M9.3: Green Chemistry

Digging into the Great Pacific Garbage Patch Video

If green chemistry principles were applied at the time when plastic was being invented we wouldn't have the environmental catastrophe that we have now. Meaning, our ecosystem would have been devoid of toxins from plastics  and our marine life wouldn't have their well being compromised.  Our global ecology would have been environmentally sound if the principles of green chemistry were applied when plastics were invented. But it's still not too late, the principles from green chemistry can be applied to create safe plastics and the accumulated plastic has to be cleaned up and recycled. The production of all plastic products that aren't biodegradable should be banned and only biodegradable plastic should be produced.


BLOG about your thoughts on green chemistry. Have you heard of or seen any examples of green chemistry in your work or in daily life? What are your thoughts on the 12 principles of green chemistry? 

Prior to this course and lecture I was unaware of green chemistry. After researching this subject I was pleased to find several examples of green chemistry in my life, some of these include:
1- My house is a solar home, solar energy is generated by the conversion of light energy into electrical energy and this process is known as photovoltaics. 
2-I use eco-friendly plates and utensils for my son. Its a company called Re-play and they create dishes from recycled milk jugs.
The 12 principles of green chemistry should be a mandatory industry standard globally, if immediate steps aren't taken to curtail the existing damage to our environment we're going to land in hot water. Hopefully, this can get mandated into environmental policy so we can eliminate harm waste products.

Comments

  1. snaymallickOctober 26, 2018 at 12:10 AM

    I also was unaware of green chemistry and wish I knew more information about it! This was a useful exercise for me and I hope that we find solutions to protect our environment through green chemistry. Solar homes are a great start! Thanks for helping!

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownNovember 10, 2018 at 7:40 PM

    I agree with you that it's not too late to begin introducing green chemistry when it comes to plastic production. In addition, I agree with you that the production of all plastic products that aren't biodegradable should be banned and only biodegradable plastic should be produced. However, realistically this can only happen in phases and would most likely only occur with the financial support of the government. If plastic is phased out from one day to the next, we are possibly promoting the development of other harmful alternatives, because we are not allowing enough time to develop scientifically safe alternatives. I would suggest that governments incentivize biodegradable plastic production, making it more affordable for companies trying to make the transition.

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