Green Chemistry Project - Reed College

Some scientists investigate environmental problems directly. Others may pursue research that will have important technological ramifications. Still others may be struggling for breakthroughs that will yield immediate economic pay-offs. These research programs may seem rather different, but all are united by an interest in the present and a desire to change the future.

Sustainability, of course, is also concerned with the present-future connection. John P. Holdren, the president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) addressed the association’s February 2007 meeting in San Francisco on this topic, and his remarks were recompiled and published in the Jan 25, 2008 issue of Science magazine (Science, 2008, 319, 424-435). The presentation is a general survey and does not describe any single topic in depth, but it does illustrate the range of problems facing the world as a whole and the connections to science and technology.

Data tables in article:

1. Top contributors to global mortality in 2000
2. Millenium Development Goals (MDG’s), targets, and pace of progress
3. The world’s water
4. World energy supply in 2005
5. Disrupting earth’s climate