Almost done

¡Ayúdenos a alcanzar nuestra meta !

¡Ayúdenos a alcanzar nuestra meta - done hoy!
Nuestra campaña ambiciosa de la emergencia para levantar $250.000 para luchar calentarse global está dibujando a un cierre, y somos el cortocircuito solamente $33.000 de nuestra meta.

Si usted ha estado pensando de donar a esta causa urgente, ahora está el tiempo. Apoye por favor nuestro plan de acción global de la lucha que se calienta. El momento ha venido diferenciar - para parar calentarse global antes de que ocurran los cambios irreversibles. Apenas considere:

* El congreso está comenzando a tomar calentarse global seriamente. Pero seguimos siendo una manera larga, larga de conseguir la acción significativa.

* No es demasiado atrasada. Es verdad que una cierta cantidad de calentarse tiene y ocurrirá en los años que vienen no importa qué ahora lo hacemos. Pero nuestros científicos del clima convienen que podemos evitar el peor si ahora contenemos en la contaminación que se calienta global.

* Tenemos la atención del público. En el mes pasado, ha habido cobertura de medios sin precedente de calentarse global. Las encuestas recientes demuestran que los hasta 85% de americanos creen que el calentarse global es un problema serio.

* PERO ... los intereses especiales son bucks grandes del gasto inmóvil para sembrar la confusión y para paralizar el discusión en Washington. Con el financiamiento abundante del aceite grande, los cabilderos y los spinmeisters altamente pagados de Washington todavía están perpetuando el mito cansado que la ciencia sigue siendo sin resolver.

Necesitamos cerciorarnos de los americanos y sus representantes oír la verdad. Su donación urgente nos dará los recursos para cerciorarse de que el congreso consigue el mensaje y que lleva la acción significativa calentarse global de la lucha -- una llamada que esté repitiendo ya a través de América. Nuestra prioridad superior está pasando el acto de la administración y de la innovación del clima de McCain-Lieberman. Es la única legislación introducida siempre en el congreso que fija un casquillo duro en la contaminación que se calienta global de América - y su paso es crítico si esperamos destraillar fuerzas económicas de gran alcance para ayudarnos a crear la nueva, más limpia economía de la energía.

Estamos haciendo progreso y nuestro mensaje está consiguiendo a través. Pero necesitamos caminar él para arriba. Se requiere la acción nacional. Ensamble por favor a millares de sus americanos del compañero que han dado - nos ayudan a alcanzar nuestra meta $250.000 en los días próximos con una donación abundante hoy.

Gracias por todos lo que usted lo hace, Fred Krupp, presidente Environmental Defense Action Fund P.S. Cuando el 85% de público piensa calentarse global es un problema y el compartimiento del tiempo advierte que "MUY estemos preocupados," es hora para la acción. Ahora done para demostrar su ayuda para la acción que se calienta global significativa.

unfinished

Environmental Defense Action Fund

Help us reach our goal - donate today!

Our ambitious emergency campaign to raise $250,000 to fight global warming is drawing to a close, and we are only $33,000 short of our goal.

If you've been thinking about donating to this urgent cause, now is the time. Please support our Fight Global Warming Action Plan.

The moment has come to make a difference - to stop global warming before irreversible changes take place.

Just consider:

*

Congress is beginning to take global warming seriously. But we're still a long, long way from getting meaningful action.
*

It's not too late. It's true that some amount of warming has and will occur in the coming years no matter what we do now. But our climate scientists agree that we can avert the worst if we rein in global warming pollution now.
*

We have the public's attention. In the last month, there has been unprecedented media coverage of global warming. Recent polls show that up to 85% of Americans believe that global warming is a serious problem.
*

BUT... special interests are still spending big bucks to sow confusion and paralyze debate in Washington. With generous funding from Big Oil, highly paid Washington lobbyists and spinmeisters are still perpetuating the tired myth that the science is still unsettled. We need to make sure Americans and their representatives hear the truth.

Your urgent donation will give us the resources to make sure Congress gets the message and takes meaningful action to fight global warming — a call that is already echoing across America.

Our top priority is passing the McCain-Lieberman Climate Stewardship and Innovation Act. It's the only legislation ever introduced in Congress that sets a hard cap on America's global warming pollution – and its passage is critical if we hope to unleash powerful economic forces to help us create the new, cleaner energy economy.

We're making progress and our message is getting through. But we need to step it up. National action is required.

Please join thousands of your fellow Americans who have given - help us reach our $250,000 goal in the next few days with a generous donation today.

Thank you for all you do,

Fred Krupp, President
Environmental Defense Action Fund

P.S. When 85% of public thinks global warming is a problem and Time Magazine warns us to "Be VERY Worried," it's time for action. Donate now to show your support for meaningful global warming action.

