Green Chemistry

Source: Chemistry Innovations in Sustainable Development

By: The Natural Edge Project (‘TNEP’) 2008

Reflection:

Allow me an analogy: plastic is to our lives what high fructose corn syrup is to our diets. It is utterly pervasive, harmful in large doses, and largely taken for granted, meaning, we don’t think about it until we try to envision life without it. Diet without HFCS? Say goodbye to cheap and tasty everything, from bread to ketchup. Life without plastic? Goodbye car parts, Tupperware, shoes, clothing, appliances, carpeting, etc. etc. etc.

None of this is to say we can’t develop alternative that perform just as well as or better than these pervasive substances. We can now make plastic out of corn, and it seems like there’s a new ad for some new sweetener (All Natural!) every time I turn on the TV.

What’s my point? “Plastic” is just one example of a pervasive chemical, and that label is attached to dozens, maybe hundreds of materials with similar characteristics but different chemical ingredients and manufacturing methods. And plastic is just one of thousands of synthetic (i.e. human-made, not naturally occurring) materials that pervade our lives and which we take completely for granted. To envision a future without a lot of these materials strains the imagination, yet that is exactly what we must do.

Such is the focus of Green Chemistry. To maintain our current quality of life without pervasive, synthetic materials (because chemical is such a vague, messy term) would be, dare I say, impossible. We need to engage in some critical thinking, figure out how these materials serve us, find ways to provide those same services using alternative, sustainable materials, or learn to live without. As always, easier said than done, but we don’t really have a choice. Interface is the most oft-cited success story in this vein.

There are several aspects of Green Chemistry I appreciate. First, the 12 Principles of Green Engineering and 12 Principles of Green Chemistry offer simple, straightforward guidelines for innovation, which is the second strength of the document. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: we’re good at innovation. Why do you think HFCS became so prevalent? Because we had mountains (literally) of surplus corn and needed to figure out what to do with it. The fact that corn derivatives can be found EVERYWHERE in our lives is proof of our ability to innovate (misguided though it turned out to be).