Protect, Preserve, Enhance: Inside Washington's Department of Ecology

Better living through Green Chemistry

February 04, 2021 Ecology
Protect, Preserve, Enhance: Inside Washington's Department of Ecology
Better living through Green Chemistry
Show Notes

"Better Living Through Chemistry!" entered the American lexicon thanks to the 1935 advertising slogan of a well-known chemical company. But after nearly a century of manufacturing dangerous toxic chemicals, a new perspective in the field has emerged called "Green Chemistry."

It's focused on the design of products and processes that minimize or eliminate the use and generation of hazardous substances. Washington Department of Ecology's award-winning Green Chemistry scientist, Saskia van Bergen, who has a Masters in Agricultural and Environmental Chemistry, helps explain what Green Chemistry is, how it's making inroads with the mainstream scientific community, and how you can help promote its use with the products you buy and the companies you support.