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The article discusses a study published in the journal "Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research" that developed a way to clean paper money to prolong its life by using supercritical carbon dioxide to remove sebum and motor oil while leaving security features such as holograms.

Metamorphic decarbonation in magmatic arcs remains a challenge to impose in models of the geologic carbon cycle. Crustal reservoirs and metamorphic fluxes of carbon vary with depth in the crust, rock types and their stratigraphic succession, and through geologic time. When byproducts of metamorphic decarbonation (e.g., skarns) are exposed at Earth's surface, they reveal a record of reactive transport of carbon dioxide (CO2). In this paper, we discuss the different modes of metamorphic decarbonation at multiple spatial and temporal scales and exemplify them through roof pendants of the Sierra Nevada batholith. We emphasize the utility of analogue models for metamorphic decarbonation to generate a range of decarbonation fluxes throughout the Cretaceous. Our model predicts that metamorphic CO2 fluxes from continental arcs during the Cretaceous were at least 2 times greater than the present cumulative CO2 flux from volcanoes, agreeing with previous estimates and further suggesting that metamorphic decarbonation was a principal driver of the Cretaceous hothouse climate. We lastly argue that our modeling framework can be used to quantify decarbonation fluxes throughout the Phanerozoic and thereby refine Earth systems models for paleoclimate reconstruction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on the first carbon footprint assessment in China. The carbon footprint assessment is designed to help companies in reducing energy consumption and dominate in environmental protection. Through carbon footprint assessment, the waste discharge and carbon dioxide emission of the papermaking industry have declined from 17% to 35%.

This article looks at results of the "Environmental Trends and Climate Impacts: Findings From the U.S. Book Industry" survey. According to the study, the cutting of trees accounts for nearly 63% of the industry's carbon footprint, while paper production and printing accounts for 26.6%. In all, it is estimated that the industry produced a carbon dioxide equivalent net emission of about 12.4 million tons in 2006, and a net emission of 8.85 pounds per book sold to consumers.

Abstract: This paper presents a dimension reduction technique for turbulent non-premixed flames based on a chemical equilibrium method combined with a reaction calculation. An advantage of the proposed technique is that it simplifies the process of building a reduced chemical mechanism according to the accuracy requirement for the chemical species. The proposed technique reduces the computational time for the combustion simulation. In this technique, chemical species are roughly divided into two groups: The first includes fuels and intermediate species; the intermediate species include only those necessary for high accuracy. The second group comprises the rest of the species, and their mass fractions are obtained from a look-up table prepared using chemical equilibrium calculations conducted prior to the combustion simulation. The obtained results were compared with the experimental data of a CO–H2–air turbulent non-premixed flame and computational data obtained using the eddy dissipation concept (EDC) model. The major mass fractions of CO, H2, and H2O, as well as the temperature and mixture fraction obtained using the proposed technique, were in good agreement with these reference data. Furthermore, compared with the EDC model, the minor mass fractions of OH, O, and NO obtained using the proposed technique were close and the computational time was 75% lower. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper describes and evaluates the reliability of a model for prediction of daily carbon balance and dry matter (DM) accumulation in vertically shoot positioned grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) canopies based on the user-friendly STELLA simulation software. Validation of the model was produced for potted 'Cabernet Sauvignon' grapevines at both low canopy density [LD (40 shoots/m of row)] and high canopy density [HD (≈20 shoots/m of row)] by comparing, on a seasonal basis, the modelled daily CO2 balance with the diurnal net carbon exchange rate (NCER) measured using a whole-canopy enclosure method. Estimated daily total photosynthesis (Pn) was linearly correlated with measured NCER for LD (r² = 0.87) and HD (r² = 0.86), thereby indicating that despite its simplicity the model led to a fairly good degree of precision, although it tended to slightly underestimate (5% to 8% less) the measured rates and scattering increased at high values of CO2 fixations. Daily total respiration (R) for LD treatment was 29.0% of total daily Pn, with clusters, leaves and stems accounting for 11.8%, 46.7%, and 41.5%, respectively. Daily total R was 24.2% of total daily Pn in HD treatment and single organs contributed 22.3% (clusters), 41.6% (leaves), and 36.1% (stems). The model estimated that 1604 and 1893 g DM per vine accumulated at harvest for LD and HD treatment, respectively, whereas destructive sampling of leaves, stems and clusters yielded 1475 ± 64 g per vine for LD treatment and 1730 ± 96 g per vine for HD treatment, respectively, corresponding to the 91% and 92% of the DM estimated with STELLA, which in its present version does not take into account root respiration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents questions and answers related to travel, technology, and recycling processes. One person asks how carbon dioxide emissions are measured. Another one asks whether he should turn off his computer at night or put it to sleep. One person asks what should she do with recycled paper as she was told that it cannot be recycled again.