Other Sites I use

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I post a lot of art and with no help I have to try lots of diferent services to find out which offer what. Some like voyblogs don't have a url that I can find to cut and paste.

Una cortina algo más ligera del negro penetra mi languid que despierta mente. El olor del aire húmedo túrgido, el terroso y de los ricos con la promesa de la bebida despierta primero una sed, con todo lentamente un hambre.
No para el alimento estiro y me incorporo la nariz al viento. La ondulación gruesa el tramar debajo de una mano funciona abajo de mis piernas un recordatorio de los días para hacer la lista: riegue, los sauces para cubrir el recinto, varios paquetes de hierba del manojo para la estera nueva el dormir. Necesite amolar un apetito para la actividad.
El horizonte gloaming que corta la tierra negra mate de la cubierta de estrellas y de la niebla, abre los llanos altos sin rieles en mi vista. Un dragón sinuous abarcado de ashen escalas grises con el sable más profundo slippered pies desciende al pie de las colinas. El escuchar la niebla no absolutamente silenciosa anda de puntillas a través de dappled la alfombra verde del ponder del cepillo I los footfalls. El follaje que despierta en el sonido cubierto de rocio de la andana sus gracias a este affirmance frío de la vida con estiramientos que bostezan innumerables y combinado con un lanzamiento del piso desesperado del desierto con la condensación insoportable, una ilusión se termina dentro de la mente.
A través de una ventana dejada entre dos yucas, puedo ver vendas rojas aclaradas sol de la roca más claramente que el oeste de los hilltops y algo el sur dun efímeros de mi recinto. El susurro seco contra mis rodillas como cambio la posición para una mayor visión, portaged laborioso chaffs de la arena.
Sentándose silenciosamente, aún y vigilante aguardo la charla, lupulización y la queja de mis vecinos vuelve a partir de los resortes. Pronto los chatterboxes marrones gordos saltan el arbusto al arbusto en entonces de mi línea de la vista.
El esperar pacientemente el fuego brillante del rey del cielo a llegar y de los tattlers pasados para dejar a los resortes mi cáscara atiesada fría tiene tiempo para absorber su comida de la mañana. Primer de oro, el amanecer filtra adentro de mí mientras que empapo encima del color de los soles que deja solamente cortinas de la plata para el día. Saciado a fondo con calor de los amaneceres preparo mi satchel: el palillo el cavar, machete, cordaje para las trampas, vacia pieles del agua, el almuerzo, y el bedroll en caso de que permanezca la noche en los resortes.
El giro en mi recinto de detrás yo el primer diablo del polvo de los días recién nacidos hace su presencia incómoda arenosa sabida. Las huéspedes no convidadas tales como esto ayudan a la atención del foco a la deficiencia de mi domicilio del desierto. Un círculo de yucas 2 yardas de diámetro con los boquetes infrecuentes se cerró por los troncos de sus parentescos caídos. Un piso llano de la arena traído de la curva de un elogio seco próximo de la colada una cama sofisticada de piedras volcánicas, calentada en mi fuego de la tarde, enterrado en una depresión baja entonces cubierta con la arena y pasado la estera tejida gruesa ya mencionada.
Para terminar la estructura mi viaje a los resortes asegurará una fuente sana de sauces, largo, flexible, y fuerte. Un wickiup, algo como una tienda abovedada en el centro de la casa natural del desierto es hecho azotando los postes junto que forman el marco a el cual la hierba del manojo será cubierta con paja. El en gran medida la más largo de este textil natural está situado cerca de los resortes que proporcionan una estera que mis antepasados serían orgullosos todavía encontrar en uso. O por lo menos reconocerían la cosa, como mi habilidad con tejer se puede describir cortésmente como carecer cierto final.
A lo largo del corte de las coladas en el desayuno de las colinas I en los lillys y las tortas del sego hechos de la carne de tierra secada del conejo se mezcló con las pasas salvajes y un poco de grasa. Un sabor quebradizo mojado que algo como manzana se cruzó a una patata, el sego tiene una bola de la raíz unas 6-8 pulgadas subterráneas. Pemican es el equivalente pre-Colombino a una barra de la energía, y casi cada fruta que se seca bien se ha utilizado conjuntamente con: ciervos, alces, cerdo de tierra (llamado yahaa) o cualquier carne de la cual muela la raíz seca bien del diente de león del café el substituir tomada por lo que 2 pies profundo lavado asado y elaborado cerveza tienen un sabor tenido gusto u odiado sin la mediación.
El oro del rey del cielo aspirado encima de tan greedily en el amanecer comienza a pesar en mí debajo de la plata clara que vierte constantemente a través de la meseta sin rieles. Shimmering claramente, con todo obscureciendo las colinas distantes con una vida palpable, los filamentos ondulados baila en la procesión que me dirige directamente hacia cortina. Ocultando debajo de un centinela del enebro más lejos abajo del piso del desierto que otros se atrevería crecen, de la presión de un sol del día, mi gusto de la nariz que el almizcle del agua inminente se mezcló con marga.
Pronto el pen¢asco más fresco contra las montañas del resorte me abrigará del peor del fuego de plata que amenaza consumir a los que valiente su peso calamitoso, no apenas amenazando realmente matar a la gente no preparada para aguantar el escrutinio del rey. Jaybird suelta, llevando a cabo la corte en la cortina del pico esterlina es asistido los pájaros del juego, los conejos, y el entourage ocasional de los burros todo en el negocio urgente sus el propios, a saber watter. La mayoría de los tales resortes en la gama funcionan la parte del año entonces seco para arriba durante el tiempo más caliente y naturalmente peor, mientras que fluye mi benefactor año redondo.
Aflojando mi carga debajo de un paraguas del pino del piñón, relevación fresca de I sip de la cantina traída adelante para apenas tales ocasiones. Los sauces en apilados, y la hierba en los paquetes mojados de mi frente aguardan el viaje dificultoso de la noche abajo a los planos y al hogar. Juan Charlos Parochelli 2005

