Pass the Perchlorate

There's a news article today about how women all over the country have been found to have perchlorate, a toxic component of rocket fuel, in their breast milk. The really nice part is that the people most vulnerable to this chemical that inhibits the thyroid hormones necessary for brain development are... infants.

Reminds me of another story a few weeks ago about how chemicals used to make Teflon cookware can cause birth defects and how this chemical just so happens to be present in the bloodstream of the general population. DuPont swears up and down that the chemical is only used in the manufacturing process and doesn't make it into the products. I guess then it's only a health risk for their employees and the people fortunate enough to live downstream of the manufacturing plant? And what if it does make it into the products, or a different product, or a different chemical does?

"Progress" is killing us. Chemical contamination, air pollution, electromagnetic radiation; all byproducts from our lives of convenience and efficiency. There is a good argument that technology actually complicates our lives while promising to simplify them. It wouldn't surprise me one bit if it was killing us too.

I love technology, and as a willing participant I deserve a slow and painful death. I feel sorry for the Menonites. How much would it suck after a hard life without air conditioning, automobiles, or Internet pornography to die from drinking water contaminated with rocket fuel?