Table of Contents
3
Introduction
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The Crises in Clean Water: Water Purification
From San Diego to Santiago to Seville to Sydney, billions of people are facing shortages of clean
water. More than 1 billion people have no access to clean drinking water. And things are getting
worse. World population is growing. Farms, factories, and cities are using more water. Demand
for water is doubling every 21 years — and faster in some areas. Global climate change adds an
unsettling element of uncertainly to what many experts term a global water crisis.
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Water Desalination: Freshwater from the Sea
“Water, water, everywhere, nor any drop to drink.” So lamented Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s
ancient mariner 210 years ago about the saltwater that surrounded his ship. Now scientific
advances in water desalination promise to dramatically increase our ability to economically
transform seawater into freshwater. If successful, the world’s oceans could become a drought-proof source of water for agriculture, industry, and 1.2 billion people locked in the embrace of
a global water shortage.
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Confronting Climate Change: Part 1.
Stopgap Measures to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Wagon trains of pioneers heading West to settle the American frontier encountered oceans
of grass swaying in the wind in the prairies. This grass grew 7–10 feet high — almost to
the second-story windows on a modern house. Much of that green ocean consisted of
switchgrass. Today switchgrass looks greener than ever to new generations of pioneers.
These chemists, chemical engineers, and other scientists are searching for solutions to the
challenges of global warming.
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Confronting Climate Change: Part 2.
The Quest for Permanent Solutions
As the quest for permanent solutions to global warming gains urgency, scientists are
working to harness the chemical magic that plants use to produce hydrogen from sunlight
and water. Hydrogen fuel produced in artificial photosynthesis units could replace some of the
fossil fuels that now account for almost 70 percent of the carbon dioxide released in the United
States every year. Scientists imagine cars with an artificial photosynthesis unit that converts
water to non-polluting hydrogen fuel.
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Our Sustainable Future
People are consumers. We consume energy, food, and thousands of other essentials. Faced
with concerns about petroleum supplies and environmental pollution, we must begin to
consume in a new and more sustainable way. Simply put, sustainability means meeting the
needs of people today without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their
own needs. Scientists are responding to that challenge with innovations in “green chemistry”
and a range of exciting new processes and technologies.
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Promoting Personal Safety & National Security
September 11, 2001, put a new topic on the radar screen for many people in the United
States and other countries. That tragic day, and the anthrax attacks that followed, made us
more aware of threats to personal safety and national security. Chemists and other scientists
are responding to a host of threats that range from terrorist attacks to germs that collect on
kitchen countertops. The response promises to improve our everyday health, safety, and peace
of mind as individuals and as a nation.
