‘The cocktail of chemical pollution that pervades the planet now threatens the stability of global ecosystems upon which humanity depends’
That was the cheery first line of one of the environmental articles I dipped into this week.
As if there aren’t enough things to worry about already… apparently, we have now passed five of nine planetary boundaries established in Stockholm in 2009 that define life’s processes and regulate the stability and resilience of the planet’s ability to sustain human life.
The four previous boundaries crossed will sound probably familiar; climate change, the destruction of wild habitats, loss of biodiversity and excessive nitrogen and phosphorus pollution. Chemical pollution (Novel Entities on the graph) becomes #5. Two of the remaining four have not been quantified yet, so we can’t actually say they are fine.
The chemicals causing most concern are plastics and synthetic chemicals, such as pesticides, antibiotics and industrial compounds. These threaten all aspects of life’s systems by disrupting the biological, physical and chemical processes that make up all life. With about 350,000 chemicals registered for human use, only a small proportion have been studied for safety and there is still little knowledge on how different chemicals may interact and cumulative impacts on ecosystems.
Not-so-fun fact; there is now a higher mass of plastic on the planet than the mass of all living mammals. Plastic nanoparticles are being found at both poles; the make-up depends on where samples originate, but in Greenland there was a combination of tire dust and nanoparticles from single use plastics, drink bottles and clothing (polyethelyne and polyethylene terephthalate (PET)).
These nanoparticles cause cellular level toxicity and inflammation and are thought to be more toxic than the larger microplastics we are all exposed to daily (another not-so-fun-fact; the latest estimate is we each inhale or swallow 1.8 million microplastics a year )
Before I drown you all with doom and gloom, there is a move to do something about it. In 2022, the United Nations is looking at forming a panel, similar to the Intergovernmental panel on Climate Change (IPCC). This would raise the profile of the problem to that of climate change and biodiversity loss, allowing governments to act sooner and more effectively against chemical pollution. With the closing of the ozone hole, there is precedent for governments working together to combat an urgent chemical problem, so there is hope.
In the meantime, scientists in the articles I read emphasized the need to move to a circular economy. Reusing and cutting waste reduces the need for new products and the chemicals associated with manufacturing. That is back onto familiar ground; most of us have absorbed some of this message over the years, whether from the angle of lowering carbon emissions, cutting garbage output or just saving money. Reducing the Earth’s chemical burden can now be added to your reasons for your personal conservation efforts.
Waste Wise tip: If it’s broke, fix it! By repairing an item we already own, we can reduce the impact it takes on the environment to make a new one! CCCS has a Repair-It guide to repair services in the Williams Lake area, which can be found on our website, listed below.
For more information on Water Wise or Waste Wise and any of our school and community programs, contact the Cariboo Chilcotin Conservation Society at coordinator@conservationsociety.ca or visit the website at conservationsociety.ca.
Read More: DOWN TO EARTH: The power of numbers
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