:17,230
almost everybody dropped
their bisphenol A to non-detectable.
1042
00:55:18,481 --> 00:55:21,191
They also dropped their phthalate levels.
1043
00:55:21,192 --> 00:55:22,526
And interestingly,
1044
00:55:22,527 --> 00:55:27,865
the man and the woman in the couple
had values which traveled in parallel,
1045
00:55:27,866 --> 00:55:32,370
which meant they reflected changes
in their shared environment.
1046
00:55:34,164 --> 00:55:35,247
[music fades]
1047
00:55:35,248 --> 00:55:39,918
{\an8}I wouldn't say I was surprised that
our participants reduced their exposures.
1048
00:55:39,919 --> 00:55:43,631
{\an8}What was less clear is how this would
affect their sperm counts.
1049
00:55:44,716 --> 00:55:46,800
And to be honest, after six weeks,
1050
00:55:46,801 --> 00:55:49,011
we didn't see much change.
1051
00:55:49,012 --> 00:55:51,305
I was really sad when I got those results.
1052
00:55:51,306 --> 00:55:54,433
I was like, "Dude, what is this?"
Like, I was so upset.
1053
00:55:54,434 --> 00:55:58,312
{\an8}[Swan] This was, of course,
disappointing to the participants.
1054
00:55:58,313 --> 00:56:02,775
But we have to remember,
it takes 70 days to produce new sperm.
1055
00:56:02,776 --> 00:56:05,361
So it's likely
that we won't see improvement
1056
00:56:05,362 --> 00:56:07,780
until our final samples.
1057
00:56:07,781 --> 00:56:09,573
{\an8}We're all trying to do a hard thing.
1058
00:56:09,574 --> 00:56:12,451
{\an8}And, um, I think
we have to relax a little bit
1059
00:56:12,452 --> 00:56:15,829
{\an8}and, if we can,
give it a little more time.
1060
00:56:15,830 --> 00:56:17,832
{\an8}[audience laughing]
1061
00:56:20,502 --> 00:56:24,005
I come to you as a sperm
to ask for your help.
1062
00:56:25,215 --> 00:56:28,884
We sperm are becoming
an endangered species.
1063
00:56:28,885 --> 00:56:31,387
But this is a problem we can fix.
1064
00:56:31,388 --> 00:56:34,390
Please join me
in welcoming one of the people
1065
00:56:34,391 --> 00:56:37,434
who really is saving our sperm
and our future,
1066
00:56:37,435 --> 00:56:38,644
John Warner.
1067
00:56:38,645 --> 00:56:40,479
[audience applauding]
1068
00:56:40,480 --> 00:56:43,524
You may be thinking it's strange
to be introduced by a sperm.
1069
00:56:43,525 --> 00:56:44,525
[audience laughs]
1070
00:56:44,526 --> 00:56:46,653
[Warner] But if you really think about it,
1071
00:56:47,195 --> 00:56:48,612
you all were.
1072
00:56:48,613 --> 00:56:50,865
[audience laughing]
1073
00:56:53,034 --> 00:56:57,329
[Warner] After I lost my two-year-old son
to a birth defect,
1074
00:56:57,330 --> 00:57:01,458
I realized that there was
a missing element to my education.
1075
00:57:01,459 --> 00:57:05,295
And I realized that no university
1076
00:57:05,296 --> 00:57:10,759
teaches a chemist anything
about what makes a molecule toxic.
1077
00:57:10,760 --> 00:57:15,013
I realized that the world
didn't need a social movement.
1078
00:57:15,014 --> 00:57:17,433
The world didn't need a politic.
1079
00:57:17,434 --> 00:57:19,476
The world needed a new science.
1080
00:57:19,477 --> 00:57:24,481
A science that taught a chemist
how to anticipate these negative impacts.
1081
00:57:24,482 --> 00:57:27,526
And that is the birth
of the field of green chemistry.
1082
00:57:27,527 --> 00:57:28,986
[dramatic music playing]
1083
00:57:28,987 --> 00:57:35,117
{\an8}Paul Anastas and I wrote the book
on green chemistry back in the 1990s.
1084
00:57:35,118 --> 00:57:38,745
{\an8}You do any science,
any chemistry you normally would,
1085
00:57:38,746 --> 00:57:42,332
but you put a layer of interpreting,
1086
00:57:42,333 --> 00:57:44,668
"What if this actually succeeds?"
1087
00:57:44,669 --> 00:57:48,422
"What if instead of it just being
a publication in a journal,
1088
00:57:48,423 --> 00:57:50,466
some company actually starts making
1089
00:57:50,467 --> 00:57:54,178
thousands and thousands
of kilotons of it?"
1090
00:57:54,179 --> 00:57:56,513
"What impact are my decisions
1091
00:57:56,514 --> 00:58:01,436
on that first day of my invention
going to have in the future?"
1092
00:58:02,020 --> 00:58:03,729
That's green chemistry.
1093
00:58:03,730 --> 00:58:06,773
At last count,
I think I've been to over 65 countries
1094
00:58:06,774 --> 00:58:09,109
meeting presidents and prime ministers
1095
00:58:09,110 --> 00:58:13,823
and cutting ribbons and giving talks,
that it's starting to be a movement.
1096
00:58:14,449 --> 00:58:18,285
And almost 100 universities globally
have signed this commitment
1097
00:58:18,286 --> 00:58:23,082
saying we will bring green chemistry
into the required curriculum.
1098
00:58:24,125 --> 00:58:27,044
But everyone in society
needs to understand
1099
00:58:27,045 --> 00:58:29,254
things don't have to be toxic.
1100
00:58:29,255 --> 00:58:31,590
We can learn to do it other ways.
1101
00:58:31,591 --> 00:58:33,092
[dramatic music continues]
1102
00:58:33,718 --> 00:58:36,804
[Swan] Just everywhere you look,
you have plastic.
1103
00:58:37,514 --> 00:58:38,972
We are really dependent on it.
1104
00:58:38,973 --> 00:58:42,435
It'd be hard to think about
a plastic-free world.
1105
00:58:43,144 --> 00:58:47,773
But plastic in and of itself
is not the evil.
1106
00:58:47,774 --> 00:58:50,400
It is the chemicals in it
1107
00:58:50,401 --> 00:58:53,070
that have the ability
to alter our hormones.
1108
00:58:53,071 --> 00:58:55,155
[music fades]
1109
00:58:55,156 --> 00:58:57,158
[helicopter whirring]
1110
00:59:00,912 --> 00:59:03,414
Many people think
the government takes care of us.
1111
00:59:03,998 --> 00:59:07,418
They would not let us be exposed
to things that would harm us.
1112
00:59:08,002 --> 00:59:13,299
But we're not protected against
the chemicals in our everyday products.
1113
00:59:13,883 --> 00:59:17,135
In terms of regulating these chemicals
in the United States,
1114
00:59:17,136 --> 00:59:20,389
very few chemicals are actually banned.
1115
00:59:20,390 --> 00:59:23,016
And most chemicals
haven't even been tested.
1116
00:59:23,017 --> 00:59:24,851
[unsettling music playing]
1117
00:59:24,852 --> 00:59:25,978
[Landrigan] Time and again,
1118
00:59:25,979 --> 00:59:29,189
we have come to realize
that chemicals on the market for years
1119
00:59:29,190 --> 00:59:30,525
were causing toxicity.
1120
00:59:31,359 --> 00:59:32,818
With DDT.
