https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40338549/
Results: A total of 419 incident PD cases were identified (median [IQR] age, 73 [65-80] years; 257 male [61.3%]) with 5113 matched controls (median [IQR] age, 72 [65-79] years; 3043 male [59.5%]; 4504 White [88.1%]). After adjusting for patient demographics and neighborhood characteristics, living within 1 mile of a golf course was associated with 126% increased odds of developing PD compared with individuals living more than 6 miles away from a golf course (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 2.26; 95% CI, 1.09-4.70). Individuals living within water service areas with a golf course had nearly double the odds of PD compared with individuals in water service areas without golf courses (aOR, 1.96; 95% CI, 1.20-3.23) and 49% greater odds compared with individuals with private wells (aOR, 1.49; 95% CI, 1.05-2.13). Additionally, individuals living in water service areas with a golf course in vulnerable groundwater regions had 82% greater odds of developing PD compared with those in nonvulnerable groundwater regions (aOR, 1.82; 95% CI, 1.09-3.03).
Conclusions and relevance: In this population-based case-control study, the greatest risk of PD was found within 1 to 3 miles of a golf course and risk generally decreased with distance. Associations with the largest effect sizes were in water service areas with a golf course and in vulnerable ground water regions.
This fun fact brought to you by the DPRS Ministry of Land and Environmental Protection: helping nature take its revenge since Juche 1.
I would shorten it to something like:
"Living near a golf course doubles your risk of Parkinson’s Disease due to excessive pesticide use, especially if you share water services.
Golf courses are poisoning you. A better world is possible without them."
And then hit them with the source and links and stuff.
I hesitate to single out pesticides because it’s only one element of the problem. Nitrates also have a correlative link with Parkinson’s, as does air pollution which a healthy natural ecosystem would help mitigate. Shortening it is definitely my goal with the final thing.
QR code to the link would potentially increase odds of people looking it up
That’s one of the things I want to include as I tweak the design, along with some really good overview of wildscaping/xeriscaping and polishing up the text. The study itself is short enough that it only serves to lend credibility to the text and they wouldn’t get much else from it. If I can find good science journalism based off this study which covers all the ecological impacts of golf courses, that’d be more effective as a link.
Definitely! It’s a great idea
I like the idea, but I think you should consider making a black and white one that people can print cheaply so that we can post them in our communities, the more people know the better.
I’ll take some wildscaping/xeriscaping linx
I really like this book by a Rocky Mountain regional expert on native plant landscaping: https://www.amazon.com/SUBURBITAT-guide-restoring-nature-where/dp/1737252317 . He runs the High Plains Environmental Centre in Colorado, a really neat xeric botanical garden and nursery. Your local public university probably has an agricultural/horticultural extension office with region-specific principles since we all have different environmental challenges: https://extension.colostate.edu/topic-areas/yard-garden/xeriscaping-creative-landscaping-7-228/
Five pests but it includes golf courses.
The PLA had already dealt with the plumpest pest of all:
Well shit, I live in a community with a golf course half a mile up the road. And of course my apartment is in the closest house to the golf course lol. I’m moving across the country in a couple of months though. Maybe I’ll print out some flyers and hang them up before I move.
These are the facts straight from Sasha’s mouth.
That’s why I had to make it. I told him I’m busy and he said “shut the fuck up”.
I too live near a golf course. Hit me up when you’ve got a final draft
if you live in a POC area it would be extra funny to point out the demographics of the average country club
I don’t think this would produce anything other than NIMBY responses unfortunately.
Regional differences would come into play. Here the golf courses are mostly municipally owned and integrated into our parks system, surrounded by young families as much as raw milk reactionaries and NIMBY boomers. The demographics are mixed enough that there could be meaningful public pressure to rewild those courses. Outside of town there are two country clubs which are exclusively surrounded by McMansions. It’d be pointless at best to hang these signs up around there, and at worst counterproductive because they deserve consequences. For an interurban golf course in an environmentally-conscious or even just paranoid area, more people are impacted than just the demons who play golf and here those people hate golfers.
Please post your updates! There’s a nearby golf course that I would LOVE to turn its neighbors against. biking around and distributing these would make for a lovely summer day
This news has been a real boon for Antigo.
Anti-Golf-Actioin!
Hell yeah, I love this!
I do think the visual design could be clearer. This is a lot of text. Maybe focus on a simpler message: “Researchers have found that living within 1 mile of a golf course doubles your risk of Parkinson’s, likely due to heavy pesticide use.” There’s a reason the original headline said “doubles” rather than “increases by 126%.” Your brain understands “doubles” in an instant, while numbers take a while to become meaning.
Another note, this phrasing is a little awkward: “This land is poisoning you. We can choose a better world without it.” Without what? Logically we can figure out that you probably mean “without poison,” but that moment of confusion weakens the impact.
Also second the suggestion to include a QR code
