World

Former LANL Director Siegfried Hecker To Speak At Annual Alice And Lawry Mann Lecture Saturday, Jan. 11

by

Former Los Alamos National Laboratory Director Siegfried Hecker

HISTORICAL SOCIETY News:

Dr. Siegfried Hecker will return to Los Alamos to present this year’s annual Alice and Lawry Mann Lecture Saturday, Jan. 11.

The talk is open to the public and will start at 7 p.m. in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1967 18th St.

Titled, “North Korea and Iran: Looking back and looking ahead,” the talk will assess the current issues in two of the world’s major hotspots.

Hecker said that “the signs are ominous for what will happen in North Korea and in Iran in 2020 and beyond.” He also will “look Read More

Nature On Tap: Updates In Astronomy; Celestial Objects And Expansive Skies Monday, Jan. 6

by

A black hole. Courtesy/extremetech

CREATIVE DISTRICT News:

The community is invited to join the Pajarito Environmental Education Center (PEEC) and the Los Alamos Creative District for Nature On Tap at 5:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 6 at projectY cowork.

This On Tap will feature a combination of science and cheer with Peter Polko and Felicia Krauss, who will take a light-hearted look at cosmology, the supermassive black holes at the center of galaxies, and the connection between the two in two 20-minute talks. 

Nature On Tap is sponsored by the Pajarito Environmental Education Center (PEEC) Read More

AGU100 Blogosphere: Llamas Could Help Replenish Plant Life After Glaciers Retreat

by

Plot used to sample landscapes in the Andes and the Alps. Photo by Anaïs Zimmer/UT-Austin

A llama near the village of Patacancha in the Peruvian Andes. Photo by Lauren Lipuma

 
By ERIN MALSBURY
AGU100 Blogosphere
  • Unexpected gardeners might help plant communities colonize newly exposed land

The rapid retreat of glaciers from alpine regions around the world could result in widespread ecosystem losses, according to new research. Now, scientists are exploring a hairy solution to this hairy problem in the form of llamas.

As glaciers retreat with increasing speeds, they leave behind bare Read More

Spaceport America Announces Test Operations Of ABL Space Systems

by

SPACEPORT AMERICA News:
 
ABL Space Systems, a company founded by former SpaceX engineers, recently completed a successful test campaign of its E2 rocket engine at Spaceport America.
 
“Spaceport America provided the perfect location and support staff for us to test the E2 rocket engine,” ABL CFO Dan Piemont explained. “Our team did a great job rapidly activating our deployable test site, and we are happy with how E2 performed. This campaign was an important step toward bringing the RS1 launch vehicle to market.”
 
When operational, RS1 will fill an important role in the global
Read More

NMMSH: Free Launch Pad Lecture On Comets Jan. 3

by

Comet Bennet was discovered Dec. 28, 1969 by John Caister Bennett in Pretoria, South Africa. It was widely visible by April 1970 and was slated to be photographed April 14 from Apollo 13, but a critical malfunction in the spacecraft prevented the crew from taking the photos. Courtesy/britastro.org

NMMSH News:

ALAMOGORDO – From early effects on world history to intergalactic interlopers, take a fascinating look at the sometimes terrifying but always beautiful and fascinating world of comets.

Harbingers of doom in the past, comets today provide a fascinating look into the early days of the Read More

Martin: What Happens When Freedom Of The Press Is Silenced Or Imprisoned?

by

By MELISSA MARTIN
 
What happens when freedom of the press is silenced or imprisoned? Jailed journalists around the globe. How can it be? First Amendment aggressions in the United States. How can it be?
 
Devious despots misusing power and preying upon humanity—withholding information because knowledge is power. Silencing the other side of the story. Fear of losing control feeds their depravity. Dictators hiding behind castle walls and armies of destruction for those who dare criticize.
 
Freedom of the press is held hostage as journalists observe through prison bars. The
Read More

An Open Book: Ex Libris, The Gate To The Garden

by

By DAVID IZRAELEVITZ
Los Alamos

Note to Reader: This Open Book column is part of my occasional “Ex Libris” series about books that have made a difference in my life. Hope you enjoy it.

A garden gate is normally in one of three positions. A gate that is locked and secure guards what is behind it, and one may assume that we should not enter. A gate that is wide open is inviting, but because there is no transition and no effort is needed to enter, we may not notice our passage. However, a gate that is closed but not secure, is one whose garden is available to us, but only if we make the effort to unlatch the lock. It Read More

Luján Statement On USMCA Trade Agreement

by

U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Luján
 
CONGRESSIONAL News:
 
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. House Assistant Speaker Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) issued the following statement on the USMCA trade agreement:
 
“The renegotiated United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement represents a marked improvement over NAFTA and the flawed agreement initially put forward by the Trump administration. Democrats worked diligently to strengthen the agreement’s labor and environmental protections, pushed to ensure meaningful enforcement, and fought to remove provisions that would have locked in higher prescription
Read More

American Geophysical Union: Scientists Use Satellites And Social Media To Detect Potential Famines

by

Oxfam delivers food aid to Turkana, Kenya during an ongoing food crisis fueled by drought. This year, below-average rains caused crop production to fall nearly 50 percent. Courtesy/Irina Fuhrmann/Oxfam under Creative Commons 2
 
AGU News:
 
Deaths due to famine have fallen precipitously in recent decades, but undernutrition, which affects one in five children worldwide, remains rampant. Now, researchers are using satellite imagery and social media to detect food-scarce regions before they become full-blown crises.
 
Molly Brown of the University of Maryland conducts
Read More