1121
00:59:32,819 --> 00:59:36,488
[man 1 on TV] Pesticides may indeed
represent a grave threat to mankind.
1122
00:59:36,489 --> 00:59:37,823
[Landrigan] With asbestos.
1123
00:59:37,824 --> 00:59:41,326
[woman on TV] Today, the Environmental
Protection Agency finalized a ban
1124
00:59:41,327 --> 00:59:44,454
on the only type of asbestos
still used in the United States.
1125
00:59:44,455 --> 00:59:48,292
[Landrigan] Lead in the gasoline
was causing brain damage to children.
1126
00:59:48,293 --> 00:59:53,589
[man 2 on TV] Leaded gasoline caused half
of the population to develop a lower IQ.
1127
00:59:53,590 --> 00:59:55,465
[Landrigan] When we took lead
out of gasoline,
1128
00:59:55,466 --> 00:59:58,343
we reduced children's blood levels by 95%.
1129
00:59:58,344 --> 01:00:02,598
We raised the average IQ of a generation
of children by about five IQ points.
1130
01:00:02,599 --> 01:00:06,059
And those more intelligent,
more highly creative children
1131
01:00:06,060 --> 01:00:09,022
have put billions of dollars
back into the economy.
1132
01:00:10,815 --> 01:00:13,150
So it's a huge success story.
1133
01:00:13,151 --> 01:00:16,528
I think a big question right now is,
what are we gonna do about plastics?
1134
01:00:16,529 --> 01:00:17,863
[music fades]
1135
01:00:17,864 --> 01:00:21,158
The media has reported that the federal
government's reluctance to regulate
1136
01:00:21,159 --> 01:00:24,286
{\an8}these chemicals is based
on the reliance of biased studies
1137
01:00:24,287 --> 01:00:26,121
{\an8}from the chemical industry itself.
1138
01:00:26,122 --> 01:00:28,791
{\an8}Senator, at FDA,
1139
01:00:29,417 --> 01:00:32,294
{\an8}all of our products that we approve
1140
01:00:32,295 --> 01:00:38,467
{\an8}are based on data that are prepared
and conducted in studies
1141
01:00:38,468 --> 01:00:40,886
{\an8}by that particular manufacturer.
1142
01:00:40,887 --> 01:00:43,972
{\an8}But doesn't that bother you?
That's my point.
1143
01:00:43,973 --> 01:00:46,266
{\an8}You don't seem to see the connection here.
1144
01:00:46,267 --> 01:00:51,480
{\an8}We got here because the scientific
understanding of endocrine disruption
1145
01:00:51,481 --> 01:00:54,358
{\an8}did not exist when plastics
first came onto the market.
1146
01:00:54,359 --> 01:00:57,944
{\an8}Our genes actually are being turned
on and off trillions of times a second
1147
01:00:57,945 --> 01:01:00,822
{\an8}every day of our life,
every second of our life.
1148
01:01:00,823 --> 01:01:04,869
{\an8}And things like phthalates
and bisphenol A affect
1149
01:01:05,578 --> 01:01:08,080
{\an8}that process of turning genes on and off.
1150
01:01:08,081 --> 01:01:10,832
The FDA and EPA and the CDCs,
1151
01:01:10,833 --> 01:01:14,711
their science currently ignores
molecular genetics.
1152
01:01:14,712 --> 01:01:17,130
Over the last 30 years,
1153
01:01:17,131 --> 01:01:19,925
the science has gotten a lot stronger.
1154
01:01:19,926 --> 01:01:23,679
If anything, we underestimated
the scale of the problem.
1155
01:01:23,680 --> 01:01:24,971
[unsettling music playing]
1156
01:01:24,972 --> 01:01:28,141
{\an8}The plastics industry
grew to be a behemoth,
1157
01:01:28,142 --> 01:01:32,062
{\an8}and we let that get ahead of us
and out of control.
1158
01:01:32,063 --> 01:01:36,025
{\an8}Many chemicals
leaching out of plastics are EDCs.
1159
01:01:36,609 --> 01:01:38,985
{\an8}That links them to a wide array
1160
01:01:38,986 --> 01:01:42,656
{\an8}of today's epidemics
of noncommunicable diseases,
1161
01:01:42,657 --> 01:01:45,033
{\an8}like breast cancer, prostate cancer,
1162
01:01:45,034 --> 01:01:47,494
{\an8}testicular cancer, infertility,
1163
01:01:47,495 --> 01:01:50,038
{\an8}immune disorders, and brain impediments.
1164
01:01:50,039 --> 01:01:52,332
Unfortunately, in the United States,
1165
01:01:52,333 --> 01:01:54,126
regulatory toxicology,
1166
01:01:54,127 --> 01:01:58,380
it's stalled because the chemical industry
has too much influence on Congress.
1167
01:01:58,381 --> 01:01:59,423
Period.
1168
01:01:59,424 --> 01:02:02,592
{\an8}Stable supply chains are imperative.
1169
01:02:02,593 --> 01:02:05,721
{\an8}Producing plastic in America
is a good thing.
1170
01:02:05,722 --> 01:02:07,724
[tense, pensive music playing]
1171
01:02:12,145 --> 01:02:14,563
[Yearwood] We now are here
on a plantation site
1172
01:02:14,564 --> 01:02:18,817
where my ancestors
were extracted from Africa
1173
01:02:18,818 --> 01:02:21,904
and brought here to be enslaved people.
1174
01:02:23,030 --> 01:02:24,991
The memory of that is still real.
1175
01:02:26,659 --> 01:02:29,828
And now the fossil fuel industry
here in Louisiana,
1176
01:02:29,829 --> 01:02:33,999
they are literally looking to build plants
1177
01:02:34,000 --> 01:02:36,710
on former plantation sites,
1178
01:02:36,711 --> 01:02:40,172
knowing how painful
1179
01:02:40,173 --> 01:02:42,341
that history is for everyone.
1180
01:02:44,635 --> 01:02:49,139
It's heartbreaking
because they take the same mentality
1181
01:02:49,140 --> 01:02:51,183
that was used on plantations
1182
01:02:51,184 --> 01:02:54,394
to not only extract from Mother Earth,
1183
01:02:54,395 --> 01:02:56,773
but to then harm those same people.
1184
01:02:57,565 --> 01:03:01,568
This shows how they don't care
about humanity.
1185
01:03:01,569 --> 01:03:03,571
{\an8}- [music fades]
- [indistinct chatter]
1186
01:03:04,489 --> 01:03:11,536
{\an8}[Edwards] We're here to announce that
Formosa will be investing $9.4 billion.
1187
01:03:11,537 --> 01:03:14,623
So I'm delighted to announce
all this extraordinary capital investment,
1188
01:03:14,624 --> 01:03:17,417
job creation,
right here in St. James Parish,
1189
01:03:17,418 --> 01:03:20,670
just about two miles
from the foot of the Sunshine Bridge.
1190
01:03:20,671 --> 01:03:22,547
[ominous music playing]
1191
01:03:22,548 --> 01:03:26,092
[Yearwood] The Formosa plant
was a plant that they wanted to build
1192
01:03:26,093 --> 01:03:28,804
on a former plantation site.
1193
01:03:28,805 --> 01:03:30,263
And this isn't just any plant.
1194
01:03:30,264 --> 01:03:32,682
It's being called
the largest facility in the state.
