Speaker
Drew McCartor
Appearances over time
1 episodes
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1
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Quotes & moments
In 2023, lead poisoning killed more people than all active wars, natural disasters, road accidents, HIV, and malaria combined.
Lead poisoning causes an estimated 2 million IQ points to be permanently lost in children every single day worldwide.
More than 1 billion children and teenagers worldwide have blood-lead concentrations exceeding the WHO threshold for intervention — that's 1 in 3 kids.
The average child in low- and middle-income countries has lead exposure high enough to lose an estimated 4 to 5 IQ points.
Lead exposure at current average levels is sufficient to cut in half the number of children with an IQ above 130, effectively halving the pool of gifted children.
After Pure Earth helped Georgia identify lead-contaminated spices and tighten regulations, lead levels in the hardest-hit regions fell by 75%.
With Audacious Project funding, Pure Earth is rolling out its three-step lead-prevention model in over 20 countries home to 500 million children.
A 2018 national survey conducted in Georgia with UNICEF found that 41% of Georgian children had blood-lead levels exceeding the WHO intervention threshold.
Lead mimics calcium in the body, causing the brain to use it in place of calcium for building neural connections, resulting in permanent brain damage.
Lead does not only cause brain damage — it kills a large number of people through cardiovascular disease, including heart attacks and strokes.
Pure Earth has spent 25 years testing lead-prevention strategies, leading to a proven three-step government model.
A Bangladeshi boy named Saim, exposed to lead from battery recycling near his home, could no longer remember what grade he was in — a stark illustration of lead's cognitive damage.
In 2023, lead poisoning killed more people than all active wars, natural disasters, road accidents, HIV, and malaria combined. Most people don't know this because we've been conditioned to think of lead as a solved problem.
Lead mimics calcium in the developing brain, tricking it into using lead instead of calcium to build neural connections. The result is a chaotic network of dead-end streets and bridges to nowhere — and once built, the damage never reverses.
In 2018, 41% of Georgian children exceeded the WHO lead threshold. The source: lead-based pigments added to spices for vivid color. After Pure Earth helped tighten regulations and enforcement, lead levels in the hardest-hit regions dropped 75%.
By the end of every day, lead poisoning permanently destroys an estimated 2 million IQ points in children worldwide. Tomorrow it happens again. And the day after that — until we solve it.
At current average exposure levels, lead is sufficient to shift the global intelligence curve downward — cutting in half the number of children with IQs above 130, and increasing by 50% those with IQs below 70. We are engineering a less capable humanity by inaction.
More than 1 billion children and teenagers worldwide have blood-lead concentrations above the WHO intervention threshold. That's 1 in every 3 kids on Earth — and almost all of them live in low- and middle-income countries.
Survey children's blood-lead levels to establish a national baseline. Identify the local exposure sources — which vary wildly from spices to cookware to industrial pollution. Then regulate and remove lead from the economy. That's it. 25 years of testing says it works.
Backed by the Audacious Project, Pure Earth is deploying its three-step model in over 20 countries home to 500 million children. Over the next 8 years, the program aims to improve not just those kids' health and intelligence — but every generation that follows.
Saim grew up near men recycling lead from car batteries in open fires in Bangladesh. Before the lead arrived, he was doing well in school. Afterward, he forgot what grade he was in — a child stripped of memory by a preventable poison.
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- Health & Fitness 80%
- Science 20%
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