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September 8, 2025 
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Parkinson’s disease was first identified only in 1817 (by Dr. James Parkinson), but now is the world’s fastest-growing neurodegenerative disease, at a rate much greater than can be easily explained by improved diagnostics. One case is diagnosed in the United States every six minutes, on average, and it is now the 13th-leading cause of death in America.
So what’s going on? Why the increase?
One factor may be the way we have come to live, for there’s growing evidence linking the disease to a range of pesticides like paraquat and industrial chemicals, including substances used in dry cleaning.
For example, one study published this year found that living within a mile of a golf course more than doubles a person’s odds of developing Parkinson’s, perhaps because many golf courses use herbicides. But this evidence is imperfect, and there are scientists who argue that paraquat, to take one example, fulfills an important purpose in agriculture and is not harmful when used carefully.
So the United States still permits its use, even though the European Union and many countries (including some that manufacture it, such as China and Britain) ban it. That reflects a larger difference in approach: Other countries tend to be quicker to regulate potentially dangerous substances when there is a measure of scientific uncertainty, while the United States requires a higher standard of evidence.
I argue in a column today that this approach is misguided: We should give the benefit of the doubt to people, not to pesticides and other toxic chemicals. By deferring to giant chemical companies and their lobbyists and campaign donors, we risk permanent harm to ourselves and our children.
Read the column:
Here’s what we’re focusing on today:
