Letters from the April 28, 2007, issue of Science News

Long ago gas

Finding CO2 levels that are 2,500 times higher in 5,000-year-old fulgurites than in modern samples, scientists have speculated that the extra CO2 resulted from vaporization of organic material by lightning (“Stroke of Good Fortune: A wealth of data from petrified lightning,” SN: 2/17/07, p.