Global Challenges/Chemistry Solutions

Our Sustainable Future

Did You Know? The United States has 5 percent of the world’s population and uses 23 percent of the world’s energy. Only 10 percent of the electricity in an incandescent light bulb becomes light. The other 90 percent is wasted as heat. A compact fluorescent light bulb uses 75 percent less energy than an incandescent bulb – and it can last up to four years. An energy-smart clothes washer can save more water in one year than one person drinks in an entire lifetime. 80 percent of Earth’s original forests cover is gone

We humans are consumers. We consume food. We consume gasoline and electricity. We consume paper and plastics, cotton, and polyester. Faced with concerns about dwindling petroleum supplies and environmental pollution, we must begin to consume in a new and more sustainable way. Experience this podcast: Listen to podcast Download transcript Subscribe in iTunes (requires iTunes software) Subscribe via RSS feed

Science for Kids

Hands on activities for young aspiring chemists

Chemistry and Compost

Gassing Up Without Air Pollution

ChemMatters

A magazine for high school students

• Beyond Hydrogen: The New Chemistry of Fuel Cells (Dec. 2007)
  As gas prices and global temperatures continue to rise, discussions about the feasibility of fuel cell-powered vehicles intensify. Learn more about fuel cells and the various fuels that could be used in their operation.
• Chemistry Builds a Green Home (October 2006)
  It seems that everything is turning “green” these days. When the concept is brought home, the results are impressive. Today’s homes can be both environmentally friendly and esthetically pleasing.
• Do You Want Biodiesel with That? (April 2005)
  It’s the environmentally friendly alternative fuel made from almost any vegetable oil—even from old oil used to cook French fries.
• Bacteria Power (April 2004)
  Stinky mud + water + graphite rod + wire = power?!!! That’s right. What’s missing is the amazing, naturally occurring bacteria that make it all possible.
• Building a Better Bleach: A Green Chemistry Challenge (April 2004)
  Can chemists make a powerful bleach with the environmentally friendly byproducts, oxygen and water?
• Green Chemistry—Stopping Pollution Before It Starts (April 2003)
  Can we have our products without hurting the environment? It sounds too good to be true, but chemists and manufacturers are finding that with a little planning, many items can be “benign by design.”  

Careers in Chemistry

• Consumer Product Chemistry
• Environmental Chemistry
• Hazardous Waste Management
• Materials Science
• Polymer Chemistry

Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS^®)

Focusing on the sustainability topic of alternative solvents, SciFinder®, a research tool produced by CAS (a division of the American Chemical Society), found 655 references published this year on the use of carbon dioxide as a solvent. Specifying the concept "supercritical carbon dioxide" as a solvent yielded 304 references for the same timeframe. A more general search in SciFinder for use of "supercritical fluids" as solvents found 339 references.

The CAS databases cover references from more than 10,000 major scientific journals and 57 patent authorities worldwide.

http://www.cas.org

In the News

• Solar Decathlon stars sustainable designs
  ES&T, Oct. 31, 2007
• Green chemistry gets the prize
  ES&T, July 18, 2007
• Ensuring environmentally sustainable coal use
  ES&T, July 11, 2007
• Model cities for sustainability
  ES&T, June 13, 2007
• Sharing sustainable solutions
  ES&T, April 4, 2007
• Sustainable agriculture delivers the crops
  ES&T, Dec. 21, 2005

Books

• Anastas, P.T., Warner J.C., 2000, Green Chemistry: Theory and Practice, Oxford University Press, USA
• Manahan, S., 2005, Green Chemistry and the Ten Commandments of Sustainability, 2nd edition, ChemChar Research Inc.
• McDonough, W., Braungart, M., 2002, Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things, North Point Press
• Edwards, A.R., Orr,. D.W., 2005, The Sustainability Revolution: Portrait of a Paradigm Shift, New Society Publishers
• Esty, D.C., Winston, A.S., 2006, Green to Gold: How Smart Companies Use Environmental Strategy to Innovate, Create Value, and Build Competitive Advantage, Yale University Press
• Dresner, S., 2002, The Principles of Sustainability, Earthscan Publications, Ltd.
  

Sources for this podcast

• Microwave-Assisted Organic Synthesis and Transformations using Benign Reaction Media
• Alternative Fluoropolymers to Avoid the Challenges Associated with Perfluorooctanoic Acid
• Greener Nanoscience: A Proactive Approach to Advancing Applications and Reducing Implications of Nanotechnology
• Fusing green chemistry and green engineering: DesignBuild at the molecular level
• Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge

Other Resources

• ACS Green Chemistry Institute
• Green Chemistry at the Environmental Protection Agency
• Green Chemistry Resource Exchange
• Center for Green Chemistry & Green Engineering at Yale University
• California Green Chemistry Initiative

Meet the Scientists

• Scientist Bios