1195
01:03:32,683 --> 01:03:35,143
[Yearwood] And people like Sharon Lavigne
1196
01:03:35,144 --> 01:03:40,273
{\an8}who were pushing back
an international mega corporation,
1197
01:03:40,274 --> 01:03:42,234
{\an8}literally off their kitchen table.
1198
01:03:42,235 --> 01:03:44,319
[woman on TV]
This is a David and Goliath story
1199
01:03:44,320 --> 01:03:45,403
if there ever was one.
1200
01:03:45,404 --> 01:03:47,364
A multibillion-dollar chemical company
1201
01:03:47,365 --> 01:03:50,283
was all set to build
a massive new plant there.
1202
01:03:50,284 --> 01:03:54,413
That is, until they encountered
Miss Sharon Lavigne and Rise St. James.
1203
01:03:55,706 --> 01:03:59,919
[Lavigne] Formosa Plastics was proposed
to be built two miles from my home.
1204
01:04:00,419 --> 01:04:04,924
And I said, "Dear Lord, this land
cannot be for Formosa. We live here."
1205
01:04:06,259 --> 01:04:09,427
I had no intentions
on becoming an activist.
1206
01:04:09,428 --> 01:04:13,014
All I know was Formosa Plastics
kept ringing in my ear.
1207
01:04:13,015 --> 01:04:15,392
- First of all, we went to God first.
- [Yearwood] Mm-hm.
1208
01:04:15,393 --> 01:04:17,310
- I know I went to God.
- [Yearwood] Come on.
1209
01:04:17,311 --> 01:04:19,521
And I sat on my porch, and I prayed.
1210
01:04:19,522 --> 01:04:22,190
And I asked God,
and if God would have told me to move,
1211
01:04:22,191 --> 01:04:23,859
I wouldn't be in this fight today.
1212
01:04:23,860 --> 01:04:25,443
But God told me to fight.
1213
01:04:25,444 --> 01:04:27,445
[tense music playing]
1214
01:04:27,446 --> 01:04:28,446
I was told that,
1215
01:04:28,447 --> 01:04:31,533
"The governor approved this plant,
and you can't stop it."
1216
01:04:31,534 --> 01:04:33,785
I said, "Tell the governor
to build it in his community."
1217
01:04:33,786 --> 01:04:35,912
He thinks the people
in St. James are stupid
1218
01:04:35,913 --> 01:04:38,874
and they're gonna just put another
industry on us, and we have 12?
1219
01:04:38,875 --> 01:04:40,333
No.
1220
01:04:40,334 --> 01:04:42,128
That dog is not gonna hunt.
1221
01:04:44,630 --> 01:04:45,922
We rallied.
1222
01:04:45,923 --> 01:04:48,174
We gave marches.
1223
01:04:48,175 --> 01:04:50,260
We went to the parish council meetings.
1224
01:04:50,261 --> 01:04:53,179
If Formosa come into St. James,
1225
01:04:53,180 --> 01:04:55,599
we will not be able to live.
1226
01:04:55,600 --> 01:04:58,728
We are Rise St. James, and we're gonna
stand up for St. James Parish.
1227
01:04:59,812 --> 01:05:02,273
Formosa has a fight on their hands.
1228
01:05:04,483 --> 01:05:05,567
{\an8}[music fades]
1229
01:05:05,568 --> 01:05:08,446
{\an8}[Swan] So let me talk to you
about what your last results are.
1230
01:05:09,030 --> 01:05:11,615
What's dramatic is, for me, Katie,
1231
01:05:11,616 --> 01:05:14,534
that your phthalates went up a lot.
1232
01:05:14,535 --> 01:05:18,580
And here you are at a time that you
were lowering all your exposures.
1233
01:05:18,581 --> 01:05:21,791
[Katie] There's something hidden then.
I'm like, "What's hidden that I'm…?"
1234
01:05:21,792 --> 01:05:24,753
Is it something at work?
You know, like, who knows?
1235
01:05:24,754 --> 01:05:28,757
Tim, your sperm numbers
are not great, right?
1236
01:05:28,758 --> 01:05:30,050
- [Tim] Right.
- Yeah.
1237
01:05:30,051 --> 01:05:32,928
Your concentration
actually went down a little bit.
1238
01:05:32,929 --> 01:05:33,845
Okay.
1239
01:05:33,846 --> 01:05:37,641
It doesn't look like there's been
a significant improvement,
1240
01:05:37,642 --> 01:05:39,225
I would have to say, honestly.
1241
01:05:39,226 --> 01:05:44,564
What's heartbreaking in these studies
is that not everyone is going to improve.
1242
01:05:44,565 --> 01:05:48,818
It's a difficult thing to remove
all the contaminants in your life.
1243
01:05:48,819 --> 01:05:51,571
Endocrine disruptors are so pervasive,
1244
01:05:51,572 --> 01:05:54,700
you're being exposed
even when you least expect it.
1245
01:05:55,284 --> 01:05:58,578
But that doesn't make it
easier to give bad news.
1246
01:05:58,579 --> 01:06:01,498
I mean, you guys have tried
for a long time, right?
1247
01:06:01,499 --> 01:06:02,415
[Tim] Mm-hm.
1248
01:06:02,416 --> 01:06:04,668
- Yeah. Over ten years.
- [Tim] Yeah.
1249
01:06:04,669 --> 01:06:07,087
I mean, I'm really glad
that the intervention
1250
01:06:07,088 --> 01:06:09,381
has been helpful to your life.
1251
01:06:09,382 --> 01:06:10,340
[Tim] Yeah.
1252
01:06:10,341 --> 01:06:13,802
But I don't see any signs here
that you're going to imminently,
1253
01:06:13,803 --> 01:06:15,303
you know, gonna get pregnant.
1254
01:06:15,304 --> 01:06:16,596
- [Katie] For sure.
- [Tim] Right.
1255
01:06:16,597 --> 01:06:18,556
- [Katie] And that's okay, like…
- [Tim] Yes.
1256
01:06:18,557 --> 01:06:19,849
[Katie] We, you know…
1257
01:06:19,850 --> 01:06:22,936
We know it's going to take a miracle, so…
1258
01:06:22,937 --> 01:06:24,729
[poignant music playing]
1259
01:06:24,730 --> 01:06:27,566
It's been really hard
not being able to conceive.
1260
01:06:28,317 --> 01:06:30,819
In all honesty,
there definitely have been moments
1261
01:06:30,820 --> 01:06:33,280
when I have felt pretty jaded about it.
1262
01:06:33,990 --> 01:06:37,575
Difficult part that has actually
gotten more difficult each year,
1263
01:06:37,576 --> 01:06:40,454
at least for me, is, um…
1264
01:06:41,080 --> 01:06:42,999
like Father's Day and Mother's Day.
1265
01:06:44,166 --> 01:06:46,919
Something that I always thought
I'd be celebrating.
1266
01:06:47,712 --> 01:06:49,672
But that's not who we are.
1267
01:06:50,673 --> 01:06:52,007
[Katie] It just makes you think,
1268
01:06:52,008 --> 01:06:55,761
"Wow, our lives are so much different
than what I expected them to be."
1269
01:06:56,554 --> 01:06:59,431
But I'm never going to let go
of this hope that I have
1270
01:06:59,432 --> 01:07:02,143
that we could still
possibly have kids one day.
