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Topic: Pluto in Cap, the climate, ecology and environment topic (Read 145352 times)
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Re: Pluto in Cap, the climate, ecology and environment topic
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Apr 06, 2013, 07:28 AM »
The Christian Science Monitor
Face-sized tarantula lives in trees in Sri Lanka
Face-sized tarantula: With a leg span of up to 8 inches across, the Poecilotheria rajaei, is one of the larger species of tarantula.
By Eoin O'Carroll, Staff / April 4, 2013 at 3:31 pm EDT
Wired reports on what may be a new species of tarantula in Northern Sri Lanka, and it's unlikely to be appearing on the island nation's tourism materials any time soon.
Writer Nadia Drake describes the tree-dwelling Poecilotheria rajaei as "about the size of your face" – the human face apparently being a standard metric for tarantula sizes – and notes that it has a pink band on its underside.
The spider was first discovered in 2009, by Ranil Nanayakkara, co-founder of Sri Lanka's Biodiversity Education and Research.
"They are quite rare," Nanayakkara told Wired. "They prefer well-established old trees, but due to deforestation the number have dwindled, and due to lack of suitable habitat they enter old buildings."
As huge as P. rajaei is, it's not actually the world's biggest tarantula. That distinction goes to Theraphosa blondi, the Goliath birdeater, a burrowing spider native to the rainforests of northern South America. These spiders have a leg span of up to 12 inches – or 1.5 faces.
The Goliath birdeater is the world's second largest spider by leg span, and might be the largest by mass. The cave-dwelling giant huntsman spider, Heteropoda maxima, discovered in Laos in 2001, has a leg span that is slightly longer than that of the birdeater.
For what it's worth, the world's smallest spider is the Patu marplesi, a species native to Western Samoa. According to the Guinness Book of World records, It measures 0.017 inches. You could fit about 470 of them on your face, if you felt so inclined.
But back to the Sri Lankan tarantula. Researchers are not completely certain that it represents a new species. Wired's Drake spoke with Robert Raven, an arachnologist at the Queensland Museum in Australia, who suspects that it very well could be a local variant of a related species. She notes that the spider closely resembles Poecilotheria regalis, a species native to the Indian mainland. We won't know until DNA samples are taken.
Ms. Drake writes that the spider's discoverer "hints that he's got several more potential new tarantulas up his sleeve, awaiting review." Let's hope that she didn't mean that literally.
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Re: Pluto in Cap, the climate, ecology and environment topic
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Apr 06, 2013, 07:31 AM »
Zoo to build power plant that uses panda poop to produce electricity
By Agence France-Presse
Friday, April 5, 2013 17:00 EDT
Not content with housing a pair of celebrity pandas that attract hordes of avid onlookers, a zoo in France has decided to put their droppings to good use by recycling them into gas and electricity.
Yuan Zi and Huan Huan — "Chubby" and "Happy" in Chinese — arrived at Beauval zoo in central France in January last year, on loan from China for 10 years at a cost of around a million dollars a year.
The zoo announced Friday it would build a facility that would process the dung of the two pandas and of other animals, as well as plant matter, to produce biogas that will then be turned into heat and electricity.
The plant, which will cost 2.3 million euros ($3 million), is expected to be operative in the spring of 2014.
Some of the energy produced will be used to keep gorillas and manatees — also known as sea cows — warm in their pens, and to heat the building that houses elephants in the winter, allowing a 40 percent saving on the gas bill.
The rest will be transformed into electricity and sold to French power giant EDF.
"This initiative is a perfect fit in the policy of sustainable development that we have been applying for a long time," said Delphine Delord, spokeswoman for the zoo.
Pandas are an endangered species and only about 1,600 remain in the wild in China.
Some 300 others are in captivity worldwide — mostly in China, but also in 15 foreign zoos where they are sent as part of Beijing's efforts to use soft power to boost its image, the so-called "panda diplomacy."
They eat 35 kilos (78 pounds) of bamboo a day and defecate about 30 kilos a day, making them prime candidates for this green initiative.
Beauval zoo has a total of 4,600 animals and attracted some one million visitors last year.
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Re: Pluto in Cap, the climate, ecology and environment topic
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Apr 07, 2013, 06:21 AM »
Video: A Boom with No Boundaries
By Andrew Satter and Jessica Goad | April 2, 2013
The Bakken oil boom in North Dakota has brought much-needed jobs and economic development to the region. But the fast pace of the drilling has caused many problems, including industrial-scale impacts on Theodore Roosevelt National Park and the land surrounding it.
