suring net primary productivity and both the short-lived and long-lived forms of organic carbon are needed to advance the fundamental science, as are better measures of above-ground biomass, and the amount of carbon in soil. "We need to know more about the fundamental mechanisms for controlling carbon sequestration," he said, calling the need for the digital environmental atlas Melillo described as "critical." The workshop ]articipants identified myriad monitoring technologies that need to be developed before either of the ocean sequestration options— direct injection and enhancement—could be attempted. For example, researchers need ways to measure the effect of differing pH and CO, concentrations on marine organisms, and the possible ramifications of altering the biogeochemical cycles of cobalt, zinc and selenium according to Howard Herzoe principal search engineer in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Enersv Laboratory Scientists at the DOE Office of Science's newly created Center for Research on Ocean Carbon Sequestration are investigating ways to measure carbon biomass and components of the dissolved inorganic carbon system in seawater by adding simple optics and other sensors to low-cost underwater research vessels like the sounding oceanographic Lagrangian observer (SOLO) developed at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, said lim Bishop, the DOE center's codirector. "The ability to observe the ocean needs to go through a quantum leap in spatial and temporal-scale coverage," Bishop explained. Ultimately, researchers are hoping to develop techniques for sensing ecosystem health and measuring the flux, concentration, and migration of newly introduced C0 2 , he said. DOE's road map-which should be revised to incorporate comments from the September workshop—is available on the Web at www.fe.doe.gov/ coal_power/sequestration. —KELLYN S. BETTS
NEWS BRIEFS Genetically modified ingredients turned up in almost every bit of popular processed and fast food sampled in a recent analysis of U.S. food. Although none were labeled as containing genetically modified soybeans or corn, DNA tests of the food revealed more than mere trace levels of such ingredients. Study results can be found in the September 1999 issue of Consumer Reports. Thanks to new technologies, biologically based industrial products are growing more popular, according to a National Research Council (NRC) report released in August. In response to the report, Biobased Industrial Products: Research and Commercialization Priorities, the Clinton administration issued an executive order that set a goal of tripling biobased product and bioenergy use by 2010. The NRC report can be accessed on the Web at books. nap.edu/catalog/5295.html. Many visitors find dirtier air at summer vacation spots than in the cities they flee, concludes a report from the environmental groups Clean Air Network and Clean Air Task Force. It examined trends in ozone levels in 32 states and the District of Columbia and found a higher number of dirty air quality days and federal ozone standards exceedances this year. Copies of No Escape: Can You Really Ever "Get Away" From the Smog are available on the Web at www.cleanair.net
More than 25% of all chemical releases in North America during 1996 came from Texas, Ontario, Louisiana, and Ohio, according to the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) Using information compiled from the U.S. Toxics Release Inventory and the Canadian National Pollutant Release Inventory, Taking Stock 1996 found that 50 of the 20,000plus reporting facilities accounted for almost one-third of the total releases to air land and water. The report can be accessed on the ^feb
The United States could significantly reduce its carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions to well below its Kyoto Protocol requirements by 2010, concludes a report by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). The report spotlights technologies and practices that already exist or are in various stages of development, For a copy of America's Global Warming Solutions, call WWF's Marijke Unger at (202) 861-8388. Without rapid technological innovation, growth in worldwide energy use could have "potentially disastrous" environmental consequences in the next century, concludes a report by the President's Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology. Powerful Partnerships: The Federal Role in International Cooperation on Energy Innovation recommends that federal programs promoting the development of innovative technologies for increasing energy efficiency both nationally and abroad be substantially strengthened To soo
Emissions from windshield washer fluid may contribute substantially to the formation of ground-level ozone in Canada, according to a new study from Environment Canada, a government agency. Methanol from the washer fluid accounts for about 10% of all solvent volatile organic compound emissions, which are precursors to ground-level ozone. For a copy of The Contribuiion of Methanol (VOC) Emissions from Windshield Washer Fluid Use to the Formation of Ground-Level Ozone, call (819) 997-2295.
the report the Web go to wwwwhitehouse gov/WH/ EOP/OSTP/html/p2epage html Dependence—not depletion— should frame the debate on how and when to phase out global coal usage, according to a recent Worldwatch Institute article. King Coal's Weakening Grip on Power claims there is an estimated 1000-year reserve of this fossil fuel. One key to global "de-coalonization" is to reduce subsidies that encourage its use in some countries. To access the article on the Web go to www. worldwatch.org/mag/1999/99-5. html.
NOVEMBER 1, 1999 / ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY / NEWS • 4 4 9 A
