Green Chemistry: what is it and why is it important?

Chemistry often gets a bad reputation because the public hear about incidents like the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, plastic pollution in the oceans and climate change. However, industrial chemistry is reinventing itself by following the principles of green chemistry in order to lessen environmental impact. This session will consider the concept of green chemistry including the role of catalysts (and penguins) in cleaning up the chemical industry. We will also discuss some ‘big picture topics’ such as moving away from fossil fuels, what to do with carbon dioxide emissions and what is fracking.