"A Boom With No Boundaries" explores how one of America's 59 national parks is already being affected by the pollution, traffic, and noise associated with oil and gas drilling. And this is only the beginning of the problems, as drilling continues to ramp up on the public lands managed by the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management around the park. This video recommends that the oil and gas industry and the Obama administration slow down and take measures to protect the national park's resources. If they don't, this special treasure—once the home to our greatest conservation president, Theodore Roosevelt—will be irrevocably damaged.
The story of the assault on Theodore Roosevelt National Park is only one example of how energy development and land conservation are out of balance on our public lands. Over the past four years, the Obama administration has leased two-and-a-half times more acres of public lands to oil and gas companies than it has permanently protected. It's time for the administration to put policies that protect and conserve our public lands and national parks for future generations on equal ground with policies that promote more oil and gas drilling.
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Re: Pluto in Cap, the climate, ecology and environment topic
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Apr 07, 2013, 08:18 AM »
April 6, 2013
Taping of Farm Cruelty Is Becoming the Crime
By RICHARD A. OPPEL Jr.
On one covert video, farm workers illegally burn the ankles of Tennessee walking horses with chemicals. Another captures workers in Wyoming punching and kicking pigs and flinging piglets into the air. And at one of the country's largest egg suppliers, a video shows hens caged alongside rotting bird corpses, while workers burn and snap off the beaks of young chicks.
Each video — all shot in the last two years by undercover animal rights activists — drew a swift response: Federal prosecutors in Tennessee charged the horse trainer and other workers, who have pleaded guilty, with violating the Horse Protection Act. Local authorities in Wyoming charged nine farm employees with cruelty to animals. And the egg supplier, which operates in Iowa and other states, lost one of its biggest customers, McDonald's, which said the video played a part in its decision.
But a dozen or so state legislatures have had a different reaction: They proposed or enacted bills that would make it illegal to covertly videotape livestock farms, or apply for a job at one without disclosing ties to animal rights groups. They have also drafted measures to require such videos to be given to the authorities almost immediately, which activists say would thwart any meaningful undercover investigation of large factory farms.
Critics call them "Ag-Gag" bills.
Some of the legislation appears inspired by the American Legislative Exchange Council, a business advocacy group with hundreds of state representatives from farm states as members. The group creates model bills, drafted by lobbyists and lawmakers, that in the past have included such things as "stand your ground" gun laws and tighter voter identification rules.
One of the group's model bills, "The Animal and Ecological Terrorism Act," prohibits filming or taking pictures on livestock farms to "defame the facility or its owner." Violators would be placed on a "terrorist registry."
Officials from the group did not respond to a request for comment.
Animal rights activists say they have not seen legislation that would require them to register as terrorists, but they say other measures — including laws passed last year in Iowa, Utah and Missouri — make it nearly impossible to produce similar undercover exposés. Some groups say that they have curtailed activism in those states.
"It definitely has had a chilling effect on our ability to conduct undercover investigations," said Vandhana Bala, general counsel for Mercy for Animals, which has shot many videos, including the egg-farm investigation in 2011. (McDonald's said that video showed "disturbing and completely unacceptable" behavior, but that none of the online clips were from the Iowa farm that supplied its eggs. Ms. Bala, though, said that some video showing bird carcasses in cages did come from that facility.)
The American Farm Bureau Federation, which lobbies for the agricultural and meat industries, criticized the mistreatment seen on some videos. But the group cautions that some methods represent best practices endorsed by animal-care experts.
The videos may seem troubling to someone unfamiliar with farming, said Kelli Ludlum, the group's director of Congressional relations, but they can be like seeing open-heart surgery for the first time.
"They could be performing a perfect procedure, but you would consider it abhorrent that they were cutting a person open," she said.
In coming weeks, Indiana and Tennessee are expected to vote on similar measures, while states from California to Pennsylvania continue to debate them.
Opponents have scored some recent victories, as a handful of bills have died, including those in New Mexico and New Hampshire. In Wyoming, the legislation stalled after loud opposition from animal rights advocates, including Bob Barker, former host of "The Price is Right."
In Indiana, an expansive bill became one of the most controversial of the state legislative session, drawing heated opposition from labor groups and the state press association, which said the measure violated the First Amendment.
After numerous constitutional objections, the bill was redrafted and will be unveiled Monday, said Greg Steuerwald, a Republican state representative and chairman of the Judiciary Committee.
The new bill would require job applicants to disclose material information or face criminal penalties, a provision that opponents say would prevent undercover operatives from obtaining employment. And employees who do something beyond the scope of their jobs could be charged with criminal trespass.
