Chemicals are used throughout the world, in many cases without any thought to the ultimate consequences.
Although they are used freely about the home, how many are truly 'safe'?
Many of the ingredients contained in conventional household and commercial cleaners, detergents and soaps are known to have detrimental and damaging effects on the environment and humankind.
A passage from the research booklet 'Water quality in catchment ecosystems' by AM Gower reads...
"Of the pharmaceutical products, detergents, cosmetics and other similar domestic products and their metabolites (ingredients), greater quantities are discharged into sewers from domestic premises than from premises manufacturing them".
What this statement means in simple language is that domestic/semi-commercial (restaurants, hotels etc.) pollution causes more damage to the environment than industrial pollution.
A short video about chemical use
The alarming issues facing the world and environment
Global population expected to rise from 7 billion to 9 billion in < 20 years
> 50% of World’s population living in areas of high water stress
Fish and other fresh water species are in serious threat because we have polluted their habitats
> 800 million people are malnourished because there is not enough water to grow their food
It takes 140 litres of water to produce 1 cup of coffee; 3,000 litres to make a hamburger and 8,000 litres to create a pair of shoes
> 200 millions tonnes of human waste go directly into our rivers and lakes without treatment. In fact, 80% of cities do not treat their waste water, all fouling our preciously scarce water supply.
Those that do treat waste water have historically used pathogenic, toxic chemicals, compounding the effect on the water supply
The ‘IPCC’ has concluded that ‘the proportion of the planet in extreme drought at any time will likely increase’
> 1 billion people do not have access to safe, clean drinking water and more than half of hospital beds in the world are occupied by people afflicted with water related diseases
> 3.4 billion people are facing serious ‘water threats’
Each person in the world needs 20 litres of water each day for their basic needs- drink, wash and cook... But in East Africa, during the drought, people were getting by on < 5 litres per person per day and in some cases < 1 litre per person per day
