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One of the agencies deeply affected by these cuts is the Environmental Protection Agency.
Ron Sach-Pool / Getty Images
His proposal eliminates more than 50 EPA programs in a means to save $347 million dollars.
Included in the cut programs: theEndocrine Disruptor Screening Program(EDSP).
On first glance, eliminating that program might not ring any alarm bells for you.
But cutting the program is a very big dealespecially for any woman or man hoping to have children.
Some chemicals can mimic or interfere with the function of hormones.
You’ve probably learned to steer clear of plastic water bottles that containBPA.
That’s because BPA (which stands for bisphenol-A) is an EDC.
TheMayo Clinicreports that sometimes, the BPA in containers can seep into food and drinks.
The effects of EDCs typically aren’t overt but much more subtle and insidious.
What’s more, endocrine disruptors are everywhere.
But it’s basically impossible to gauge your actual exposure day to day, or cumulatively over your lifetime.
To say the very least: More research is needed.
Recent studieshave even pointed to EDCs as a reason for increasing infertility rates across the world.
Here’s the thing: EDCs are a relatively new discovery.
We could be using products that we think are safebut they could contain undiscovered EDCs, Patisaul says.
We know EDCs can affect humansbut the details are still really foggy and rather scary.
Patisaul says losing the program would be “a tragedy.”
The work of the EDSP reverberates far beyond the walls of the EPA, Patisaul says.
And companies across the world rely on the EDSP, too.
And maybe companies will read their research and adjust their products accordingly.
“Who benefits from that?
Why would you want it gone?
Feeling motivated to act?
There are plenty of ways to make your voice heard.
SELF’s resources onfinding activist opportunitiesandgetting involved in policy decisionsare great places to start.
Related:
Watch: 7 Ways You Didn’t Know Obamacare Affected Your Daily Life
