This Week in Sustainability Podcast Felicia Etzkorn
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- Science
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On TWIST, This Week in Sustainability, we discuss the green pros and cons of the entire range of consumer products and everything in them, to help you choose the right stuff to buy and recycle. We’ll discuss: Appliances, Batteries, Buildings, Carpet, Cleaning Products, Clothing, Computers, Disinfectants, Food, Flame Retardants, Fuels, Medicine, Packaging, Paint, Pesticides, Plastic, Personal Care products, Phones, Photovoltaics, and maybe even tilt at Windmills. We'd love to have your suggestions for topics or guests: twist.sustainability@gmail.com! Hosted by Felicia Etzkorn, Professor of Chemistry at Virginia Tech (https://chem.vt.edu/people/faculty/teaching-and-research/fetzkorn.html) and author of Green Chemistry: Principles and Case Studies, with co-host Jamie Ferguson, Professor of Chemistry at Emory & Henry College (https://www.ehc.edu/live/profiles/341-jamie-ferguson). Music was created and performed by Wendy Godley.
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17: Remodeling Materials
In which Felicia describes the materials choices for her kitchen remodel, and her guest, Helene Renard, Professor of Interior Design in the School of Architecture + Design at Virginia Tech, describes the “Healthier Materials and Sustainable Building” course she took with the Healthy Materials Lab at the Parsons School of Design. Host–Felicia Etzkorn of Virginia Tech, with music by Wendy Godley of The Kind.
Green Kitchen Remodel: https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/e8tg8v/Green_Kitchen_Lecture_2015am1wy.pdf
Course: https://healthymaterialslab.org/learning-hub/e-learning-online-certificate-program
Healthy Materials Lab: https://healthymaterialslab.org/about/team
https://healthymaterialslab.org/
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16: PFAS Sass
In which we discuss per- and poly-fluoroalkylsubstances (PFAS) with Carol Kwiatkowski of the Green Science Policy Institute (https://greensciencepolicy.org), their properties, function, consumer products, toxicity, persistence, chemical analysis, and regulation both in the US and EU. Some companies, like Keen, are eliminating PFAS from their products. We then discuss a few green substitutes, including Solberg Co.'s firefighting foam, a fatty acid coated cellulose, and iron skillets. Host–Felicia Etzkorn of Virginia Tech, co-host–Jamie Ferguson of Emory & Henry College, with music by Wendy Godley of The Kind.
PFAS review: Kwiatkowski, C. F.; Andrews, D. Q.; Birnbaum, L. S.; Bruton, T. A.; DeWitt, J. C.; Knappe, D. R. U.; Maffini, M. V.; Miller, M. F.; Pelch, K. E.; Reade, A.; Soehl, A.; Trier, X.; Venier, M.; Wagner, C. C.; Wang, Z.; Blum, A., Scientific Basis for Managing PFAS as a Chemical Class. Env Sci & Tech Letters 2020, 7 (8), 532-543.
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.estlett.0c00255
EPA Reassessment: https://cen.acs.org/environment/persistent-pollutants/US-EPA-deems-two-GenX-PFAS-chemicals-more-toxic-than-PFOA/99/web/2021/10?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Newsletter&utm_campaign=CEN
Alternatives: https://pfascentral.org/pfas-free-products/
Keen PFAS-free: https://www.keenfootwear.com/conservation/blog-article-20390.html
Solberg Co firefighting foam: https://www.perimeter-solutions.com/class-a-b-foam/
PFAS in cosmetics: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.estlett.1c00240
PFAS in fracking: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/12/climate/epa-pfas-fracking-forever-chemicals.html
Dark Waters, Movie about PFAS in WV with Mark Ruffalo: https://www.yidio.com/movie/dark-waters/210401
Binding of PFOA to human serum albumin: Maso, L. et. al., Unveiling the binding mode of perfluorooctanoic acid to human serum albumin. Protein Sci 2021, 30 (4), 830-841.https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/pro.4036
Breaking down PFAS: Lockwood, D., Photocatalyst shreds drinking water contaminant PFOA. Chem & Eng News 2018, 96 (36). https://cen.acs.org/environment/persistent-pollutants/Photocatalyst-shreds-drinking-water-contaminant/96/i36
Vermont regulations passed: https://thehill.com/changing-america/well-being/longevity/554680-vermont-governor-signs-first-in-nation-restrictions-on -
15: News Roundup: Blues, Catalytic Converters, and Fracking
In which we discuss the recent development of a series of new blue pigments, the theft of catalytic converters for the rhodium, and the health effects of fracking chemicals. Hosted by Felicia Etzkorn of Virginia Tech, co-host Jamie Ferguson of Emory & Henry College, and music by Wendy Godley of The Kind.
