Word: coal
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1990-1999
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...problem was clear last August at a meeting in the Roosevelt Room between Gore and the CEOs of the leading environmental groups, who presented him with a set of options to cut carbon-dioxide emissions from the two biggest sources, cars and coal-fired power plants. Curbing the pollution from coal would involve controversial moves against many electric utilities, but the U.S.--and Gore--had to show leadership by backing the idea, they insisted. The room grew suddenly frosty, and Gore, who in previous months had been speaking out on climate change and fighting internally for more antipollution funding, said...
...opted for Pequod, after Melville's ship, but Gordon contested that no one would want to drink at the Pequod. Instead, Gordon wanted a title associated with his native Seattle and went hunting for names in Washington state mountains. He liked the sound of a turn-of-the-century coal mine by the name of Starbo, which reminded Terry's literary penchant of Starbuck. Melville would cringe at the association...
Others nearly beat him to it. As early as 1872, German chemist Adolf von Baeyer was investigating the recalcitrant residue that gathered in the bottom of glassware that had been host to reactions between phenol (a turpentine-like solvent distilled from coal tar, which the gas-lighting industry produced in bulk) and formaldehyde (an embalming fluid distilled from wood alcohol). Von Baeyer set his sights on new synthetic dyes, however, not insulators. To him, the ugly, insoluble gunk in his glassware was a sign of a dead...
...20th century alchemy. From something as vile as coal tar came a remarkably versatile substance. It wasn't the first plastic, however. Celluloid had been commercially available for decades as a substitute for tortoise-shell, horn, bone and other materials. But celluloid, which had developed a reputation as a cheap mimic of better traditional materials, was derived from chemically treated cotton and other cellulose-containing vegetable matter. Bakelite was lab-made through and through. It was 100% synthetic...
...aesthetes were in abundance outside Annenberg. Fun House garb was distributed, but some newly minted Currier residents missed out when HoCo ran out of T-shirts. Apparently Santa Claus can out of presents for those living so far away. And Dartboard thought that little white envelope was lump of coal enough...