1271
01:07:07,481 --> 01:07:10,316
{\an8}[woman on TV] California's top cop
subpoenas ExxonMobil…
1272
01:07:10,317 --> 01:07:14,320
{\an8}[man] Attorney General Rob Bonta says
fossil fuel and petrochemical companies
1273
01:07:14,321 --> 01:07:17,449
have been overstating the role
of recycling and curbing the problem.
1274
01:07:17,450 --> 01:07:20,785
{\an8}The fossil fuel
and petrochemical industries
1275
01:07:20,786 --> 01:07:25,707
{\an8}have engaged in a half-century
campaign of deception.
1276
01:07:25,708 --> 01:07:30,336
The work I do is official in conduct,
but it's also personal.
1277
01:07:30,337 --> 01:07:33,798
My oldest daughter has told me,
"Dad, I love my family."
1278
01:07:33,799 --> 01:07:35,884
"I want to have
a family of my own someday."
1279
01:07:35,885 --> 01:07:39,930
"But I don't think it's responsible
to bring a child onto this dying planet."
1280
01:07:40,431 --> 01:07:42,474
"So I'm not planning
on having a family right now."
1281
01:07:42,475 --> 01:07:43,475
That's wrong.
1282
01:07:43,476 --> 01:07:45,310
We shouldn't steal the dreams of our--
1283
01:07:45,311 --> 01:07:48,271
Of the next generation
because of our mistakes,
1284
01:07:48,272 --> 01:07:51,149
of our failure, uh, to be responsible.
1285
01:07:51,150 --> 01:07:53,319
In pursuit of what? Endless profit?
1286
01:07:55,237 --> 01:07:57,239
{\an8}[dramatic music playing]
1287
01:07:59,784 --> 01:08:03,787
{\an8}The entire plastics industry
is built on a lie.
1288
01:08:03,788 --> 01:08:08,666
The only reason
that plastics today are ubiquitous
1289
01:08:08,667 --> 01:08:13,005
is because people were told
that this product can be recycled.
1290
01:08:13,672 --> 01:08:15,840
[commercial narrator]
People start pollution.
1291
01:08:15,841 --> 01:08:17,468
People can stop it.
1292
01:08:19,553 --> 01:08:21,596
{\an8}[Oliver] The organization
that produced that ad,
1293
01:08:21,597 --> 01:08:23,014
{\an8}Keep America Beautiful,
1294
01:08:23,015 --> 01:08:25,809
{\an8}was funded in part
by a plastics industry trade group
1295
01:08:25,810 --> 01:08:28,645
and composed of leading beverage
and packaging corporations,
1296
01:08:28,646 --> 01:08:33,149
which might seem odd until you realize
that the underlying message there is,
1297
01:08:33,150 --> 01:08:36,402
"It's up to you,
the consumer, to stop pollution."
1298
01:08:36,403 --> 01:08:38,405
[unsettling music playing]
1299
01:08:39,073 --> 01:08:41,699
[Bonta] People would not
have purchased plastics
1300
01:08:41,700 --> 01:08:43,952
and relied on plastics
and consumed plastics
1301
01:08:43,953 --> 01:08:47,164
knowing that it was
destroying the planet as we did so.
1302
01:08:47,873 --> 01:08:49,624
The California Department of Justice
1303
01:08:49,625 --> 01:08:53,212
launched an investigation into ExxonMobil.
1304
01:08:53,921 --> 01:08:58,258
We became aware of internal communications
that said things like
1305
01:08:58,259 --> 01:09:01,428
recyclability at scale
is not financially viable.
1306
01:09:02,221 --> 01:09:06,851
Yet they were continuing to sell the myth
of recyclability of plastics.
1307
01:09:08,060 --> 01:09:13,982
{\an8}Making recycling work was a way
to keep their products in the marketplace.
1308
01:09:13,983 --> 01:09:16,776
- It was a way to sell plastic.
- [Liesemer] Yes.
1309
01:09:16,777 --> 01:09:18,988
It's a win-win situation.
1310
01:09:19,655 --> 01:09:22,867
[Bonta] Today, only 9%
of plastics are recycled.
1311
01:09:23,534 --> 01:09:24,618
It's shocking.
1312
01:09:25,202 --> 01:09:26,619
And the reason is because
1313
01:09:26,620 --> 01:09:29,122
the big plastic companies
won't profit from it.
1314
01:09:29,123 --> 01:09:31,040
It costs too much to recycle.
1315
01:09:31,041 --> 01:09:34,377
[Trasande] And we are
making so much plastic,
1316
01:09:34,378 --> 01:09:37,964
we're overwhelming
the capacity of the system
1317
01:09:37,965 --> 01:09:40,633
to even recycle itself in the first place.
1318
01:09:40,634 --> 01:09:42,760
[woman on TV] But after decades
as the dumping ground
1319
01:09:42,761 --> 01:09:44,429
for more than half of the world's trash,
1320
01:09:44,430 --> 01:09:48,099
China has banned most types
of low-grade recycling products.
1321
01:09:48,100 --> 01:09:51,811
{\an8}What appears to be happening is that
China is tired of importing our trash.
1322
01:09:51,812 --> 01:09:54,230
If plastic products are not recyclable,
1323
01:09:54,231 --> 01:09:56,316
then it needs to be stated as such.
1324
01:09:56,317 --> 01:09:58,484
There needs to be a truth in advertising.
1325
01:09:58,485 --> 01:10:00,653
Oh, Tracy, look, she's going for the bin.
1326
01:10:00,654 --> 01:10:03,740
[Bonta] The fact that, you know,
this myth was allowed to occur
1327
01:10:03,741 --> 01:10:06,159
for decades and decades, it's shocking.
1328
01:10:06,160 --> 01:10:08,494
It's not unlike tobacco.
1329
01:10:08,495 --> 01:10:10,496
[ominous music playing]
1330
01:10:10,497 --> 01:10:11,831
[music fades]
1331
01:10:11,832 --> 01:10:15,001
When you have big corporations
that are lying to the public
1332
01:10:15,002 --> 01:10:19,005
and fueling a global plastics
pollution crisis, it needs to end.
1333
01:10:19,006 --> 01:10:22,885
And I'm not gonna wish or hope
it into existence, I'm gonna do it.
1334
01:10:23,594 --> 01:10:25,596
[whirring]
1335
01:10:33,437 --> 01:10:36,147
[Wendt] When I was diagnosed with cancer,
1336
01:10:36,148 --> 01:10:39,150
I had been teaching sustainable fashion,
1337
01:10:39,151 --> 01:10:42,820
and I realized that
it was no longer about sustainability.
1338
01:10:42,821 --> 01:10:46,283
It was about
eliminating all petrochemicals.
1339
01:10:47,534 --> 01:10:51,746
Textiles are the single largest source
of microplastics in the environment.
1340
01:10:51,747 --> 01:10:53,873
[hopeful music playing]
1341
01:10:53,874 --> 01:10:56,125
But at California Cloth Foundry,
1342
01:10:56,126 --> 01:11:01,172
the fibers are cotton, linen, hemp, flax,
1343
01:11:01,173 --> 01:11:03,300
viscose from trees.
1344
01:11:04,802 --> 01:11:09,180
The most toxic process
in the textile supply chain are the dyes,
1345
01:11:09,181 --> 01:11:11,516
and those are from petrochemicals.
1346
01:11:11,517 --> 01:11:14,435
So many of our ingredients
can be found in the kitchen,
1347
01:11:14,436 --> 01:11:16,312
like chestnuts and iron.
