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THE PRACTICE OF CHEMISTRY AND ENGINEERING IN THE CONTEXT OF SUSTAINABILITY
Citation:
Sikdar*, S K. THE PRACTICE OF CHEMISTRY AND ENGINEERING IN THE CONTEXT OF SUSTAINABILITY. Presented at Indian Institute of Chemical Engineers, Chennai, INDIA, December 20, 2001.
Impact/Purpose:
To inform the public.
Description:
It is generally recognized that the current rate of resource use to maintain our standard of living is not sustainable for the long term. This idea calls for satisfying our needs by finding resources that are renewable. The question remains as to how we ascertain that the means at our disposal for growing renewables are in fact themselves sustainable on a life cycle basis. Current methods of resource use, however, are environmentally damaging, both from human health and ecosystem viewpoint. Countries that are economically developed, and therefore wealthy, are in a better position to protect the environment than are the developing countries. This situation calls for technologies that are not only benign but also affordable for the developing world. This is the grand challenge of this century. Chemists, chemical engineers, material scientists and biological scientists have the primary role in delivering the technologies that will allow us to approach the state in which damage to the environment, if not eliminated, is minimized. Some ideas on the elements of this grand challenge that are relevant to the practice of chemistry and engineering are discussed here.