Green chemistry and green engineering will obviously play an important role in creating more sustainable manufacturing practices.
They're already having an impact... the assistant administrator in charge of the Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Research & Development and one of the fathers of the green chemistry movement. He said to me, "My vision for the future of the Office of Research & Development includes a recognition that the goal of sustainability is our 'true north,' that scientific and technological innovation is essential to the success of our mission, that we need to couple our excellence in problem assessment with an equal excellence in solving problems, and that we must act with a sense of urgency."
In our interview, however, Anastas also referred to a speech EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson had given in early March in which she said, "It's time to put to rest the notion that economic growth and environmental protection are incompatible. It's time to finally dismiss this false choice."
That's a comforting notion, but it is one that is no longer true. Sustainable economic growth is an oxymoron.
Read more at American Chemical Society
