Language is constantly developing and so also the scientific terminology. New terms such as Green Engineering enter readily the scientific world. Within maybe 10 years or even faster they typically become so established that it, e.g., gives rise to names of a distinct scientific direction and of respective journals or even becomes an essential criterion in the decision about project funding. Yet, my experience and impression is that many researchers hardly can follow anymore such rapid development in depth. Often only a vague idea about its exact meaning is given and everyone has an own definition at hand without quest for common agreement. In such situation, Green Chemistry, Green Engineering, Sustainability, etc. melt altogether to an undefined new idea pool. Outsiders of such approaches often criticize that such developments have been done already long ago (by themselves) which renders the new term definition to the level of a buzz word.
On the other side, such terms become often so dominant in times of a fast internet world that no one can simply ignore this. Such mixed situation induces a habit that the new term is used virtually everywhere and is omnipresent. Authors te ...