Si usted es como la mayoría de la gente, usted está pensando probablemente, "yep, el calentarse global es una amenaza del monstruo. Pero es así que enorme es imposible solucionar." Créanos, después de trabajar en calentarse global para las dos décadas pasadas, nosotros consiguen su deriva.
El calentarse global es un desafío monumental. Pero, el calentarse global sigue siendo un problema que podemos solucionar si todos trabajamos juntos. Lea estos hechos que se calientan globales. Entonces, aprenda cómo usted puede reducir su contaminación que se calienta global. Compruebe fuera de nuestra guía que compra de la bombilla, descubra cómo conducir más eficientemente, y aprenda más extremidades caseras del ahorro de la energía.
Hechos Que se calientan Globales:
21Percent de la contaminación que se calentaba global de América produjo por las casas individuales.
número 42 estados del donde los clientes de la electricidad tienen la opción para comprar energía verde con su para uso general o un surtidor alternativo de la energía.
número 200.000 de las casas americanas que utilizan energía solar.
25 libras de contaminación que se calienta global emitida por el galón de gas usado en coches.
10 por ciento que los americanos podrían reducir su contaminación que se calentaba global si todos los compradores del coche eligieron un modelo que consigue 5 más gallons/mile que su vehículo actual.
350 libras de contaminación que se calentaba global redujeron bajando el termóstato 2 grados en invierno.
el número 38 de vatios necesitó substituir un estándar lightbulb de 150 vatios por un lightbulb en flor compacto.
25 por ciento de reducción en las cuentas caseras de la calefacción aislando áticos, las pipas, la canalización y solar. muestra para arriba para la red ambiental de la acción de la defensa. ¡Pienso que estos individuos son grandes! ¿Si usted desea la información verde que es digestible? ¡entonces muestra para arriba!

Global warming facts

If you're like most folks, you're probably thinking, "Yep, global warming is a monster threat. But it's so huge it's impossible to solve."
Believe us, after working on global warming for the last two decades, we get your drift. Global warming is a monumental challenge.
But, global warming is still a problem we can solve if we all work together.
Read these global warming facts. Then, learn how you can reduce your global warming pollution. Check out our light bulb buying guide, find out how to drive more efficiently, and learn more home energy saving tips.
Global Warming Facts:
21Percent of America's global warming pollution produced by individual households.
42 Number of states where electricity customers have the option to buy green power through their utility or an alternative power supplier.
200,000 Number of American households that use solar energy.
25 Pounds of global warming pollution emitted per gallon of gas used in cars.
10 Percent that Americans could reduce their global warming pollution if all car buyers chose a model that gets 5 more gallons/mile than their current vehicle.
350 Pounds of global warming pollution reduced by lowering the thermostat 2 degrees in winter.
38 Number of watts needed to replace a standard 150 watt lightbulb with a compact florescent lightbulb.
25 Percent reduction in home heating bills by insulating attics, pipes, ductwork and flooring.

sign up for Environmental Defense Action Network.

I think these guys are great! If you want green information that’s digestible ( then sign up!

OUTRAGE!

This latest immigration demand is really an outrage. I’ve been trying to help a woman legally emigrate for two years from Mexico. Her husband (if you call him that) left her with two kids and no money 8 years ago. He is an illegal immigrant living and working somewhere in California. Never once has he attempted to contact her or send her money. Yet the worthless Mexican government will not allow he a divorce and the worthless American government will not let her come to the U.S. legally so she can get a divorce.

