Carbon, carbon, everywhere

Carbon. It's the building block of life.

But sometimes it ends up in the wrong forms and the wrong places.

The chemist who shared the Nobel Prize for linking CFCs to the destruction of the ozone layer is concerned that CO2 levels may hit 1000 ppm. That's far above the 450 ppm threshold that climatologists worry may seriously alter the planet and the current 385 ppm level.

Why is he concerned? One reason is the lack of focused research to address the problem, as evidenced by the slow progress being made on carbon sequestration for coal power plants.

AND NOW RESEARCHERS ARE WARNING that carbon nanotubes, incredibly tiny structures with the capacity for revolutionizing many technologies, may be as dangerous as asbestos. To date there's been little regulation of new products coming out of the emerging nanotechnology industry.