This blog is nothing more than the very occasional rant but it has, it seems, attracted a little attention. Enough anyway that my friends at Chemistry World have just featured our Department and our collaborators at eeCO2 Energy in an article about how to start thinking about saving money while also achieving reductions in environmental impact in labs. The article focuses almost exclusively on electricity and water which are an important start but are just the beginning. The connexions between health and safety practice and our long term environmental impact are something I keep highlighting when I talk about gloves. But chemical inventories will lead us to using chemicals more efficiently.
The important thing that I think all of us should be asking ourselves as we go about our daily business is: “Are the energy, water, chemicals suppliers and the waste disposal companies our charity?” No? Well then let’s be a bit more frugal and spend our money on giving our students more time, more resources, and keeping our equipment in tip top shape.
And then we’ll take a look at academic travel. Those emissions will be interesting…
Thanks to Philip Broadwith for giving me so much rant time.
http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/2014/04/even-cheaper-green-energy-sustainable-lab-water