Editorial

Renewable energy and resources

Renewable energy and resources

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Green chemistry can be considered as the design and application of processes and products that do no harm to the environment. With increasing demands for a higher standard of living from a growing world population, alternative feedstocks will be increasingly be needed to supplement traditional raw materials. Articles in previous issues of Green Chemistry have considered the potential value of crops as feedstocks for the chemical industry as well as their traditional use in foods. With modest improvements in farming efficiency it does seem as though we can see a future for chemical feedstocks beyond petroleum. In this issue of Green Chemistry we can read about two other very important aspects of renewable resources – biofuels and plans for a new European graduate course.

World demands for energy can be expected to grow significantly as developing countries seek to raise the standard of living of their citizens to those enjoyed elsewhere. This not only places an increasing strain on traditional energy sources, but also adds to the enormous global environmental and local health problems (as those who have recently visited many major cities in the western and developing countries will know). Funds based on biological resources such as biodiesels can help to alleviate these problems through extending the range of raw materials and through cleaner energy generation. The trend to utilise more renewable resource-based products in industry brings with it a need to translate the concept to education. The new European Masters programme on renewable resources is clearly a step in the right direction.

We recognise that there are a growing number of good examples of applications for non-traditional uses of biomaterials and of educational materials to demonstrate the importance of this emerging field. We hope to see more articles in these areas in future issues of Green Chemistry.

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