The level of chemical pollution on Earth has crossed a “planetary boundary” and now threatens global ecosystems that support all life, according to a new study on human-made substances whose production has rapidly increased in recent decades.
Researchers at the Stockholm Resilience Center (SRC) examined the levels of 350,000 plastics, pesticides, industrial chemicals, and other chemicals and found that human activity is releasing so many of these substances each year that their production has altered “the remarkably stable state Earth has remained within for 10,000 years–since the dawn of civilization.”
“The pace that societies are producing and releasing new chemicals into the environment is not consistent with staying within a safe operating space for humanity,” said Patricia
— source commondreams.org | Julia Conley | Jan 18, 2022