Word: neutralizes
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...problem is that biofuels are treated as if they were 100% carbon neutral, even though they are clearly not. When ethanol is burned, for instance, it still releases CO2 into the atmosphere. After all, the plants that go to make biofuels are made of carbon, just as oil and other fossil fuels are. Further, the use of biofuels would reduce total greenhouse-gas emissions only if their creation were to increase - or at least not displace - existing plant growth, which naturally takes carbon out of the atmosphere. For example, if the wood chips left over from logging were used...
...that error have been modest so far. But if the U.S. adopts a cap-and-trade system with the same mistake, or if the world agrees to a truly global successor to Kyoto, the blowback could be enormous. As long as biofuels are incorrectly treated as 100% carbon neutral, they'll represent an economical way for companies to offset their greenhouse-gas emissions and comply with a tightening carbon cap. One study estimates that if the world were to meet a 50% "cut" in global greenhouse gases by 2050 under the current calculations, the necessary biofuel-crops expansion would...
...second experiment, researchers aimed to manipulate people's propensity toward charity. Ninety-nine participants were assigned to either a Windex-scented room or a neutral-smelling room and given a packet of tasks to complete. Included in the packet was a flyer soliciting volunteers and donations to the charity Habitat for Humanity. As expected, people in the Windex-sprayed room were more inclined to volunteer and give money than those in the unscented room - 22% of those in the clean group said they wanted to donate money, compared with 6% of the controls...
...have to be an issue. How better to send the message that (1) certain things have to be done, even though they cost money; (2) increasing the deficit in the short term is inevitable because of the Great Recession; but (3) long-term initiatives should be deficit-neutral because the deficit is a threat to our future welfare. Such a plan could be proposed in Obama’s next budget, although he could make known his intention to propose it when he announces the surge. This may have the added plus of helping to mitigate some of the inevitable...
...camera: the first three buttons of your shirt should be visible, or else you risk looking like a floating head, counsels Priscilla Shanks, a coach for broadcast journalists and public speakers. Most important, do a dry run with a friend to check your color, sound and facial expressions - neutral often comes off as glum onscreen. (See pictures of vintage computers...