Green Chemistry – The Next Big Thing for the New Green Economy

Ecology Center annual meeting features renowned scientist

April 8, 2009

The annual membership meeting of the Ecology Center will feature acclaimed investigative scientist John Warner, co-founder of the field of Green Chemistry, and founder and chief of the world’s first green chemistry institute, the Warner Babcock Institute, in Massachusetts. The event takes place on Thursday, May 7, at 7:30 p.m., in the Pendleton Room of the Michigan Union, 530 S. State Street, in Ann Arbor.

Green Chemistry is a revolutionary scientific movement aimed at replacing toxic chemicals with safe materials. It provides an overarching set of principles for chemists and others to develop products, processes and services that curb pollution, waste, and energy consumption. Green chemistry innovations have dramatically reduced pollution – and business expenses – for companies around the world. Experts consider it the next big area of innovation within the new green economy.

Michigan is at the leading edge of the Green Chemistry movement as a result of Governor Granholm’s 2006 Executive Directive on Green Chemistry, and the state’s resulting Green Chemistry Action Plan.

The Ecology Center has promoted green chemistry and clean production through policy initiatives, market campaigns, and nationally recognized reports on toxic chemicals in consumer products, most recently through the consumer databases www.HealthyToys.org and www.HealthyCar.org. The Ecology Center meeting will discuss these projects and other Ecology Center campaigns, and will also include the election of the Center's Board of Directors. The meeting is open to the general public, and admission is free. For more information, please call (734) 761-3186 ext. 104.

The Ecology Center is a Michigan-based environmental organization that works for a safe and healthy environment where people live, work, and play. The Ecology Center is also the parent organization of Recycle Ann Arbor, one of the country’s premier nonprofit recycling organizations.

# # #

For press questions, please contact:

Michael Garfield, Ecology Center Director: 734-761-3186 x 104