@stilt21
You may be correct about the effects of an overly sterile environment. I read the theory about allergies and it goes something like this, the normal childhood diseases help tune the immune system. A child's immune system is not fully formed until about 4 or 5 years. A lot of the mother's immunity is delivered through breast milk and that helps protect the infant for a few years. Raising a child in a clean and sterile home does not keep the immune system from finding things to attack and this is where allergies are supposed to originate. The body is hyper vigilant with substances and this is the allergic reaction. Studies have shown that allowing children to play in dirt and other things helps keep the immune system from being hypervigialant.
Autism is still poorly understood. The biggest cause for the increase in autism is a better understanding of the symptoms. Lead and mercury tend to damage nerves and cause retardation. There are other forms of autism and autism can range from slight to severe. Einstein may have been autistic, he did not speak until he was 4 or 5. If Einstein was autistic then he is also a good hope that other autistic children can contribute to society.
I do think that CO2 is a problem that should be addressed. I think of it like doing things to protect your home, you take precautions to prevent fire and pay insurance to deal with a fire if it happens. Even if you don't think your house will ever catch fire, it is better to have made some preparations than none. Cap and trade is not a very good solution as it allows the status quo to continue by "borrowing" carbon credit from someone else who does not produce much CO2. Better solutions would be to find ways to reduce CO2 or find ways to sequester it. Or we can all emulate yeast and pollute ourselves out of existence.
