About Theodora Colborn
Dr. Theodora Colborn was a toxicologist who founded the quote, “endocrine disruptor.” This term means how chemicals can destroy and affect health of the endocrine system. Colburn earned her Ph.D when she was 58 from the University of Wisconsin (Grossman, Vandenberg, Thayer, & Birnbaum, 2015, pg. A54). Before going back to school, Colborn was a sheep farmer and a grandmother (Motavalli, 1997, pg. 2). Thirty-five years ago, she did research on species of the Great Lakes who had health issues. She concluded that the cause of these problems were from man-made chemicals and pesticides. Her studies have shown the scientific community how the smallest amount of chemicals can effect an entire ecosystem. When Colborn was 76 she …show more content…
Colburn’s efforts to eliminate endocrine disruptors are explained by the problems man-made chemicals caused in health and development of organisms, how research helped and didn’t help to fix these problems, and how these problems …show more content…
The most common systems affected are the endocrine, reproductive, and nervous systems (Colborn & Lioff, 1990, para. 22-23). Since the 1950’s, the Great Lakes has been attracting industries for the use of its resources. These industries have used the Greats Lakes as a waste dump for unnecessary products. Soon after, experts started to notice health problems in aquatic species. This problem made people wonder if these issues would eventually affect them (Colburn & Liroff, 1990, para. 6-8). When predator species of the Great Lakes Ecosystem started showing signs of health changes, scientists got seriously concerned. There were high levels of toxic chemicals in plants tissues that animals would end up consuming. Whenever an animal would consume these affected plants, they would become affected also (Colborn & Thayer, 2000, para. 1) Young animals are the main victim of the effects of these chemicals. They usually die after birth or have under developed muscles or organs. For example, Bald Eagles that live in the Great Lakes are having a difficult time raising their young because the chemicals in the lakes are effecting their abilities to nurture their offspring (Colborn & Liroff, 1990, para. 10 & 12) Today the Great Lakes is considered safe from most chemicals although many species are struggling to survive. There is still little amounts of chemicals such as
Dr. Theodora Colborn was a toxicologist who founded the quote, “endocrine disruptor.” This term means how chemicals can destroy and affect health of the endocrine system. Colburn earned her Ph.D when she was 58 from the University of Wisconsin (Grossman, Vandenberg, Thayer, & Birnbaum, 2015, pg. A54). Before going back to school, Colborn was a sheep farmer and a grandmother (Motavalli, 1997, pg. 2). Thirty-five years ago, she did research on species of the Great Lakes who had health issues. She concluded that the cause of these problems were from man-made chemicals and pesticides. Her studies have shown the scientific community how the smallest amount of chemicals can effect an entire ecosystem. When Colborn was 76 she …show more content…
Colburn’s efforts to eliminate endocrine disruptors are explained by the problems man-made chemicals caused in health and development of organisms, how research helped and didn’t help to fix these problems, and how these problems …show more content…
The most common systems affected are the endocrine, reproductive, and nervous systems (Colborn & Lioff, 1990, para. 22-23). Since the 1950’s, the Great Lakes has been attracting industries for the use of its resources. These industries have used the Greats Lakes as a waste dump for unnecessary products. Soon after, experts started to notice health problems in aquatic species. This problem made people wonder if these issues would eventually affect them (Colburn & Liroff, 1990, para. 6-8). When predator species of the Great Lakes Ecosystem started showing signs of health changes, scientists got seriously concerned. There were high levels of toxic chemicals in plants tissues that animals would end up consuming. Whenever an animal would consume these affected plants, they would become affected also (Colborn & Thayer, 2000, para. 1) Young animals are the main victim of the effects of these chemicals. They usually die after birth or have under developed muscles or organs. For example, Bald Eagles that live in the Great Lakes are having a difficult time raising their young because the chemicals in the lakes are effecting their abilities to nurture their offspring (Colborn & Liroff, 1990, para. 10 & 12) Today the Great Lakes is considered safe from most chemicals although many species are struggling to survive. There is still little amounts of chemicals such as