Concerns of the chemist that I am

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This title is a tribute to the famous French biologist and humanist, Jean Rostand. In 1967 he published Inquiétudes d’un biologiste (Concerns of a biologist). It is sometimes well for a blatant error to draw attention to overmodest truths! As long as 55 years ago, significant residues of DDT were found in Adélie penguins and
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Forest restoration and wildlife conservation, easier said than done

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At first I thought I was fighting to save rubber trees. Then I thought I was fighting to save the Amazon rainforest. Now I realise I am fighting for humanity (Chico Mendes)  Although essential to the balance of the global ecosystem, forests are under severe strain. Slash and burn fires destroy large sections of forests. But, as we are all aware, forests play a
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Plastic rain, we can no longer avoid it

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Image by Bronisław Dróżka from Pixabay

Eleven billion metric tons of plastic are projected to accumulate in the environment by 2025. Because plastics are persistent, they fragment into pieces that are susceptible to wind entrainment [Brahney et al. 2020]. The presence of plastic in the environment can no longer be denied. It has become a very frightening and global problem. Plastics
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Use your brain before it is destroyed by chemical cocktails

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In March 2019, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) published a note entitled EFSA adopts a specific methodology for assessing chemical mixtures. The new methodological framework will provide EFSA scientists with the tools that will enable them to adopt, where appropriate, a specific approach to address mixtures of chemical contaminants. This approach will complement the
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What lies ahead after the coronavirus?

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COVID-19, we are talking about nothing else! As the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 surges past 2.2 million globally and deaths surpass 150000, clinicians and pathologists are struggling to understand the damage wrought by the coronavirus as it tears through the body. They are realizing that although the lungs are ground zero, its reach
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Scientists have tried to do things the nice way but you, my dear policymakers, are still not prepared to take the message on board

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In 2018, total greenhouse gas emissions in Belgium amounted to 118.3 megatons of CO2 equivalents, a slight increase of 0.28 per cent compared to 2017 I can only assume that you did not read this alarming message that was published in several Belgian newspapers. And yet, a substantial decrease in greenhouse gas emissions is needed
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How do you respond to political intransigence?

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2019 was another tough year for the environment [Castelvecchi et al. 2019] Up to one million plant and animal species now face extinction owing to habitat destruction and/or climate change, warns a recently published report of the Intergovernmental Science–Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). The overwhelming evidence of the IPBES Global Assessment, from
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