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The theme of chemistry in the environment covers a lot of ground — from climate science, to water, to recycling. Learn more about Earth's ozone layer, greenhouse gases, stream teams, how to recycle your old phone, and more.
Sections
Activities
- Calculating Your Carbon Footprint from AACT
Students apply knowledge from chemical reactions and stoichiometry to estimate their carbon footprint.
- Cleaning-up the Plastic Island from AACT
Students work together to engineer a cost-effective and environmentally friendly solution for cleaning up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.
- Plastic Bags from Beyond Benign
How do you take your food home—paper, plastic, or reusable bags? Work with data and see how you measure up. - Environmental Justice: Evaluating Zip Codes from Science Friday
Review open data sets to find out which communities are more likely to be exposed to pollution. Does this seem fair? - Green Chemistry Teaching and Learning Community Library from Beyond Benign
Find greener versions of labs, hands-on activities, case studies, and videos. You may select middle or high school, green chemistry principle, or key words to narrow your search. - Storyline Approach to Ocean Acidification from the American Chemical Society
Scroll down beyond the lava lamp storyline to find twelve hands-on activities that explore the topic of ocean acidification.
- The Drill on the Spill: Learning About the Gulf Oil Leak in the Lab from The New York Times
In this activity, students consider the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and related cleanup efforts.
Demos
- Carbon Dioxide Can make an Acidic Solution from MiddleSchoolChemistry.com
Students apply their observations to the environmental problem of ocean acidification.
Labs
- How Do We Clean Up An Oil Spill from AACT
In this lab activity, students simulate an oil spill and test different materials’ ability to “clean” the oil spill.
- Ocean Acidification in a Cup from Exploratorium
It’s an ocean mini-model. What will happen to the water when the air above it changes?
- Shell Shifts from Exploratorium
If seashells are under the water, how can changes in the air affect them? Learn how!
- Ocean Chemistry
These nine activities teach concepts related to ocean acidification, pH, carbon dioxide and coral reefs.
- Oil Spill Cleanup from Teach Engineering
Student teams create their own oil spills, try different methods for cleaning them up, and then discuss the merits of each method in terms of effectiveness (cleanliness) and cost.
Articles
- Wood Chemistry: Tracking Illegal Logging Using Forensics from ChemMatters
Illegal logging is one of the world’s most profitable environmental crimes, generating billions of dollars each year. Find out how the interdisciplinary field of wood forensics is on the case to protect endangered ecosystems.
- From Pond Scum to Product: The Chemistry of Algae from ChemMatters
Algae are biological machines with the tools to capture planet-warming carbon dioxide from the atmosphere while enricing their watery habitats, and our atomosphere, with oxygen! Some algae are food while others can be used to make biofuels. Algae are awesome! - The Artifical Leaf: Copying Nature to Fight Climate Change from ChemMatters
What if we could copy what plants do to grab some of the excess CO2 from our atomosphere? Find out how scientists are tweaking photosynthesis to make sustainable fuels and remove excess CO2, made by the burning or fossil fuels, at the same time.
- Bush Fires in Australia and Climate Change from ChemEd Xchange
How do the widespread fires in Australia potentially relate to climate change? This scientist takes a look.
- Be Smart— Recycle that Old Cell Phone! from ChemMatters
What should you do with your cell phone when it dies? Recycling it offers both economic and environmental benefits. - Where does plastic and other trash go after we throw it away? from Science Friday
Listen to this 18-minute story told by a journalist who investigated this question and wrote a book about it.
- The Ozone Layer: Our Global Sunscreen from ChemMatters
Imagine running an experiment as large as the Earth. Now, stop imagining and read about one.
- The Chemistry of Biodegradable Plastics from Compound Interest
This Infographic explores the chemistry of biodegradable plastics and how they impact the environment.
- Great Pacific Garbage Patch from PBS News Hour
It’s not just trash talk—it’s really out there in the North Pacific. And it’s even bigger than they thought.
- The Twelve Principles of Green Chemistry from Compound Interest
It's not easy being green. This infographic about the twelve principles of green chemistry at least gives us a start.
- Compost: Your Trash, Nature's Treasure from ChemMatters
Ah, rotting food. Turn your unwanted leftovers into a gold mine for your garden.
- It's Not Easy Being Green…Or Is It? from ChemMatters
Disposable or reusable mug? Paper or plastic bag? An item's Life Cycle Analysis can help you decide.
- What Happens To Your Food Packaging? from Science Meets Food
Sometimes your food seems to be more package than food. Where do the wrappers go after you take the last bite?
- Traditional Ways of Knowing: Salt Harvesting from Exploring Our Fluid Earth
Seawater can make your food taste better. Learn how the water gets removed and leaves behind gourmet-style salt.
- Open For Discussion: Oil Drilling Disaster in the Gulf of Mexico
from ChemMatters
This short article discusses an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 and shows how chemistry relates to this environmental catastrophe.
Videos
- Burning Ice from the Ocean Floor from ACS Reactions
This Reactions video talks about the chemistry of methane hydrates as a source of energy and a climate change threat.
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Cow Burps Are Warming the Planet from ACS Reactions
Cows burp up a lot of methane thanks to the chemistry of their digestion and since methane is a greenhouse gas, our beef and dairy have huge climate change consequences.
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A plan to recycle the unrecyclable | Ashton Cofer from TED-Ed Clubs
From packing peanuts to disposable coffee cups, each year the US alone produces some two billion pounds of Styrofoam -- none of which can be recycled. Ashton Cofer and his science fair teammates developed a heating treatment to break down used Styrofoam into something useful.
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How Plastic Recycling Actually Works from ACS Reactions
What happens to plastic bottles when you recycle them? Learn why it's easier to turn bottles into workout shirts than it is to fully recycle the plastic.
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I Created an Oil Spill in My House from ACS Reactions
Bacteria are often painted as our adversaries, but when it comes to oil spills, toxic chemicals, and radioactive waste, they could be what save us from ourselves.