Fructose

9. CFCs
10. Plastic Grocery Bags
Short for chlorofluorocarbons, CFCs are nasty chemical compounds that wreak havoc on the
environment. Used in refrigeration units and aerosol cans, CFCs combine with atmospheric ozone,
neutralizing the molecular compound and weakening the ozone layer, an important environmental
barrier that protects the earth's surface from ultraviolet radiation from the sun. While increased
regulation since the 1970s has diminished their use, CFCs can endure in the atmosphere for nearly
a century, making this a very long-lived mistake.
According to their Material Safety Data Sheets, CFCs and HCFCs are colourless, volatile, relatively
non-toxic liquids and gases with a faintly sweet ethereal odour. Overexposure may cause dizziness,
loss of concentration, Central Nervous System depression and/or cardiac arrhythmia. Vapors
displace air and can cause asphyxiation in confined spaces. Although non-flammable, their
combustion products include hydrofluoric acid, phosgene, and related species.
Touted as a convenient and cheap alternative to paper bags, plastic grocery bags gained acceptance
in the late 1970s and now meet 80% of retailers' bagging needs. They've saved millions of trees
but come with equally bad consequences: more than 500 million are used and discarded each year,
millions of which never make it to a landfill and fall as litter. And depending on the plastic used in
production, those bags may take several hundred years to decompose. The solution? Recycle, or
better yet, skip both paper and plastic and bring a reusable bag of your own.
11. Cigarettes
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