Every time we fill out forms, wait in lines and pay in full, she’s told that there are to many illegal’s so the quota is full. The American government then KEEPS her filling fees! Taking money from a destitute Mexican woman knowing full well you are not going to render any service ought to be a crime. Allowing amnesty or citizenship, or whatever the latest demand from these wetbacks is, while conspiring to trap a woman into poverty for having the audacity to do everything the right way ought to be a capital crime.

We should be rounding up illegal’s at every rally, making them build $10,000 worth of fence along our border without pay, then shipping them back to where they came from. And people who did everything the right way should be at the front of the line to come here, not pushed aside by wetbacks!

More artwork

These are part of the same series of conti and charcoal. I wold like to get more input about the idea of extracting an image from background chaos.

So I finaly figured out how to upload images. This one is "soldier" Its a concept I intend to do more with. Let me know what you think.

Kenny Guinn replaces judges

CARSON CITY – Gov. Kenny Guinn today named two judicial appointments to replace judges who recently retired from the bench. Reno resident Bridget Robb Peck has been named to fill the Second Judicial District, Department 7, seat vacated by the retirement of Judge Peter Breen, and Wayne A. Pederson of Yerington will serve as judge for the Third Judicial District, Department 2, replacing Judge Archie Blake. Both appointments are effective immediately. Peck and Pederson’s terms end on January 1, 2007. “We are grateful and fortunate to have two outstanding individuals such as Bridget Robb Peck and Wayne Pederson to complete the terms of two retiring judges who had outstanding careers on the bench,” Gov. Guinn said. “The final candidates submitted by the Commission on Judicial Selection are all well qualified, making my decision very difficult. I am confident the legal experience Bridget and Wayne bring to these positions, along with their community service, has prepared them to take on these challenging roles.” Peck, 43, is the managing shareholder for the Reno law firm of Beesley, Peck & Matteoni, Ltd. She previously worked at the law firms Lionel Sawyer & Collins, and Gordon, Silver & Beasley, Ltd. Peck graduated from Tonopah High School, and later earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Nevada, Reno. She graduated from the Santa Clara University School of Law with a Juris Doctorate degree in 1987. Pederson, 53, the sole practitioner of his own Yerington law firm, was born and raised in Nevada. He has served in a wide variety of roles during his legal career. Pederson, a graduate of Reno High School and the University of Nevada, Reno, earned a Doctorate of Jurisprudence degree from McGeorge School of Law in 1994. Office of the Governor Grant Sawyer State Office Building 101 North Carson Street 555 East Washington, Suite 5100 Carson City, NV 89701 Las Vegas, NV 89101 Fax: 775-684-7198

