Category Archives: Reference sources

Common Chemistry — online chemical database for public

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commchem.gif CAS launches free web-based resource for non-chemists – 15 May 2009

Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS), a division of the American Chemical Society, has launched a new, free, web-based resource called Common Chemistry. This resource is helpful to non-chemists and others who might know either a chemical name or a CAS Registry Number of a common everyday chemical and want to pair both pieces of information.

Common Chemistry contains nearly 7,800 chemicals of widespread and general interest, as well as all 118 elements from the periodic table. With the exception of some of the elements, all other substances in this collection were deemed of widespread interest by having been cited 1,000 or more times in the CAS databases.

While not intended to be a comprehensive CAS Registry Number (CAS RN) lookup service, Common Chemistry does provide access to information on chemicals of general interest. The CAS Registry Number is recognised throughout the world as the most commonly used, unique identifier of chemical substances. The full CAS REGISTRYSM database contains more than 46 million organic and inorganic substances. Research discovery and patent tools such as SciFinder and STN allow users to search the entire database.

Click here to read the original press release.

Source: Knowledgespeak Newsletter & CAS.

Note: Princeton University Library subscribes to the complete CAS Chemical Abstracts and Registry database — available as SciFinder Scholar.

ISA Handbook of Measurement Equations and Tables

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ISA Handbook of Measurement Equations and Tables (2nd ed.)

ISImeasure.gif Description: Engineers, technicians and students alike who are designing industrial processes will find plenty of reference materials here on locating key information for solving daily problems.This updated, expanded, and improved version provides hundreds of essential equations and tables to help you select, operate and maintain measurement devices.

The 2nd Edition adds brand new chapters packed with tables and equations for Industrial Communications Buses, Safety, and Environmental Measurements. Tables and equations have been added to all the previous edition’s chapters covering Units of Measurement, Pressure, Flow, Temperature, Level, Humidity, Electrical and Viscosity measurements. Publisher: Instrumentation, Systems and Automation Society

From today’s Knovel News

Knovel adds titles in Sustainable Energy & Development and Earth Science

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“Knovel has just wrapped up a very busy year and is looking forward to helping our customers achieve their goals for 2009. Our focus is to help make users more productive in their work— in the office, out in the field, around the world. Last year we enhanced Knovel to make it faster and more flexible. We upgraded the functionality of interactive tables and doubled the amount of technical content on our site. To be more specific, we added nearly 400 new handbooks, including over 170 in two new subject areas: Sustainable Energy & Development and Earth Science.”

Source: Knovel News 2/10/09

Reducing Your Carbon Footprint — CQ Researcher

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This Week’s Report, from the CQ Researcher weekly alert:

“Reducing Your Carbon Footprint” by Thomas J. Billitteri, December 5, 2008

Can individual actions reduce global warming?

As climate change rises closer to the top of the government’s policy agenda – and an economic crisis intensifies – more and more consumers are trying to change their behavior so they pollute and consume less. To reduce their individual “carbon footprints,” many are cutting gasoline and home-heating consumption, choosing locally grown food and recycling. While such actions are important in curbing global warming, the extent to which consumers can reduce or reverse broad-scale environmental damage is open to debate. Moreover, well-intentioned personal actions can have unintended consequences that cancel out positive effects. To have the greatest impact, corporate and government policy must lead the way, many environmental advocates say.

Are measures of individual carbon emissions valid?
Should government do more to encourage individuals to reduce their carbon footprints?
Can individual action significantly reduce global climate change?

To view this week’s entire report on CQ Researcher Online, click here.

CQ Researcher is an excellent service/publication.

REN21 – Renewables 2007 Global Status Report

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REN21 – Renewables 2007 Global Status Report
Source: Worldwatch Institute

This is taken directly from docuticker — a service which offers free alerts and collects selected documents from government agencies, think tanks, and NGOs. (The same group produces the ResourceShelf.)
April 13, 2008 at 11:51 am · Filed under Energy, Environment, International

“The Renewables 2007 Global Status Report provides an integrated perspective on the global renewable energy situation. It gives testimony of the undeterred growth of electricity, heat, and fuel production capacities from renewable energy sources, including solar PV, wind power, solar hot water/heating, biofuels, hydropower, and geothermal.

The report is the product of an international team of over 140 researchers and contributors from both developed and developing countries, drawing upon wide-ranging information and expertise across technologies, markets, and countries. Sections include: Global Market Overview, Investment Flows, Industry Trends, Policy Landscape, and Rural (Off-Grid) Renewable Energy. The policy section provides overviews of: policy targets for renewable energy, power generation promotion policies, solar hot water/heating policies, biofuels policies, municipal policies, and green power purchasing and renewable electricity certificates.”

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Statistical Abstract of the United States — 2008 online

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The US Census Bureau has been compiling and publishing this valuable resource since 1878.

It is an excellent starting place when looking for statistical data. Search the database, or browse through categories of data such as: Energy & Utilities, Geography & Environment, Natural Resources, Science & Technology. References for these data are always cited, and via the Excel spreadsheets are directly linked to the more complete resources on the web.
The PDFs give the URLs for “cutting and pasting”.