Falling sperm counts aren't as alarming as they sound | Marion Boulicault and Meredith Reiches

Apocalyptic predictions about male infertility seem to be everywhere, but the science doesn't support them

What's too small to see with the naked eye, made by half the population in batches of millions, and in alarmingly short supply? The answer, according to some scientists, is sperm. Specifically, researchers are concerned that men in the west have been producing fewer and fewer sperm since the 1970s, a decline that they say shows no sign of stopping. At the current rate, they say, these men could be infertile by 2045. But these figures should give us pause. The idea that the sperm of men in western countries is about to flatline is, in a word, extraordinary. The data doesn't support it.

The fear of a decline in sperm counts is potent and far-reaching. It has been voiced by everyone from environmentalists such as Erin Brockovich to white supremacists and their mainstream media mouthpieces such as Tucker Carlson. The broad appeal of this notion is possible because the alleged causes of a decline run the material and ideological gamut. They include chemicals found in common household products as well as modern urban lifestyles in which white men are physically sedentary and compelled to share power with people of ever-diversifying genders and ethnicities.