Arts Flash! What's New at NAC

POETRY OUT LOUD NEVADA FINALS – Ten Nevada high school students will converge at the Governor's Mansion in Carson City on Saturday, April 22 at 1:30 p.m. to participate in the final competition of the Poetry Out Loud: National Recitation Program, presented in partnership by the Nevada Arts Council, Nevada Alliance for the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts and The Poetry Foundation. The winner of the Poetry Out Loud Nevada finals will receive $1,000, and the winner’s school will receive a $2,000 stipend for the purchase of poetry books and to support literary programs. The second and third place students will each receive $500, with $1,000 for his or her school. The State Champion of the Poetry Out Loud Nevada final will receive an all expenses-paid trip (with a chaperone) to compete in the National Finals in Washington, DC, on May 16, 2006. The Poetry Out Loud National Finals will award a total of $50,000 in scholarships and school stipends, with a $20,000 college scholarship for the Poetry Out Loud National Champion. Similar to the National Spelling Bee structure, the student semi-finalists participated in workshops and school-wide and district competitions to prepare for this event. More than 250,000 students across the country are expected to take part in Poetry Out Loud this year. Contestants recited works they selected from an anthology of more than 400 classic and contemporary poems. The NEA and Poetry Foundation created a standards-based teacher’s guide, a comprehensive website, and a CD featuring poetry recitations by well-known actors and writers such as Anthony Hopkins, Alyssa Milano, N. Scott Momaday and Rita Dove. “Nevada’s semi-finalists have worked hard these past months. Their ability to bring such a wide variety of poems to life in front of an audience and in a competition setting is a talent to be admired and applauded,” said Susan Boskoff, administrator of the Nevada Arts Council. Nevada Poetry Out Loud finalists are: Gibran Baydoun, senior, Green Valley High School, Clark County Jacob Behymer-Smith, freshman, Coral Academy of Science, Washoe County Daren Briones, freshman, Lowry High School, Humboldt County Steven Christie, senior, Churchill County High School, Churchill County Charito Cooper, freshman, Fernley High School, Lyon County Alicia Freeman, junior, Carson High School, Carson City J.D. Hibbs, senior, White Pine High School, White Pine County Hillary Murphy, sophomore, Elko High School, Elko County Jon McMaster, sophomore, Battle Mountain High School, Lander County Molly McGregor, sophomore, Virginia City High School, Storey County OXS EXHIBIT AT THE CARSON CITY OFFICE – Tara Cuthbert's photographs are featured at the OXS-Office eXhbition Series Gallery from April 14-June 9, 2006. Miniature Worlds: Memories and Myth is an ongoing narrative based around a fictional Traveling Variety Show. Each image is a silver gelatin print, which has been hand-sewn and colored. Images from three photographic series are represented in this exhibition. This ongoing series have been exhibited with the Santa Fe Center for Photography, Woodstock Center for Photography and Houston Center for Photography. To download an image and artist statement, click here. NAC Hires aN Administrative Assistant II – Lisa Boldman has transferred from the Division of State Lands to fill the Administrative Assistant II position at the Carson City office. She has been a resident of Nevada for the past 20 years and has a broad range of experience in administration in the private sector. Boldman worked as the NAC Interim Grants Program Coordinator and helped with various programs within the agency. She has a strong love and understanding of the importance of the arts in our culture so is a wonderful addition to the NAC staff. NAC Grant Compliance – NAC Grants Program and Arts in Education Program grantees need to be aware of the following grant requirements: Final Payment NAC retains 10% of some grant categories until the end of the fiscal year in case of state or federal budget cuts. If 10% of your grant has been held back, it will be paid ONLY IF all required and fully completed paperwork has been submitted no later than 45 days after the end of your project, and no funding cuts have been implemented. There are no exceptions to this rule. Therefore you will forfeit your 10% final payment if you do not submit your final paperwork within the 45 day limit. See the next paragraph about eligibility for continued NAC funding. Non-Compliance To be in compliance with the requirements outlined in your Grants Management Document and eligible for NAC funding, grantees must be up-to-date in filing all required paperwork, including the Final Report Form and letters to elected officials. Therefore, all required documents must be fully completed and filed by a grantee by June 30 of the present fiscal year to receive any new NAC grants or funding (from any program) during the next fiscal year. The only exception to this rule is if your funded project occurs in June, then you have 45 days after the end of your project or until July 31 (whichever is earliest) to submit your Final Report Form required paperwork and, if applicable, your final 10% payment. Temporary Location of NAC's Southern Office – The Nevada Arts Council has temporarily relocated its southern office in the Nevada State Museum and Historical Society at Lorenzi Park, 700 Twin Lakes Drive, Las Vegas. Constituents can leave phone messages at 702.486.3700. Office hours are 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Nevada Institution

Nevada State College is the newest public, four-year college in Nevada. Its focus is baccalaureate degrees; and its faculty's priority is teaching. The core curriculum is aimed at meeting current critical labor shortages in Nevada - qualified teachers and nurses, as well as offering a strong liberal arts program.

Internet: http://www.nsc.nevada.edu

A somewhat lighter shade of black penetrates my languid waking mind. The scent of turgid moist air, earthy and rich with the promise of drink arouses first a thirst, yet slowly a hunger. Not for food do I stretch and sit up nose to the wind. Coarse hatching rippling beneath one hand run down my legs a reminder of the days to do list: water, willows to roof enclosure, several bundles of bunch grass for new sleeping mat. Need whetting an appetite for activity.

The gloaming horizon cutting matt black earth from the shroud of stars and mist, opens the trackless high plains to my sight. A sinuous dragon comprised of ashen grey scales through deepest sable slippered feet descends to the foot of the hills. Listening to the not quite silent fog tiptoe across the dappled green carpet of brush I ponder the footfalls. Foliage awakening in the dewy swath sound their thanks to this cold life affirmance with innumerable yawning stretches and combined with a pelting of the forlorn desert floor with insupportable condensation, an illusion is completed within the mind.

Through a window left between two yuccas, I can see sun brightened red bands of rock more clearly than the ephemeral dun hilltops west and somewhat south of my enclosure. Whispering dryly against my knees as I change position for a greater view, the laboriously portaged sand chaffs. Sitting quiet, still and vigilant I await the chatter, hopping and fuss of my neighbors return from the springs. Soon the fat brown chatterboxes jump bush to bush into then out of my line of sight.

Waiting patiently for both the bright fire from the king of heaven to arrive at and the last tattlers to leave the springs my cold stiffened husk has time to absorb its meal of morning. First golden, the dawn seeps inside of me while I soak up the suns color leaving only shades of silver for the day. Thoroughly sated with dawns warmth I prepare my satchel: digging stick, machete, cordage for snares, empty water skins, lunch, and bedroll in case I stay the night at the springs.

Whirling into my enclosure from behind me the newborn days first Dust devil makes its gritty unwelcome presence known. Uninvited guests such as this help focus attention to the deficiency of my desert abode. A circle of Yuccas 2 yards in diameter with the infrequent gaps closed by the trunks of their fallen kin. A level floor of sand brought from the bend of a nearby dry wash compliment a sophisticated bed of volcanic stones, heated in my evening fire, buried in a shallow depression then covered with sand and lastly the aforementioned coarse woven mat.

