Author: lcoffice

Het wereldwijd verbruik aan pesticiden bedraagt een paar duizend ton per minuut. Dat is geen klein beetje. Het is dus niet verbazingwekkend dat we overal pesticiden terugvinden, zelfs in het haar van de Europarlementariers. Niemand twijfelt er nog aan dat de mens is blootgesteld aan pesticiden. Maar weet men ook dat ze ons ziek maken, ons hormonaal evenwicht verstoren; weet men dat het sluipmoordenaars zijn die veel levens op hun geweten hebben. Meer dan 60 jaar geleden zei Rachel Carson al: … Het is nog maar de vraag of een beschaving een brutale oorlog tegen het leven kan voeren zonder zichzelf te vernietigen, en zonder het recht te verliezen beschaafd genoemd te worden. 

The worldwide application of pesticides amounts to a few thousand tons per minute. That’s not a little bit. So, it is not surprising that we find pesticides everywhere, even in hair samples of European Parliament members. No one doubts that people are exposed to pesticides. But do we know that they make us sick, disturb our hormonal balance; do we know that they are silent killers who have many lives on their consciences. More than 60 years ago, Rachel Carson wrote: … The question is whether any civilization can wage relentless war on life without destroying itself, and without losing the right to be called civilized.

La présence de pesticides interdits dans l’Union européenne dans ces échantillons est préoccupante. Ce résultat est frappant mais pas totalement inattendu. Nous avons déjà constaté la présence de résidus dans les aliments et fruits importés et, pire encore, nous savons que beaucoup de ces pesticides persistent dans l’environnement, parfois pendant de multiples années après leur interdiction. Cette constatation indique l’insuffisance du système d’homologation, qui permet l’autorisation de pesticides sur le marché dont la toxicité n’est pas correctement évaluée. Cependant, lorsqu’une substance est interdite, la procédure de retrait du marché est laborieuse et difficile, souvent truffée d’exemptions, ce qui permet aux États membres de continuer à utiliser des produits toxiques pendant très (trop) longtemps. 

Les résultats mettent en évidence l’ampleur de la contamination de l’environnement par les pesticides, un fait attesté par des preuves scientifiques convaincantes. Les pesticides sont surtout utilisés en agriculture. Par conséquent, on retrouve maintenant les résidus dans l’air, le sol, l’eau et les organismes vivants. Les voies de contamination sont multiples. Leur omniprésence a malheureusement un impact dévastateur sur la santé humaine ainsi que sur la biodiversité ‒ p.ex. sur les pollinisateurs. 

Face à l’existence d’alternatives agricoles éprouvées (p.ex. la lutte antiparasitaire intégrée, l’agroécologie et l’agriculture biologique), l’Union européenne et ses États membres doivent s’empresser de prendre des mesures structurelles pour arrêter la pollution chimique planétaire et restaurer les écosystèmes. 

Le nouveau rapport PAN Europe – Ce rapport fait référence à une évolution dangereuse. Il révèle l’échec total d’une loi européenne pour interdire les pesticides les plus nocifs (Pesticide Action Network 2022). 

Les fruits d’automne sont fortement contaminés par la catégorie de pesticides les plus dangereux, selon les dernières données gouvernementales. Les taux étaient très élevés : 49% des poires vendues étaient contaminées, 44% des raisins de table, 34% des pommes, 29% des prunes et 25% des framboises. 

Les concentrations des résidus de pesticides sont liées à un risque accru de cancer, de malformations congénitales, de maladies cardiaques et d’autres affections graves et elles sont toxiques pour l’environnement. Et d’ailleurs, la plupart sont une menace, même à de très faibles doses. Le problème s’aggrave ! Pesticide Action Network Europe a évalué les résultats de 44137 échantillons de fruits frais analysés par les gouvernements entre 2011 et 2020 et a constaté que la contamination des pommes, des poires et des prunes a presque doublé en moins de 15 ans. 

Le rapport nous montre comment l’industrie et les fonctionnaires ont protégé les pesticides les plus toxiques contre les encouragements politiques en faveur d’une agriculture durable. Il parut 60 ans jour pour jour après la publication de Printemps silencieux (Carson 1962). Le livre de Rachel Carson a alerté le public sur les dangers des pesticides et a contribué au déclenchement du mouvement environnemental moderne. Le message central du livre est un pesticide treadmill, une voie sans issue qui oblige les agriculteurs à utiliser de plus en plus de produits chimiques pour tuer les ravageurs coriaces. Ainsi les agriculteurs deviennent les prisonniers de l’industrie chimique ; cette voie augmente les profits de l’industrie, mais selon les chercheurs elle est loin d’être imparfaite. 

Depuis la publication du livre le 27 septembre 1962, l’utilisation des pesticides a augmenté et l’extinction des espèces due aux pesticides est 1000 fois plus rapide que la normale. De plus, le coût des maladies liées aux pesticides est estimé à 32 milliards d’euros. 

Les intérêts du lobby des pesticides sont-ils plus importants que notre santé ¾ Plus de 30000 Belges luttent actuellement contre la maladie de Parkinson, une maladie complexe qui n’a pas vraiment de remède. Depuis des années, des études font ressortir le lien avec l’utilisation des pesticides ; cela rend les agriculteurs particulièrement vulnérables. En France, la maladie est reconnue comme maladie professionnelle depuis dix ans. Voilà l’annonce d’un article troublant dans le journal flamand De Morgen (De Smet & Hirschböck 2022). 

L’accord de gouvernement du 30 septembre 2020 stipule que le gouvernement fédéral adoptera une attitude ambitieuse en vue de réduire les matières chimiques. Mais que signifie une « attitude ambitieuse » ? Le ministre fédéral de l’Agriculture a voté à la Commission européenne en octobre pour l’extension temporaire du glyphosate. Son attitude ne devrait pas nous surprendre ; même dans les décisions et les votes précédents sur les pesticides, comme ceux sur les restrictions sur la poussière toxique et le sulfoxaflor, il a voté contre la protection des pollinisateurs. Le ministre suit le lobby des pesticides, ignorant ainsi le risque de dommages à la santé et à la biodiversité. Cependant, en Belgique, nous payons 4,4 milliards par an en coûts de santé liés aux perturbateurs hormonaux (au pluriel), dont les pesticides sont la majeure partie. 

