Colette vom Berg

SB 458 seeks to define sex as binary, based on sperm and egg production. While this bill is antiquated, discriminatory, and dangerous, it also shows a complete ignorance of biology. Gender is shaped by genetic, hormonal, and social factors, and evolutionary biology reveals kaleidoscopic variation in sex and gender. In flowering plants, hermaphrodites are the rule (known as 'perfect' flowers), and single-sex plants, such as willow trees, are the exception.

Contemporary discussions on climate change, biodiversity, and chemicals often reveal a curious inconsistency: Talking about climate change, people tend to be concerned about environmental effects, including accelerated loss of biodiversity, while threats to health and wellbeing of our own species are perceived as much less urgent by many.

In agricultural areas, insecticides inevitably reach water bodies via leaching or run-off. While designed to be neurotoxic to insects, insecticides have adverse effects on a multitude of organisms due to the high conservation of the nervous system among phyla. To estimate the ecological effects of insecticides, it is important to investigate their impact on non-target organisms such as fish.