I have acquired some interesting solid indicators on the impact of meat industry on Earth's atmosphere pollution and climate change. According to the United Nations Climate Change Conference, held last year in Bali, industrial food production considerably increases the production and emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere; carbon dioxide with 25% share, methane 60% and nitrogen compounds make 80 % of the total emission.
The estimation is, that from the beginning of industrial revolution the concentration of nitrogen compounds in atmosphere has increased 15 %, carbon dioxide 30 % while methane concentration has doubled. The cause is increased consumption of meat in human eating habits resulting in 56 billion animals being bred; 27 billion only in the USA. Animal excrements release numerous gases which are considered the main cause of Earth's atmosphere pollution and global warming.
However, the pollution does not affect only atmosphere but also groundwater. In the USA, more than one half of available drinking and technological water is being used for animal breeding, the excrements of which contaminate groundwater. Besides, animals feed on grains the cultivation of which requires huge agricultural surfaces that become available by deforestation. Thus numerous plants and animal species are being destroyed.
This data are presented as a proof to show that pollution is not caused only by fossil fuels, as many think, although they are indirectly to blame for these sources of pollution. The development of oil industry improved human standard of living which resulted in change of habits and way of life with the described consequences.

This issue brings you, along with the news from oil and gas exploration and production, also two articles.

Maja Fabulić Ruszowski, along with her associates has prepared the paper "Crude Oil and Oil Fractions Analysis and Distillation''. They performed distillation and analysis of four domestic and foreign crude oil samples. Data acquired by true- boil- point distillation and by Potstill distillation (ASTM D 2892 and ASTM D 5236 methods) and from physical-chemical data on crude oils from oil fractions analyses, offer valuable information which can be used in oil refining optimization.

Andreja Ana Lopac and Marijan Vugrinec prepared the paper "New Technologies for Liquefied Natural Gas Re-gasification''. As gas consumption constantly increases, there is a problem of transportation from distant sources to consumption centres. Along with classic gas pipelines, the transportation of liquefied natural gas by special LNG tankers is developing. This way of transportation requires infrastructure consisting of liquefaction and re-gasification plants. In addition to those two dominant technologies, the new energetically efficient system proved to be promising; it is called LNG SmartR system - re-gasification technology using air exchange system.

Hoping that this issue's content at least partially satisfies your professional interests.