INTRODUCTION
My chemistry curriculum has traditionally included a focus on environmental issues as I feel it is important to connect the classroom learning to events that affect my student’s lives. Of the many environmental concerns that we have discussed, climate change and global warming are two topics that we as a classroom community consider to be of critical importance as they affect all living organisms and all of the earth’s ecosystems. Given the established connection between increasing greenhouse gas emissions and rising global temperatures, our analysis of the causes (and possible solutions) to climate change has necessarily focused on the chemistry of traditional energy production processes (the combustion of fossil fuels that increase concentrations of greenhouse gases) and renewable energy technologies that produce limited (or no) greenhouse gases. It is important to note that although renewable energy technologies protect our climate by decreasing greenhouse gas emissions, one cannot assume that they do no harm to the environment. An electric vehicle may produce zero emissions, but its environmental impact must include whether the electricity was generated from the combustion of fossil fuels or through renewable energy processes (such as wind, solar or hydroelectric) as electricity generation remains a principal source of greenhouse gas emissions.1 In fact, to fully assess the environmental impact of this vehicle, one must analyze all of the processes and resources used to produce it and properly dispose of all of it and all of its components. This complete “cradle to grave” analysis of the total environmental impact of a product is known as the Life Cycle Assessment. Life Cycle Assessment is a structured process that
takes a holistic approach and provides a complete view of the environmental impacts over the entire life cycle of a process or product, from raw material extraction and acquisition, manufacturing, transportation and distribution, use and maintenance, reuse and recycle, and all the way to disposal and waste management 2
Modern society depends on a wide range of industries and commercial processes that produce the many products and systems that we rely on. While we all benefit from these conveniences, we must acknowledge that all industrial processes, technologies, or consumer products produce some form of chemical emissions and / or pollutants that affect our health and our environment. In order to address these deleterious effects, we must be able to identify and mitigate all potentially harmful chemical pollutants that our society produces. The Life Cycle Assessment by virtue of its “cradle to grave” analysis of product systems is perfectly suited for this endeavor.
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