An employee who took a video on a livestock farm with his phone and gave it to someone else would "probably" run afoul of the proposed law, Mr. Steuerwald said. The bill will apply not just to farms, but to all employers, he added.
Nancy J. Guyott, the president of the Indiana chapter of the A.F.L.-C.I.O., said she feared that the legislation would punish whistle-blowers.
Nationally, animal rights advocates fear that they will lose a valuable tool that fills the void of what they say is weak or nonexistent regulation.
Livestock companies say that their businesses have suffered financially from unfair videos that are less about protecting animals than persuading consumers to stop eating meat.
Don Lehe, a Republican state representative from a rural district in Indiana, said online videos can cast farmers in a false light and give them little opportunity to correct the record.
"That property owner is essentially guilty before they had the chance to address the issue," Mr. Lehe said.
As for whistle-blowers, advocates for the meat industry say that they are protected from prosecution by provisions in some bills that give them 24 to 48 hours to turn over videos to legal authorities.
"If an abuse has occurred and they have evidence of it, why are they holding on to it?" said Dale Moore, executive director of public policy for the American Farm Bureau Federation.
But animal rights groups say investigations take months to complete.
Undercover workers cannot document a pattern of abuse, gather enough evidence to force a government investigation and determine whether managers condone the abuse within one to two days, said Matt Dominguez, who works on farm animal protection at the Humane Society of the United States.
"Instead of working to prevent future abuses, the factory farms want to silence them," he said. "What they really want is for the whistle to be blown on the whistle-blower."
The Humane Society was responsible for a number of undercover investigations, including the videos of the Wyoming pig farm and the Tennessee walking horses.
Video shot in 2011 showed workers dripping caustic chemicals onto the horses' ankles and clasping metal chains onto the injured tissue. This illegal and excruciating technique, known as "soring," forces the horse to thrust its front legs forward after every painful step to exaggerate the distinctive high-stepping gait favored by breeders. The video also showed a worker hitting a horse in the head with a large piece of wood.
The Humane Society first voluntarily turned over the video to law enforcement. By the time the video was publicly disclosed, federal prosecutors had filed charges. A week later, they announced guilty pleas from the horse trainer and other workers.
Prosecutors later credited the Humane Society with prompting the federal investigation and establishing "evidence instrumental to the case."
That aid to prosecutors shows the importance of lengthy undercover investigations that would be prevented by laws requiring video to be turned over within one or two days, Mr. Dominguez said.
"At the first sign of animal cruelty, we'd have to pull our investigator out, and we wouldn't be able to build a case that leads to charges."
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Re: Pluto in Cap, the climate, ecology and environment topic
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Apr 08, 2013, 06:06 AM »
April 07, 2013 07:00 PM
Exxon Spills Chemicals in Louisiana While Cleaning Up Oil in Arkansas
By Diane Sweet
Occupy America
The Mayflower, Arkansas oil spill continues to be the source of questions about the long-term health, environmental and financial consequences for residents in a town the state's attorney general described as a scene out of "The Walking Dead."
And even as Exxon was cleans up after its tar-sands oil spill in Mayflower, Arkansas on Wednesday -- and threatening to have reporters arrested -- it spilled an unknown amount of unknown chemicals, possibly hydrogen sulfide and cancer-causing benzene during an accident at the Chalmette refinery in Louisiana.
From The Times-Picayune:
ExxonMobil first reported releasing 100 pounds of hydrogen sulfide and 10 pounds of benzene, a volatile organic carbon compound known to cause cancer, because those amounts are the minimum required for reporting, [Coast Guard Petty Officer Jason] Screws said. But the company has since said it is unsure exactly what chemicals were involved or how much may have been released, he said.
The spill occurred as a result of a break in a pipeline connecting a drum used to store "liquid flare condensate," with a flare on the refinery site, Screws said. He said the company measured 160 parts per million of hydrogen sulfide and 2 parts per million of benzene in the air at the site of the spill, but has not seen similar readings at the plant's fence line or in the neighboring community.
Area residents breathed in the chemicals caused by the spill for over a day, leading to reports of breathing difficulties and other ailments. But the Coast Guard told them not to worry because everything was just fine.
"We haven't told the refinery to shut down because we haven't any cause for a shutdown," Zeteza said. "We've no indication that this is dangerous."
The "safety" record of the Louisiana refinery sounds horrid and includes a 36-barrel spill in January, and 10 incidents in which it violated the pollution limits, including an outage caused by Hurricane Isaac during the last 6 months of 2012.
