Sustainability

As it is commonly stated, an environmentally active student from the University of Connecticut-Stamford comments, “The first step toward solving a problem is admitting there is one” (Lanslots). In the area of environmental awareness, the solution must be executed on both an individual and a corporate level. Aldo Leopold states, “A conservationist is one who is humbly aware that with each stroke he is writing his signature on the face of the land” (73). Similarly we must realize that every action we take has an intended or unintended consequence upon our earth. Each step towards the conservation effort adds a signature to the plea to save our earth. As an up and coming chemistry scholar, it is important to raise awareness of the state of our environment and to recognize the strategies that can be taken as a member of a university, a citizen of the United States, and a future member of the corporate world to ensure a better environment and maintain resources for the future generations to live in this land.

The first step to addressing issues of sustainability is examining why this has become such a heated issue in our country. Throughout the past twenty years, scientists, politicians, and environmentalists have all combined efforts to raise awareness for the condition of our environment. Oguejiofor, of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University in Nigeria, states that the problems that they have identified in this sector of research through studies are global warming, ozone depletion, exhaustion of resources, and air pollution.

In the area of air pollution, photochemical smog is reported to consist of ozone, aldehydes, peroxyacyl nitrates, and nitric acid. When these pollutants combine with sunlight they produce even more pollutants in our ar...

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