On peut se demander si une civilisation peut mener une guerre brutale contre la vie sans s’autodétruire, et sans perdre le droit d’être appelé civilisée (Carson 1962). 

Pourquoi faut-il toujours énormément de temps pour reconnaître les dangers environnementaux, même si on les connaît depuis des années ? L’article de Dedieu (2021) nous montre que l’écart entre les connaissances et les mesures, qui en découlent, résulte non seulement de l’influence secrète des entreprises sur les décisions et l’expertise publiques, mais aussi de l’expertise et des mécanismes bureaucratiques, qui sous-tendent la réglementation des pesticides. Ce mécanisme favorise un déni organisé, où les organismes de réglementation excluent systématiquement les connaissances inconfortables qui pourraient remettre en question l’évaluation officielle des risques, un déni organisé qui maintient légalement l’ignorance. 

Carson (1962). Silent Spring, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, pp. 400 

De Smet & Hirschböck (2022). Voor ons land zijn de belangen van de pesticidenlobby belangrijker dan onze gezondheid, De Morgen, 15 november 

Dedieu (2021). Organized denial at work: The difficult search for consistencies in French pesticide regulation, Regulation & governance 16, 3, 951 – 973 

Pesticide Action Network (2022). Pesticide Paradise: How industry and officials protected the most toxic pesticides, https://www.pan-europe.info/ 

POLLINIS (2022). Pestide Contamination among the Members of the European Parliament, Scientists and Journalists – The Presence of Pesticides in 44 Hair Samples, pp. 15 

Men vermoedt dat smeltende gletsjers en permafrost kunnen leiden tot nieuwe pandemieën. Volgens een recente studie (Lemieux et al. 2022) zouden vleermuizen en vogels niet langer de belangrijkste verspreiders zijn. 

Tijdens onderzoek naar het viroom of de assemblage van virussen van de Siberische permafrost werd het gigantisch virus, Pithovirus sibericum, geïsoleerd uit een 30000 jaar oud monster. Dat het eeuwenoude virus kon heropleven wijst erop dat het ontdooien van de permafrost, door de opwarming van de aarde en/of door industriële exploitatie van circumpolaire regio’s, helemaal niet onschuldig is. Integendeel, wanneer het ijs smelt loeren besmettingen met onbekende bacteriën en virussen om de hoek (Legendre et al. 2014). 

In 2016 was er op het schiereiland Yamal, Noordwest-Siberië een uitbraak van antrax ‒ een zoönose die veroorzaakt wordt door de aerobe bacterie Bacillus anthracis. Toen kwamen duizenden rendieren om. Ook tientallen mensen werden getroffen, en dat na 70 jaar zonder één enkele uitbraak. De besmetting van 2016 wordt toegeschreven aan de activering van sporen tengevolge van een hittegolf, die leidde tot een versnelde dooi van de permafrost (Ezhova et al. 2021). 

Het onderzoekswerk van Lemieux et al. (2022) suggereert dat het risico op een besmetting met tot op heden onbekende virussen, die in nieuwe gastheren terechtkomen, hoger is op locaties waar zeer veel smeltwater van de gletsjers aanwezig is. Die situatie zal zich allicht nog frequenter voordoen in de nabije toekomst omwille van de klimaatopwarming. Ook ander recent onderzoek heeft reeds gesuggereerd dat er onbekende virussen in gletsjerijs “vastzitten”. Zhong et al. (2021) vermelden dat ze genetisch materiaal van 33 virussen, waarvan 28 tot op heden onbekende virussen, hadden gevonden in ijsmonsters van het Tibetaanse plateau in China. De virussen schijnen zo’n 15000 jaar oud te zijn. 

Genetische analyse van bodems en sedimenten uit Lake Hazen, een zoetwatermeer in het noordelijke deel van Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada, duidt op het risico van virale spillover. Dit verschijnsel komt voor wanneer virussen verschillende barrières overwinnen om een nieuwe gastheer vanuit hun oorspronkelijke gastheer te besmetten. Dergelijke bevindingen impliceren dat de wereldwijde stijging van de temperatuur de kans op besmettingen van lokale wilde dieren met virussen en bacteriën, die nu nog in gletsjers en permafrost “gevangen” zitten, doet toenemen. 

Om het risico op infecties met diepgevroren virussen beter te begrijpen, hebben Stéphane Aris-Brosou en zijn collega’s aan de Universiteit van Ottawa monsters uit Lake Hazen genomen dicht bij de plek waar kleine, middelgrote en grote hoeveelheden smeltwater van lokale gletsjers binnenstroomden. Zij onderzochten het RNA en DNA in deze monsters om de overeenstemming met bekende virussen evenals met hun potentiële gastheren te identificeren. Tevens gebruikten ze een algoritme ‒ een soort wiskundig recept of model, waarmee men op basis van ingevoerde gegevens een eindresultaat berekent ‒ om de kans op infectie met tot nog toe onbekende microben in te schatten. Hun speurwerk toonde duidelijk aan dat het risico op virale spillover wel degelijk bestaat (Lemieux et al. 2022). 

Leidt het smeltend ijs tot een rampenscenario, zoals de coordinator van het frans onderzoek, Jean-Michel Claverie, vertelde aan de BBC. Een hoog risico op spillover is niet noodzakelijk hetzelfde als een echte spillover of een pandemie. Virussen en hun “brugvectoren” moeten wel tegelijkertijd in de omgeving aanwezig zijn en wanneer dat niet het geval is blijft de kans op drama’s nog relatief laag (Lemieux et al. 2022). Wat we wel weten is dat het bereik van de bestaande soorten zal veranderen, waardoor nieuwe gastheren wel degelijk in contact komen met oude virussen of bacteriën. 

