“The lasting pleasures of contact with the natural world are not reserved for scientists but are available to anyone who will place himself under the influence of earth, sea, and sky, and their amazing life.”

Rachel Carson, scientist and writer

A POP-Free Future

Hearing how toxic chemicals can threaten biodiversity and human health is enough to make a person lose sleep at night.

And that’s just what a huge gathering of world leaders did in December 2000 when they worked through the night to find a way to reduce toxic chemical use. By the last morning of their meetings, the leaders emerged, tired but pleased, with an international agreement to ban some of the world’s most toxic chemicals, called persistent organic pollutants (POPs). Although it will be a challenge to implement the treaty, getting international agreement to eliminate toxic chemicals was a critical first step.