That is true and is the majority of the effect on birthrate; however, rates of infertility are also increasing.
I intentionally wrote ‘fertility’ rather than birthrate, and I wasn’t conflating the two.
Perhaps, but this is a minor factor. I would be interested in your views on why fertility rates are decreasing in the US.
Sorry, I don’t know, I don’t have that information to hand.
Yes, it is the lesser of those two effects both of which affect birthrate.
Why are you stating it as fact then?
I have the information, I just don’t have the reasons behind the effect.
You are sure that the CPU in your computer is working… But do you understand the mechanism by which the transistors in the CPU operate? (Even if you understand from an electrical model, do you understand the underlying quantum mechanical rules that enable that electrical model of operation to function?)
If you don’t mind me saying, this is very low-quality whataboutery. I know the CPU on my Mac works because I’m typing this and you and everyone else can read it. How it works doesn’t matter to me personally; what matters is that it does.
You say that fertility rates are falling, yet you don’t say by how much or what causes the decline. Is it down to pollution, for example? Is the decline in male fertility or female? Or both? We know birth rates are falling as result of urbanisation, women’s empowerment, the increasing cost of raising children, a rapid fall in infant morality and othe socio-economic factors. But that’s very different from falling fertility, which to me seems to me to be a biological matter, rather than a socio-economic one.
A cynic would suggest that you have a narrative you want to push – that C4’s rather poor and overwrought interpretation of Atwood’s very good book is brilliant and somehow super-relevant – and that when said narrative comes up against reality you resort to making unproven assertions and desperate whataboutery about CPUs on computers.
I’m not a cynic. of course, so I would never say such a thing.
Overweight > fat > hormones.
I’d assume it was male fertility which is waning, but it might be both.
How relevant are phyto-oestrogens in food eg soy products? This has mystified me a little given the prevalence of soy based foodstuffs in many non-Western countries whose populations haven’t become extinct.
Hormonal effects from plastics and other commonly used industrial chemicals in recent decades?
OCP usage and urinary excretion supposedly feminizing aquatic life.
How many of these effects are real, how many simply plausible but not especially significant?
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Fare comment. But C4 just bought it from Hulu, a Walt Disney company.
Hulu are capable of making some decent stuff. Have you watched ‘Ramy’ ? Probably my favourite comedy/drama of last few years but very few people have even heard of it, let alone watched it
We would all be better off watching Ch5 instead.
It was a paradigm, an illustration by example, noting more, nothing less.
The fact is that not knowing why something is happening doesn’t indicate any fallacy in the fact that it IS happening. We only have your word for it that your Mac is working and you’re not writing this on an iPad! (yes that point is just as irrelevant as your question “Why are you stating it as fact then?”, and included simply to illustrate that degree of irrelevance).
If you prefer, how about another: Most plants grow upwards… Do you know HOW they control this? If you don’t know, do YOUR plants grow in random directions. For an individual person to not know the reason for something doesn’t discredit it.
Furthermore I didn’t claim that the television series is “brilliant and somehow super-relevant”, you assumed that I was only applying that to the television series - if you look I was applying it to the premise of the story not specifically the book or the television series.
All that should be inferred from me listing The Handmaid’s Tale, is that I wanted to watch the series. And if I do so, thank you, I’ll form my own opinion concerning its quality.
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television (or film) adaptions are rarely as good as thr book inevitably much is lost. but in the case of the handmaid’s tale they have introduced a very strong visual language that is appropriate to the change of medium. for me the series gives an audience who would be unlikely to read the book access to the key ideas and so is inevitably and rightly disturbing
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I agree. A different medium requires doing things differently, it’s often why adaptations aren’t as good. (I haven’t seen or read this one though.) Why Alan Moore doesn’t want anything to do with the film adaptations, the medium won’t allow for his work to be done justice he says.
A good example is the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Not a great adaptation of the books, but great films in their own right precisely because of choosing to step away from the style of the book.
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Birthrates are a matter of public record per country. Human “fertility” is not something that translates nicely to a ratio like birthrates. It’s very hard to measure the percentage of people of childbearing age who are sterile. Generally only those who have chosen to have children subject themselves to tests. As a result, the TFR published is always using the birthrate instead since its an accurate knowable number.
And birthrates are way down in developed countries for mostly socioeconomic reasons. The rat race doesn’t lend itself to choosing children.
This aspect of Handmaid’s Tale was the only real license it took. And that’s acceptable. It drives the story forward and after a global pandemic leaving millions of people without one of their 5 senses, I think we understand that while Giliad’s low fertility rate is made up, it seems like something that could happen.
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Might end up being unable to watch much at all - the Samsung TV is becoming erratic and has a mind of its own with random volume changes/channel changes, and my projector has just announced it needs a new bulb ordering but stocks are non-existent as it’s an older model 
I’ve just had a response from All4:
“…clear your browser history…”
i.e. We can’t be bothered to look at the problem, so here’s a generic response.
In that case you’re not going to like what happens to the Commander in the last episode.
Praise be.
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Ah ok, probably makes revisiting it a bit futile if I have an inkling of the ending. 
Having said that, I’m not sure I’d have bothered.
There is far too much content out there to watch, perhaps that’s the problem and I’m less patient or less tolerant to wait to get ‘hooked’ by a show. I find I tend to get a feel quite quickly these days for whether or not I will enjoy something and early annoyances/irritations with a movie/show can be enough for me to switch off and try something else. Undoubtedly I’m probably missing out on several excellent shows which just need more time to get going, but there are quite a number of things I’ve started to watch and eventually never bothered to finish.
I feel the pain of the OP here. Important to note though that whilst there are some accessibility guidelines they are by no means “accepted”. If they were then the world would largely be a better place but some of the research done explicitly around dyslexia and passwords recognised that what appeared to be obvious solutions didn’t necessarily work for all in practice.
As with my own health conditions, what works for one person with the condition won’t necessarily work for another person with an identical condition and can create further accessibility issues for others with different health conditions. There are no easy answers but equally it’s not necessarily discriminatory so much as ignorance. Guidance and good practice is just that. There’s no obligation to follow it; often very solid reasons for not doing so and it won’t automatically be direct or indirect indiscrimination to not do so.
I’d be interested to know who was contacted at Channel 4. A general complaint or a more specific comment aimed directly to the IOS or Android app accessibility teams for example? A “clear your cache” response does not sound to me like a response from any accessibility team I’ve ever encountered. Generally the latter are lovely; want to hear more detail and then get into discussions about solutions. It can be a long process but I’ve always found it more productive ultimately than directing anger, frustration etc.