Loonacy.

I'm lucky that Mark and Kris make our local paper a part of their morning routine. Hanna and I had tried to maintain a weekend subscription to the Concord Monitor, but it didn't work out. Now that I'm moving to Downing St. I can share in the wealth of Mark and Kris' dedication to local news.

That said, I was reading the Concord Monitor this morning and stumbled upon an article written by Chelsea Conabo. Kudos, Chelsea, on such a thorough job. Turns out, there are record numbers of nesting pairs of Loons in the state of New Hampshire, 240 to be exact. That's a big deal, since the species' population dipped dramatically in past years. So, more loons should mean more eggs, which should mean more baby loons. Not so fast.

At this juncture, I'll quote Conabo's article:

"... The rate of reproduction was about 0.4 chicks per pair, too low to maintain a stable population. Even more worrying is that a total of seven chicks survived on the state's largest lakes: Umbagog, Winnipesaukee and Squam."

Ouch. Those three lakes should have more than enough room and untouched shoreline to sustain themselves. Several eggs were tested for contaminates, the most predominant of those found was Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (also known as PBDEs).

Does this sound familiar to anyone? Does anyone in my generation remember when DDT was threatening the fabric of Bald Eagle populations? For Europe and several US state's attempts at banning certain types of PBDEs, they're still being produced in other spaces. That means they're still getting into our water systems. Let's define exactly what PBDEs are:

Wikipedia describes PBDEs as: "Polybrominated diphenyl ethers or PBDE, are organic compounds that are used as a flame retardant. Like other brominated flame retardants, PBDEs have been used in a wide array of products, including building materials, electronics, furnishings, motor vehicles, plastics, polyurethane foams, and textiles. They are structurally akin to the PCB’s, consisting of two halogenated aromatic rings linked by an ether group. PBDEs are classified according to the average number of bromine atoms in the molecule. The health hazards of these chemicals have attracted increasing scrutiny."

The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry has a Public Health Statement in regards to these substances as well:


There are three commercial PBDE products (i.e., penta-, octa-, and decabromodiphenyl ethers). Deca- and octa-brominated types of PBDEs are also produced outside of the United States (in China and Israel). Decabromodiphenyl ether (decaBDE) makes up 82% of these products manufactured globally. Its main use is for electronic enclosures, such as television cabinets. Octabromodiphenyl ether (octaBDE) product is used in plastics for business equipment. Pentabromodiphenyl ether (pentaBDE) product is used in foam for cushioning in upholstery. PBDEs have not been associated with actual health-related effects. Concerns have increased, however, because some of these chemicals (particularly the pentaBDEs) have been found in the environment at varying concentrations. Environmental concentrations of lower brominated PBDEs, which may be leveling off in Europe, appear to be increasing in certain areas of Canada and the United States.

"PBDEs are a group of synthetic organic chemicals with no known natural sources in the environment, except for a few marine organisms that produce forms of PBDEs that contain higher levels of oxygen. Commercial decaBDE and octaBDE products are colorless to off-white solids, whereas commercial pentaBDE product is a thick liquid. PBDEs are not expected to evaporate into the air. PBDEs in the air are mostly found with dust rather than as a vapor. PBDEs enter the environment as mixtures containing a variety of individual brominated diphenyl ether (for PBDEs) components, known as congeners. Congeners are distinct members of a class of chemical substances. Some commercial mixtures of PBDEs may be known by their industrial trade names, (i.e., DE-60F Special, DE-61, DE-62, DE-71, DE-79, DE 83R, Saytex® 102E). PBDEs are still produced and widely used in the United States, although the sole manufacturer of penta- and octaPBDE commercial products in the United States is expected to quit making these chemicals by the end of 2004."

This article continues and explains what happens when these chemicals are introduced to the environment and what happens when people come into contact with PBDEs.

Now, I read all of this information with a heavy helping of cynicism. Sure, we may have stopped making several versions of the stuff, but it's still around. Loons aren't the only animals that will feel adverse effects from toxic chemicals like these. Try human fetuses. Our generation (I'm talking to you, dear 20 and 30-somethings) is the first generation to be raised in the tradition of "better life through chemistry." Our baby boomer parents love chemicals. They've only had the pleasure of living with them for half of their lives- we, however, will deal with them our entire lives.

Sure, there's no way to really know just how much of an effect chemicals will have on our genetic make-up and our life expectancy, but I think it's safe to say that SOME effects will show up. Our generation is the world's guinea pig. When we're finally hitting our 80s (if we live that long) science can finally say when kind of mess we've put ourselves in.

The Loons are our first real indicators. Their lives are much shorter than ours, but they're compromised by every chemical that makes its way into their systems. Lead, PBDEs, DDT, the stuff that makes up the "Chemical Soup" Conabo refers to. We've got that in our bodies, too. As go the Loons, so goes society. Remember that.

I'm sure after reading all of this you might be wondering, "What does she expect me to do about all of this?" In all honest, there's isn't much that CAN be done. I can't climb into a row boat and filter all the PBDE out of my favorite lake. What we can do is try to be informed citizens. Buying some new gadgets for your house? Making a large electronics or other technological purchase? Research the companies you're buying from. If you're making the effort to shop around for the best price, why not shop around for the most sustainable company at the same time? There's a great organization based in Manchester, funded by the Stonyfield company (of organic yogurt fame), that rates various companies on their sustainability. Climate Counts has easy to comprehend score cards that rate some nationally recognized companies- a few are Nike, Sony and General Mills. Use the research they've done to save you some time. Being an informed consumer does more than just complaining about the problems we're facing. Money talks, party people ... money talks.

I've been pretty long winded on this post, but the moral of this report is the unshakable reality that despite man's best efforts to protect the species that surround him, nothing can stop the effects of the damage we've already done. That's a scary thought, isn't it?

Save the Loons, save ourselves.