ination Act and may represent the largest settlement to be awarded under the act. Spokesmen for the Oil, Chemical & Atomic Workers International Union, which seeks to organize professional workers in jobs such as Rogers', suggests that the high settlement awarded in this case may encourage similar cases to be filed in the future. So far, the union has not been involved in any age discrimination cases. The American Chemical Society's Committee on Professional Relations, which concerns itself with cases of alleged age discrimination, has not been involved in any age discrimination suits of this type either under the relatively recent law. The committee has established a new task force to review hiring and employee termination practices to determine whether age discrimination is being practiced on chemists. Since age discrimination in employment practices is illegal, ACS's guidelines concerning termination of employment for employers of chemists do not mention age discrimination. G
Water discovered in Jupiter atmosphere Oxygen, combined in water vapor, has been detected for the first time in the atmosphere of Jupiter. The discovery was made by a four-man team of astronomers from the University of Arizona's lunar and planetary laboratory, headed by principal investigator Harold P. Larson. The actual observations were made last Oct. 23 and 25, but are being revealed now to coincide with the forthcoming meeting of the American Astronomical Society. Dr. Larson says that the water vapor was found "deep down in the
atmosphere where it is warm, about room temperature, and where the pressure is about 20 atm." The existence of water vapor had been predicted by a number of astronomers. However, the present observations are the first to confirm these predictions. The discovery was made from the National Aeronautics & Space Administration's new C-141 airborne infrared observatory, a large jetcargo aircraft specially modified for astronomical work. The flying observatory was equipped with a 91.5-cm infrared telescope that was carried aloft to altitudes of more than 45,000 feet. This was necessary to avoid the infrared obscuring effects of water vapor in the lower atmosphere of the earth. The telescope and its ancillary equipment are too bulky to be used in rockets of the type used to launch the Pioneer-11 satellite that made the fly by of Jupiter last December. Although the observations do not directly suggest that some form of life exists on Jupiter, Larson believes that the discovery of water vapor does add confidence to speculations that organic compounds are being formed in the Jovian atmosphere and may account for the highly colored bands frequently observed in the atmosphere of the largest planet. The same team of astronomers discovered ethane and acetylene in the Jovian atmosphere a year ago. D
Outlook grim for U.S. enerav independence
It is essentially impossible for the U.S. to achieve independence from external energy sources over the next decade by increasing domestic production of oil and natural gas. And if present trends of world consumption and production continue, the world's petroleum and natural gas resources will be substantially consumed by the first quarter of the next century. These are the conclusions reached in a 348-page report, "Mineral Resources and the Environment," released last week by the National Research Council's committee on mineral resources and the environment. The committee, which had access to data from private industry not usually available, estimates that the U.S. has about 113 billion bbl of undiscovered, recoverable oil and natural gas resources. If known reThe water vapor was detected deep in serves are added the total comes to Jupiter's atmosphere where it is warm 150 billion bbl. The committee esti-
mates natural gas reserves at no more than 600 trillion cu ft. Current U.S. consumption of oil and natural gas liquids is about 6 billion bbl per year. Consumption of natural gas is about 23 trillion cu ft. These figures run counter to those used by the Administration in setting goals for Project Independence. These goals assume that the U.S. has enough oil and gas to raise output of oil and natural gas liquids from 10.5 million to 18 million bbl per day by 1985 and that natural gas production might be increased to 29 trillion cu ft per year. However, Dr. Brian J. Skinner, committee chairman, says that the government estimates are based on unrealistically high estimates. He points out that about 70% of the U.S. undiscovered resources lie under the Outer Continental Shelf or in Alaska where necessarily long lead times and the problems of working in hostile environments make it unlikely that much oil will be flowing from these sources in the near future. This coupled with declining production in established fields makes it most unlikely that there will be any substantial increase in U.S. production of oil and natural gas, Skinner said. The shortage problem is not limited to natural gas and oil. Other mineral resources also are in danger of running out. Although the NRC report does not predict which materials would be in short supply first, it lists several that it considers threatened. Among them are those with special properties not duplicated by other substances and widely used in industry, such as asbestos, helium, and mercury. D
Group to probe Freon tie to ozone loss A federal task force was set up last week to investigate the relationship, if any, between fluorochlorohydrocarbons (such as Freon) and reductions in ozone content of the stratosphere. (Ozone shields the earth from ultraviolet radiation, which can cause skin cancer.) The ad hoc federal Interagency Task Force on Inadvertent Modification of the Stratosphere (IMOS) will, among other things, examine the atmospheric, medical, and ecological data on the subject and evaluate possible economic impacts and alternatives available to fluorochlorohydrocarbon producers. IMOS is to make a report by June. The task force is chaired by Dr. Feb. 17, 1975 C&EN
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