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Re:Atrazine in Australian water affects male fertility by narrator on Monday January 21, 2019 @12:20PM (#18961799)
As countries become more wealthy and educated, they use more endocrine disrupting chemicals and thus have lower birth rates.
Re:Atrazine in Australian water affects male fertility by Dirlewanger on Monday January 21, 2019 @12:40PM (#18961960)
I think that one is a lot tougher to prove causation with, especially because in the article it says the EU banned Atrazine, yet they all have falling birth rates as well. I think that one has more to do with higher education and income.
Re:Atrazine in Australian water affects male fertility by ggm on Monday January 21, 2019 @07:24PM (#18964921)
There are confounding co-factors to birth rate in advanced economies. it would be grossly simplistic to ascribe the birth rate to falling sperm motility levels, when advanced societies offer IVF and assisted reproduction often on the public purse.

I suspect the economics here are stronger than biology: it is too expensive to raise and (privately) educate children and in the developed economies, familys delay childbirth into later years and so tend to have less children.

TL;DR I believe the birth rates in Africa and Asia are varying more as a function of economy, than of insecticide.