To complete the structure my trip to the springs will secure a healthy supply of willows, long, supple, and strong. A wickiup, something like a domed tent in the middle of the natural desert house is made by lashing the poles together forming the framework to which bunch grass will be thatched. By far the longest of this natural textile is located near the springs providing a mat my ancestors would be proud to find still in use. Or at least they would recognize the thing, as my skill with weaving can be described politely as lacking a certain finish.

Along the washes cut into the foothills I breakfast on sego lillys and cakes made from dried ground rabbit meat mixed with wild currants and some fat. A wet crisp flavor something like apple crossed to a potato, the sego has a root ball some 6-8 inches below ground. Pemican is the pre-Columbian equivalent to an energy bar, and almost every fruit that dries well has been used in conjunction with: deer, elk, ground hog (called yahaa) or any meat that grinds well dry. Standing in for coffee dandelion root taken from as far as 2 feet deep washed roasted and brewed has a flavor liked or hated without mediation.

Gold from the king of heaven sucked up so greedily at dawn begins weighing on me under the clear silver pouring steadily across the trackless plateau. Shimmering clearly, yet obscuring distant hills with a palpable life, wavy strands dance in procession guiding me directly toward shade. Hiding beneath a juniper sentinel farther down the desert floor than others would dare grow, from the pressure of a daytime sun, my nose tastes the musk of impending water mixed with loam.

Soon the cooler bluff against the Spring Mountains will shelter me from the worst of the silver fire threatening to consume those who brave its dire weight, not just threatening actually killing people not prepared to endure the scrutiny of the king. Jaybird Springs, holding court in the shade of Sterling peak is attended by game birds, rabbits, and the occasional entourage of burros all on urgent business of their own, namely watter. Most such springs in the range run part of the year then dry up during the hottest and naturally the worst time, while my benefactor flows year round.

Loosening my burden under a pinion pine umbrella, I sip cool relief from the canteen brought along for just such occasions. Willows in stacks, and grass in bundles wetted from my brow await the night trek down to the flats and home.

Hi Everyone

We have a protest planned against the June 2nd Divine Strake military bomb outside of Las Vegas. As of now we will gather on the street behind the Venetian on Koval Lane around 9am-10am. Bush is expected to arrive at this back entrance at around 11am. So we need to get people out for those several hours.
I will send out info regarding a local community forum led by Tony Guzman of Citizen Alert to discuss the implications of this test and how we can protest or even stop it.

Peace,
Sharose

The Department of Energy is readying the Nevada Test Site for a large-scale, open-air, high explosive detonation on a tunnel complex. The Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), the DOE customer which is conducting the test, is stressing that the test is not a nuclear blast and the Russian government reportedly has been notified to avoid misunderstanding about the event. "The test is aimed at determining how well a massive conventional bomb would perform against fortified underground targets," the Washington Post reported on March 31st.

No one - with the notable exception of Andrew Lichterman and John Fleck who first reported on this - seems to have tried to dig deeper than the press release from DTRA. I too have monitored the preparations for Divine Strake; It is much more than was reported (for media reports about Divine Strake after publication of this Nuclear Brief, click here).

Divine Strake is neither a bomb nor conventional. Instead, the test is a detonation of a pile of chemical explosives to simulate a "low-yield nuclear weapon ground shock" effect to "improve the warfighter’s confidence in selecting the smallest proper nuclear yield necessary to destroy underground facilities while minimizing collateral damage."

Divine Strake, moreover, is an integral part of STRATCOM's new Global Strike mission, which is otherwise said to provide mainly non-nuclear means of defeating time-critical targets. Divine Strake is the first nuclear effects simulation of this kind against underground targets since President George W. Bush in Summer 2004 directed STRATCOM to "extend Global Strike to counter all HDBTs [Hard and Deeply Buried Targets] to include both tactical and strategic adversarial targets." (see guidance overview here)

Update April 4, 2006:

Here is DTRA's confirmation: "Yes, the event described is Divine Strake. Better predictive tools will reduce the uncertainties involved with defeating very hard targets, and therefore reduce the need for higher yield weapons to overcome those uncertainties. There are no nuclear tests planned or desired."

DTRA Public Affairs, email to Hans Kristensen, 4/3/2006 6:06 PM

The Divine Strake Event

Divine Strake was approved in 2002 as part of the congressionally authorized DOD FY2002 Tunnel Target Defeat Advanced Concept and Technology Demonstration (ACTD). Since then, DTRA has prepared for the event under its Counterforce program. DTRA confirmed today that Divine Strake is the event described in the budget documents. The DTRA counterforce RDT&E (Research, Development, Testing and Engineering) budget for FY2006 described the experiment this way:

"Conduct the Tunnel Target Defeat Advanced Concept and Technology Demonstration(s) (ACTD) Full-Scale tunnel defeat demonstration using high explosives to simulate a low yield nuclear weapon ground shock environment at Department of Energy's Nevada Test Site."

