Forever Chemicals

On the list of VERY long factors of climate change, there are a lot of things that are resolvable with sheer passion, hard work, and also collaboration; one of the factors isn't simply taken care of. 

PFAS, a.k.a. "Forever Chemicals," have emerged and have recently been identified as a serious environmental and medical issue globally. But what really are they?

Forever Chemicals (or PFAS for short) are polyfluoroalkyl substances. To put it simply, they are a series of chemicals developed by scientists for WWII. Through the chemical bond between Fluorine, they create a very strong chemical bond. Due to this, they are heavily resistant to breaking down, and due to this, they reside in the environment for dozens of years, regardless of the specific biome, as they can live in water, soil, and even inside individual living organisms. Their environmental and biological persistence allows them to accumulate over time and reproduce, raising questions and concerns about the long-term health of the public and the planet's ecosystems. However, these chemicals also exist in over 14,000 products, including some that are very common, such as various forms of packaging (especially water-resistant or stick-proof produ

cts), as well as computer chips and toilet paper. Practically anything that says grease-resistant, non-stick, or stain-resistant. Because PFAS is unfamiliar and untrustworthy, some companies didn't identify PFAS in their products to keep buyers. But what really is the risk of PFAS, and what does it do to the human body, or does it just sit around and exist? PFAS is actually identified as a cause of several cancers, such as kidney, testicular, and liver cancer, and liver toxicity. Due to these chemicals, there has been a rising amount of occurrences of these cancers, especially colon and liver cancers. However, PFAS is actually in a lot more things. According to a study by Yale, over 90% of all drinking water contains PFAS. But really, if it's this bad, what can the average person do about it? To try to fight against it, people can reduce their PFAS exposure by avoiding products such as older non-stick cookware and water-resistant clothing. But recently, laws are in the making that are meant to restrict the usage of these chemicals, and a lot of the biggest companies on the planet are now committing to distance themselves from these chemicals.