Not too surprising, but the size of the Exxon tar sands disaster in Arkansas grew by thousands of barrels on Friday.
From InsideClimate News:
Since ExxonMobil's Pegasus pipeline ruptured and leaked Canadian oil across an Arkansas suburb a week ago, the company has maintained that only "a few thousand barrels" spilled at the site.
"We've had no reason to change that at this stage," Exxon spokesman Charles Engelmann told InsideClimate News on Friday.
Reports posted online by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimate the spill even higher—at 4,000 to 7,000 barrels—as much as 40 percent more.
Austin Vela, the EPA spokesman at the spill site, said the agency stands by its 4,000 to 7,000 barrel estimate. When asked why those higher numbers aren't being included in the daily press releases issued by the joint command of the cleanup operation, Vela did not respond. The joint command includes five EPA employees as well as ExxonMobil officials.
An update to the article notes that after it was published, Exxon Mobil updated the joint command incident report for Friday, and it now states that approximately 5,000 barrels of oil spilled in Mayflower.
For some perspective on the size of this mess, the report notes that if the EPA's highest estimate of 7,000 barrels is correct, that would make this spill about one-third the size of the Enbridge spill in Michigan's 2010 dilbit disaster.
Exxon is still keeping tight control of the command center even though the EPA is the designated on-scene coordinator. An employee of the oil giant threatened to have InsideClimate News reporter Lisa Song with arrested after she went to the command center in an effort to contact the EPA and Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) employees who are working there.
Activists claim Arkansas oil spill diverted into wetland
By Stephen C. Webster
Sunday, April 7, 2013 16:59 EDT
Activists with the group Tar Sands Blockade published new videos on Sunday showing oil from the Arkansas pipeline rupture purportedly diverted from a residential neighborhood into a wetland area to keep it out sight and, most importantly, out of the media.
While it's not clear if the oil was intentionally moved into the wetland, the company says it is cleaning pavement with power washing devices, which could cause some of the oil to be pushed off neighborhood streets and into other areas.
Activists also interviewed a local resident who claimed the oil has continued "flowing" into Lake Conway since the spill happened.
A letter sent by ExxonMobil to residents of Mayflower on March 31 claims the oil did not reach Lake Conway.
"I don't have allergies," a man who lives on Lake Conway told tar sands activists. "But now my sinuses are bothering me. My throat's bothering me. My eyes water constantly. But they [Exxon] act like nothing's wrong. They don't have to live here, we do. And we're not moving just because of them."
The activists noted that they were turned away from the area several times before by police and Exxon spill cleanup workers, but they returned on Saturday just before sundown and managed to sneak in to capture footage of the oiled wetlands. In two separate videos, nearby residents say they've been made sick my the spill, which has tremendously affected their air quality.
This footage has largely remained out of the media due to the lockdown that's descended upon Mayflower nearly a week since the spill. Reporters touring the damage with Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel were allegedly turned away by Exxon workers. One journalist, InsideClimate News's Susan White, was even threatened with arrest when she asked a question of Exxon's "public affairs" desk inside the spill cleanup command center. The company has also secured a no-fly zone over the spill area.
Video of Lake Conway's wetlands shows thousands of what Exxon called "absorbent pads" — which appear to be nothing more than paper towels — littering the blackened landscape as thick, soupy crude bubbles across the water's surface. The company insists that air quality in the affected region is being measured by the Environmental Protection Agency, and that tests show "levels that are either non-detect or that are below any necessary action levels." Exxon also says that the area's drinking water remains unaffected.
A phone number given by Exxon to reach the company's "downstream media relations" team did not appear to be correct, and a spokesperson was not available for comment.
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Apr 08, 2013, 07:50 AM »
Kenya's Maasai keep lions at bay with solar power and ingenuity
Teenage Maasai cattle herder invents illuminated fence to prevent lions from preying on his father's livestock
David Smith, Africa correspondent
guardian.co.uk, Monday 8 April 2013 07.00 BST
When it came to keeping hungry lions at bay, an old-fashioned scarecrow just wasn't up to the job. So Richard Turere, a 13-year-old Maasai cattle herder, combined rudimentary technology with teenage ingenuity to find another way.
Turere is the inventor of "lion lights", a fence made of a car battery, solar panel and torch bulbs that ensures lions no longer dare touch his father's livestock. The young Kenyan has been lauded as an inspiration after giving a recent TED talk about his invention.
Turere lives in Kitengela on the edge of Nairobi national park. He told how wild animals that migrate from the park are pursued and killed by lions.
