Engaged Green Chemistry
The April 23, 2006 issue of Chemical & Engineering News (p. 5) has a guest editorial by John C. Warner, Director of the Center for Green Chemistry at the University of Massachusetts at Lowell. Dr. Warner begins by observing that "Society has traditionally dealt with hazardous materials in manufacturing by creating legislation limiting the use of certain materials." He goes on to ask "Why do we have toxic materials in our society?" and answers that "One possible reason is that chemists do not actually know how to make non-toxic materials." He calls for research and education in synthetic chemistry that would enable chemists to "consider at the very beginning of a design process the toxicological and environmental impacts of their various choices", and points out that ethically-minded chemists need to be able to invent new chemicals, not just monitor the effects of chemicals designed by others.
The Outreach page of the Green Chemistry web site says
Green Chemistry is not just teaching alternative synthetic techniques. We not only focus on change within the chemical community but also on how the community interacts and relates with society. We believe a fundamental understanding of chemistry is within the grasp of all members of society. Barriers, real or perceived, need to be removed in the understanding of chemistry. We believe this is beneficial and necessary to effect true change in the world.
Public engagement takes different forms in different disciplines. This is a very pertinent example of how we can shape our teaching and research to produce a more engaged chemistry.