World interest in coal-based synthetic fuels technology is like a roller coaster ride. Interest soars when energy prices are high or world oil supplies are threatened. When energy is inexpensive and oil is plentiful, interest plummets. However, some people remain undaunted by the ups and downs of the synfuels industry. They cling tenaciously to the idea that coal-based synthetic fuels are the world`s energy future. They are the select group attending the SynOps `92 symposium in Bismarck, North Dakota. SynOps `92 participants represent an extraordinary combination of visionaries and practical thinkers. They believe the ``coal refinery`` concept will eventually provide the most efficient and productive use of our coal resources. They know that coal is a valuable resource which can be used to produce a huge variety of valuable nonfuel products. They also recognize that until technology can make alternative fuels economically feasible, the world will continue to rely heavily on fossil fuels--especially coal, the world`s most abundant energy resource. Individual papers have been entered.

This report contains a collection of viewgraphs and short papers on target fabrication for inertial confinement purposes.

This report is a compilation of abstracts from papers which were discussed at a workshop on plant membrane biology. Topics include: plasma membrane ATP-ases; plant-environment interactions, membrane receptors; signal transduction; ion channel physiology; biophysics and molecular biology; vaculor H+ pumps; sugar carriers; membrane transport; and cellular structure and function.

The conference addressed the energy and environmental challenges facing large metropolitan areas. The topics included a comparison of the environmental status of cities twenty years ago with the challenges facing today`s large cities, sustainable economic development, improving the energy and environmental infrastructure, and the changing urban transportation sector. Selected papers are indexed separately for inclusion in the Energy Science and Technology Database.

This report is the proceedings of the National Conference on Environmental Externalities. A environmental externality is the environmental impact of a process or a plant that society must endure. It is a social cost and is paid, but not by the company who produced it or the company`s customers who endure it. The main purpose of this report is to gather the many designs and ideas of how and why to internalize the externalities into the pricing systems of the public utility commissions, especially that of the electric utilities. Economic and sociological aspects of the internalization of these externalities are given in these proceedings. Individual papers are processed separately for databases. (MB)