I interviewed John Warner, green chemistry
pioneer and recent recipient of the 2014 Perkin medal (basically the Pulitzer
prize of chemistry), at the National Bioneers Conference in October. Though
incredibly humble, Warner’s work speaks for itself. In the 1990s, Warner and a
colleague published the definitive book on green chemistry, explaining it as a
new technology that is environmentally sustainable, is economically feasible,
and outperforms old technology. Recently Warner was the recipient of the Perkin
Award in chemistry.
The Perkin Medal is
recognized as one of the highest honors given for outstanding work in applied
chemistry in the United States. The Perkin Medal was first awarded in
1906. Since then, more than 90 such awards have been given to notable
scientists.This is the very first time that the award has been given to a
“green” chemist. In a field not normally associated with being eco-conscious -
this is a tremendous breakthrough for chemistry and a tremendous honor for Dr.
Warner.
Warner’s two main (interconnected) focuses are:
green chemistry, which involves eliminating hazardous materials from chemicals
in the design stage; and biomimicry, a new practice in which technology
replicates processes found in nature, which are nearly always more efficient
than those are manmade. As Warner stated, the two go hand in hand, but “you can
still mimic nature using toxic materials.” One example of this is new adhesive
technology that is based on the way geckos can climb vertically, but is still
very dangerous. Warner made it clear that the two concepts don’t always go
together though, saying that “You can use biomimicry to make toxic materials,
on the other hand you can do green chemistry and not be biomimetic. The wonderful
part is when you do both.”
Warner also believes it is crucial
for the average person to have a better understanding of chemistry because it
affects virtually everything about our lives--the products we buy, the foods we
eat, and the air we breathe, how we communicate--and it affects legislation. He
says that there are flaws at the collegiate level of chemistry education. After
being an industrial chemist for over twenty years, Warner had never been
required to take courses in environmental mechanisms nor toxicology. He is
convinced that the way in which chemistry is taught in high school needs to be
dramatically improved because most people’s bad experience in a high school
chem class scares them away from the area for the rest of their lives. He is a
testament to this theory, receiving a D in high school chemistry himself. He
claims, however, that “once you understand that there is a science about trying
to do things in a more environmentally responsible way, it makes [chemistry]
much more palatable.” It is Warner’s philosophy that young people need to get
hooked on chemistry not because of the cool reactions teachers demonstrate to
entice them, but by the idea that “the future is made by chemists.” He wishes
that teachers would instead approach a class and say “Listen. The world has problems.
If you really want to contribute to a successful future, would you think
being a chemist is at the top of the list? If it’s not, who’s going make the
future?”
To inspire youth to pursue green chemistry,
Warner wants them to understand that “We need people who want a successful
future to be part of making it, not describing it.” In order to accomplish this
goal, Warner’s team created the Beyond Benign foundation, which incorporates
green chemistry curriculum into K-12 education in the Boston area and connects
science with health and environmentalism. So far, the foundation has reached
out to thousands of students.
To learn more about Dr. John Warner and the Beyond Benign
Foundation go to http://www.warnerbabcock.com/ and http://www.beyondbenign.org/
Makena Schwinn, Earthscope Media Intern, 10/22/14
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