This article focuses on a study related to global warming. Engineer Stephen Salter of the University of Edinburgh is proposing a fleet of yachts that sprays water droplets into the clouds as the way to damp down global warming. In a paper presented at a climate-change conference in Edinburgh last week, Salter says that chimneys mounted on a fleet of 500 £1 million sprayer yachts would cancel a year's worth of global warming from carbon dioxide emissions over their 20-year lifetime. Instead of sails, the yachts will be propelled by spinning vertical cylinders known as Flettner rotors. The rotors, which were used to successfully cross the Atlantic in the 1920s, will double as chimneys for the water droplets.

The articles explores the scientific reasons behind hiccups. Hiccups are sudden contractions of the muscles we use to breathe in. Just after the muscles start to move, the glottis shuts off the windpipe, producing the characteristic hic sound. The ultrasound scans reveal that babies in the womb start hiccuping after two months, before any breathing movements appear. This suggests that hiccups in adults are remnants of some primitive reflex which occur when the brain circuit is accidentally triggered. Yet the purpose of hiccups during pregnancy remains unclear. There is one group of animals in which the combination of the contraction of these muscles and the closure of the glottis does serve as primitive air breathers that still possess gills, such as lungfish, gar and many amphibians. These animals push water across their gills by squeezing their mouth cavity while closing the glottis to stop water getting into the lungs. There are many similarities between hiccuping and gill ventilation in animals like tadpoles. The only cure with any scientific basis is breathing into a paper bag, as this raises the level of carbon dioxide in the blood. INSET: A BRIEF GUIDE TO HICCUPS.

This article presents a questions and answers advisory related to home-maintenance. For water drips between the gutters and the fascia on house when it rains, one can first check that the gutters are installed properly. An accumulation of snow and ice in the gutters can loosen the gutters if they are attached to the fascia with spikes and ferrules. As a result, because of the water's surface tension, the water wicks back to the fascia from the underside of the flashing. One can prevent skin from forming on paint after it has been partially used by turning the can upside down and cutting a piece of wax paper the same size as the inside diameter of the can and dropping it on top of the paint. One can blow into the can before putting the lid on it to allow carbon dioxide from breath to displace the air in the can, thus preventing the paint from oxidizing.

The article discusses issues related to growing corn and sugar can on spare land to reduce global warming, based on the paper "Land Clearing and the Biofuel Carbon Debt" by Joseph Fargione and colleagues, published in the February 7, 2008 issue of "Sciencexpress." Fargione and colleagues claimed that switching from oil to biofuels might make things worse. They noted that plowing up large tracts of undisturbed land to plant biofuels could release large amounts of carbon dioxide.

This article reports that Manila, with a population of 12 million, is one of the world's most polluted cities, with particulate levels four times above national standards. According to USAID, land-use changes brought on by overpopulation are responsible for a major increase in CO2 emissions. The country's inefficient electrical generation and energy sector contribute 50 percent of those emissions, and deforestation is also a serious problem. However solutions are in sight. In the Philippines, a recent global warming educational effort by the media is bringing cooperation among the people, the government and the private sector. The campaign has encouraged some big companies to get involved in projects such as recycling of solid waste to save energy. Glass, paper, plastics and aluminum cans are now being recycled, as are car batteries, broken electronics and appliances. Aid programs have helped the Philippines government place some 1.4 million acres of forest land under protection. The Save the La Mesa Watershed project is spearheaded by the Bantay Kalikasan, which gathered five million signatures to help pass the Philippines Clean Air Act in 1999.

The article focuses on the study conducted by researchers at the University of California, Northern Arizona University, and in the Netherlands regarding plants' ability to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it as carbon in the soil. The findings challenge assessments and model projections from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that have anticipated increases in soil carbon with rising carbon dioxide. One of the researcher Johan Six said that future carbon storage by land ecosystems may be smaller than previously thought. Many plants can move nitrogen from the air into soils, and some researchers expected rising atmospheric carbon dioxide levels to speed up this natural nitrogen pump. But the studies analyzed in this paper revealed that this process, called nitrogen fixation, cannot keep up with increasing carbon dioxide unless other essential nutrients, such as potassium, phosphorus, and molybdenum, are added as fertilizers. The researchers acknowledge that plants do play a role in mitigating global warming, with about half of the carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere stored, at least temporarily, by ecosystems.

This article reports that researchers at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, have found a way to make plastic out of orange peels rather than petroleum, in a way that consumes carbon dioxide rather than adding more of the greenhouse gas to the atmosphere.

The article presents possible scenarios in food technology. Honest Food Self-monitoring milk cartons contain tiny biosensors that detect the presence of bacterial toxins and the chemical signature of spoilage in 2008. Artificial plants, placed on top of buildings in polluted areas, turn sunlight and carbon dioxide into alternative fuels by 2010.

The article focuses on a white paper released by the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce regarding greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the country. Based on the conclusion of the white paper, the country must reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by between 60 percent to 80 percent by 2050. The paper also recommends the country to adopt an economy-wide, mandatory GHG reduction program. It also states that a GHG reduction program will mirror the existing Acid Rain Program. The paper also reveals that a cap-and-trade program must cover carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and fluorinated gases.