The Divine Strake event involves placing high explosives on the surface similarly to the Misers Gold experiment in 1989. Source: DTRA

The reference to low-yield nuclear weapons was omitted from the section in the FY2007 budget request, which instead describes the event like this: "Conduct the Tunnel Target Defeat ACTD large-scale tunnel defeat demonstration using high explosives to produce the desired ground shock environment at the Department of Energy's Nevada Test Site." Yet the nuclear reference is used elsewhere in the FY2007 budget:

"The Tunnel Target Defeat ACTD will develop a planning tool that will improve the warfighter’s confidence in selecting the smallest proper nuclear yield necessary to destroy underground facilities while minimizing collateral damage."

Divine Strake reflects a concern in the Pentagon over what is said to be an increasing number of a underground facilities in potentially hostile countries. The 2001 Nuclear Posture Review warned that the existing B61-11 nuclear earth-penetrator does not have sufficient capability against certain deeply buried targets. The Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator was supposed to provide additional capability, but Congress has refused to fund the weapon due to concern that it could lower the nuclear threshold.

The U16B tunnel shown in a 3D simulation of a 10 kt nuclear agent defeat experiment conducted by Los Alamos in 2004. Source: LANL

Divine Stake is not an RNEP-type experiment because it simulates the use of a very low-yield nuclear weapon against an relatively shallow underground target. Divine Strake follows a previous 3D computer simulation conducted by scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory in 2004, which examined the use of a 10 kt nuclear detonation inside the U16B tunnel as an agent defeat weapon. The experiment concluded that the relatively large yield was necessary for radiation to penetrate through the entire length of the tunnel "indicating that such yields might be necessary to guarantee agent destruction stored inside large tunnel complexes."

Divine Strake, in contrast, does not simulate agent defeat destruction but simply envisions using the explosive yield of a small nuclear weapon to destroy or severely damage and underground structure. Also important is that the simulation is not directed against the tunnel entrances, but involves detonating the explosives on top of the surface above the tunnel.

The Divine Strake explosion is half as powerful as the lowest yield option of the B61 nuclear gravity bomb. Source: SNL

The contract for collecting the seismo-acoustic data from Divine Strake was awarded to Southern Methodist University on March 16, 2006.

The "Weapon"

Contrary to most of the media reports, Divine Strake is not testing a conventional bomb but simply detonates a huge pile (700 tons) of Ammonium Nitrate and Fuel Oil (ANFO). For comparison, the largest conventional weapon in the U.S. inventory is the MOAB (Massive Ordnance Air Blast) bomb, which contains nearly nine tons of explosives with a yield of approximately 0.012 kt TNT.

The explosive power of Divine Strake will be approximately 593 tons of TNT equivalent, or roughly 0.6 kt. This is about double the lowest yield option on the non-strategic B61 nuclear gravity bomb, and suggests that Divine Strake may be intended to fine-tune use of the B61 bomb. There are three modifications of the non-strategic B61 bomb in the U.S. stockpile with yields ranging from 0.3 kt to 170 kt.

Of course the real problem is detonating anything of any size within miles of Yucca Flats. Conventional or otherwise the clouds of dirt contaminated by the above ground nuclear tests that are going to be thrown into the sky must come down somewhere. Guarantying that Americans will be exposed to the radioactive fallout of our tests and claiming that it's being done to safeguard us from Iran is irresponsible especially in the absence of proof!

"Airblast from Underground Explosions Philip Hookham, Titan Research

Two- and three-dimensional computational fluid and solid dynamics calculations were performed to predict the airblast and dust environment for the DIVINE STRAKE high explosive field test. The DIVINE STRAKE test is planned to be a large-yield, buried burst detonated at the Nevada Test Site. The early-time airblast, crater formation, and ejecta environment were calculated using the two-dimensional CRALE code. This solution was then overlayed onto two- and three-dimensional MAZe code computational meshes. The MAZe calculations simulated the airblast environment as well as the propagation of the dusty environment produced by the ejecta and subsequent dust sweep-up. The airblast environment will be compared to test measurements when they become available, while the predicted dust environment will be used to aid in planning of the test."

I quoted the entire text to show the selections in context. It is from www.saviac.org and indicates that the government already knows that glow in the dark leftovers will be served in the days after the test.

