Environment

LANL Sponsors 20th Hazmat Challenge July 25-29

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Emergency responders taking part in exercises during last year’s Challenge. Courtesy/LANL

LANL News:

Ten hazardous materials response teams from New Mexico, Missouri, Oklahoma and Nebraska test their skills in a series of graded, timed exercises at the 20th annual Hazmat Challenge July 25-29 at Los Alamos National Laboratory.

“The Hazmat Challenge provides hazardous materials responders the opportunity to test their skills, share best practices with other response agencies and learn new techniques through realistic hazardous materials release scenarios in a safe, non-hazardous Read More

ACEEE To Rank U.S., 22 Other Major Countries On Energy Efficiency

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ACEEE News:
 
WASHINGTON, D.C. ― Which major nation has the most energy-efficient economy? Is the United States ahead of or behind other nations—including the U.K., China, Germany, India, South Korea, Australia, and Japan—when it comes to energy efficiency?

The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) will issue its 3rd edition of the International Energy Efficiency Scorecard report measuring the energy efficiency of 23 of the world’s largest energy-consuming countries.

 
The new ACEEE scorecard will be released during a phone-based news event
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A Mountaineer’s Story: Wild, Edible Plants July 26

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Jesse and Johanna Boudreau at PEEC’s Earth Day Festival. Listen to their edible wild plants talk Tuesday, July 26 at the Los Alamos Nature Center. Courtesy photo
 
PEEC News:
 
Ever wonder which wild plants are safe to eat? Come to the Los Alamos Mountaineers meeting Tuesday, July 26 to find out which wild plants are edible and which ones are poisonous.
 
Permaculture experts Jesse and Johanna Boudreau will be leading the talk at 7:30 p.m. at the Los Alamos Nature Center. The Los Alamos Mountaineers meeting will start at 7 p.m. and
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PEEC: Fourth Friday Fractals Show July 22

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Fractal. Image from Wikimedia Commons, created by Wolfgang Beyer
 
PEEC News:
 
Pajarito Environmental Education Center’s dynamic fractal show is back for one evening this month at 7 p.m., Friday, July 22 in the Los Alamos Nature Center Planetarium.
 
This show incorporates math, science, art, and nature in a full-dome planetarium show featuring original music.
 
This spectacular show starts promptly at 7 p.m. and seating is limited. Tickets may be purchased by phone or at the nature center and are only $10 for adults and $8 for children. This
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Governor Directs Agencies To Prepare For Potential Flooding In Aftermath Of Timberon Fire

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STATE News:
 
SANTA FE — Gov. Susana Martinez has directed state agencies responding to the Timberon Fire in Otero County to work with local leaders and other local, county, and federal entities on plans and actions required in the aftermath of the Timberon Fire.
 
In the aftermath of devastating wildfires such as the Timberon Fire, affected areas can often be vulnerable to flooding, excessive debris runoff, and dangerous effects to the local watershed which can be difficult to control and cause further damage.
 
“Protecting residents and their health and safety is always
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Forest Service Awards Stewardship Contract For Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Project

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USDA News:
 
SANTA FE ― The USDA Forest Service announced it has awarded the multi-year stewardship contract for the Southwest Jemez Mountains (SWJM) Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Project on the Santa Fe National Forest (SFNF) to TC Company, a local contractor based in Northern New Mexico.
 
Treatments outlined in the contract for stewardship services are designed to mitigate the risk of high-severity wildfire and restore ecosystem function to frequent-fire forests in the southwestern Jemez Mountains.
 
“The forests of northern New Mexico are under
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Oppenheimer Lecture: National Academy Of Sciences President Examines Question Of Climate Intervention

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National Academy of Sciences President Marcia McNutt will deliver the 46th annual J. Robert Oppenheimer lecture Wednesday night in Los Alamos. Courtesy photo

 

By ROGER SNODGRASS
Los Alamos Daily Post
 

A few years back, the American geophysicist Marcia McNutt was one of three distinguished scientists who were asked by a British publication — if they could go to any time in the past, which event would they most like to see. At that time she was executive director of the U.S. Geological Survey and the question came from EarthWise, a digital magazine of the Royal Scottish Geological

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Vandals Mar Improvements On Jemez River

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Jemez River. File photo

SFNF News:

JEMEZ SPRINGS – Vandals at work along the Jemez River have chopped the tops off newly planted cottonwoods on the riverbank and damaged recently installed fish habitat structures in the water.

The restoration and improvement of aquatic habitats is part of the larger Santa Fe National Forest’s Southwest Jemez Mountains Forest Restoration project to create and sustain healthy ecosystems in the Jemez Mountains. 

“The work we are doing along the Jemez River is not only beneficial to the river and the species that live in it. It’s also an economic boon to the Read More

White Rock Bear To Be Euthanized

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A neighbor saw this bear Sunday morning that attacked six baby goats in White Rock. The New Mexico Game & Fish officer at the scene when the bear was captured Sunday night told homeowner Louis Borges that by state law, the bear needs to be put down. It was too aggressive in killing livestock, he said. The officer also said that no one has ever heard of bears being seen in White Rock before, and this kind of behavior was very unusual … to kill six goats by jumping into the pen six time to haul them away. Borges said he found four of the six carcasses strewn around his property. Surprisingly, the bear
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YMCA Work Crew Receives Public Lands Day Training

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At Station 1, Engine Captain Adrian Porchas gave a demonstration of the drip torch and how it is used to fight wildland fires. Courtesy/USDA Forest Service
 
YMCA News:
 
Each year The Family YMCA sponsors a Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) trail crew through a New Mexico YCC grant program that benefits both Los Alamos County and Forest Service area trails. Under the terms of the grant, the Y’s crew members are selected from the Española, Los Alamos, Santa Fe, Pojoaque and Sandoval County areas.
 
On July 13, during the Forest Service’s Public Lands Day, the Y’s crew
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