'He's in our hearts': Family and friends still seek answers one year after Nathan Wise’s disappearance
It’s been a year since Nathan Wise went missing and his family is no closer to finding out what happened to him.
A new study warns that the amount of chemical pollution on the planet has now exceeded a safe limit, threatening the 'viability' of human civilization.
An international team of researchers published their findings in the journal Environmental Science & Technology on Tuesday. Their study builds on a 2009 Swedish-led paper that established the safe limit, otherwise known as "planetary boundary," for several environmental metrics, including greenhouse gas emissions, ozone layer depletion, deforestation, biodiversity loss, ocean acidification, and chemical pollution.
The planet had remained within those limits for 10,000 years since the start of human civilization. But a 2015 study concluded that we had then exceeded safe limits when it comes to climate change, biodiversity loss, shifts in soil nutrients and land use. Now, this new study says we're beyond the planetary boundary for chemical pollution, also called "novel entities."
"The impact of those changes is on the viability of human civilization," study co-author Miriam Diamond, a University of Toronto environmental sciences professor, told CTVNews.ca over the phone on Friday. "We are very concerned that there's a tipping point at which human civilization is really imperilled."
There are around 350,000 different chemicals manufactured globally. These chemicals are involved in everything from plastics, pesticides, manufacturing, industrial applications, pharmaceuticals and more.
"That means everything from what's in my toothpaste to what I'm wearing," Diamond said. "We mobilize many, many chemicals in our daily lives, of which we're able to understand the implications of so few."
These chemicals are ubiquitous. They can be found on all seven continents, in the atmosphere and even in Mariana Trench – the deepest part of all the oceans.
Chemical production has seen a 50-fold increase around the world since 1950 and researchers expect that to triple by 2050. Plastic pollution alone increased 79 per cent between 2000 and 2015 and is expected to reach 33 billion tonnes by 2050.
"The rate of production and the rate at which new chemicals are entering commerce far exceeds the rate at which we can figure out their effects," said Diamond.
Some of the adverse effects of these chemicals can be clearly seen in certain animal populations. For example, polychlorinated biphenyl, an industrial chemical that was banned in North America in the 1970s, continues to linger in our ecosystems and has been linked to reduced fertility in orca whales and polar bears, threatening their populations. Seabirds have also been observed ingesting plastic while mistaking it for food, which often leads to death.
"You can find a synthetic chemical in every organism on the planet," Diamond said.
In humans, numerous studies have found a correlation between exposure to certain chemicals and reduced fertility, lower IQ and even weaker immune functions.
"It's a big, large body of evidence. It's not a single study. It's many studies, from the toxicological studies done in test tubes, to the rats and mice and to the epidemiological studies in humans," said Diamond.
At the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow last November, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced plans to impose a hard cap on oil and gas emissions. Diamond believes similar measures should be taken to limit the production of chemical pollutants.
"Canada is so far behind. You know, this is bad news for Canadians, because ultimately … reducing our dependence on so many synthetic chemicals is going to benefit our prosperity because it will push innovation," she said. "Canada needs to be a leader."
It’s been a year since Nathan Wise went missing and his family is no closer to finding out what happened to him.
Dozens of Ontarians are expressing frustration in the province’s health-care system after their family doctors either dropped them as patients or threatened to after they sought urgent care elsewhere.
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
Amazon's paid subscription service provides free delivery for online shopping across Canada except for remote locations, the company said in an email. While customers in Iqaluit qualify for the offer, all other communities in Nunavut are excluded.
The fire burning near Fort McMurray grew from 25 hectares to 5,500 hectares over the weekend.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin began a Cabinet shakeup on Sunday, proposing the replacement of Sergei Shoigu as defence minister as he begins his fifth term in office.
Police are searching for a male suspect after a man was “slashed in neck” on Sunday morning in downtown Toronto and died.
There were some scary moments for several people on a northern Ontario highway caught on video Thursday after a chain reaction following a truck fire.
Health Canada announced various product recalls this week, including electric adapters, armchairs, cannabis edibles and vehicle components.
English, history, entertainment, math and geography: high school trivia teams could be quizzed on any of it when they compete at the Reach for the Top Nationals in Ottawa in June.
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.
The threat of zebra mussels has prompted the federal government to temporarily ban watercraft from a Manitoba lake popular with tourists.
A small Ajax dessert shop that recently received a glowing review from celebrity food critic Keith Lee is being forced to move after a zoning complaint was made following the social media influencer’s visit last month.
The Canada Science and Technology Museum is inviting visitors to explore their poop. A new exhibition opens at the Ottawa museum on Friday called, 'Oh Crap! Rethinking human waste.'
The Regina Police Service says it is the first in Saskatchewan and possibly Canada to implement new technology in its detention facility that will offer real-time monitoring of detainees’ vital health metrics.
Just as she had feared, a restaurant owner from eastern Quebec who visited Montreal had her SUV stolen, but says it was all thanks to the kindness of strangers on the internet — not the police — that she got it back.