Chemistry has greatly contributed to the development of man’s living conditions. For example, plastic (a product of chemistry) is an ubiquitous material that has found hundreds of uses. Many chemicals have also been synthesized and are now used in medicine, manufacturing and in almost all aspects of man’s life.
However, the improper uses of these chemical developments come with a price – pollution. For instance, after plastics are used, disposal becomes a problem. The same is true with different chemicals used in medicine and in various industries. Do scientifid developments have to come with the destruction of the environment?
At least not in the town of Cheonggyecheon in South Korea. Since 1998, about 3.3 million trees had been planted all over Cheonggyecheon. Furthermore, $224 million had been spent to build the Seoul Forest – a park stocked with wildlife. A manmade steam was also built to help reduce the heat coming from the exhausts of thousands of vehicles passing through Cheonggyecheon.
In Germany, measures have been made by a committee, called Green Goal, to reduce energy consumption, wastes and water consumption by 20%. How did they do this? They find ways of using energy efficiently. They also tap renewable energy sources and support environmentally friendly means of transport.
In North America, the manufacture of hybrid cars has been commercialized. Hybrid cars run using gasoline and electricity. Some of these cars run on gasoline when they are travelling at high velocity. If they decelerate, electricity is produced by the electric motor that gets stored in batteries. The cars then use this electricity when they travel at low velocity. With this system, hybrid cars produce less pollution since there is minimal amount of waste produced when the electric motors are being used.
In countries such as the United States, Canada, Thailand, as well as many other countries in the European continent, the use of biodiesel is now available to the public. Biodiesel is a renewable and biodegradable diesel extracted from plant oil. Since it is a natural hydrocarbon with negligible sulfur content, it can greatly help in the reduction of emissions from diesel engines.
Here in the Philippines, we have developed the coco-biodiesel or cocodiesel (coconut methyl ester or CME). The cocodiesel reduces exhaust emission. It also had great lubricity, solvency and detergency. These properties lead to greater engine combustion, and thus more engine power.
Recently, biodegradable plastics have been developed, and even used in some countries. Since they decompose easily compared to usual plastics, there is less danger of clogging drainages and thus, less problem their disposal.
Nature doesn’t have to suffer as chemistry helps develop more materials that can be very helpful to man. However, this will only come about if man is willing to exert efforts to do so. Man ought to act responsibly for the things that he uses, if not, then the things that should have made his life easier might bring about his ruin.
J.L.Lactao
Post a Comment