Summary

I have read to articles for preparing the roundtable discussion. One is 'Promoting sustainability through green chemistry', by Kirchhoff, from Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 44, pp 237. The other one is ''Green Chemist' shows the way for Singapore', by Shobana Kesava, from http://www.wildsingapore.com/news/20070506/070519-2.htm.

In Kirchhoff's journal, green chemistry is defined as 'green chemistry is about the design of chemical products and processes that reduce or eliminate te huse and generation of hazardous substances'. And sustainable development is defined as 'development theat meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs'.


In Kirchhoff's journal, it is stated that a collaborative effort by industry, energy, academia, and government is needed to promote the adoption of the green chemistry technologies necessary to achieve a sustainable society. And the author talked in details about how the industry, academia and government should do to support green chemistry.

The citations of this journal are very good. It follows strictly the APA style. And the references comes from some other journals, the websites, some books and even national bureau, like U.S. Bureau of Engraving. All these proper citations make the contexts very convincible.

In Kesava's article, it also emphasizes the importance of green chemisty. But compare with the previous article, this one focuses more on the examples, using some facts to support the idea of promoting green chemistry. One example is that, a Japanese pharmeceutical company applies the concept of 'green chemistry' to improve their product line to remove the toxic ingredients, and save a lot of money as well. As a result, both the company and the customers are better off.

In contrast, Kesava's article does not use any citations, which is not so good. Without the citations, the readers cannot be convinced, the reader will not believe what you are saying is true. This is a very obvious shortcoming comparing with the previous journal by Kirchhoff.