Zal smeltend ijs leiden tot nieuwe pandemieën? Een sluitend antwoord hebben we (nog) niet, maar niemand twijfelt eraan dat smeltwater zich heel wat verder verplaatst dan een vastgevroren ijsblok. Bovendien heeft het COVID-19 verhaal ons geleerd dat het helemaal niet lang duurt vooraleer de hele planeet is besmet, maar dat het al gauw enkele jaren duurt voor we het virus enigszins onder controle hebben. 

Een pandemie kan snel gaan! 

Ezhova et al. (2021). Climatic Factors Influencing the Anthrax Outbreak of 2016 in Siberia, Russia, Ecohealth 18, 217–
228
Legendre et al. (2014). Thirty-thousand-year-old distant relative of giant icosahedral DNA viruses with a pandoravirus
morphology, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 111, 11, 4274 – 4279
Lemieux et al. (2022). Viral spillover risk increases with climate change in High Arctic lake sediments, Proceedings of
the Royal Society B 289, 20221073, pp. 11
Zhong et al. (2021). Glacier ice archives nearly 15,000-year-old microbes and phages, Microbiome 9, 1, 1 – 23

Een paard van Troje, een krijgslist met nefaste gevolgen voor de gezondheid ¾ Piepkleine micro- en nanoplastics kunnen ons parten spelen. Ze liggen over de hele planeet verspreid en het zijn magneetjes voor organische stoffen. Die laatste kunnen vrijkomen en als ze in ons lichaam geraken bedreigen ze onze gezondheid. Daar weten we nog lang niet alles van, maar niemand zal bestrijden dat ze er niet thuishoren. Toch zijn ze er en dan stel ik me de vraag wie die wereldwijde pollutie gaat opruimen. 

A Trojan Horse, a war ruse with adverse health consequences ¾ Tiny micro and nanoplastics can really trip us up. They are scattered all over the planet and they are little magnets for organic substances. The latter can be released and when they enter our body they threaten our health. We still don’t know everything about how that happens, but nobody will fight that they do not belong in our body. Yet they are there, and then I ask myself who will clean up that global pollution. 

Les micro et nano plastiques (MNP) sont des polluants émergents ; aujourd’hui leur ubiquité est devenue un problème planétaire. En raison de leur longévité, de leur faible densité et de leur petite taille, les MNP peuvent être transportés sur de longues distances, ce qui a généré une distribution mondiale. De plus, ils ont une affinité très prononcée pour les contaminants organiques (CO), y compris les ingrédients endogénétiques, comme les additifs et/ou les monomères, ainsi que les exogénétiques omniprésents dans l’environnement. Ce sont des petits aimants pour contaminants ! 

Photo de Sören Funk à Unsplash 

Par conséquent, le transport des MNP dans l’environnement est accompagné d’une distribution planétaire de CO par sorption/désorption, que Zhang & Xu (2022) appellent très pertinemment « l’effet cheval de Troie » des MNP. Cet effet entraîne une augmentation potentielle significative des risques pour la santé ; il modifie et renforce dangereusement la biodisponibilité environnementale des CO. Plus personne n’échappe à l’exposition aux MNP. Vianello et al. (2019) ont montré que les humains sont entre autres exposés à la pollution atmosphérique parce qu’ils respirent les microplastiques et particules de cellulose omniprésents. En outre, les MNP peuvent tout autant se retrouver dans l’alimentation humaine. Ainsi, l’introduction de particules dans le corps humain par voie d’inhalation et/ou d’ingestion ne peut plus être négligée. 

Bien que de nombreuses études aient été menées pour comprendre les effets de l’accumulation de CO dans les organismes, la plupart d’entre elles ont été limitées à l’environnement marin. Il importe donc de mener des études à long terme sur le terrain. De plus, les études des systèmes eau-sol-plantes en milieu terrestre sont essentielles pour une compréhension globale de l’effet cheval de Troie des microplastiques. Les MNP sont amenés aux quatre coins du monde : ainsi ils doivent être considérés comme des navettes qui transportent les CO vers l’environnement, vers la chaîne alimentaire et, par conséquent, vers les organismes vivants. Ils accélèrent et intensifient la distribution de CO dans le monde. 

Il est vraiment très important de souligner que la distribution environnementale des CO entre les MNP et l’eau ne se présente pas simplement comme un équilibre physico-chimique entre les phases solide et aqueuse. La salissure des MNP dans l’environnement modifiera considérablement l’interphase en une couche de surface plus complexe et par la suite elle modifiera le devenir des CO. Très souvent un biofilm est formé sur la surface des MNP par des microorganismes ou des algues ; il provoquera la biodégradation, la biosorption, etc. Par ailleurs, toute variation des conditions aqueuses entourant les MNP peut modifier considérablement la distribution des CO. Par exemple, le suc gastrique pourrait simplifier la libération de CO dans l’environnement interne des organismes en raison de la forte concentration d’ acide chlorhydrique libre et d’enzymes digestifs. De nouvelles études de la sorption des CO en présence de sucs gastriques sont par conséquent urgentes pour évaluer la biodisponibilité ainsi que les risques pour la santé qui découlent d’une exposition aux MNP. 

Il est bien évident qu’on retrouve des MNP dispersés sur toute la planète Terre. Ils ont déjà été identifiés dans les coins les plus reculés, comme le mont Everest, haut de ~9 km, ou la fosse des Mariannes, l’endroit le plus profond connu de l’océan. Parallèlement à la recherche scientifique, une gestion sociale de l’ensemble du cycle de vie des plastiques est urgente à l’échelle internationale. Il faut absolument et immédiatement réduire l’accumulation des MNP dans l’environnement et donc les risques environnementaux liés au CO des MNP. 