1348
01:11:16,313 --> 01:11:20,817
Those are the main ingredients
in our North Face and Levi's program.
1349
01:11:20,818 --> 01:11:23,069
Another would be elderberries,
1350
01:11:23,070 --> 01:11:26,323
one of the colorants we use
for Gisele's Gaia hoodie.
1351
01:11:27,241 --> 01:11:29,118
But it's expensive.
1352
01:11:30,327 --> 01:11:36,875
So to really change fashion
from a highly toxic, high-volume industry,
1353
01:11:38,252 --> 01:11:40,629
we have to scale green chemistry.
1354
01:11:42,089 --> 01:11:43,923
[ethereal music playing]
1355
01:11:43,924 --> 01:11:47,510
[Gutsch] Fashion is so unnecessary,
1356
01:11:47,511 --> 01:11:49,972
and still it plays a big role in society.
1357
01:11:51,181 --> 01:11:54,642
{\an8}Most of my adult life,
I worked as a designer,
1358
01:11:54,643 --> 01:11:57,563
{\an8}and it was mainly about
inventing new products.
1359
01:11:58,188 --> 01:12:01,899
And at some point,
I realized that I'm actually the one
1360
01:12:01,900 --> 01:12:04,403
that is creating all these
environmental issues we are facing.
1361
01:12:05,279 --> 01:12:10,117
As a designer, you convince people
to buy, to spend, to waste.
1362
01:12:11,452 --> 01:12:14,537
But ten years ago,
I realized that people like me
1363
01:12:14,538 --> 01:12:17,498
can decide if a company is harmful,
1364
01:12:17,499 --> 01:12:20,502
or establish
a totally new way of doing business.
1365
01:12:23,714 --> 01:12:28,259
So in 2015,
we tried to convince corporations
1366
01:12:28,260 --> 01:12:32,097
to use recycled materials
instead of making more of it.
1367
01:12:33,640 --> 01:12:36,810
We created sneakers out of fishing nets.
1368
01:12:38,520 --> 01:12:42,900
But plastic stays plastic,
even if you recycle it.
1369
01:12:43,400 --> 01:12:45,318
So plastic needs to go.
1370
01:12:45,319 --> 01:12:48,613
{\an8}Next up, I would like
to invite Cyrill Gutsch.
1371
01:12:48,614 --> 01:12:51,491
{\an8}Hey, hey. What's up, Paris?
1372
01:12:51,492 --> 01:12:56,412
Now is the time to invent new materials
that are made from nature.
1373
01:12:56,413 --> 01:12:59,832
This is the first jacket designed
by Dior, Kim Jones, to support us
1374
01:12:59,833 --> 01:13:03,670
{\an8}in this process of making
Bananatex a new technology.
1375
01:13:04,254 --> 01:13:09,092
{\an8}The concept of a plastic doesn't have
to come from a petroleum-based material.
1376
01:13:09,093 --> 01:13:13,679
There's no laws of physics
that say it has to be these materials.
1377
01:13:13,680 --> 01:13:16,475
They just happen to be
the ones we're using now.
1378
01:13:17,351 --> 01:13:19,811
Let's open our eyes, embrace nature,
1379
01:13:19,812 --> 01:13:23,314
and learn, "How does nature
make something transparent?"
1380
01:13:23,315 --> 01:13:26,275
"How does nature
make something strong but flexible?"
1381
01:13:26,276 --> 01:13:27,443
[hopeful music playing]
1382
01:13:27,444 --> 01:13:32,323
Everything that you could use to define
what a plastic or a polymer does,
1383
01:13:32,324 --> 01:13:33,241
nature does.
1384
01:13:33,242 --> 01:13:35,201
And if we can learn from nature,
1385
01:13:35,202 --> 01:13:39,872
we can make things that are less toxic
and more environmentally responsible.
1386
01:13:39,873 --> 01:13:44,961
{\an8}At Sway, we use seaweed
to replace really pervasive plastics,
1387
01:13:44,962 --> 01:13:46,587
mainly thin films.
1388
01:13:46,588 --> 01:13:49,132
{\an8}This shoe is 100% plastic-free,
1389
01:13:49,133 --> 01:13:52,677
so the whole product
can be put into the compost.
1390
01:13:52,678 --> 01:13:56,973
After seven to ten weeks,
there's nothing left but nutrients.
1391
01:13:56,974 --> 01:13:59,475
{\an8}[woman] We make
the world's first performance pigment
1392
01:13:59,476 --> 01:14:01,519
{\an8}that's 100% plant-based.
1393
01:14:01,520 --> 01:14:05,314
And we're looking to replace
all the traditional dyes, toxins.
1394
01:14:05,315 --> 01:14:09,569
We mimic the same principles
that give butterflies their natural color.
1395
01:14:09,570 --> 01:14:11,738
So we can make any color
on the visible spectrum.
1396
01:14:12,823 --> 01:14:15,825
[Gutsch] We are in the midst
of what we call a material revolution.
1397
01:14:15,826 --> 01:14:19,495
This is the biggest and the most exciting
challenge we humans ever had.
1398
01:14:19,496 --> 01:14:23,291
We fight for our own survival
by redesigning, by recreating,
1399
01:14:23,292 --> 01:14:27,295
by redefining the foundation
of our society,
1400
01:14:27,296 --> 01:14:28,796
how things are being made.
1401
01:14:28,797 --> 01:14:30,006
[hopeful music continues]
1402
01:14:30,007 --> 01:14:34,260
[Warner] Someday, imagine when we say,
"The world has now nontoxic,
1403
01:14:34,261 --> 01:14:37,722
safe polymers and plastics and materials."
1404
01:14:37,723 --> 01:14:41,058
Someday, we need to look people
in the eye and say, "We did it."
1405
01:14:41,059 --> 01:14:43,102
Not, "We want to do it," but, "We did it."
1406
01:14:43,103 --> 01:14:45,939
That's gonna take great risk,
trial and error and hard work.
1407
01:14:47,566 --> 01:14:48,649
[music fades]
1408
01:14:48,650 --> 01:14:52,945
{\an8}[Swan] Even though the couples
reduced their exposures dramatically
1409
01:14:52,946 --> 01:14:54,906
{\an8}at the midpoint of the study,
1410
01:14:54,907 --> 01:14:59,327
I was interested to see if they would
be able to maintain that vigilance.
1411
01:14:59,328 --> 01:15:01,454
Let's look at some of your graphs.
1412
01:15:01,455 --> 01:15:03,080
- Shall we?
- [Jesse] Yeah, let's do it.
1413
01:15:03,081 --> 01:15:05,791
[Swan] So this is Darby, and this is BPA.
1414
01:15:05,792 --> 01:15:06,751
- Okay.
- Mm-hm.
1415
01:15:06,752 --> 01:15:09,128
[Swan] You have this drop at midpoint.
1416
01:15:09,129 --> 01:15:12,006
These were your high
molecular weight phthalates.
1417
01:15:12,007 --> 01:15:14,759
You remember
those are the ones in soft tubing
1418
01:15:14,760 --> 01:15:16,636
and, you know, soft water bottles.
1419
01:15:16,637 --> 01:15:19,639
- Your values just plummeted.
- [poignant music playing]
1420
01:15:19,640 --> 01:15:22,308
- So I would say that's a success.
- [Darby] That's great.
1421
01:15:22,309 --> 01:15:26,479
So, Jesse, this is your BPA,
and this was in the beginning.
