THEO COLBORN

USA

The winner of WIN WIN Gothenburg Sustainability Award 2008 on the theme Sustainable Chemical Use was the scientist Theo Colborn together with politician Margot Wallström and the toxology and engiering duo Jan Ahlbom & Ulf Duus.

Modern society is dependent on the use of an enormous amount of chemical compounds. Obviously they contribute to our welfare and comfort, but unfortunately are also the source of a number of frightening and, in part, unknown effects on humans and the environment. Addressing and solving these complex issues requires broad strategies in which science, politics and market mechanisms all play key roles.

Professor Theo Colborn was an American environmental scientist and activist. Through comprehensive analysis of available facts, and through her books and lectures, she effectively initiated a profound global discussion about the survival of mankind and ecological systems on our planet. 

Dr. Colborn’s research, mostly performed around the Great Lakes, revealed how synthetic toxins disrupt the reproduction of birds and mammals and their effect on sensitive human hormonal systems, inducing the risk of cancer and reduced fertility. Former Vice President Al Gore has called her pioneering book “Our stolen future” a sequel to Rachel Carson’s world-famous wake-up call “Silent Spring.