Using nanotechnology to prevent pollution

We hear so much about possible environmental concerns with respect to nanoparticles that it is a joy to have David Berube bring to our attention the upcoming EPA conference on Pollution Prevention through Nanotechnology, Sept. 25-26, which may possibly still be accepting poster presentations:

Representatives from industry, academia, non-governmental organizations, and government are invited to focus on current practices and potential research areas in nanotechnology that incorporate the concept of pollution prevention in three major areas:

• Products: Less toxic, less polluting, and wear-resistant.
• Processes: More efficient and waste-reducing.
• Energy and Resource Efficiency: Processes and products that use less energy and fewer raw materials because of greater efficiency.

This is what drew so many of us (including me) to nanotech in the first place — the goal of truly clean industrial processes, so we can have both a natural environment and a high economic standard of living at the same time. It can be done if we work hard enough, long enough. This conference is only on the first steps; for more on the pathway forward, see this other conference on October 9-10 (brochure, PDF 987 KB). —Christine