1422
01:15:26,480 --> 01:15:31,526
You did a miracle and you went down,
and you stayed down morning and evening.
1423
01:15:31,527 --> 01:15:33,694
- And that's just phenomenal.
- That's great.
1424
01:15:33,695 --> 01:15:37,532
[Swan] The high molecular weight,
you were also quite high when you started,
1425
01:15:37,533 --> 01:15:40,159
and then you brought it down,
and you stayed down.
1426
01:15:40,160 --> 01:15:41,911
- That's great.
- [Swan] So you're a star.
1427
01:15:41,912 --> 01:15:43,788
- How'd you do that?
- Well, uh…
1428
01:15:43,789 --> 01:15:45,081
[Darby and Jesse laugh]
1429
01:15:45,082 --> 01:15:48,668
[Swan] Our couples were able
to keep their bisphenols down,
1430
01:15:48,669 --> 01:15:52,338
many to undetectable levels,
which is amazing.
1431
01:15:52,339 --> 01:15:54,257
And while phthalates were more stubborn,
1432
01:15:54,258 --> 01:15:57,552
we did see a meaningful reduction
in the average.
1433
01:15:57,553 --> 01:16:01,222
And couples, first of all, stuck with it,
1434
01:16:01,223 --> 01:16:06,978
liked it, and want to continue
these changes going forward.
1435
01:16:06,979 --> 01:16:09,855
I think what we gave up mostly
was going out to eat.
1436
01:16:09,856 --> 01:16:14,193
We saved a lot of money,
and we spent more time together cooking.
1437
01:16:14,194 --> 01:16:15,903
So it's been a positive for you.
1438
01:16:15,904 --> 01:16:17,196
- Yes, definitely.
- Absolutely.
1439
01:16:17,197 --> 01:16:18,990
And once you know,
you kind of can't go back.
1440
01:16:18,991 --> 01:16:22,451
So that's the only downside
to learning more about plastics.
1441
01:16:22,452 --> 01:16:23,536
Do you feel that?
1442
01:16:23,537 --> 01:16:25,288
- You feel you can't go back?
- [Darby] Yeah.
1443
01:16:25,289 --> 01:16:29,667
It was not that hard, uh, as we thought
1444
01:16:29,668 --> 01:16:32,378
because it was just like one week,
1445
01:16:32,379 --> 01:16:35,506
let's do this,
and another week, let's do that.
1446
01:16:35,507 --> 01:16:38,467
I think what's stuck
has been those habits you develop.
1447
01:16:38,468 --> 01:16:42,722
{\an8}You know, you get in the pattern
of not using, or using the replacement.
1448
01:16:42,723 --> 01:16:45,891
{\an8}Like changing how we prepare food
and how we store food.
1449
01:16:45,892 --> 01:16:48,603
The biggest thing is fragrances.
1450
01:16:48,604 --> 01:16:51,105
You know, laundry detergent, for example.
1451
01:16:51,106 --> 01:16:53,608
We would smell it
literally 24/7 and it'd be like,
1452
01:16:53,609 --> 01:16:55,568
"Oh my gosh, I can't stop smelling this."
1453
01:16:55,569 --> 01:16:58,321
If we're gonna buy a blanket or something,
1454
01:16:58,322 --> 01:16:59,947
we try to buy 100% cotton.
1455
01:16:59,948 --> 01:17:02,033
- Yeah.
- Like, we're now more aware.
1456
01:17:02,034 --> 01:17:04,285
I've since become an evangelist of this,
by the way.
1457
01:17:04,286 --> 01:17:06,078
I think people start to care
1458
01:17:06,079 --> 01:17:08,706
once they start to realize
that it's affecting them.
1459
01:17:08,707 --> 01:17:10,709
[music fades]
1460
01:17:12,586 --> 01:17:15,422
[Yearwood] People fight against all odds.
1461
01:17:16,506 --> 01:17:18,925
Truly, David versus Goliath.
1462
01:17:20,510 --> 01:17:25,723
But they got a strong faith
and a strong spirit that is unbelievable.
1463
01:17:25,724 --> 01:17:27,725
On this land in St. James,
1464
01:17:27,726 --> 01:17:30,686
as it's the proposed site
for the $9.4 billion
1465
01:17:30,687 --> 01:17:32,938
Formosa petrochemical plant.
1466
01:17:32,939 --> 01:17:35,358
And the land that the plant is built on
1467
01:17:35,359 --> 01:17:40,405
is causing an uproar after the discovery
of unmarked graves of enslaved people.
1468
01:17:41,198 --> 01:17:44,575
[Yearwood] The legislation
that we have now in Louisiana
1469
01:17:44,576 --> 01:17:46,911
says you can't build on graveyards.
1470
01:17:46,912 --> 01:17:48,454
[poignant music playing]
1471
01:17:48,455 --> 01:17:52,084
What's crazy about that is that that's
actually how people are now winning.
1472
01:17:53,502 --> 01:17:58,255
The ancestors who are buried
in many unmarked graves
1473
01:17:58,256 --> 01:18:02,052
is now stopping the fossil fuel plants.
1474
01:18:02,636 --> 01:18:07,348
It's almost like those ancestors
are reaching back
1475
01:18:07,349 --> 01:18:09,225
and saying, "Enough."
1476
01:18:09,226 --> 01:18:11,310
- [Lavigne] We're gonna stand together.
- [man] Right.
1477
01:18:11,311 --> 01:18:13,062
- [Lavigne] And fight Formosa.
- [man] Right.
1478
01:18:13,063 --> 01:18:16,816
We will not allow them
to take our ancestors out of this ground
1479
01:18:16,817 --> 01:18:18,276
and put them somewhere else.
1480
01:18:19,236 --> 01:18:22,196
Judge Trudy White ruled in our favor
1481
01:18:22,197 --> 01:18:25,491
and told Formosa to vacate the property.
1482
01:18:25,492 --> 01:18:28,327
Because we have the right
to breathe clean air.
1483
01:18:28,328 --> 01:18:30,997
{\an8}Sharon Lavigne is a true force of nature.
1484
01:18:32,374 --> 01:18:34,376
She is to be reckoned with.
1485
01:18:36,294 --> 01:18:39,588
[Yearwood] I know
that if we come together,
1486
01:18:39,589 --> 01:18:40,715
we win.
1487
01:18:40,716 --> 01:18:46,929
I've said it, organized people
beats organized money every single time.
1488
01:18:46,930 --> 01:18:48,806
[music fades]
1489
01:18:48,807 --> 01:18:52,101
[Landrigan] The impediments
to controlling exposures
1490
01:18:52,102 --> 01:18:55,147
to toxic chemicals are not,
for the most part, scientific.
1491
01:18:56,481 --> 01:18:59,525
And what's required
to deal with the problem is courage,
1492
01:18:59,526 --> 01:19:01,318
vision, political will.
1493
01:19:01,319 --> 01:19:03,321
[hopeful music playing]
1494
01:19:04,781 --> 01:19:10,411
No country is doing a perfect job
in regulating toxic chemicals and plastic.
1495
01:19:10,412 --> 01:19:11,328
[music fades]
1496
01:19:11,329 --> 01:19:13,832
{\an8}But the European Union
is the world leader.
1497
01:19:14,750 --> 01:19:17,085
{\an8}They have chemical legislation
called REACH,
1498
01:19:17,669 --> 01:19:20,713
which actually requires
that chemicals be tested
1499
01:19:20,714 --> 01:19:23,967
for safety and toxicity
before they come to market.
