At the risk of appearing like I'm on an environmental crusade, I'm going to follow up my post about toxin-eating trees with an article that links lead in the environment with violent crime.

The article is based on research by Jessica Reyes that argues the 1973 peak of lead exposure in the U.S. corresponds to the peak of violent crime in the early 90s. The idea is that people exposed to high levels of lead as children had a high propensity for violent crime during their early adulthood (when criminal activity is statistically greatest). The removal of lead from gasoline and paint following 1973 would then explain the rapid drop in violent crime in the mid-to-late 90s.

The idea that lead in the environment can affect our entire society by making a generation more prone to crime is pretty frightening. If true, it certainly raises questions about what other chemicals are having effects on our society right now. Is the alarming rise in ADHD and autism diagnoses in children caused by some sort of pollution? And what effects will it have on our society as today's children become adults?

By the way, if you're not interested in low level environmental contamination, did you know forensic scientists can determine your age by the amount of radioactive carbon in your tooth enamel? Well, that is unless all your teeth had formed before 1955 when above ground nuclear testing started adding it to the planet's atmosphere.

Posted by JoshC at October 30, 2007 8:12 AM

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