Climate change is a pollution problem, and countries have held back from similar threats before – think DDT and acid rain

Climate change may seem insurmountable. But if you take a closer look at its causes, you realize that history is full of similar health and environmental threats that humanity has overcome.

The main cause of climate change is carbon dioxide produced by burning fossil fuels – is just another pollutant. And countries know how to reduce harmful pollutants. They did so with the pesticide DDT, lead paint, and power plant emissions that caused acid rain, among many others.

In each case, growing public outcry eventually led to policy changes, despite industry resistance. Under pressure from laws and regulations, industry ramped up production of safer alternatives.

I am earth and environmental scientistand my latest book “Reclaiming our planet,” explores the lessons of history in overcoming seemingly insurmountable threats. Here are some examples:

DDT ban despite industry opposition

DDT was the first truly effective pesticide and considered miraculous. Killing mosquitoes and lice, eliminated malaria and other diseases in many countries, and in agriculture it saved tons of crops.

After World War II, DDT was used in farms, buildings and gardens throughout the United States. However, it also had its drawbacks. accumulated in mother’s milk to levels that could deliver a toxic dose to infants. Women were It was discouraged breastfed their children in the 1960s because of the dangers.

In addition, DDT bioaccumulated in the food chain to toxic levels in peak species such as raptors. This weakened eggshells to the point that brood mothers crushed their eggs. White-tailed eagles were reduced to 417 breeding pairs throughout North America by 1967 and were placed on the endangered species list.

Biologist Rachel Carson documented the damage DDT caused to her body 1962 book “Silent Spring”“and thus launched the public environmental movement. Despite disinformation campaigns and attacks from the chemical industry, enormous social pressure on politicians led to congressional hearings, state and federal restrictions and finally the USA ban on the general use of DDT in 1972.

White-tailed Eagles recovered up to 320,000 in the United States by 2017, about the same as the population before European settlement. The chemical industry, faced with the ban on DDT, quickly developed much safer pesticides.

Gathering evidence on the dangers of lead

Application of lead increased dramatically in the 20th centuryespecially in paints, plumbing and gasoline. It was so common that almost everyone was exposed to metal that, according to research, may be harmful the child’s kidneys, liver, cardiovascular system and brain development.

Clair “Pat” Patterson, a geochemist at the California Institute of Technology, has shown that Americans were constantly exposed to lead at near toxic levels. Human skeletons from the 1960s were found to have up to 1200 times lead of old skeletons. Today health standards say that it is no safe level of lead in the blood.

Despite threats both personal and professional, and an industry disinformation campaign, Patterson and his supporters evidence has been collected from years warn the public and ultimately pressure politicians to ban the employ of lead in many applications, including petrol AND residential paints.

After the regulations were introduced, the industry accelerated production of substitutesAs a result, the level of lead in the blood of children reduced by 97% over the next few decades. Although lead exposure is now less common, some people are still exposed to threatening levels found in homes, pipes and soil, often in low-income neighborhoods.

Stopping Acid Rain: An International Concern

Acid rain is primarily caused by the release of sulfur dioxide into the air during the burning of coal, high-sulfur oil, and the smelting and refining of metals. interacts with rain or fogThe acid rain that falls can destroy forests, kill lake ecosystems, dissolve monuments and corrode infrastructure.

The damage caused by acid rain in Europe and North America in the 20th century showed the world that air pollution, which is not narrow to national borders, can become an international crisis requiring international solutions.

The problem of acid rain began more than a hundred years ago, but sulfur dioxide levels grew rapidly after World War IIIn 1952, a thermal inversion occurred in London, which resulted in the concentration of sulfur dioxide and other air pollutants being so high that killed thousands of peopleAs damage to forests and lakes worsened across Europe, countries signed international agreements In the 1980s, actions were taken to reduce sulfur dioxide emissions.

In the US, emissions from Midwestern power plants killed fish and trees in the pristine Adirondacks. The destruction, health problems and numerous disasters outraged public opinion, to which politicians responded.

Sulfur dioxide listed as one of six criteria for air pollution in groundbreaking study U.S. Clean Air Act of 1970which required the federal government to set limits on its release. Power plants scrubbers installed to capture pollution and over the next 40 years, the concentration of sulfur dioxide in the U.S. reduced by about 95%.

Parallels with climate change

There are many similarities between these examples and climate change today.

Mountains scientific evidence show how carbon dioxide emissions are created by burning fossil fuels in vehicles, factories and power plants They are warming the planetThe fossil fuel industry has begun to exploit its political power AND disinformation campaigns decades ago to block regulations the aim of which was to leisurely down climate change.

People all over the world are struggling with increasing heat and weather disasters caused by global warming. calling for action to stop climate change and invest in cleaner energy.

First Earth Dayin 1970, it attracted 20 million people. Recent years have seen a change in attitudes towards climate change and attracted millions people all over the world.

The challenge was to get politicians to act, but that is is slowly changing in many countries.

The United States has begun investing in scaling up several tools to tackle climate changeincluding electric vehicles, wind turbines and solar panels. Federal and state policies such as requirements for renewable energy production and reducing greenhouse gas emissions are also key to pushing industries to switch to less harmful alternatives.

Climate change is a global problem that will require worldwide action. International agreements are also helping more countries take steps forward. One change that countries have been discussing for years could facilitate bolster those efforts: ending billions of dollars in taxpayer-funded fossil fuel subsidies and allocating these funds to healthier solutions could facilitate leisurely down climate change.