Tuesday, June 28, 1988/The Battalion/Page 3
State and Local
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By Stephen Masters
Staff Writer
The warming of the earth caused
By the “greenhouse effect” can possi-
ly be prevented by avoiding coal
Ind turning to other forms of fuel
luch as hydrogen, Dr. A. John Ap-
leby said Monday afternoon.
Appleby, director of the Texas
&M Center for Electrochemical
Bystems and Hydrogen Research, is
Scheduled to testify Wednesday be
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earch and Technology.
The subcommittee is examining
fcroblems caused by the greenhouse
If'fect, in which the earth is blan-
loted by chemicals from pollutants
juch as carbon dioxide and indus
trial gases. These chemicals allow
sunlight to pass through to reach the
earth but not to leave, which results
in an average temperature increase
for the planet. Scientists are worried
that such an increase will eventually
be large enough to melt the Ant
arctic icebergs.
Dr. James Hansen of NASA testi
fied T hursday that the greenhouse
effect is responsible for making the
1980s one of the warmest decades in
the past 100 years. Four of the
warmest years in the past century
have occured during the 1980s.
Appleby pointed to research by a
joint French-Soviet project in the
Antarctic where atmospheric carbon
dioxide increased by only 110 parts
per million in almost 160,000 years.
The study showed an increase of 45
ppm over the next 30 years, up
about 1.5 ppm pervear.
Because of the rising concern over
the greenhouse effect, alternate fuel
sources that do not release carbon
dioxide are being sought, he said.
Funding is currently being sought
for research on a way to make hy
drogen from coal, he said.
“We think we have a way to make
hydrogen from coal,” he said,
“which will prevent putting C02
into the atmosphere.
“This technology looks extremely
promising for the future. The object
is to use a gasifier in which coal,
steam and oxygen are reacted.”
Appleby said that getting the De
partment of Energy to take such re
search seriously is a concern. Cur
rently the DOE provides $400,000 a
year, an amount Appleby called “mi
niscule.”
Hydrogen could become a re
placement for transportation fuel,
he said.
“Hydrogen is a fuel, especially in a
fuel cell, that produces no noxious
emissions — only steam,” he said.
“Fuel cells don’t produce oxides of
nitrogen, which means no sulfur, so
that’s the end of the acid rain prob
lem.”
Appleby said research also is be
ing done on solar cells which operate
on the same principle as color film.
The cells will produce energy at only
20 percent efficiency, which he said
would be a cost of around $350 per
peak kilowatthour of solar energy,
down from the $1,000 per peak ki
lowatthour estimated by the DOE
for standard solar cells.
Although he admits liquid hydro
gen is safer than some forms of fuel,
he said it is still dangerous in the
wrong situation.
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Four die when small plane crashes
I NOODLE, Texas (AP) — A Lubbock couple
Ind their two grandchildren were killed when
lieir single-engine plane crashed about 20 min-
Jtesafter taking off f rom Abilene Municipal air-
ort, authorities said.
The Sunday afternoon crash occurred shortly
fter the pilot radioed asking for directions
[round severe weather, according to flight con-
oilers.
Department of Public Safety spokesman Mike
Cox identified the four victims of the plane crash
i pilot William McKay Harr, 64, of Lubbock; his
ife, Gladys Stelzer Harr, 61; their grandson,
Jonathon Harr, 9, of El Campo; and his sister
Christian Harr, 6.
I The four victims were pronounced dead at the
[sc ene by Jones County Justice of the Peace Tom
Isbell.
I The plane’s wreckage was found in a grassy
field early Monday.
The Harr’s plane took off from Abilene Sun
day afternoon en route to Lubbock, but air traf
fic controllers at Abilene Municipal Airport lost
radio and radar contact with the craft about 10 to
15 minutes later, Rody Mauldin, air traffic man
ager, said.
Mauldin said thunderstorms were reported in
the area about the time radio contact was lost, but
air traffic supervisor Bruce Blair said there was
no rain in Abilene at the time Harr left the air
port.
Blair said Harr had called the Federal Aviation
Administration’s automated flight service in Fort
Worth for a weather report before takeoff.
FAA officials referred calls about the contents
of that report to spokesman Geraldine Cook,
who could not immediately be reached for com
ment by the Associated Press.
“During our last contact with the plane, the pi
lot said he was in clear weather but saw some bad
weather ahead of him,” Blair said.
“We gave him permission to go around the
weather, and then we lost contact,” she said.
Wreckage of the plane was found one mile
north of Noodle, 28 miles northwest of Abilene,
officials said.
Charlie Turner, a farmer in the Jones County
area where the plane went down, said he heard a
crack at the time of the crash.
However, because it was raining in the area at
the time, he assumed it was thunder.
“After the crack, I heard an engine roar
twice,” Turner said.
“After that, there was nothing,” he said.
Harr was a retired executive with Southwes
tern Public Service, a utility company.
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Local Briefs
Gas tax helps pay for local road repairs
By Jay Stevens
Reporter
The 1984 gasoline tax increase
from 5 cents to 10 cents has paid
for long-needed improvements
on Texas roads and probably will
save taxpayers money, a spokes
man for the Texas State Depart
ment of Highways and Public
Transportation said.
“Now, with all the vehicles, the
roads would literally crumble
without the improvements,” Pub
lic Information Officer Gina
McAskill said, “And it would cost
$180 billion to replace Texas
roads.”
McAskill said the Highway De
partment is concentrating on ur
ban areas where improvements
can do the most good for the
most people
Locally, construction on EJni-
versity Drive will be completed by
summer of 1989. Until then,
lanes will be closed and traffic will
be more congested, engineering
assistant Katherine Hejl of the
Texas State Department of High
ways and Public Transportation
said.
Several sections of highway in
College Station will be receiving
a new riding surface. The sched
ule for the resurfacing is:
June 27 through Friday — Re
surfacing of Texas Avenue from
University Drive to FM 2818.
Monday through July 8 — Re
surfacing of University Drive
from FM 2154 to FM 2818.
These dates are subject to
change in cases of bad weather
conditions.
Summer graduates may stall graduation
By Had Binion
Reporter
As August graduation ap
proaches, many seniors will de
cide to wait until December to
graduate because of the increased
number of employers interview
ing on campus in the fall.
“Around the end of May, a
number of students will come in
wanting to stay and graduate in
December instead of August,”
Daniel Orozco, assistant director
of the Career Planning and Place
ment Center, said. “If they can af
ford to stay another long semes
ter, I advise them to do so.”
•Orozco said 10 percent of the
student population uses the
placement center — 20 percent of
those are August graduates.
Most companies interview
through the placement center
during a two-week period in both
the first and second summer ses
sions. Last summer, 15 compa
nies came to interview. He ex
pects about 30 this summer.
During the fall and spring, in
terviews are conducted for 12
weeks per semester.
Last year, 675 companies inter
viewed students at A&M. This
year, Orozco expects 700.
“If you are utilizing the place
ment center, summers are just
not as lucrative as far as inter
viewing goes,” Orozco said, “al
though career counseling is bet
ter because there aren’t so many
people on campus.”
Orozco said although the
placement center is helpful, stu
dents should not depend com
pletely on it to find interviews.
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