Scary Statistics

I am studying for a test in my Environmental Law and Policy class tomorrow and read the following rather alarming statistics in my text book:
-Chronic diseases and conditions affect more than 100 million people in the United States alone (this includes things like cancer, asthma, Alzheimer's, endometriosis, infertility, multiple sclerosis, autism, Lupus, and Parkinson's disease).
-Nearly 12 million (17%) children in the U.S. alone suffer from one or more developmental disabilities.
-Breast cancer now affects more women worldwide than any other type of cancer with rates of occurrence increasing 50% over the last half century. In the 1940's the lifetime risk of breast cancer for a woman was 1 in 22, now it is 1 in 8 and rising.
"Environmental Issues", Thomas Easton, 12th ed.

Granted, one must factor in that the number of people on the planet has grown exponentially. Still, this scared me, I personally know people that suffer from M.S. (my Dad's brother died from it, my good friend's mother is currently suffering from it), a few family members have been lost to cancer, Adam's close friend is currently fighting it (he has an advanced form of testicular cancer, which has spread throughout his abdomen and is fighting for his life in the second cycle of chemotherapy as I type this), I have family members with autism, bi-polar disorder, Lupus, developmental disorders and have lost more than two people to Alzheimer's and dementia in the last 10 years alone (my grandmother just recently).
These statistics aren't just statistics to me, they are very real. These people are just some of the reasons I am interested in alleviating any environmental factors which may be causing these problems. Its why I get out of bed and go to school everyday, with the hope that I might contribute to helping the world (and those I love) in some small way in the future. Not a bad reason to get up in my opinion, well saving the world and coffee... ;). Hey, gotta keep a sense of humor about life or might just want to give up on it.