Chapter 1 Introduction JAMES H. CLARK Chemistry—Past, Present and Future The Costs of Waste The Greening of Chemistry Sustainable development, Cleaner production, Atom economy, E factor, Principles of Green Chemistry, Life-cycle assessment 1 Chemistry—Past, Present and Future Chemical products make an invaluable contribution to the quality of our lives and play a fundamental role in almost every aspect of modern society. Pharmaceuticals products In twentieth century, World population: from to 6 billion, Life expectancy: almost 60%↑ Crop protection and growth enhancement chemicals The enormous populations demand western levels The public image of the chemical industry has badly deteriorated in the last ten years . . . In some of the major centres of chemicals manufacturing more people gave positive than negative views, but for many European countries the ratio of unfavourable to favourable views was alarmingly high. 2 Chemistry—Past, Present and Future Figure Trends in the favourability to the chemical industry of the general public (smoothed plots) (based on MORI Opinion Poll figures in the period 1980–2000). In the UK, a steady decline in public perception of the chemicals industries over many years is clearly evident. It is especially disturbing to analyse the survey data more closely and to note that the 16–24 year age group has the lowest opinion of the chemicals industries. 3 Chemistry—Past, Present and Future Figure Trend in the number of applications to study chemistry in UK universities (source: UCAS Universities and Colleges Admissions Services ). At present, the poor image of chemistry is adversely affecting demand. In the UK, the number of applicants to read chemistry at university has been falling steadily for several years The number of applicants to read chemical engineering is
