Reflection

Reflecting back on the course, I would describe the field of green chemistry to a friend as a way to preserve our lives we live each and every day sustainably from a chemical standpoint. Meaning, the elements specifically used in the process to create a sustainable way of living by reducing emissions, for example.

As far as examples go for green chemistry, I’d say first was the cogeneration plant of UNH Durham. I went there my entire freshman year and had never heard of this! Some positives include sustainability, recycling, business opportunities, and from there the list goes on. I’m proud that UNH has stepped up above all other universities out there. Another example I think would be the blog I had done on “Cleaning with Citric Acid”. I had no idea that a cleaning product could be so “green”! I always thought originally that cleaning product had only been made up of “chemicals” (as everyone else says). Well, of course they contain chemicals but the citric acid cleaner contains natural chemicals or biodegradable materials that have the ability to clean better then the average cleaners for bathrooms.

The first chemical principle I understand that I didn’t know when we began this course was pretty much anything to do with moles because I had never even heard of them. Another was naming or drawing hydrocarbons in chemistry. I remember the nutrition class I took previous to this class and we didn’t need to know these types of structures but my professor still showed us them sometimes. When I’d look at them I’d always wonder how I could understand all the lines and letters. Now that I have a basic understanding in chemistry, these structures don’t scare me anymore. Thirdly would probably be the covalent bonding, which I never learned in high school chemistry but was another core principle that wasn’t very difficult but still necessary to understand in this class.

With the completion of this course, I’m proud to take away this new knowledge because it makes me think so much different from before as far as thinking sustainably to benefit the environment. Not only this, but at the same time, I was able to review and build on to my knowledge of chemistry in this course so I may understand how it operates all around us every day.