Media
attention has recently gone to scientists, who have
announced new discoveries about the planet Mars. While
below the media's radar screen, the work being done
by Dr. John Meister and his colleagues in recycling
is essential to life on Earth.
While
Meister believes scientists in other fields of research
are striving to "make a positive contribution,"
his work is centered on "doing things to make
the world better."
Meister
will be the guest speaker at today's meeting of the
Mark Twain Section of the American Chemical Society,
scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. in Continental Cement's
main office building. Meister, a member of the Forest
Products Research Center, will discuss "abstract
technical solutions to social-technical problems,
such as the warming of the planet by the greenhouse
effect and the loss of energy supplies caused by the
consumption of fossil fuels." The meeting is
open to the public and anyone interested in recycling.
"My
focus is developing procedures that will convert trash
into useful items," said Meister, an associate
professor of analytical and polymer chemistry at the
New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology.
The need
for recyclable products is growing. According to Meister,
in 1988 the average daily trash output per person
was approximately 3 pounds. That average has now grown
to about 5 pounds.
That
growth is due to "more people and more materialism,"
which is based on products "generated without
a life cycle focus," rather than items made of
materials which "can be put back into the system,"
said Meister.
The public
is not as conscious of recycling as it was even a
decade or so ago.
"Society's
lack of attention is allowing problems to get bigger,"
said Meister.
While
efforts to protect the environment may not be at the
forefront of people's minds, Meister says that doesn't
mean a safe environment isn't wanted.
"When
sufficient economic resources are present, and
people feel their survival is not at stake, they
want a good environment around them," he
said. "In the
poorest countries, where people are on the edge of
survival, they want a nice environment, but they
also want to be fed today. They will take being
fed over being in a place that is environmentally
benign."