U.S. House approves Green Chemistry act, ACS calls it a 'smart step'

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed legislation seeking to improve federal coordination, dissemination and investment in green chemistry research and development. The Green Chemistry Research and Development Act of 2007 (H.R. 2850, *.pdf) aims to provide safer, more sustainable technological options to replace traditional products and processes.

Green chemistry can be defined on the basis of a few strong principles, such as the design of processes to maximize the amount of raw material that ends up in the product; the use of renewable, bio-based feedstock; the design of energy efficient processes; avoidance of waste and sustainable forms of waste disposal.

The use of renewable feedstock makes green chemistry a pivot of the emerging post-oil bioeconomy. Renewable raw materials are obtained from agriculture and forestry, from byproducts and biomass wastes of other processes; fossil fuels (petroleum, natural gas, or coal) or mined resources have no place in green chemistry.

The Green Chemistry bill was introduced in the House on June 25, 2007, by Reps. Phil Gingrey (R-Ga.), Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.), Vernon Ehlers (R-Mich.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), and David Wu (D-Ore.). On July 11, 2007, the House Committee on Science and Technology passed the bill by unanimous consent, and the bill yesterday passed the full House of Representatives by voice vote. Similar legislation was passed overwhelmingly by the House in each of the last two Congresses, but was not acted on in the Senate.

The world's largest scientific organisation, the American Chemical Society (ACS), today praised the vote as a 'smart step'.

Green chemistry is the ultimate proof that environmental and economic benefits in chemistry can be optimized simultaneously. The technologies that spin out of this novel research are the seeds that can sustain small business ventures and green corporate practices. From reducing and improving pharmaceutical processes, reinventing the home and construction business, to over-coming our climate and energy challenges, green chemistry is proving that economics and environment are not mutually exclusive. - Catherine T. Hunt, Ph.D., ACS President.

The bill dedicates resources at a number of federal agencies towards green chemistry R&D and improves interagency coordination. Under the new legislation, the National Science Foundation, the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the Department of Energy would work together to fund and coordinate green chemistry R&D. The interagency program would support merit-reviewed grants to individual researchers, university-industry partnership, R&D and technology transfer at federal laboratories, and the education and training of undergraduate and graduate students in green chemistry science and engineering:
energy :: sustainability :: petrochemistry :: green chemistry :: biomass :: renewable :: efficiency :: bioeconomy ::

By concentrating on sustainable economic practices in the chemical industry, we can move towards a more sustainable vision of the future, Hunt said. In a letter to lead sponsor Gingrey, Hunt praised the interagency program set up by the legislation because it would strengthen the government's role as a true partner in promoting greener technologies.

ACS, through its Green Chemistry Institute, supports improving the environment through chemistry. ACS works closely with policymakers to encourage environmental decisions that promote sustainable resource usage and waste prevention in an economically viable chemical enterprise.

The American Chemical Society is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress and a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.

References:
U.S. House of Representatives, 110th Congress, 1st Session, H.R.2850: Green Chemistry Research and Development Act of 2007 [*.pdf], September 4, 2007.

Eurekalert: American Chemical Society calls green chemistry bill a 'smart step' - September 5, 2007.