As developed and developing nations assess existing water systems and implement new ones, it’s time to examine the long-term sustainability of these systems.
In the latest issue of Chemical & Engineering News, Professor Bassam Shakhashiri, along with David Sedlak and Jerald Schnoor, urges the American Chemical Society (ACS) to focus on educating “the public and decision-makers on issues related to water, especially those that are pertinent to chemistry.”
In addition to public education, the commentary suggests the ACS could “advocate for technologies that make water use more efficient and less pollutive” and urge members to consider “how chemicals used in commerce impact water resources.”
Shakhashiri is the William T. Evjue Distinguished Chair for the Wisconsin Idea at the UW-Madison Department of Chemistry. During his tenure as 2012 ACS president, he worked to bring attention to climate change and the state of graduate-level education in the chemical sciences in the U.S.
Read the full commentary, “ACS Global Water Initiative: The Grand Challenge of Water,” in Chemical & Engineering News.