LETTERS
gas could form the basis of a municipal petrochemical complex or “sustainability center,” and, along with the methane from an anaerobic wastewater plant, provide clean water, petrochemicals, metals, and fuel for a city’s needs. By contrast, in small towns and villages a simple retort still could be used for the production of biochar, etc. 2. Constructing a hydrogen/electricity-based economy (as a substitute for fossil fuels). The hydrogen economy is already being established in Europe. The geysers of Iceland are used to turn steam turbines and generate hydrogen by electrolysis. Wind is used in Denmark and Scotland for similar purposes. Solar-powered steam turbines are being installed in the U.S. Because of the difficulty of storing electricity, power could be stored or transported from remote locations as electrolytic hydrogen derived from water. 3. Initiating the novel legal development of “green rights.” Analogous to mineral rights, the purchase of green rights could give the owner an incentive to preserve and develop the vegetation of key areas of biodiversity with CO2 sequestration. These rights would be sold worldwide to governments, individuals, and businesses that wished to purchase carbon credits or offsets. The money could be supervised by the United Nations or another international body. Competing demand for tropical lumber, soybeans, beef, and palm oil by developed countries may have to be reduced using a carbon tariff. Ways of marrying green rights with “slash and char” would need to ensure that areas set aside for biodiversity are relatively contiguous and that agricultural development would not interfere with the development of new international carbon reserves. A similar approach could be adopted for coral reefs. I believe it may be possible to completely cease our reliance on fossil fuels by replacing them with hydrogen and also permanently remove excess carbon dioxide from the atmosphere using biochar within a relatively short space of time—perhaps only as little as seven years. That is the time it would take to replace most fossilfuel-powered vehicles with electric ones and to cover the world in biochar. The technology is already available. Paul Comet Houston
BIOCHAR FOR CO2 REDUCTION PERTAINING TO the article “Geoengineering Steps Toward Real-
ity,” the use of waste as an agent for the removal of CO2 emissions by pyrolysis to “biochar” has been supported by Al Gore, James Hansen, and James Lovelock (C&EN, Nov. 23, 2009, page 28). They recommend that organic waste be used as terra preta del indio, a soil conditioner, perhaps first used in native Amazonia. The idea of biochar soil addition as a CO2 sequestrate provides the vital concept of an indisputably carbon-negative component in the control of the carbon cycle and hence a potential antidote to global warming. However, on its own, char manufacture will not do much to remove CO2 while fossil fuels are still used. The incorporation of a biochar model allows one to propose three complementary directions to combat CO2 emissions: 1. The addition of biochar to soil. This will increase productivity and potentially avoids the use of underground injection of CO2 for carbon fixation. Essentially, dry biomass is retorted, producing powdery charcoal and pyrolysis gas and oil that can be used for sustainable fuel and electricity generation. Though an excellent idea for using agricultural waste, in my opinion, it is not appropriate for municipal and industrial waste. Urban waste is heterogeneous, full of toxic heavy metals and organic chemicals that on charring would probably form novel brews of carcinogens that should not be added to soil. It might be safer to gasify or steam reform municipal and industrial waste, hazardous waste, and sewage sludge to syngas. Syn-
NEW ALGORITHM FOR RETIRED MEMBERS THE TWO letters from chemical information professionals about
alternative careers catalyzed me (a hobbyist in this area) to bring up another issue—the ACS retired-member category (C&EN, Nov. 9, 2009, page 6). The employment path for chemists has been changing for years, but the retired-member category for ACS assumes the now-quaint uninterrupted path from degree to career to retirement. In 1972, I became an ex-chemist, but this did not end my interest in chemistry. In 1973, I distributed a computer program to convert studentinput carbon skeletons into IUPAC names via the Journal of Chemical Education and received dozens of stamped-letter requests from as far away as Australia. This was fun! However, the inevitable financial stress of career change—and later kids in college—left my hobby dormant and ACS dues a luxury I couldn’t afford. Then, in 1989, I published my first paper—in the Journal of Chemical Information & Computer Science—and rejoined ACS. This was followed by three more papers in 1991, 1992, and 2002. The last was presented at the 2008 Northeast Regional Meeting in Burlington, Vt. Now 75, I won’t reach the required number of years of ACS membership to achieve retired status WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG
