{"id":61595,"date":"2022-01-22T08:25:23","date_gmt":"2022-01-22T13:25:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/olduvai.ca\/?p=61595"},"modified":"2022-01-22T08:25:23","modified_gmt":"2022-01-22T13:25:23","slug":"chemical-pollution-threatens-life-on-earth-what-are-the-solutions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/olduvai.ca\/?p=61595","title":{"rendered":"Chemical pollution threatens life on Earth. What are the solutions?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Chemical pollution threatens life on Earth. What are the solutions?<\/a><\/h3>\n

The amount of chemical pollution in the world is dangerous for human health and nature, said scientists this week. Economics and policies should reflect this reality.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n

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River Neath and Chemical Plant, Baglan, Wales. (Photo by Photo Library Wales\/Construction Photography\/Avalon\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

After belching out enough emissions to change the climate and cause the sixth mass extinction, humans have now allowed chemical pollution to spiral out of control. The era of the Anthropocene is well and truly upon us.<\/p>\n

These are the dismal findings of\u00a0research published on 18 January<\/a>. It underlines, say campaigners, the importance of Britain not weakening regulations that govern hazardous chemicals post-Brexit.<\/p>\n

In 2009, researchers at the Stockholm Resilience Centre \u2013 a collaboration between Stockholm University and the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences \u2013 came up with the concept of \u201cplanetary boundaries<\/a>\u201d. The idea was to specify biophysical conditions that humans needed to thrive, such as healthy nature and climate, and which could inform policymaking.\u00a0For the first time, scientists have concluded that the planetary boundary for chemical pollution has been breached, putting humanity in danger by threatening the biological and physical processes that underpin life.<\/p>\n

There are now an estimated\u00a0350,000\u00a0<\/a>different types of manufactured chemicals on the global market. \u201cThere has been a 50-fold increase in the production of chemicals since 1950,\u201d said the co-author of the research, Patricia Villarrubia-G\u00f3mez from the Stockholm Resilience Centre. \u201cThis is projected to triple again by 2050.\u201d<\/p>\n

Plastic production alone increased 79 per cent between 2000 and 2015, and is forecast to continue\u00a0to grow<\/a>\u00a0until 2050. \u201cPlastics are an important vector of chemicals, with around 10,000 used for their production. Many are hazardous or their toxicity is unknown,\u201d said Vito Buonsante, a health and environment lecturer and adviser to the International Pollutants Elimination Network.<\/p>\n