Juste une petite question quand même. Qui va nettoyer la planète ? Qui a déjà pensé aux générations futures ? Qui a déjà fait preuve de responsabilité intergénérationnelle ? 

Ebrahimi et al. (2022). Investigating impact of physicochemical properties of microplastics on human health: A short bibliometric analysis and review, Chemosphere 289 133146, pp. 16 

Napper et al. (2020). Reaching new heights in plastic pollution—preliminary findings of microplastics on Mount Everest, One Earth 3, 5, 621 – 630 

Peng et al. (2018). Microplastics contaminate the deepest part of the world’s ocean, Geochemical Perspectives Letters 9, 1, 1 – 5 

Vianello et al. (2019). Simulating human exposure to indoor airborne microplastics using a Breathing Thermal Manikin, Scientific Reports 9, 8670, pp. 11 

Zhang & Xu (2022). Transport of micro-and nanoplastics in the environment: Trojan-Horse effect for organic contaminants, Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology 52, 5, 810 – 846 

Merci de ne pas boire d’eau de pluie – L’eau de pluie est un vecteur non négligeable de substances chimiques qui n’ont pas leur place dans notre corps. La pluie emporte des mélanges complexes de substances cancérogènes et de perturbateurs endocriniens, tels les pesticides et dioxines, les ignifugeants bromés ou les substances per- et polyfluoroalkylées, les ingrédients de base pour les plastiques et les métaux lourds. Tout cela est néfaste pour la santé humaine et animale. L’eau de pluie est tout sauf potable et la traiter pour la rendre potable est très cher.

Thank you for not drinking rainwater – Rainwater is a significant vector of chemicals that have no place in our bodies. Rain carries away complex mixtures of carcinogens and endocrine disruptors, such as pesticides and dioxins, brominated flame retardants or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, the basic ingredients for plastics and heavy metals. All this is harmful to human and animal health. Rainwater is anything but drinkable and treating it to make it drinkable is very expensive.

Volgens het KMI waren de lente en de zomer van 2022 kurkdroog en bloedheet. De maand mei was de droogste maand sedert 1833 en bovendien kreeg Europa, en niet enkel maar Europa, af te rekenen met ongebruikelijke hittegolven. De hemelsluizen bleven veel te lang dicht, we hadden dringend regen nodig! Die kwam er in september en velen vergaten meteen de verschroeiende hitte en dorre gazons. Weg problemen! Weg kopzorgen! We laten alles bij het oude, want er stroomt weer water door beken en rivieren.

Daar moeten we toch een ernstige kanttekening bij plaatsen. Het regent namelijk vervuild water. Het regenwater “verzamelt” de chemische polluenten uit de atmosfeer en verspreidt die troep waar de buien vallen.

Regenwater is een niet te verwaarlozen vector voor chemische substanties, die je niet in je lichaam wil hebben. Mengsels van kankerverwekkende stoffen en hormoonverstoorders, zoals pesticiden en dioxinen allerhande, zoals broomhoudende vlamvertragers of poly- en perfluoralkylstoffen, zoals zware metalen en ook heel wat basisgrondstoffen voor plastic, worden meegesleept door de regen en dat zou wel eens gevaarlijk kunnen worden voor de gezondheid van mens en dier. Regenwater is geen drinkbaar water, maar dat weten de meesjes en roodborstjes in onze tuin niet, dat weten de koeien en kalfjes in de weide niet, dat weten baarzen, karpers, groene kikkers en salamanders in onze vervuilde beken en poelen niet.
Regenwater dumpt inderdaad overal ter wereld complexe chemische mengsels in bodems en rivieren. Een studie, die in juli 2022, werd gepubliceerd vond niet minder dan 151 verschillende chemische stoffen in een meer van de Franse Pyreneeën. Een mooie cocktail toch, en nog een gevaarlijke ook!

Daar valt niet mee te lachen; het is trouwens erg verontrustend dat er ook chemische verbindingen werden aangetroffen, die reeds meer dan 15 jaar verboden zijn in Frankrijk. Allicht zal het toerisme ook hebben bijgedragen tot de verontreiniging, maar dat kan nooit de problemen vergoelijken.
Het is de mens die de problemen veroorzaakt en hij, en niemand anders, zal nu de grote schoonmaak moeten doen. Dat kunnen we niet meer uitstellen. Regenwater is zonder meer noodzakelijk. Het verrijkt onze akkers en gazons; maar nog veel essentiëler, we pompen het op en maken er drinkwater van. En wat blijkt nu, daar zitten onder meer behoorlijk hoge concentraties aan pesticiden in. Chloridazon, een toxisch herbicide dat werd en wordt gebruikt voor de bietenteelt, komt steeds vaker voor in het kraantjeswater van bepaalde gebieden van de Hauts-de-France. Na deze zomer 45 steden onder toezicht te hebben geplaatst, breidden de Agence Régionale de Santé en de regionale prefectuur deze controle uit voorzorg uit naar 60 andere gemeenten.

Wanneer er sluipmoordenaars als chloridazon uit de kraan te komen, zijn we heel erg fout bezig!

_{Chèvre (2022). L’eau de pluie non potable ?, Petite chimie du quotidien | Le blog de Nathalie Chèvre
Machate et al. (2022). Complex chemical cocktail, containing insecticides diazinon and permethrin, drives acute toxicity to crustaceans in mountain lakes, Science of The Total Environment 828, 154456
Martin (2022). ‘We hebben echt nét op tijd weer regen gekregen’: zo uitzonderlijk was deze droge, hete zomer, De Morgen, 20 september
Pasquier (2022). Pollution due aux pesticides : l’ARS met sous surveillance renforcée l’eau de 105 communes des Hauts-de-France, https://www.weo.fr/
Schmeller et al. (2022). Scientists’ warning of threats to mountains, Science of The Total Environment 853, 158611}

7th April marks the anniversary of the founding of WHO in 1948 

 

World Health Day 2022 

Each year an annual celebration draws attention to a specific health topic that concerns people the world over. 

