Chemical Pollution a Threat Comparable To Climate Change, Scientists Warn

Chemical pollution is 'a threat to the thriving of humans and nature of a similar order as climate change' but decades behind global heating in terms of public awareness and action, a report has warned. The Guardian: The industrial economy has created more than 100 million 'novel entities,' or chemicals not found in nature, with somewhere between 40,000 and 350,000 in commercial use and production, the report says. But the environmental and human health effects of this widespread contamination of the biosphere are not widely appreciated, in spite of a growing body of evidence linking chemical toxicity with effects ranging from ADHD to infertility to cancer.

'I suppose that's the biggest surprise for some people,' Harry Macpherson, senior climate associate at Deep Science Ventures (DSV), which carried out the research, told the Guardian. 'Maybe people think that when you walk down the street breathing the air; you drink your water, you eat your food; you use your personal care products, your shampoo, cleaning products for your house, the furniture in your house; a lot of people assume that there's really great knowledge and huge due diligence on the chemical safety of these things. But it really isn't the case.'

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