You can make a difference
Many everyday products
contain chemicals that are harmful to health or the environment.
These chemicals may cause pollution during the manufacturing
process, when we use products, or when they finally end up as
waste.
The more we use products
that contain dangerous chemicals, the larger the amounts of
these chemicals that are likely to enter the environment.
The properties of
chemicals vary enormously. Many of the substances we use are
completely harmless. Others are harmful to health, the
environment or both. And there are many chemicals we know
relatively little about.
But we do know that
scientists have found harmful man-made chemicals in both people
and wild animals. For example, there are alarmingly high
concentrations of persistent organic chemicals in polar bears
and glaucous gulls in the Arctic.
Some of the results of
the way we use harmful chemicals can be seen in damage and
disturbance to the environment: for instance, some chemicals
affect reproduction and reduce fertility in vulnerable species;
some cause depletion of the ozone layer, and some chemicals
contribute towards climate change.
Dangerous chemicals that
enter the environment also affect our own health. A number of
organic chemicals are transported along food chains, entering
our bodies in our food and even contaminating breast milk.
It is impossible to
regulate the use of every single chemical, and it would not even
be desirable to do so. But we can all make deliberate use of our
power as consumers and ask for products that do not put our own
health and the environment at risk.
To deal with these
problems, we must all think about our actions and take
responsibility for their environmental consequences. It helps if
we know something about which products are harmful and which are
less harmful.
One easy solution is to
choose eco-labelled products and thus add to the demand for
environmentally friendly products.
Even though each one of
us only generates a small amount of pollution, the sum of all
these small amounts puts a great deal of pressure on the
environment. And in the end, we will all suffer from the
results. This is why your efforts to reduce pollution are
important.
These pages give you
some practical tips on how to lead a greener everyday life. You
can do something, and it need not be difficult. All it needs is
a little thought and a few new habits, and you will find that
you have become an environmental-friendly consumer. Good luck!
Håvard Holm
SFT Director General
|