Some 13 million deaths are annually attributable to avoidable environmental causes and the number of deaths will continue to grow unless overconsumption [Majdoub 2021] and reliance on fossil fuels are curbed. Environmental causes include the climate crisis [Persson et al. 2022] which is the single largest health threat facing humanity. 

The climate crisis is a health crisis; it is also a social crisis. 

At a time when the fight against the pandemic is still not over, when humanity is struggling to face the consequences of a hugely polluted planet and increasing diseases like cancer, asthma, heart diseases, neurodevelopmental disorders and impairments of the growth and development of the brain and other civilisation-related illnesses, WHO has now focused global attention on urgent actions required to keep humans and the planet healthy and trigger a movement to create societies that will work for the well-being of the people on World Health Day 2022 (https://www.who.int/campaigns/world-health-day/2022).

 

Our political, social and commercial decisions are driving the climate and health crises 

Over 90 % of people on earth breathe unhealthy air resulting from fossil fuel burning. Global warming makes mosquitos spread diseases further and faster than ever before [Colón-Gonzalez et al. 2021]. Extreme weather events such as the heavy rainfall and floods of biblical proportions in the provinces of Namur and Liège (Belgium) displace people and affect their health. Ubiquitous chemical pollution and plastic micro and nanoparticles are found at the bottom of our deepest oceans, on the highest mountains, and have already made their way into the human body and blood [Leslie et al. 2022]. Systems that produce ultra-processed, unhealthy foods and beverages are driving a wave of obesity and diabetes, increasing cancer and heart disease while generating a third of global greenhouse gas emissions [Vaidyanathan 2021]. 

This World Health Day is a timely and necessary reminder that current global crises – we still face the COVID-19 pandemic, a global economic disquiet, and a terrifying war in Europe – are inseparable from climate change. We should not lose sight of the existential threat that ecological degradation poses to planetary and human health. 

The contemporary design of the economy results in an unfair distribution of income, wealth and power, with too many people still living in poverty and a state of instability. A fair economy has human well-being, equity and ecological sustainability as its goals. These goals must be translated into intergenerational justice and long-term investments, well-being budgets, social protection and customised legal and fiscal strategies. 

More than ever, the COVID-19 pandemic showed us the healing power of science. It also highlighted the inequities in our world. The pandemic has revealed weaknesses in all areas of society and underlined the urgency of creating sustainable well-being societies committed to achieving equitable health for our , and not to be forgotten, for future generations [Krznaric 2020; Pommier 2022]. 

Breaking the cycles of destruction for the planet and human health requires action 

It has become obvious that the destabilising effects of climate change heavily affect the most vulnerable. Many low-income countries suffer most as a result of the rising sea-level, natural hazards, and food and water insecurity. Moreover, their lack of means to cope with these problems could lead to forced migrations. 

Higher-income countries must act upon their commitments, as re-affirmed at COP26 in Glasgow, to fairly fund mitigation and adaptation activities, including investments in the resilience of health systems. However, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, some political leaders have called for intensification of fossil fuel extraction. Given the indisputable evidence for the destabilising influence of climate change on health and society, such suggestions should be dismissed as self-defeating. 

Global crises should be a catalyst not for regression, but for rapid transitions to sustainable societies that focus on achieving good health and well-being for all the people and the planet. Let us not forget that in 50 years or even in 500 years’ time there will still be human beings living, working and loving across the continents of our planet. They will all be deeply influenced by how we act today. 

This is definitely no time for pathological short-term thinking! 

Download PDF

References 

Colón-González et al. [2021]. Projecting the risk of mosquito-borne diseases in a warmer and more populated world: a multi-model, multi-scenario intercomparison modelling study, The Lancet Planetary Health 5, 7, e404 – e414 

Krznaric [2020]. The Good Ancestor, WH Allen, pp. 323 

Leslie et al. [2022]. Discovery and quantification of plastic particle pollution in human blood, Environment International, 107199 

Majdoub [2021]. Consumeren als konijnen – De mythe van de overbevolking, Academic and Scientific Publishers, pp. 101 

Persson et al. [2022]. Outside the Safe Operating Space of the Planetary Boundary for Novel Entities, Environmental Science & Technology 56, 3, 1510 – 1521 

Pommier [2022]. La démocratie environnementale, Presses Universitaires de France, pp. 267 

Vaidyanathan [2021]. Healthy diets for people and the planet, Nature 600, 22 – 25

A large family of organic and synthetic chemicals

PFAS are widely used in everyday products such as non-stick coatings for cooking food, water-repellent
or stain-resistant fabrics, and personal care products. They are a large class of more than 9000
structurally different compounds, many of which have been used since the 1950s [Glüge et al. 2020].
PFAS are often referred to as forever chemicals, since their chemical composition gives them excellent
persistence in the environment. They do not occur naturally, are widespread and resistant to
degradation, and have been detected in people and wildlife all over the world [Brase et al. 2021]. It soon
became clear that some PFAS were measurable in the serum of at least 95 % of the adolescent and adult
US population [Calafat et al. 2007].
Numerous recent contamination events triggered suspicion and fear of adverse health effects. The
concerns regarding the lack of robust information on PFAS concentrations in breast milk as well as the
implications for both breast-fed infants and their families were recently voiced by people living in
communities impacted by significant and known PFAS contaminations.
Are PFAS threatening the health of the youngest among us? Are they threatening future generations?
Are they threatening our biosphere? People have far too few answers to these questions.

A Canadian-American research group analysed few available data

To overcome the scarcity of available data, the researchers developed a model using the ratios of serum
to breast milk concentration published in the scientific literature to estimate the concentrations in
breast milk of four PFAS. The scientists focussed on 4 fluor compounds: perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA),

The comparison of measured and estimated concentrations in breast milk with screening values for
drinking water proved that the mean measured and estimated PFOA and PFOS concentrations in breast
milk exceeded screening values, sometimes by more than two orders of magnitude. By contrast, for
PFHxS and PFNA, most of the mean measured or estimated concentrations in breast milk were below
the drinking water screening values.
Building firm conclusions on data for four out of 9000 different molecules is almost impossible.
Nevertheless, these results are not meaningless. Everyone will agree that PFAS do not belong in breast
milk!

