April 22, 2013 - Chemists Celebrate Earth Day

Oooh!nDo you want the water you drink and the air you breathe to be full of chemicals?n
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nSincenthe first Earth Day in 1970, awareness of environmental problems andnthe importance of a clean environment has increased. Andneverybody—not just chemists—can celebrate Earth Day, of course.n(Check out this and this other earlier post.)

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nButnthe American Chemical Society decided in 2003 that they couldncelebrate the Earth a little bigger and a little better, so it hasnever since sponsored Earth Day events and provided educationalnresources.

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nNow,nto answer my question: Actually, the water we drink and the air wenbreathe ARE chemicals, in that they are compounds created byn(natural) chemical processes. n

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nThisnis important: There are chemicals that are healthy for humans andnother living things, and there are chemicals that are UNhealthy. n

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nMany,nmany compounds in the world are formed naturally, of course. Mostnpeople use the word chemical to mean compounds createdndeliberately by scientists—or accidentally by manufacturing, or bynpeople burning things, or by other human activities. n

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Remember,nmany substances (chemicals) created in nature are healthy for humansn/ living things, but other natural substances are unhealthy. Dittonfor the chemicals created by humans. Some good, others bad.

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nChemistsnCelebrate Earth Day is devoted to all the efforts that chemistsnundergo to make the Earth a better, cleaner place. Here are some ofnthe projects chemists have worked on and are working harder than evernon:

n Makingn better plastic that takes less oil and water to produce, that isn recyclable, that is biodegradable, and so forth.

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n Makingn better, cleaner-burning fuels.

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n Makingn phosphate-free detergents.

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n Environmentaln monitoring.

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n Greenn chemistry research on ways to make manufacturing, waste-disposal,n and energy-harvesting more sustainable and less polluting.

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n Bettern insulation, which reduces energy use in buildings.

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n Newn lighting technologies.

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n Windn turbines, solar cells, and fuel cells for electric cars all needn materials produced by the chemical industry.

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nThisnyear’s celebration has the theme Our Earth: Handle With Care. Thenofficial ACS website has an illustrated poem contest for kids,na link to local Earth Day events, and resources that include an“kid-friendly, hands-on activity publication.”

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nHerenis one example of kids learning about environmental chemistry.

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nAndnhere is the Chem4Kids article on environmental chemistry.

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nAlsonon this date:

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