Submission + - European Nations Release Troubling Levels Of Chemicals (acs.org)
MTorrice writes: An ecological footprint is a popular metric that shows the amount of natural resources required to provide raw materials and food to sustain an individual or a country. Comparing the footprint to what nature actually can provide allows people to easily grasp their impact on the environment.
Now, researchers report the first methods for calculating a chemical footprint to explain how the mix of chemicals released into the environment affects ecosystem health. The footprint describes how much freshwater is needed to dilute all of the chemicals released by a country to safe levels.
Analyses using these indicators suggest that most European countries don’t have enough freshwater in their rivers and lakes to dilute their chemical pollution to safe levels for their aquatic ecosystems.
Now, researchers report the first methods for calculating a chemical footprint to explain how the mix of chemicals released into the environment affects ecosystem health. The footprint describes how much freshwater is needed to dilute all of the chemicals released by a country to safe levels.
Analyses using these indicators suggest that most European countries don’t have enough freshwater in their rivers and lakes to dilute their chemical pollution to safe levels for their aquatic ecosystems.