Cause for concern

A brief look at the data suggests there is a huge unknown. That children’s drinking water screening
values are exceeded does not indicate that adverse health effects will occur. This should not be
interpreted as a reason not to breastfeed. It does however indicate that the situation should be
thoroughly further evaluated and investigated. It is more than time to gain a better understanding of
environmental chemical transfer to an exceptionally important source of infant nutrition.
The authors caution against making recommendations, since limited data availability have so far not
enabled the uncertainties and accuracies of the estimated results to be correctly evaluated. Moreover, it
should not be forgotten that infant PFAS exposures originate in utero, and may also be due to food
sources and formula feeding.

Facing data gaps can lead to erroneous conclusions

The authors of the paper strongly remind their readers that the information is designed to highlight
important data gaps in their understanding of PFAS and breast milk. Nevertheless, some misuse the fact
that there is too little data available. Witness the statement by the director of 3M for Europe, the
Middle East and Africa, who recently claimed that “after more than 20 years of research we can decide
that there is no health impact, at the concentrations we see today and in the past” [Vanmeldert 2021].
How does he know? Can he produce the peer review papers that confirm his statement?

Whenever public health could be at risk, extreme caution is needed. When it comes to our children and
grandchildren, we cannot be careful enough. We are responsible for their future. They are still too
young and too powerless to assume the responsibility. Intergenerational responsibility is what adults
need to pay heed to!

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References

Brase et al. [2021]. Legacy and emerging per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances: analytical techniques,
environmental fate, and health effects, International Journal of Molecular Sciences 22, 3, 995
Calafat et al. [2007]. Polyfluoroalkyl chemicals in the U.S. population: data from the National Health and
Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2003–2004 and comparisons with NHANES 1999–2000,
Environmental Health Perspectives 115, 11, 1596 – 1602
Glüge et al. [2020]. An overview of the uses of per- and polyfluoroalkylsubstances (PFAS), Environmental
Science Process & Impacts 22, 12, 2345 – 2373
Kang et al. [2021]. Placental transfer and composition of perfluoroalkylsubstances (PFASs): a Korean
birth panel of parent-infant triads, Toxics 9, 7, 168
LaKind et al. [2022]. Current Breast Milk PFAS Levels in the United States and Canada: After All This
Time, Why Don’t We Know More?, Environmental Health Perspectives 130, 2, 025002
Vanmeldert [2021]. Directeur 3M herhaalt standpunt over PFOS: “Na 20 jaar onderzoek besluiten we dat
er geen impact is op gezondheid”, vrt nws, https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/2021/06/30/eerste-interview-
3m

The flow paths of major ocean currents are shown in red; Major wind currents are in blue. The Peru Current also called Humboldt Current, is a cold water current of the southeast Pacific Ocean, it has a width of about 550 miles. Slow and shallow, it transports 350,000,000-700,000,000 cu ft of water per second. The Humboldt Current is the largest upwelling system in the world as well as the most productive marine ecosystem. The ecosystem allows approximately 20% of the world’s fish within these currents (https://ussringoffire2014.weebly.com/currents.html)

Anchovies are small, but exceptionally important. They make up the single largest fish catch in the world even though not all anchovies are consumed by humans. Nearly all these highly nutritious fish are ground to feed salmon and other farm-raised valuable species. Marine paleo-ecologists are now studying ancient sediments, and fossils have shown that warming waters once nearly eliminated this valuable resource [Salvatteci et al. 2022].

These scientists studied a core collected from the Humboldt Current system in 2008. In this upwelling system, extremely high anchovy biomasses yield the elevated percentages of the global annual fish catch. The core that was studied contained a section with sediment deposited between 116000 and 130000 years ago, when the water was roughly 2 C warmer than today and contained far less oxygen.

The reconstruction reveals a major species shift in response to warming. Sediment deposited over the past century is dominated by anchovy bones. But during the earlier, warmer period, about 60 % of the fish were other, smaller species, including goby-like species that are about half the size of anchovies and better adapted to low oxygen conditions. They have larger gill surfaces in relation to their body volume and can therefore easily withstand low oxygen water. Also common were species typical of deeper waters that thrive in low-oxygen conditions.

Since it is expected that by the end of the 21st century the Humboldt Current will have significantly higher temperatures and near-shore oxygen depletion [Echevin et al. 2020], the anchovies might well be replaced by smaller goby-like fish. An excess of the latter species would cause huge problems for the fishing industry. Their small size makes them harder to catch, requiring nets with smaller holes. Moreover, since they do not aggregate in dense schools, trawling vessels would need more time to catch sufficient volumes of fish and would burn more fuel. These goby-like fish are also less nutritious than anchovy, which are rich in omega-3 fatty acids. So fewer anchovies would raise the cost of fishmeal, which means more expensive and less nutritious salmon and shrimp for human consumption. It has been known for some time now that vegetal fats should be preferred and investigations are now ongoing [Tejera et al. 2016].

When a fish population is threatened by climate change, one approach to help the species cope is to make fishing management more conservative and to substantially lower the allowable catch. The anchovy population in Peru is already well managed, but a definite improvement would be for people to eat more anchovy directly, rather than feed it to farmed fish. This would help maintain the benefit of the nutritious species for human nutrition. Instead of preparing an anchovy meal, we need to prepare a meal of anchovy!

