Reference: 2 New Science Tracer Bullets from Library of Congress: Petroleum Engineering & Plant Exploration and Introduction

1. Title: LC Science Tracer Bullet: Petroleum Engineering (11-3)

Petroleum is a naturally occurring liquid mixture of complex hydrocarbons, usually found in deposits beneath the earth’s surface. After distillation petroleum yields combustible fuels, petrochemicals, and lubricants. These can be gaseous (natural gas), liquid (crude oil, crude petroleum), solid (asphalt, tar, bitumen), or a combination of states. Petroleum engineering applies a wide range of technologies to the exploration, drilling, recovery, production, distribution, and storage of oil, gas, and liquefiable hydrocarbons.

Not intended as a comprehensive bibliography, this compilation is designed–as the name of the series implies–to put the reader “on target.” This and other recent Science Tracer Bullets (STB) are available online at http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/tracer-bullets/

Direct to: LC Science Tracer Bullet: Petroleum Engineering (11-3)

2. Title: LC Science Tracer Bullet: Plant Exploration and Introduction (11-4)

Today, plant hunters scour the rain forest, desert, mountain, and the tundra for plants that might contain a chemical to fight a fatal disease or be used to create a new product. Because genetic diversity is key to maintaining and improving agriculture, today’s botanists collect seeds to preserve an endangered species, to improve an existing food plant, or to develop a disease-resistant variety. As wilderness and rainforest habitats are eliminated, plants and diversity disappear, and the role of the plant hunter becomes more critical. This compilation supersedes TB 83-5 and is intended for those who wish to learn something about the history of plant exploration and introduction through a review of the literature available in the collections of the Library of Congress. Invasive Species (TB 05-3) and Biodiversity (TB 97-5) may also be of interest to those using Plant Exploration and Introduction.

Direct to: LC Science Tracer Bullet: Plant Exploration and Introduction (11-4)

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