Blue pigments: https://chemistry.oregonstate.edu/content/story-yinmn-blue
Catalytic converter theft: https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129047092
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/catalytic-converter-theft-south-africa-rhodium/2021/03/03/dc288192-777d-11eb-9489-8f7dacd51e75_story.html
Fracking chemicals: https://www.ehn.org/fractured-series-on-fracking-pollution-2650624600/fractured-fracking
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14: Chemical Alt-Rock
In which we discuss the opportunities for substituting safer chemical alternatives for consumer products in current use with our guest, Joel Tickner of the University of Massachusetts, Lowell. We don’t need to wait for green chemistry to come up with great alternatives, many have already been designed. We need to collaborate with businesses to turn towards better alternatives, rather than imposing regulations away from the bad stuff, risking drop-in substitutions that are just as bad. Host–Felicia Etzkorn of Virginia Tech, co-host–Jamie Ferguson of Emory & Henry College, with music by Wendy Godley of The Kind.
Resources
Joel A. Tickner, Rachel V. Simon, Molly Jacobs, Lindsey D. Pollard & Saskia K. van Bergen (2021) The nexus between alternatives assessment and green chemistry: supporting the development and adoption of safer chemicals, Green Chemistry Letters and Reviews, 14:1, 21-42, DOI: 10.1080/17518253.2020.1856427
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17518253.2020.1856427
Tickner J, Jacobs MM, Mack NB (2019) Alternatives assessment and informed substitution: A global landscape assessment of drivers, methods, policies and needs. Sustainable Chemistry and Pharmacy 13:100161. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S235255411930052X
O'Brien M. 2000. Making Better Environmental Decisions: An Alternative to Risk Assessment, MIT Press Cambridge, MA. https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/making-better-environmental-decisions -
13: Next Seven Generations
In which we discuss sustainable, plant-based cleaning products, oxygen-bleached paper products, recyclable and recycled packaging, transparent labeling, and consumer education with Martin Wolf, Director of Sustainability & Authenticity at Seventh Generation. Host–Felicia Etzkorn of Virginia Tech, co-host–Jamie Ferguson of Emory & Henry College, with music by Wendy Godley of The Kind.
Great resource for sustainability and environmental justice issues:
https://www.seventhgeneration.com/home -
12: With the Weight of Lead
In which we discuss the uses of lead in gasoline (and the temporally and geographically associated violence), avgas, pipes, and car paint primer, and the greener replacements for these products—ethanol as replacement for tetraethyl lead as an anti-knock additive in gasoline, potential plastic replacements for lead pipes, and yttrium as a replacement for lead car primer.Host–Felicia Etzkorn of Virginia Tech, co-host–Jamie Ferguson of Emory & Henry College, with music by Wendy Godley of The Kind.
Abelsohn AR, Sanborn M (2010) Lead and Children, Canadian Family Physician 56:531. https://www.cfp.ca/content/56/6/531
EPA Final Revisions to the Lead and Copper Rule: https://www.epa.gov/ground-water-and-drinking-water/final-revisions-lead-and-copper-rule
Angus Chen, Zapping Lead Pipes with Electricity Could Make Them Safer for Drinking Water, Scientific American, April 4, 2019.
PPG Industries, Yttrium as a Lead Substitute in Cationic Electrodeposition Coatings, EPA Green Chemistry Challenge Award 2001. https://www.epa.gov/greenchemistry/presidential-green-chemistry-challenge-2001-designing-greener-chemicals-award
Grateful Dead, New Speedway Boogie excerpt, from What a Long Strange Trip It’s Been, 1977.