References

Echevin et al. [2020]. Physical and biogeochemical impacts of RCP8.5 scenario in the Peru upwelling system, Biogeosciences 17, 12, 3317 – 3341

Salvatteci et al. [2022]. Smaller fish species in a warm and oxygen-poor Humboldt Current system, Science 375, 6576, 101 – 104

Tejera et al. [2016]. A transgenic Camelina sativa seed oil effectively replaces fish oil as a dietary source of eicosapentaenoic acid in mice, The Journal of nutrition 146, 2, 227 – 235

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Dear friends,

Dear colleagues,

Every week, the Buddhist monk, humanitarian, author and photographer, Matthieu Ricard, sends me an e-mail. I loved the message he wrote me on December 4th this year. It was a crucial source of inspiration for the short communication you are about to read. I have added some personal comments and references.

In announcing the final COP 26 communiqué (October 31, 2021 – November 12, 2021), its president, Alok Sharma, could hardly contain his tears when he paused to say I’m really sorry and apologize to you [Singh 2021]. The assembly stood up to applaud his desperate efforts, along with those of so many others, to convince the planet’s major polluters to moderate the damage they are inflicting on our environment and the suffering they are imposing on current and future generations. The polluters, however, have remained largely deaf to the cries of those who are already suffering from environmental upheavals. Nothing but talk; nothing but blah-blah-blah! How can people not be concerned about the fate of their children, grandchildren and those who will follow them? What will we say to them when they realise that we knew what was happening and did not do anything to change the course of events?

The continuous haggling and procrastinating of the most polluting countries is simply unbelievable. Would you negociate with the surgeon to remove only half the tumor that is threatening your health and quality of life? Wouldn’t you mind if the fire brigade came in a week’s time if your house was on fire now?

An advisor of the Saudi Ministry of Oil asked that phrases such as … the need for urgent and accelerated mitigation actions at all scales… be removed from the report. A senior Australian government official rejected the conclusion that the closure of coal-fired power plants is necessary, while the end of coal use is one of the stated objectives of COP 26. India announced it was aiming to achieve carbon neutrality in … 2070 (my grandchildren will then have grandchildren of their own). In other words: never! In the meantime many irreversible upheavals will have occurred. Coal is responsible for approximately 40 % of annual carbon dioxide emissions, making the reduction of its use a priority to meet the 1.5 °C target. Global emissions must be reduced by 45 % by 2030 and be virtually zero by the middle of the century (some 20 years earlier than 2070). The draft report also stated that plant-based diets can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 50 % compared to the average emissions-intensive Western diet, as already evidenced in the scientific literature [Willett et al. 2019; Vaidyanathan 2021]. Brazil and Argentina, two of the world’s largest producers of beef and feed products, strongly opposed the inclusion in the final report of any evidence that shows that reduced meat consumption is necessary to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Is it not absurd that the largest delegation at the COP 26 was that of the fossil fuel industry lobbyists? According to the Global Witness analysis shared with BBC Radio, there were more delegates at the COP 26 associated with the fossil fuel industry than from any major country: 503 people with fossil fuel interests were accredited to participate in the climate summit!

According to the United Nations Development Programme, governments around the world spend more than $420 billion each year to subsidise non-renewable energy, despite G7 commitments to phase out “inefficient” fossil fuel subsidies by 2025 (in less than 4 years from now). By comparison, world governments are struggling to provide a mere $100 billion to help poor countries develop renewable energy. Fossil fuel subsidies are measures taken by governments to artificially lower the price of non-renewable coal, oil or natural gas.

According to Rockström [2021], it is still possible to stabilize at 1.5 °C warming. However, immediate and radical global action is needed to avoid the risk of tipping points, including major forest systems and the Greenland ice cap. The rapid growth of methane and nitrous oxide emissions puts us on the path to a 2.7 °C warming, and climate tipping factors pose high-impact risks. Peak temperatures at 50 degrees during summer will be the rule, not the exception. Goodbye to sunbathing, goodbye to winter sports! You object to migrants? You will have to get used to them, whether you like it or not, because nobody can arrest people who are starving. In 2050 as many as 200 million environmental migrants could well be moving to regions that are still temperate today; that is a hundred times more than the few million migrants who have already arrived in Europe.

This requires a set of immediate, short-term binding targets, which governments must reach during their term in office [Monti et al. 2021; Wang et al. 2021], rather than passing the buck to the next government and putting off unpopular measures. The costs of climate change mitigation are huge, but they are justified by the multiple benefits to human and natural health. They pale into insignificance when compared with the economic, human and environmental costs of on-going degradation. The future has not yet started to hurt,but when it does it will be very painful!

Please, stop this misplaced malevolence!

Our future belongs to those who show a positive attitude, to those who favour cooperation [Nowak 2011], and real progress is needed to stop the tipping points before it is too late. We have at best seven or eight years to sort out our energy priorities. We had better stop all the blah-blah-blah right now.

References

Monti et al. [2021]. A new strategy for health and sustainable development in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic, The Lancet 398, 10305, 1029 – 1031

Nowak [2011]. SuperCooperators: Beyond The Survival of the Fittest: Why Cooperation, not Competition, is the Key to Life, Canongate, pp. 330

Rockström et al. [2021]. We need biosphere stewardship that protects carbon sinks and builds resilience, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 118, 38, pp. 5

Singh [2021]. ‘No drama’ Alok Sharma’s tears will have only enhanced his personal reputation after COP26, available on https://inews.co.uk/news/politics/no-drama-alok-sharmas-tears-enhanced-personal-reputation-cop26-1300112 

Vaidyanathan [2021]. Healthy diets for people and the planet, Nature 600, 22 – 25

Wang et al. [2021]. We need a global science-policy body on chemicals and waste, Science 371, 6531, 774 – 776

Willett et al. [2019]. Food in the Anthropocene: the EAT–Lancet Commission on healthy diets from sustainable food systems, The Lancet 393, 447 – 492

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Referring to Robert Marshall Axelrod, who is best known for his interdisciplinary work on the evolution of cooperation, Martin Nowak explained why we need each other to succeed. He makes the case that cooperation, not competition, is the defining human trait:

… This is the property of being nice, which is to say never being the first to defect. This strategy is interesting, because it is perpetually furnishing the opportunity of establishing trust between opponents. If the opponent is conciliatry, both reap the rewards of cooperation… (Nowak 2011, Super Cooperators, Canongate).

