Chemistry and America

When reading through the May 22, 2006 issue of Chemical & Engineering News, I found that a significant percentage of the articles shared and discussed the latest happenings with companies in the industry. While they may have mentioned a new drug they were developing or a new breakthrough just recently discovered, little was said in chemical or engineering terms. Only a few articles were focused on proteins and bonds and Borganhalogen compounds.

I read a lot about the latest merges, plants being built, and corporate ailing. This got me to thinking about the chemical industry as more than just people in lab coats mixing liquids and peering into electromagnetic microscopes. I was just thinking about the business part and realizing just how unique their position is.

This industry, and more specifically the drug industry, is in a constant state of research, development, and improvement. They have to be better than they were last year. Now I suppose every company should have this perspective but in this industry of rapid change and mandatory progress, they must be able to go the distance, otherwise they’ll fail. I’m thinking about companies looking to develop more effective medicine as a primary example. We the customers are always looking out for the best. We expect them to provide it on a consistent basis.

Another prominent theme I noticed throughout the magazine was the discussion of the state of our country’s air pollution, our dependency on oil and the consequences of such. One mention talks about a Supreme Court case that reviewed the Clean Air Act. They were determining whether an increase in emissions means a boost in annual air pollution output or a rise in hourly releases.

A second article talked about big companies investing in biodiesel. Chevron has acquired a stake in a Houston-based company building a biodiesel plant. They plan to eventually be producing 100 million gallons annually.

Capitol Hill lawmakers are eyeing next year’s farm bill as the vehicle to provide financial support that could help biofuels such as ethanol and biodiesel become commercially viable alternatives to conventional gasoline. In August 2005, they enacted the Energy Policy Act which established a national renewable fuels standard, mandating that 7.5 billion gallons of ethanol for fuel be produced annually by 2012. The United States burns roughly 140 billion gallons of