In the Antarctic, Adélie penguins harbor consistent levels of the pesticide DDT even though it’s been widely banned since the 1970s. The source: glacier meltwater that trickles past the penguins on its way to the sea, eventually making its way into the penguins’ food webs.
Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. Arthur C. Clarke, Profiles of the Future (revised edition, 1973)