Introduction Chemistry involves more than the mere fact that that it entails the making of new combinations of chemical elements. It makes new combinations of industries and brings together different countries besides the chemical elements. It brings international competition, which results into the development of international cooperation. Chemistry improves everyday life of millions of people around the globe. It helps in the protection of the environment, development of new live saving, medicine, design new materials for cars, electronics as well as medical implants. It has also played a pivotal role in the development of greener and more sustainable sources of energy. Besides its usefulness, it has generated certain problems not only to the people but also to the environment. This paper focuses on the application of chemistry in life as well as some of the hazards that it has presented to life. The application of chemistry in life As the world’s population grows, some chemists are embarking on finding new ways of feeding the populations i.e. producing food. The senior vice president for chemical and physical sciences at DuPont Merck Pharmaceutical Company asserts that genetic engineering could lead to the development of saltwater-tolerant plants that will grow food in most saline places (Zare 7). Genetic engineering has also been applied in the production of drought resistant crops that have helped in increasing food security especially in the developing and third world countries. Other than genetic engineering, chemists have employed other means of increasing the supply of food to many nations. Hydrolyzing wood pulp has played a pivotal role in transforming it into a fermentable substance that is used in the production of alcohol. For many years, the production of alcohol has been the main goal for the process. Recent research has led to the realization of more useful food elements. The action of highly concentrated hydrochloric acid transforms wood pulp into soluble carbohydrates and finally into wood pulp. Based on laboratory results, the process yields 75 parts of crude foodstuffs that contain 85% of pure carbohydrates (Slosson 324). This means the process can extract 60% of the carbohydrates in dry wood. The product proved to be high in nutritive value to not only animal feed but also to food. Furthermore, chemistry has played a pivotal role in the development of fertilizers that enhance productivity if crops thus help in achieving food security in the world. Moreover, for food security to be attained there must be a method that prolongs the shelf life of the food products. Food preservatives enhance a prolonged shelf life of most agricultural products. The knowledge of chemistry has enabled researchers to come up with drugs for addressing not only human but also animal diseases. The medicine that patients receive form health care institutions is all products of chemistry. It is noteworthy that drugs that are more efficient are continually being invented. China’s research and development in biotechnology and biopharmaceutical has prioritized genetic breeding of high-yield and high-quality crops, transgenic technology and animal cloning (Chen et al. 950). Additionally, they have embarked on gene- and prot