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until I’m 86! I think a new algorithm for “years of service” is sorely needed. Scott Davidson Dover, N.H. ACS ELECTION PROCEDURE IN THE 2009 ACS election for directors-
at-large, five candidates ran for two positions (C&EN, Nov. 23, 2009, page 7). Directors-at-large are selected by councilors, with each councilor having two votes. HOW TO R E AC H US CHEMICAL & ENGINEERING NEWS LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
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A total of 700 votes were cast; vote tallies are shown along with the maximum proportion of votes each candidate could have received. Dennis Chamot 221 ≤ 63.1% Valerie Kuck 157 ≤ 44.9% Howard Peters 153 ≤ 43.7% H. N. Cheng 113 ≤ 32.3% Ray Dickie 56 ≤ 16.0% The number of councilors voting was not reported. If each councilor voted for two candidates, there would have been 350 voters. If some councilors voted for only one candidate there would have been more than 350 voters. Thus, one needs to divide the number of votes each candidate received by a number greater than or equal to 350 to determine the percent of voters voting for that candidate. According to current bylaws, the two candidates (Chamot and Kuck) who received the most votes were elected (plurality). Only Chamot could have been elected by a majority (greater than 50%) of the voters. Kuck was not favored by a majority of the voters, receiving less than or equal to 44.9% of the votes cast. A method is proposed to carry out elections in which two or more candidates are elected with each being elected by a majority of the voters. The method (multiple choice or instant run-off) involves voters prioritizing their votes, in the current case, specifying first through fifth choices. The method is somewhat more complicated than the simple run-off method when only one candidate is elected, which is the current way ACS presidents-elect and dis-
trict directors are elected if there are more than two candidates for that position. The 2009 election in which Nancy Jackson was elected president-elect from three candidates is an example of this procedure. The procedure in outline form for the election of two candidates under discussion here is as follows: The first directorat-large is elected by a majority in exactly the same way a single candidate would be elected from five candidates. Then all the votes for the candidate just elected are removed from the voting priority list of each voter. The second successful candidate is then determined in exactly the same manner as the first using the new prioritized list of each voter. Thus, both candidates are elected by a majority. If more than two candidates are to be elected, the preceding procedure is repeated until the required number of candidates has been elected, each by a majority of the voters. If one believes in election by majorities, ACS elections procedures should be changed. Wendell L. Dilling Midland, Mich. MODERN MYTHS IN ONE VERSION of Greek mythology,
the future of each human life is determined by the Three Fates. Clotho spins the thread (chromosome?) of life. Lachesis measures the length of each human thread, and Atropos cuts the thread that ends life. I suggest
WIK IM EDIA CO M M O N S
LETTERS
that the 2009 No- “THE THREE FATES, bel Prize in Medi- THE TRIUMPH OF cine winners, Eliz- DEATH” Fragment of an early-16th-century abeth Blackburn, tapestry, Netherlands. Carol Greider, and Jack Szostak, found a fourth Fate, namely Telomerase, who protects that chromosome thread from degradation. Saul Ricklin Bristol, R.I. MAGNETISM IN ELECTROCHEMISTRY THE ARTICLE “A New Attraction,” men-
tions the difficulty even chemists have when explaining chemical phenomena to fellow chemists (C&EN, Oct. 19, 2009, page 24). It’s the same for me when I try to
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LETTERS
explain the application of magnetism in electrochemistry. I get bewildered responses when I produce data proving that magnetizing electrodes or current collectors increases battery output in hybrid automobiles. Even when people experience the great difference in performance they get with my “magnetic machine,” they don’t understand and don’t feel compelled to get their hybrid vehicle’s battery magnetized. I have formed a company, MHD Technologies, to commercialize this technology to which I have assigned seven issued patents and will assign three more “patent pending” when, as I hope, they are issued. Robert N. O’Brien Victoria, British Columbia
companies and consumers can have confidence in the safety of the products that they rely on. Kathy Curtis Policy Director, Clean New York Rotterdam, N.Y. THE ARTICLE ON the phaseout of deca-
BDE says that “hundreds of science-based
and peer-reviewed studies have shown decaBDE to be safe.” No number of hundreds of studies—science-based, peerreviewed, or whatever—will ever show decaBDE to be safe. They may fail to find it harmful, but that is different from finding it safe. Charles F. Deck Trenton, Mich.
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DecaBDE PHASEOUT
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