- Nearly 100 years ago, chemicals were advertised to help in a variety of ways.

There was a long list of cure-alls.

While many of these chemicals failed to live up to their promises, people began to depend on them.

Today, more than ever, we have come to depend on chemicals.

They are part of our way of life.

Prescription drugs are just one example.

Most of us begin our day with a wide variety of chemicals.

As to why we use chemicals, the answer can be found partly in our bathroom cabinet, where we store chemicals that not only eliminate headaches, but improve our breath, soothe aching muscles, yield poor complexions, and eliminate dandruff, among other things.

Look in the kitchen and in the garage, and there are still more reasons we use chemicals.

For those that think chemicals only have superficial uses, turn to the farmers that use thousands of gallons of chemicals each year.

Many farmers maintain that without chemicals, our nation could not be supplied with enough food.

They load up on fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides.

As they prepare the land, chemicals will help increase plant growth while reducing weeds, insects, and the chance of disease.

Chemicals are applied growing season after growing season, year after year.

In the final analysis, chemicals contribute to the production of healthy, abundant crops.

There are many reasons why farmers have increased their yields in recent years.

The use of chemicals is one explanation.

It is a fact that more food can be produced from each acre.

In part, chemicals are helping to fill our graineries.

On the other hand, if chemicals were not used, would you be willing to eat vegetables partly consumed by insects or otherwise diseased or blemished?

Would you be willing to settle for less than perfect fruit?

Would you be willing to pick mostly from those with skin blemishes?

Without chemicals, potatoes would sprout more quickly.

Would you be willing to eat potatoes that might frequently look like these?

Or eat bread without chemical preservatives that might become covered with mold?

Without chemicals, are you prepared to throw away more of your food that might spoil?

Without chemicals, could you trust the meat in the store to have the proper flavor and to be free of bacteria?

Sodium nitrite can be found in many of the packaged meats.

It prevents the growth of dangerous bacteria.

Bacteria can make humans sick and even kill.

Giving up chemicals would mean having to find other alternatives to dealing with serious problems like bacteria or even termites.

Some of the most powerful chemicals man uses on the termite.

Termites can seriously damage the foundations of our homes.

Without chemicals, it would mean having to live with tapeworms if they infest our pets or ourselves.

We would have to live with undesirable insects if there was not a chemical solution.

But while some insects are harmful, chemicals themselves can be even more undesirable and dangerous.

Unfortunately, chemicals are not always used properly.

In some instances, the innocent are injured.

When spraying for harmful insects, beneficial insects sometimes become victims.

How many organisms are unintentionally destroyed in our use of chemicals?

And then there is the case of addiction, which creates serious problems.

In addition, some chemicals are additive.

Small, less harmful doses can add up to dangerous levels.

Hazardous chemicals are often readily available and socially acceptable.

In some instances, we know these chemicals may be dangerous to our health, yet they are often consumed even when the warnings are printed before us.

There are a number of chemicals around us that could be dangerous if improperly handled.

You may not normally come into contact with lead in shotgun shells, but lead shot is a dangerous substance to living organisms, including humans.

There has been discussion of replacing lead in shotgun shells because of its environmental impact.

Yet you might handle an old toy made of lead and not realize it could be dangerous should you put it in your mouth.

There were no warnings printed on older toys, and frequently we find out later that something is dangerous.

You might not stop to think that your fishing sinkers are made of lead or realize that paint on old furniture could well contain dangerous lead.

Actually, most of this has come about in recent years.

It wasn't until the 1940s that chemicals began to proliferate our environment.

At that time, we began to increase chemical combinations and processes that have led to thousands of new chemicals.

Yet of the billions of pounds of chemicals produced each year, relatively few have been tested.

At least 20 chemicals cause cancer in humans, while several hundred others are suspected.

Research and environmental accidents tell us of the danger of handling certain chemicals.

Unfortunately, we often learn in hindsight after an accident has occurred.

In one well-known incident, a chemical called keypone contaminated an adjoining large river system.

The cancer-causing chemical moved with the waters and eventually contaminated adjoining creeks and bays continually moving downstream.

While invisible to the human eye, showing no significant change at the surface, the chemical was picked up by life within the river.

As one organism would pick up some of the chemical and eventually die, another would consume the remains only to further spread the problem.

This happened time and time again, passing through countless organisms, yet the chemical remained.

Eventually, as it worked through the food chain, the chemical left the water and returned to man from where it originated.

In fact, we harvested it.

The chemical wound up in our food without any evidence that we should not consume the seafood that once was free of contamination.

In the case of kepone, improper handling of chemicals closed down shellfishing and some fishing industries for years.

This happened because a dangerous cancer-causing chemical such as keypone does not become diluted or weakened easily.

This means a serious chemical accident can contaminate miles of water, land, or air.

And in the case of keypone, can last for decades.

Yet there is hope, as seen with the osprey, a fish eagle once near extinction due to DDT.

Years after DDT was banned, the osprey has begun to come back in growing numbers.

It means we may be able to reverse the chemical damage done.

If we are careful in our use of chemicals, we can protect both the environment, the wildlife, and the human community.