1500
01:19:24,551 --> 01:19:27,344
[Swan] There are nine chemicals
that are banned
1501
01:19:27,345 --> 01:19:30,556
from personal care products
in the United States.
1502
01:19:30,557 --> 01:19:35,436
And over 1,100 that are banned in the EU.
1503
01:19:35,437 --> 01:19:38,063
You can see
that's two orders of magnitude.
1504
01:19:38,064 --> 01:19:40,524
[man on TV] New EU rules
proposed by the European Commission
1505
01:19:40,525 --> 01:19:43,527
will target ten
single-use plastic products.
1506
01:19:43,528 --> 01:19:45,613
{\an8}These products won't disappear.
1507
01:19:45,614 --> 01:19:48,240
{\an8}They will just be made
with different materials.
1508
01:19:48,241 --> 01:19:49,575
We have an opportunity.
1509
01:19:49,576 --> 01:19:52,286
There's an international
global plastics treaty
1510
01:19:52,287 --> 01:19:54,413
being negotiated by the UN.
1511
01:19:54,414 --> 01:19:57,416
[Valdivieso] This conference
is about far more
1512
01:19:57,417 --> 01:19:59,627
than drafting an international treaty.
1513
01:19:59,628 --> 01:20:04,508
{\an8}It is about humanity rising
to meet an existential challenge.
1514
01:20:05,634 --> 01:20:10,179
[Swan] We're finally seeing some traction
on banning bisphenol A, or BPA,
1515
01:20:10,180 --> 01:20:14,350
and other lookalike bisphenols,
which cause the same harms.
1516
01:20:14,351 --> 01:20:18,814
These chemicals disrupt hormones,
including increasing estrogen.
1517
01:20:19,731 --> 01:20:22,942
In fact, BPA was studied in the 1930s
1518
01:20:22,943 --> 01:20:25,945
for its potential use
in hormone regulation,
1519
01:20:25,946 --> 01:20:28,030
including birth control.
1520
01:20:28,031 --> 01:20:32,993
In 2025, the EU said enough is enough.
1521
01:20:32,994 --> 01:20:36,664
[woman on TV] As of Monday,
the European Union has prohibited the use
1522
01:20:36,665 --> 01:20:40,501
of this endocrine disruptor
in food containers.
1523
01:20:40,502 --> 01:20:43,921
[Trasande] If we really
incorporate a health mindset,
1524
01:20:43,922 --> 01:20:48,843
we will get past a model that focuses
on what we see on our beaches,
1525
01:20:48,844 --> 01:20:49,844
in our oceans.
1526
01:20:49,845 --> 01:20:53,430
We need to think about what's getting
into human bodies, ultimately.
1527
01:20:53,431 --> 01:20:55,349
{\an8}[music fades]
1528
01:20:55,350 --> 01:20:56,852
{\an8}[FaceTime call ringing]
1529
01:20:59,020 --> 01:21:03,440
Did you change anything
in your work environment
1530
01:21:03,441 --> 01:21:05,943
that might have decreased your exposure?
1531
01:21:05,944 --> 01:21:08,572
I changed a lot. For me, I changed a lot.
1532
01:21:09,155 --> 01:21:10,948
[Swan] After I met Bruno,
1533
01:21:10,949 --> 01:21:14,451
I was worried that he would not be able
1534
01:21:14,452 --> 01:21:17,706
to lower his exposures
or improve his sperm count.
1535
01:21:18,206 --> 01:21:20,124
He is a construction worker,
1536
01:21:20,125 --> 01:21:23,336
had a lot of exposures
from construction materials.
1537
01:21:24,004 --> 01:21:25,005
I was wrong.
1538
01:21:25,672 --> 01:21:28,132
You have four semen analyses, right?
1539
01:21:28,133 --> 01:21:31,344
Three of them are really good,
and the last one is really good.
1540
01:21:32,304 --> 01:21:35,890
The pattern overall
is that you have gotten greatly improved.
1541
01:21:35,891 --> 01:21:37,017
[Monique] Yeah.
1542
01:21:37,517 --> 01:21:39,393
We were not expecting at all.
1543
01:21:39,394 --> 01:21:41,103
We thought, "What?"
1544
01:21:41,104 --> 01:21:44,899
If we look at your concentration,
1545
01:21:44,900 --> 01:21:46,526
it was 44.
1546
01:21:47,110 --> 01:21:50,196
And then it was 60.
1547
01:21:50,989 --> 01:21:55,075
I did see some sperm results from you,
and they got a lot better.
1548
01:21:55,076 --> 01:21:55,952
Ooh, good.
1549
01:21:56,536 --> 01:21:59,830
[Swan] Your total
motile count increased 50%.
1550
01:21:59,831 --> 01:22:00,915
- [Katie] Gosh.
- [Tim] Yeah.
1551
01:22:00,916 --> 01:22:02,917
- So that's huge.
- [Katie] That's awesome.
1552
01:22:02,918 --> 01:22:04,710
- Whoo-hoo! [laughs]
- Yeah. [laughs]
1553
01:22:04,711 --> 01:22:07,380
The numbers were…
We were talking about that… quite high.
1554
01:22:08,340 --> 01:22:11,258
- Concentration is way up.
- [Kate] I know!
1555
01:22:11,259 --> 01:22:12,593
[Swan] It's just incredible.
1556
01:22:12,594 --> 01:22:14,303
You've turned into Superman.
1557
01:22:14,304 --> 01:22:16,096
[all laugh]
1558
01:22:16,097 --> 01:22:18,140
I have results here.
1559
01:22:18,141 --> 01:22:22,728
I think the most exciting to me,
and probably to you,
1560
01:22:22,729 --> 01:22:27,066
is that your total sperm count
is way high.
1561
01:22:27,067 --> 01:22:30,152
The cutoff for fertile is about 40.
1562
01:22:30,153 --> 01:22:33,573
You were originally below that,
and now you're at 77,
1563
01:22:34,491 --> 01:22:36,325
which is awesome!
1564
01:22:36,326 --> 01:22:38,327
- Thank you.
- [all laughing]
1565
01:22:38,328 --> 01:22:42,039
[Swan] I was really pleased
with the results of the sperm analysis.
1566
01:22:42,040 --> 01:22:44,667
Of the six men in the study,
1567
01:22:44,668 --> 01:22:50,172
five improved their semen quality
on multiple parameters.
1568
01:22:50,173 --> 01:22:52,049
- So, how do you feel about that?
- I feel great.
1569
01:22:52,050 --> 01:22:53,217
- Yeah?
- Um, yeah.
1570
01:22:53,218 --> 01:22:55,636
It feels really good
that the intervention actually worked.
1571
01:22:55,637 --> 01:23:00,599
And I went from being sub
or not fertile to normal.
1572
01:23:00,600 --> 01:23:04,269
[Swan] Another really positive takeaway
from this intervention
1573
01:23:04,270 --> 01:23:10,317
is that it seemed to improve their lives
in many ways that we had not expected.
1574
01:23:10,318 --> 01:23:12,653
When we cut everything out, I went from,
1575
01:23:12,654 --> 01:23:15,864
I think I was like at 212
when we did the measurement,
1576
01:23:15,865 --> 01:23:17,866
down to like 198.
1577
01:23:17,867 --> 01:23:19,326
And now I'm back around 202.
1578
01:23:19,327 --> 01:23:21,286
So ten pounds you lost.