 

Met zijn verwijzing naar Robert Marshall Axelrod, die bekendheid verwierf voor zijn interdisciplinair werk betreffende de evolutie van samenwerking, heeft Martin Nowak uitgelegd waarom we mekaar nodig hebben om te slagen. Hij beweert dat de samenwerking en niet de competitie, het bepalend menselijk kenmerk is:

… Dit is de eigenschap van aardig zijn, dat wil zeggen nooit de eerste zijn die tekortschiet. Deze strategie is interessant omdat ze voortdurend de mogelijkheid biedt om vertrouwen tussen tegenstanders op te bouwen. Wanneer de tegenstander zich verzoenend opstelt, plukken beiden de vruchten van de samenwerking… (Nowak 2011, Super Cooperators, Canongate).

 

En se référant à Robert Marshall Axelrod, qui est devenu célèbre pour ses travaux interdisciplinaires sur l’évolution de la coopération, Martin Nowak a expliqué pourquoi nous avons besoin les uns des autres pour réussir. Il fait valoir que la coopération, et non la compétition, est le trait humain déterminant :

… C’est la propriété d’être gentil, c’est-à-dire de ne jamais être le premier à faire défaut. Cette stratégie est intéressante car elle offre perpétuellement la possibilité d’établir la confiance entre les opposants. Si l’opposant est conciliant, les deux récoltent les fruits de la coopération… (Nowak 2011, Super Cooperators, Canongate).

 

This is my big wish, let 2022 bring you happy collaborations

Het is mijn grote wens dat 2022 jullie gelukkige samenwerkingen zou brengen

Mon grand souhait est que 2022 vous apporte d’heureuses collaborations

 

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On Tuesday 2 November James Lovelock, the 102-year-old originator of the Gaia theory and independent scientist, environmentalist and futurist, wrote in The Guardian: … I don’t know if it is too late for humanity to avert a climate catastrophe, but I am sure there is no chance if we continue to treat global heating and the destruction of nature as separate problems…

I do not know either

And yet I believe that various global change aspects do influence and strenghten each other. Several years ago, Rockström et al. [2009] argued that identifying and quantifying planetary boundaries that must not be transgressed could help prevent human activities from causing unacceptable as well as irreversible environmental change. Unfortunately, at that very moment three out of nine interlinked planetary boundaries had already been overstepped. Moreover, since these boundaries are linked, exceeding one has implications for others in ways that the authors of the paper did not completely understand.

Lovestock [2021] complains about the lack of logic: … That is the wrongheaded approach of the United Nations, which is about to stage one big global conference for the climate in Glasgow, having just finished a different big global conference for biodiversity in Kunming… His comment is absolutely right, we have known for quite some time that the majority of climate change models indicate alarming consequences for biodiversity, with the worst-case scenarios leading to extinction rates that would qualify as the sixth mass extinction in the history of our planet [Bellard et al. 2012].

Biodiversity loss occurs at both the local and regional levels. It can have pervasive effects on how the Earth system functions, and it interacts with several other planetary boundaries [Rockström et al. 2009]. For example, loss of biodiversity can increase the vulnerability of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems to changes in climate and oceanic acidity, thus reducing the safe boundary levels of these processes. There is now growing understanding of the importance of functional biodiversity in preventing ecosystems from tipping into undesired states when they are disturbed [Folke et al. 2004]. The combined and often synergistic effects of the pressures can make ecosystems more vulnerable to changes that previously could be absorbed. As a consequence, ecosystems may suddenly shift from desired to unwanted states in their capacity to generate ecosystem services.

Global warming concerns each one of us

For billions of years the Earth’s surface temperature has been determined mainly by the radiant heat coming from the sun. This energy increased over time because it is the nature of stars like the sun to increase their heat output as they grow older. But temperatures on Earth remained relatively stable thanks to forests, oceans and other elements in the Earth’s regulating system, which kept the surface temperature fairly constant and near optimal for life.

 

 

Global warming has included extra heating due to the extraction and burning of fossil fuels since about the middle of the 19th century. This, among other things, releases greenhouse gases such as methane and carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. They absorb radiant heat and stop it escaping from Earth and this is what causes global warming. Moreover, the amount of global warming depends hugely on the properties of water. When cold ice forms, much of it is white snow that reflects the sunlight back to space and it has a cooling effect. But when water is warm, the water vapour in the air is a powerful greenhouse gas that heats up the planet.

Warnings that once seemed like the doom scenarios of science fiction can no longer be dismissed

We are entering into a heat age in which the temperature and sea levels will be rising decade by decade until the world becomes unrecognisable. We could also be in for more surprises since nature is non-linear and unpredictable.

Lowering these risks and adapting to those we can no longer avoid will require drastic reduction of the burning of fossil fuels. There is no choice or we will face even worse consequences.

I am not hopeful of a positive outcome at Cop26, knowing who is participating says Lovestock [2021], and I myself am certainly not in a position to praise the Belgian approach. In fact, there is not even a Belgian approach: what we see is that the regions are fighting each other rather than working together. They have clearly not read the book Supercooperators by Martin Nowak [2011]! We had better learn to live in partnership with the Earth, otherwise the planet Earth will unconsciously and irrevocably move into a new state in which humans are no longer welcome.

Covid-19 may well have been the most recent negative warning.

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References

Bellard et al. [2012]. Impacts of climate change on the future of biodiversity, Ecology letters 15, 4,: 365 – 377

Folke et al. [2004]. Regime shifts, resilience, and biodiversity in ecosystem management, Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics 35, 557 – 581

Lovestock [2021]. Beware: Gaia may destroy humans before wedestroy the Earth, The Guardian, Tuesday 2 November

Nowak [2011] Supercooperators, Canongate, pp. 330

Rockström et al. [2009]. A safe operating space for humanity, Nature 461, 7263, 472 – 475