Better living though green chemistry

Here is an article about a chemist with a life-friendly approach to his work.

Safe By Design

Snippets...

"Collins and his colleagues have invented nontoxic chemical catalysts that dramatically boost the power of one of nature’s miracle cleaners: hydrogen peroxide. Our bodies make hydrogen peroxide every day to destroy toxicants. Mimicking this process, Collins and his colleagues have created molecules called TAML activators, which work with hydrogen peroxide to clean up industrial pollution—and prevent it from happening in the first place."

"In my worldview, green chemistry should always ask: is it good for babies? Or more significantly, is it bad for babies? If it’s bad for babies don’t do it. That’s what we’ve got to get ingrained into our field. That, of course, opens a whole new set of questions like, how do you understand whether some chemistry is or is not bad for babies? That then brings up the remarkable fact that chemists are not trained in toxicity and ecotoxicity. With conventional chemistry, we’re giving people the keys to cars without any driver training."

"Sustainability doesn’t just mean feeling positive about the direction of our civilization. It’s also about fundamental strategic stability in the stock market, which is why change is going to happen."

"I’m very optimistic. The three big technology areas for sustainability are safe energy, which has nothing to do with fossilized carbon or nuclear power, but will be solar based; renewable feed stocks; and a nonpolluting technology base. These things are not only doable; they’re inspiring to contemplate, wonderful to watch in progress, and fun to work on."