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Chemicals in the Environment

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Abstract

There are no anthropic chemically naïve humans on earth anymore. The past century was the first in human history in which humans harnessed the power of chemistry to enhance survival and quality of life on a global scale. The age of the pharmaceutical industry, the rise of the agricultural industry, and the petroleum era coincide over the past 100 years. The excitement and profits of the chemistry century lead to accumulation of concern. Dilution is not really a solution to pollution but degradation helps, the levels of chemicals in our environment is the net result of chemicals released minus chemicals degraded. Life on earth is demonstrating just how resilient it can be to new potent chemicals.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. LS Pharma, Oregon State University, Grand Jct, CO, USA

    Patrick L. Iversen

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Iversen, P.L. (2018). Chemicals in the Environment. In: Molecular Basis of Resilience. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-98164-2_7

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