Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals

Critical Thinking Questions:

Please use your knowledge from the textbook and the two associated articles to answer the following questions. Feel free to use examples throughout. Answers should be in complete sentences and not more than 250 words each. Use these questions as a benchmark to determine how well you understand the underlying material.

1. What are endocrine disrupting chemicals? What are their sources and how do they affect us? What are some ways you can think of that you are possibly exposed to EDCs? Make sure to have read the NY Times media article to learn about the personal story of Nicholas Kristof and see how you can relate.
2. The article by Wang and Tian (2015) is a meta-analysis of studies analyzing the triclosan. Briefly summarize the properties of triclosan, where it is found (how we are exposed to it) and how it affects the human body. What hormonal pathways does triclosan interfere with?

Policy Question: What kind of regulation(s) should there be on cosmetics that contain endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs)? Explain your stance in your recommendation. Answers should be thoughtful and in complete sentences with correct grammar.

Background information: What do you need to know before you can make an informed recommendation? Use complete sentences. Don’t be afraid to be detailed here.	Why does this missing piece of information matter? (include social and science rationales) Use complete sentences.	List at least 2 sources per row. For each source, include the author, publication (e.g., journal or website name), and year.
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Policy Recommendation: After conducting background research, what is your policy recommendation? Insert parenthetical in-text citations* as needed. (copy/paste this to the discussion in canvas)

*Parenthetical in-text citations look like this:

Due to its strong performance on heavily disturbed soils, C. scoparius readily invades a variety of anthropogenically-affected habitats such as logged forests, roadsides, and over-grazed pastures (Hulting et al. 2008).

Information paraphrased from the source Hulting et al. (2008) is cited with the parenthetical at the end of the paragraph. “Et al.” just means “and others” in this context. Quoted excerpt from: Robyn Dove, Emily R. Wolfe, Nathan U. Stewart, and Daniel J. Ballhorn “Ecoregion—Rather Than Sympatric Legumes—Influences Symbiotic Bradyrhizobium Associations in Invasive Scotch Broom (Cytisus scoparius) in the Pacific Northwest,” Northwest Science 94(2), 142-159, (25 November 2020). https://doi.org/10.3955/046.094.0205