Environmental degradation, green chemistry

Environmental costs would manifest themselves in the forms of persistent pollution and depletion of resources. Green chemistry directly addresses both of these potential costs by stipulating that no pollution is preferable to pollution, nonpersis-tent pollution is preferable to persistent pollution, efficient use of resources is preferable to wasteful use of resources, and renewable resources are preferable to nonrenewable resources. The combination of preventing pollution and designing for degradation can potentially abbreviate the lifetime of pollution to such an extent that it fits within the lifetime of our generation. 

Implementation of green chemistry education at the undergraduate level is key to adopting more sustainable practices and hence a more sustainable society 4), This education should be for both science and non-science majors. While certainly those students who are science majors may have a direct route to action in applying green chemistry principles in both research and development, nonscience majors can also benefit since they become aware of the importance of sustainable practices, learn about positive every-day habits, and come to realize that the chemical industry, which in the past (and even currently) was viewed as a major contributor to environmental degradation, is also part of the solution to the problem. 

Environmentally degradable plastics are sometimes referred to as green plastics where the word green is used in an ecological sense. The impact of plastics on the environment is hardly a new theme, but with increased interest in green chemistry and the broader green revolution, the relationship between plastics and the environment is a topic of current interest. 

Scholz C, FuUer RC, Lenz RW (1994) Growth and polymer incorporation of Pseudomonas oleo-vorans on alkyl esters of heptanoic acid. Macromolecules 27 2886-2889 Scott G (1994) Environmental biodegradation of hydrocarbon polymers. In Doi Y, Fukuda K (eds) Biodegradable plastics and polymers. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp 79-91 Scott G (1997) Abiotic control of polymer biodegradation. Trends Polym Sd 5 361-368 Scott G (1999) Biodegradable polymers. In Scott G (ed) Polymers and the environment. Royal Society of Chemistry, London, pp. 93-125 Scott G (2000) Green polymers. Polym Degrad Stab 68 1-7... 

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