Authier 1

iNoah Authier

English 4

April 6, 2017

Ms. Mantlo

Essential question: Can Chemistry help our environment?

Working thesis: Chemistry can help our environment.

Refined thesis: There are chemicals that harm the environment but recent advances can have a

positive effect on the environment.

Service Research Paper

Chemistry has benefited us in many different ways. From medicine to clean drinking

water for us to survive. But what about our planet? Does chemistry affect our environment? Yes

it can.

Now when you think of chemistry, you are probably thinking of toxic chemicals and

climate change. But that is not the case anymore. According to two articles found on Xperimania

and The Royal Society, people are more aware of what affects the environment then they were in

the past and are now trying to reduce the harmful effects that we do to the planet. They also say

that people are ignorant of how animals are supportive of humans. Recent research into

biological science and chemistry has revealed that industrial processes in chemistry could help us

to develop solutions to problems like climate change and energy efficiency. This has lead to the

development of Green Chemistry.

According to EPA, Green Chemistry is the when chemicals and products are designed to

help clean up the environment by removing the use and process of creating harmful material.

This is different from cleaning up the environment as it is getting rid of the problem at its source
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instead of just cleaning up what is already there. There are many benefits to Green Chemistry

such as cleaner air, plants and animals suffering less, and many others. With Green Chemistry we

could use smaller amounts of energy. Green chemistry offers many alternatives to help us and the

environment.

The environment is not the only one that benefits from this. This means that there are

other ways to benefit us and the environment at the same time. We can even use this to help our

technology. The article Examples of Green on ACS states that Scientists at the Los Alamos

National Laboratory have developed a process that uses supercritical carbon dioxide in one of the

steps of chip preparation, and it significantly reduces the quantities of chemicals, energy, and

water needed to produce chips (ACS). This means that we can still use our technology and help

the environment.

So in conclusion, Chemistry can help the environment. This does not mean we do not get

anything from this. Things like cleaner air, and using less energy help us and the environment at

the same time. Now this does not mean that we have to give up things like electronics and our

other comforts. It just means that there are ways to help the environment and us at the same time.

Works Cited

"Chemistry and the Environment: Help or Hindrance?" Xperimania. Web. 06 Apr. 2017.
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<http://www.xperimania.net/ww/en/pub/xperimania/news/world_of_materials/chemistry_

and_the_environment.htm>.

Goodman, G. T. "How Do Chemical Substances Affect the Environment?" Proceedings of the

Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences. The Royal Society, 29 Jan. 1974. Web.

06 Apr. 2017. <http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/185/1079/127>.

"Green Chemistry." EPA. Environmental Protection Agency, 19 Dec. 2016. Web. 06 Apr. 2017.

<https://www.epa.gov/greenchemistry>.

"Examples of Green Chemistry." American Chemical Society. Web. 06 Apr. 2017.

<https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/greenchemistry/what-is-green-

chemistry/examples.html>.