EDITOR ' S LETTER
Published by :
In2Publishing Ltd ., PO Box 7492 , Kidderminster , Worcestershire , DY11 9HB , UK
Publishing Director : Jon Fellows
Editor : Dr Andrew Warmington editor @ specchemonline . com
US Editor : Gregory Morris gdlm @ enterpriseandindustry . com
Design : Sean Roper
Global Commercial Manager : Charlie Wise charlie @ in2publishing . co . uk
Global Agent : Ben Jones bjones @ centurygloballlc . com
Account Manager : Rob Dubery rob @ in2publishing . co . uk
While every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the publication , In2Publishing Ltd . cannot accept liability for any statement or error contained herein . © Speciality Chemicals Magazine 2022
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES :
Speciality Chemicals Magazine welcomes feature articles from industry , consultants and academia with a technical , chemistry , regulatory and / or business and market focus . We also welcome opinion or comment pieces on issues in the fine and speciality chemicals sectors .
The articles we use are typically 800-1,500 words , with one picture , figure , diagram , table or other illustration per 500 words . Opinion pieces can be shorter . All submissions are subject to review by the editor to ensure that they are in line with house style and values . SCM does not take placed news stories .
Your article should focus on a scheduled feature , or be of general interest across the sector . We also have a ‘ Special Features ’ category if you need to supply a more general piece of work . Article titles should be no longer than 12 words , with a short standfirst summarising the content of the article and giving the name ( s ) and affiliation ( s ) of the author ( s ).
Figures and tables should be numbered and given a caption of no more than ten words . Text should be submitted in Word format , with illustrations as separate files in an editable format . Chemical formulae should be provided as PDFs . Pictures must have a minimum of 300 dpi resolution for colour printing .
FOR FURTHER GUIDELINES :
editor @ specchemonline . com NOV / DEC 2022
The great beyond
The ‘ Beyond Petrochemicals : People Over Pollution ’ campaign , which Michael Bloomberg launched in early October through his charitable organisation Bloomberg Philanthropies , may not seem significant in terms of the $ 85 million he has committed . However , given that he is now the UN ’ s ‘ climate czar ’, it could be very significant indeed . The campaign will finance local communities fighting the development of some 120 planned petrochemical and plastics projects , support better data collection and use “ the power of the law ” to make companies accountable for pollution . These are mostly in Louisiana , Texas and the Ohio River Valley , and were chosen based on input from local community groups and the Environmental Integrity Project ’ s Oil & Gas Watch database The launch has split opinion on mostly familiar lines , with environmental NGOs applauding and business reacting angrily . An editorial in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette accused Bloomberg of “ exactly the kind of elite behaviour that is driving ordinary people to the political extremes ”. Given the state of US politics and Bloomberg being a former mayor of New York , politicisation was always inevitable . The industry may fear that the tide is turning against it . Recent months have seen NGOs win a series of legal cases against Formosa Plastics ’ planned Sunshine project in Louisiana on air quality and health grounds . It has been claimed that the complex would more than double the cancer risks in an area already widely known as ‘ Cancer Alley ’. Bloomberg previously had huge success with the Beyond Coal campaign , which actually succeeded in closing most US coal plants and bringing down emissions by over 600 million tonnes . But coal was already in decline and readily replaceable . Petrochemicals and plastics - which many see as the real target - will be a tougher nut to crack . Plastics are essential to modern life and production is expected to double by 2040 ; they are not at all easy to replace and there are very strong arguments that doing so is not desirable on environmental grounds either . Moreover , as industry voices have pointed out , achieving environmental targets is impossible without chemicals . All the products and technologies involved , from solar panels to electric vehicle batteries , depend on what the American Chemistry Council ( ACC ) calls the ‘ business of chemistry ’. Describing the campaign “ an $ 85 million losing bet against chemistry ” based on unfounded suppositions , ACC president Chris Jahn said : “ As the science behind sustainability , chemistry is the single most important element to transitioning to renewable energy and combating climate change .” Jahn challenged the NGOs , in effect , to stop campaigning based on blanket opposition to industry and engage with it . There is little change of that . They have legitimate concerns , their tails are up and , more to the point , high-profile campaigning is their DNA . This infusion of cash will be used exactly as intended . Is this a threat to the continued boom in chemical manufacturing in the US ? Or might it actually serve to spark a more sensible debate about the risks and benefits beyond the familiar ban-this-stop-that clamour ? Time will tell .
Dr Andrew Warmington
EDITOR – SPECIALITY CHEMICALS MAGAZINE
. COM 5