1579
01:23:21,287 --> 01:23:24,748
I wake up way less at night,
and I sleep, like, deeper.
1580
01:23:24,749 --> 01:23:25,916
[hopeful music playing]
1581
01:23:25,917 --> 01:23:30,254
[Swan] A third of the participants
lowered their body mass index.
1582
01:23:30,255 --> 01:23:34,133
Over 60% reported increased energy levels,
1583
01:23:34,134 --> 01:23:37,886
80% reported increased sleep quality,
1584
01:23:37,887 --> 01:23:43,308
and 86% reported they plan
to keep these lifestyle changes.
1585
01:23:43,309 --> 01:23:45,811
[Eric] I feel like
I'm able to focus for longer.
1586
01:23:45,812 --> 01:23:48,313
There's not the fog that used to be there.
1587
01:23:48,314 --> 01:23:50,024
I just feel better, and I enjoy life more.
1588
01:23:50,025 --> 01:23:51,984
So why the hell
would I not continue to do this?
1589
01:23:51,985 --> 01:23:55,320
[Swan] It's true that
to understand patterns of disease,
1590
01:23:55,321 --> 01:23:58,408
you need a large population.
1591
01:23:59,117 --> 01:24:01,827
So these results will be used
1592
01:24:01,828 --> 01:24:04,830
to support an application
for a larger study
1593
01:24:04,831 --> 01:24:06,832
with government funding.
1594
01:24:06,833 --> 01:24:09,126
So I think we're pioneers.
1595
01:24:09,127 --> 01:24:09,961
[music fades]
1596
01:24:13,381 --> 01:24:17,509
[in Portuguese] Well, today I decided
to take a pregnancy test, another one,
1597
01:24:17,510 --> 01:24:19,846
and I'm going to share with you.
1598
01:24:20,722 --> 01:24:21,973
We never know, right?
1599
01:24:25,060 --> 01:24:25,894
One.
1600
01:24:26,561 --> 01:24:27,395
Two.
1601
01:24:28,021 --> 01:24:28,897
Three.
1602
01:24:29,606 --> 01:24:30,440
Four.
1603
01:24:31,024 --> 01:24:33,026
[hopeful music playing]
1604
01:24:33,485 --> 01:24:34,819
What does it mean?
1605
01:24:38,615 --> 01:24:40,033
It's not a joke, is it?
1606
01:24:41,743 --> 01:24:45,079
It's not a joke, right? This can't be.
1607
01:24:45,080 --> 01:24:46,206
[Bruno] There are two.
1608
01:24:49,584 --> 01:24:52,586
[laughing]
1609
01:24:52,587 --> 01:24:54,296
I'm not trusting this test.
1610
01:24:54,297 --> 01:24:57,634
Okay, hold it here.
I'll use another one now.
1611
01:24:58,218 --> 01:24:59,761
Oh, my love.
1612
01:25:04,182 --> 01:25:05,182
Oh!
1613
01:25:05,183 --> 01:25:07,142
[Bruno] Oh, my love.
1614
01:25:07,143 --> 01:25:09,145
[sobbing]
1615
01:25:12,649 --> 01:25:13,858
[in English] I love you.
1616
01:25:19,864 --> 01:25:23,076
{\an8}So since we last spoke, uh,
life has changed quite a bit.
1617
01:25:25,203 --> 01:25:28,373
{\an8}[Julie] Right now, I'm 15 weeks pregnant.
1618
01:25:28,915 --> 01:25:31,166
And we already know it's a boy,
1619
01:25:31,167 --> 01:25:33,919
so we can't name the baby Shanna, really.
1620
01:25:33,920 --> 01:25:35,921
Yeah, I know. We were planning on Shanna.
1621
01:25:35,922 --> 01:25:38,298
{\an8}[Darby] Okay, this is Bobby.
Those are feet.
1622
01:25:38,299 --> 01:25:41,552
{\an8}After the study,
we found out we were expecting.
1623
01:25:41,553 --> 01:25:43,887
{\an8}Yeah! We're… [laughs]
1624
01:25:43,888 --> 01:25:45,055
{\an8}Yeah, we're pregnant.
1625
01:25:45,056 --> 01:25:46,098
{\an8}- Yeah.
- It's amazing.
1626
01:25:46,099 --> 01:25:49,726
{\an8}- Mostly I'm pregnant, but we are pregnant.
- Well, it's the way they say it, right?
1627
01:25:49,727 --> 01:25:52,021
{\an8}[hopeful music continues]
1628
01:25:54,524 --> 01:25:59,279
[Swan] Initially, my introduction
to all the participants was on paper.
1629
01:26:01,656 --> 01:26:06,785
{\an8}But I was continually surprised
what a pleasure it was to meet them,
1630
01:26:06,786 --> 01:26:09,371
to interact with them,
to get to know them.
1631
01:26:09,372 --> 01:26:10,455
[doctor] It looks great.
1632
01:26:10,456 --> 01:26:12,332
- [Monique] Oh!
- [doctor] Did you see it moving?
1633
01:26:12,333 --> 01:26:14,209
[in Portuguese] Oh, it's moving, honey.
1634
01:26:14,210 --> 01:26:15,795
[laughing]
1635
01:26:16,880 --> 01:26:18,964
[Swan in English]
I feel connected with each of them.
1636
01:26:18,965 --> 01:26:22,718
And it's very surprising
because it's unusual for a study
1637
01:26:22,719 --> 01:26:24,428
that you would have that.
1638
01:26:24,429 --> 01:26:26,431
{\an8}[hopeful music playing]
1639
01:26:27,891 --> 01:26:29,308
{\an8}Knock, knock.
1640
01:26:29,309 --> 01:26:31,185
- [Monique] Hi!
- [Swan] Hi!
1641
01:26:31,186 --> 01:26:32,811
[Swan laughs]
1642
01:26:32,812 --> 01:26:34,814
[baby crying]
1643
01:26:35,648 --> 01:26:36,940
[Swan] Look what you did.
1644
01:26:36,941 --> 01:26:38,943
[laughing]
1645
01:26:40,278 --> 01:26:41,987
- [Monique] We did.
- We did.
1646
01:26:41,988 --> 01:26:43,990
[hopeful music playing]
1647
01:26:51,497 --> 01:26:54,583
[Swan] If you want to have a child,
1648
01:26:54,584 --> 01:26:58,922
I believe it is a fundamental human right
to be able to do so.
1649
01:27:03,218 --> 01:27:10,058
I think I'm now more optimistic
about solving the fertility problem.
1650
01:27:11,351 --> 01:27:12,559
But it's going to be a fight,
1651
01:27:12,560 --> 01:27:15,437
and that's why I'm fighting,
and that's why I'm talking to you.
1652
01:27:15,438 --> 01:27:16,856
[laughs]
1653
01:27:18,608 --> 01:27:19,942
{\an8}[baby coos]
1654
01:27:19,943 --> 01:27:22,236
{\an8}- [Swan] You are perfect.
- [Monique] Yeah.
1655
01:27:22,237 --> 01:27:24,071
{\an8}[baby coos]
1656
01:27:24,072 --> 01:27:26,074
{\an8}[hopeful music continues]
1657
01:27:41,589 --> 01:27:43,466
{\an8}[music intensifies]
1658
01:27:55,728 --> 01:27:59,023
[hopeful music continues]
1659
01:29:53,304 --> 01:29:54,305
[music fades]