Environment

Protecting New And Existing Parks For Next 100 Years

August 23, 2016 by Submitted by Carol A. Clark

By SANDERS MOORE, Director

Environment New Mexico Research & Policy Center

There’s no better time than the 100th anniversary of our national park system to redouble our efforts to protect our country’s most spectacular natural areas.

Our top priorities this Centennial include:

#1 With its massive size, colorful walls, and breathtaking views, the Grand Canyon is one of the most amazing places on earth. But while the national park itself is protected against destructive activities like mining and drilling, the area surrounding it is not. That puts at risk North America’s largest old growth Read More

LANL: DOE Pilot Program Connects Entrepreneurs With Expertise At National Laboratories

August 22, 2016 by Submitted by Carol A. Clark

PajaritoPowder, LLC, a fuel-cell-catalyst company based in Albuquerque, is one of the voucher recipients that will partner with Los Alamos. Courtesy/LANL

LANL News:

Los Alamos National Laboratory will give technical assistance to three fuel-cell technology companies, including one based in Albuquerque, that have been awarded vouchers by the Department of Energy as phase two of the Small Business Voucher (SBV) pilot program.

The program partners small businesses working toward clean-energy technologies with national laboratories so they can better leverage their world-class capabilities Read More

PEEC’s Geology Program For Kids Starts Sept. 20

August 22, 2016 by Submitted by Chris Clark

Kids will participate in hands-on activities and field trips provided by the summer Pebble Pups program. Courtesy photo

PEEC News:

Youth ages 5 to 9 are invited to explore geology this fall at the Los Alamos Nature Center in the Pebble Pups program, organized by the Pajarito Environmental Education Center (PEEC).

This program helps kids embark on a journey to learn about rocks, fossils and local geology through active games and activities with Patrick Rowe of the Los Alamos Geological Society and an experienced PEEC educator. The Pebble Pups school-year program

Lightning Splinters Tree Near LAHS Golf Team

August 22, 2016 by Submitted by Carol A. Clark

Lightning struck this tree Friday afternoon about 300 feet from the LAHS golf team during a practice session at the Los Alamos Golf Course. Photo by Jon Doorn

By CAROL A. CLARK

Los Alamos Daily Post

A powerful bolt of lightning splintered a tree Friday at the Los Alamos Golf Course near 16 Los Alamos High School Golf Team members and four coaches.

The strike occurred at around 4 p.m., about 300 feet away from where the team was practicing.

Sam Crooks, 15, described the experience during an interview today with the Los Alamos Daily Post.

“I felt electricity

Planetarium Film At Nature Center: We Are Stars

August 21, 2016 by Submitted by Carol A. Clark

We are Stars, a planetarium film shows at 2 p.m. Aug. 27-28 at the Los Alamos Nature Center. Courtesy photo

PEEC News:

Pajarito Environmental Education Center’s (PEEC’s) popular planetarium film, We are Stars, is back for one weekend. We are Stars connects life on earth to the evolution of the universe by investigating the chemistry of stars. This family-friendly film will screen in the Los Alamos Nature Center at 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 27 and Sunday, Aug. 28.

Tickets may be purchased by phone or at the Los Alamos Nature Center and are Read More

This Week At The Reel Deal

August 19, 2016 by Submitted by Carol A. Clark

AGU: Climate Change Could Cause Major Decline In Antarctic Krill Habitat By 2100

August 19, 2016 by Submitted by Chris Clark

AGU News:

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Antarctic krill, small crustaceans key to the Antarctic marine food web, could lose most of their habitat by the year 2100, according to a new study published online in Geophysical Research Letters, a journal of the American Geophysical Union (AGU).

Researchers combined climate simulations with a krill growth model to find that changes in water temperature and sea ice in Antarctic waters could shrink krill habitat by as much as 80 percent by the end of the century, potentially causing a decline in krill that could ripple throughout the entire

SFNF: Prescribed Burn Planned For Española Ranger District

August 19, 2016 by Submitted by Chris Clark

SFNF News:

SANTA FE ― Fire managers on the Santa Fe National Forest are planning to take advantage of the warm days and cool nights of September to conduct prescribed burns in the Santa Fe Municipal Watershed and on Borrego Mesa, both on the Española Ranger District.

The September window is intended to take advantage of fall weather but is dependent on favorable conditions, including fuel moisture levels, air quality and weather forecasts.

The planning area for the Watershed prescribed burn totals 1,800 acres within two to eight miles

NOAA Launches America’s First National Water Forecast Model

August 19, 2016 by Submitted by Carol A. Clark

The new National Water Model will provide river forecast guidance at 2.7 million locations (in blue), complementing the 4,000 locations (in yellow) where National Weather Service river forecasts are currently issued. Courtesy/NOAA

NOAA News:

NOAA and its partners have developed a new forecasting tool to simulate how water moves throughout the nation’s rivers and streams, paving the way for the biggest improvement in flood forecasting the country has ever seen.

Launched today and run on NOAA’s powerful new Cray XC40 supercomputer, the National Water Model uses data from more than 8,000 Read More

Smart Design With Suzette: Join Me For My Green Design Class!

August 19, 2016 by Submitted by Carol A. Clark

By SUZETTE FOX
Los Alamos

Green is everywhere these days–in the news, politics, fashion, and even technology.

With a million messages and ideas coming at us from all sides, it can be easy to get caught up in the ordinary stuff–switching to organic foods, turning down the thermostat, recycling — without thinking about the big picture of how your actions stack up.

Worse, you could even be suffering from a little green “fatigue” — that is, tuning out the green messages due to its message overload.

While it’s easy to get overwhelmed, the truth is that everything single thing Read More