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Global Climate Change Digest
A Guide to Information on Greenhouse Gases and Ozone Depletion
Published July 1988 through June 1999

FROM VOLUME 4, NUMBER 6, JUNE 1991

NEWS...
NEWS NOTES

Item #d91jun71

Carbon dioxide removal from power plant emissions and other energy conversion processes is becoming a common topic, particularly in Europe. The first international conference on this subject is scheduled for March 1992 in the Netherlands.

Item #d91jun72

"Sweeping Carbon Dioxide under the Ground," New Scientist, p. 19, June 1, 1991. Speaking at a London conference, a Dutch engineer described an analysis, performed for the Dutch Ministry of Environmental Affairs, of pumping CO₂ from power stations into depleted underground reservoirs of natural gas.

Item #d91jun73

"Carbon Sinks," ibid., p. 31, Apr. 27. The Japanese company Mitsubishi has obtained a European patent for pouring liquified CO₂ down long tubes that extend from the ocean surface to a depth of about 3000 meters.

Item #d91jun74

"Taking out the Gas," ibid., p. 16, Mar. 16. An analysis presented at a London conference suggests that the energy cost of disposing of CO₂ from power plants may be only a quarter of the output of a plant, lower than many recent estimates.

Item #d91jun75

"Research Program to Study Carbon Dioxide Emissions," Intl. Environ. Rptr., p. 122, Feb. 27, 1991. British Coal will examine alternatives for CO₂ disposal, including underground storage in depleted gas and oil fields. In a three-year program, British coal will combine a $1 million contribution with those of other participating nations, including the U.S. and Canada, other European countries, and possibly Japan.

Item #d91jun76

"Was Underwater 'Shot' Harmful to the Whales?" J. Cohen, Science, pp. 912-914, May 17, 1991. Oceanographers gathered at the National Academy of Sciences to hear preliminary results of the experiment to measure ocean temperature by generating pulses of sound waves under water. Some mammologists are concerned that the experiment may have been harmful to whales and other marine mammals, although there is little hard evidence of this. Critics maintain that Walter Munk, a leading oceanographer who carried out the experiment, wielded undue influence on NOAA administrators in obtaining clearance for the project. More information on the possible effects on sea life may emerge at a closed meeting next fall to evaluate the project and its future.

Item #d91jun77

"Carbon Dioxide Trading Scheme for Europe Considered by Three Nordic Countries," Intl. Environ. Rptr., p. 242, May 8, 1991. Norway is leading Finland and Sweden in pushing for such a scheme, originally proposed by the IPCC, because it has extensive natural gas reserves which will be difficult to develop otherwise. The Norwegian government released a report in March, The Greenhouse Effect and Strategies, citing carbon taxes and emission rights trading as cost-effective economic incentives to reduce CO₂ emissions.

Item #d91jun78

"Mexico to Eliminate CFCs on Industrialized Countries' Schedule," Global Environ. Change Rep., p. 4, May 17, 1991. Although the Montreal Protocol allows developing countries an additional ten years to eliminate ozone-depleting substances, Mexico has set a precedent by deciding to phase out CFC solvents and methyl chloroform on the same schedule required of developed nations.