Global warming

Abstract: Global warming is a key threat to biodiversity, but few researchers have assessed the magnitude of this threat at the global scale. We used major vegetation types (biomes) as proxies for natural habitats and, based on projected future biome distributions under doubled-CO₂ climates, calculated changes in habitat areas and associated extinctions of endemic plant and vertebrate species in biodiversity hotspots. Because of numerous uncertainties in this approach, we undertook a sensitivity analysis of multiple factors that included (1) two global vegetation models, (2) different numbers of biome classes in our biome classification schemes, (3) different assumptions about whether species distributions were biome specific or not, and (4) different migration capabilities. Extinctions were calculated using both species-area and endemic-area relationships. In addition, average required migration rates were calculated for each hotspot assuming a doubled-CO₂ climate in 100 years. Projected percent extinctions ranged from <1 onclick="highlight()" class="searchTerm0">global vegetation model and then by migration and biome classification assumptions. Bootstrap comparisons indicated that effects on hotpots as a group were not significantly different from effects on random same-biome collections of grid cells with respect to biome change or migration rates; in some scenarios, however, hotspots exhibited relatively high biome change and low migration rates. Especially vulnerable hotspots were the Cape Floristic Region, Caribbean, Indo-Burma, Mediterranean Basin, Southwest Australia, and Tropical Andes, where plant extinctions per hotspot sometimes exceeded 2000 species. Under the assumption that projected habitat changes were attained in 100 years, estimated global-warming-induced rates of species extinctions in tropical hotspots in some cases exceeded those due to deforestation, supporting suggestions that global warming is one of the most serious threats to the planet's biodiversity.

Calentamiento Global y Extinciones de Especies Endémicas en Sitios de Importancia para la Biodiversidad

Resumen: El calentamiento global es una amenaza clave para la biodiversidad, pero pocos investigadores han evaluado la magnitud de esta amenaza a escala global. Utilizamos los principales tipos de vegetación (biomas) como hábitats naturales y, con base en la proyección de la distribución futura de los biomas en condiciones de climas con el doble de CO₂, calculamos los cambios en la superficie de los hábitats y las extinciones de especies de plantas y animales endémicas en sitios de importancia para la biodiversidad. Debido a numerosas incertidumbres en este método, realizamos un análisis de sensibilidad de factores múltiples que incluyó (1) dos modelos de vegetación global; (2) diferentes números de clases de biomas en nuestros esquemas de clasificación de biomas; (3) suposiciones diferentes sobre si la distribución de especies era específica de un bioma o no y (4) diferentes capacidades de migración. Las extinciones fueron calculadas utilizando tanto relaciones especies- como endémico-área. Adicionalmente, se calcularon tasas promedio de migración requeridas para cada sitio de importancia para la biodiversidad asumiendo un clima con el doble de CO₂ en 100 años. Las extinciones proyectadas variaron entre <1 onclick="highlight()" class="searchTerm0">global y luego por las suposiciones de migración y clasificación de los biomas. Las comparaciones bootstrap indicaron que los efectos sobre los sitios de importancia para la biodiversidad como grupo no fueron significativamente diferentes de los efectos sobre colecciones de celdas aleatorias del mismo bioma con respecto al cambio de bioma o de tasas de migración; sin embargo, en algunos escenarios los sitios de importancia para la biodiversidad mostraron cambio de bioma relativamente alto y tasas de migración relativamente bajas. Los sitios de importancia para la biodiversidad especialmente vulnerables fueron la Región Florística del Cabo, Caribe, Indo-Burma, Cuenca del Mediterráneo, Suroeste de Australia y los Andes Tropicales, donde las extinciones de plantas por sitio algunas veces excedieron 2000 especies. Bajo la suposición de que los cambios de hábitat proyectados se obtuvieron en 100 años, las tasas estimadas de extinción inducida por calentamiento global en sitios de importancia para la biodiversidad tropicales en algunos casos excedieron a las inducidas por la deforestación, lo que soporta las sugerencias de que el calentamiento global es una de las amenazas más serias a la biodiversidad del planeta.

Paper submitted March 9, 2004; revised manuscript accepted October 20, 2005.

Affiliations

*Faculty of Forestry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, M5S 3B3, Canada†Department of Ecosystem Management, University of New England, Armidale, NSW 2351, Australia‡USDA Forest Service, Forestry Sciences Laboratory, 3200 S.W. Jefferson Way, Corvallis, OR 97331, U.S.A.§Climate Change Program, World Wildlife Fund, 1250 24th Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20037-1175, U.S.A.**Center for Applied Biodiversity Science, Conservation International, 1919 M Street NW, Suite 600, Washington, D.C. 20036, U.S.A.

Correspondence

††emailjay.malcolm@utoronto.ca

To cite this article MALCOLM, JAY R., LIU, CANRAN, NEILSON, RONALD P., HANSEN, LARA & HANNAH, LEE (2006) Global Warming and Extinctions of Endemic Species from Biodiversity Hotspots. Conservation Biology 20 (2), 538-548. doi: 10.1111/ j.1523-1739.2006.00364.x