The grasshopper effect is an environmental phenomenon which has nothing to do with grasshoppers. The grasshopper effect refers to the process by which certain chemicals are transported from warmer regions to colder regions of our planet.

This phenomenon is used to explain why high levels of pollutants have been found in regions like the Artic and in the plants and animals that live there, when obviously, most of these chemicals are not used in those regions. In this article I will look at the mechanism involved and the effects of the grasshopper effect on the environment and the organisms that live there.

The mechanism involved in the grasshopper effect is best understood if you refer to it by its other name - global distillation, as it is similar to the distillation process used to produce liquor. Here, the fermented base turns into a vapour when heat is applied and travels to where the temperature is lower where it condenses. In global distillation, the substance originating from the warmer region is turned into a vapour by the high temperatures and travels via wind to an area of lower temperature. In the colder region it condenses and returns to its liquid state.

However, with global distillation, this process happens, as its name suggests, on a global scale. When chemicals are released, only a portion of it will turn into vapour. This portion will stay in this form being blown about by the wind which is its method of transportation until the temperature drops to a temperature low enough for it to be deposited. This drop in temperature can occur for reasons like a change in seasons or it has been blown so far to a colder region. Either way, if the temperature is low enough, the chemical will go back to its original state and be deposited in this new location.

But what makes global distillation an environmental concern is that it is a slow process and is only effective for semi-volatile chemicals that break down very slowly in the environment. Examples of these chemicals include DDT and polychlorinated biphenyls, the latter of which were used for a variety of applications, such as, coolants and as plasticizers in paint and cement. Collectively these chemicals are referred to as persistent organic pollutants (POPs). The regions where these chemicals may be deposited can be entire continents like the Artic or a small region like a mountain top, maybe in the same country, because the higher the elevation, the lower the temperature.

However, as is evident in the news, the planet's climate is changing rapidly as countries other than the Polar Regions are experiencing extremely cold winters. This increases the chance of these chemicals in our environment being deposited in these countries. Therefore the problem might be closer to home than we thought.

Currently, the effects of the grasshopper effect are being felt by the Inuit people that live in the Artic Circle, which have some of the world's highest levels of toxins in their bodies.

This contamination is mainly due to the fact that their food supply is contaminated. The chemicals that condensed over the water are taken up by plankton which is eaten by fish, which are in turn eaten by seals.

The Inuit hunt seals, a main source of food. If the chemicals condensed over land, they would be found on plants which are in turn eaten by the Caribou, another important food source for the Inuit.

So what about if it is deposited on ice? Well, mercury has been found in ice crystals in Alaska.

This may sound like good news, but ice will not stay as ice forever, with the changing seasons experienced as far as the Polar Regions, the increase in temperatures would mean that this polluted ice would now be polluted water contained in rivers and streams. Some of the harmful effects of mercury include, damage to the central nervous systems and the immune system, as well as to the heart and brain.

Young children are especially at risk, as well as infants as mercury is passed from mother to child through breast milk.

Therefore, we can see that as an inhabitant of this planet we have to be accountable for our actions when it comes to the environment because what happens or enters our environment in one country can affect another, harming or killing innocent people. We can do our part by increasing awareness of global distillation and how it originates and affects other people thousands of miles away from the source of the pollution.

People could also push for tougher legislature so that large companies responsibly dispose of their waste and by-products not only in their home country but in others all around the world, because as we can see what our global neighbour does can end up in our backyard.