A molecular sponge to clean up the messes of mankind

      Though he was not directly searching for it, chemist Paul Edmiston stumbled upon a material that can act a sponge to absorb compounds such as oil and pesticides dissolved in water. Edmiston named this material Osorb. With the capabilities of this material, Edmiston hopes to use Osorb to erase negative side effects of hydraulic fracturing, commonly known as fracking. This process involves drilling into the Earth and injecting chemicals to unearth deposits of natural gas returning to the surface with many harmful substances. Not only has this been a controversial environmental issue, but it has even become a health issue by contaminating water supplies. When coming in contact with these substances, Osorb expands to eight times is weight for materials like oil to fit inside its pores. Edmiston is focusing on how to maximize the effectiveness of Osorb while still making it an economic choice. With the development of this material, Edmsiton hopes he can undo the wrongs caused by mankind's base actions to obtain energy sources. The article describes this further: http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/06/26/a-novel-way-to-clean-wastewater/?ref=chemistry&_r=0.
       As mankind has committed many atrocities to nature to achieve its own selfish goals, this discovery is crucial in preserving our environment. The incredible feature of Osorb is it acts like molecular sponge, absorbing materials even if they have already dissolved into the water. Though the side effects of pollution does fall into the area of biology, the concentration of chemicals, substances, and other pollutants involves chemistry. Think of the many possibilities substances such as Osorb could have! An example very relevant to my society is the Hudson River. Driving across the George Washington Bridge, no one could miss the repulsive yellow water caused by the accumulation of industrial waste and other corrosive substances. Imagine if Osorb could remove harmful substances from bodies of water throughout the world and how this could aid the environment. Developments such as this could even apply to environmental disasters such as the BP oil spill. The article directly mentions Osorb's ability to absorb oil thus Osorb could form an incredible contribution to purging of aquatic ecosystems of harmful substances like oil. With instances like the Exxon Valdez oil spill, the BP oil spill, and fracking, clearly human behavior like this will not go away, but it is up to materials like Osorb to erase and weaken the impact of these behaviors.