"My community, the Maasai, we believe that we came from heaven with all our animals and all the land for herding them, and that's why we value them so much," says Turere, who started herding his family's cattle when he was nine. "So I grew up hating lions so much. The morans are the warriors who protect our community and the livestock, and they're also upset about this problem. So they kill the lions … And I think this is why the Nairobi national park lions are few."
Turere said he tried various ideas for a more peaceful solution, such as a kerosene lamp and a scarecrow. "But lions are very clever. They will come the first day and they see the scarecrow, and they go back, but the second day, they'll come and they say, this thing is not moving here, it's always here. So he jumps in and kills the animals."
But, one night, Turere went to the cowshed with a torch and found that the lions stayed away. "I discovered that lions are afraid of a moving light."
The teenager – who has a knack for making things from scrapyard parts – bought a car battery, motorcycle indicator box, switches, torch bulbs and solar panel, and hooked them together. It worked, and now dozens of lion lights have been rigged up around Kenya.
As a consequence, Turere gained a scholarship to one of the country's top schools, delivered a TED talk in Longbeach, California, last month, and has ambitions to be an aircraft engineer and pilot when he grows up.
"I used to hate lions," he adds, "but now, because my invention is saving my father's cows and the lions, we are able to stay with the lions without any conflict."
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Apr 10, 2013, 07:02 AM »
Land desertification and drought causes up to $450 billion in lost farm output
By Agence France-Presse
Tuesday, April 9, 2013 15:41 EDT
Loss of land through desertification and drought costs up to five percent of world agricultural gross domestic product (AGDP), or some $450 billion (340 billion euros), every year, said a study presented at a UN conference Tuesday.
Each year an area roughly three times the size of Switzerland is lost through soil degradation, it said, as 870 million people suffer from chronic hunger.
Between four and 12 percent of Africa's AGDP is lost due to degraded land annually, and in Guatemala the figure is 24 percent, the report said.
In Uzbekistan, food yields have declined by 20-30 percent due to deteriorated land, while in East Africa nearly 3.7 million people need food assistance as a result of the drought of 2011, it said.
The study, a summary of published research, was presented at the opening of a four-day conference in Bonn of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).
It is the most detailed exploration of the economic cost of degraded and desertified land since 1992, the UNCCD said.
At that time, the direct annual cost was estimated at $42 billion.
"For current estimates, the best guess is $450 billion per year as a result of land degradation, drought and desertification and loss in fertile soil," said Walter Ammann, head of Global Risk Forum Davos, which promotes debate on issues of world risk.
"For example, Bangladesh is losing two percent of its fertile soil on an annual basis," Ammann said in a phone interview from the former West German capital.
"If you calculate this on a linear basis, then in 50 years' time, Bangladesh will have no fertile soil available."
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Apr 10, 2013, 07:50 AM »
Germany: 'Historic compromise on final nuclear waste storage site'
Der Tagesspiegel,
10 April 2013
The federal government and Germany's 16 states have reached agreement on a project to seek a site for a final deep-level nuclear waste storage dump.
A bill will shortly be introduced to propose an alternative to the hotly contested plan to use a salt dome at the Gorleben site in Lower Saxony, which is already Germany's main nuclear waste storage facility, amid criticism of the geoscientific arguments used to select Gorleben.
Exploration to find a site will be conducted "with full transparency and possible participation by citizens" at locations across Germany so as "to finally reach a consensus" said Winfried Kretschmann, the Green party Minister-President of the state of Baden-Württemberg.
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Apr 10, 2013, 07:52 AM »
April 9, 2013
In Crisis, Last Roundup for Horses in Spain Is the Slaughterhouse
By RAPHAEL MINDER
CHAPINERIA, Spain — Like his father and grandfather before him, Alberto Martín breeds horses, raising them on two farms, one of them here on the outskirts of Madrid. But even as a third-generation breeder, nothing in his experience had prepared him for times like these. Over the last two years, Mr. Martín says he has been forced to sell 50 of his 70 beloved mares for about $400 each. That is all the slaughterhouse would pay.
Some of the horses had cost him as much $24,000 when he bought them before 2008, the start of the financial crisis. But now, Mr. Martin said, ''it sadly makes more sense to sacrifice horses for close to zero money rather than continue to pay for their upkeep, knowing that nobody seems to want to buy horses anymore.''
"Breeding always has its difficulties," he added, "but I don't believe anybody in my family ever faced a crisis like this.'"
While a horse meat scandal has recently raised concern among European consumers over their food and its labeling, for breeders and others in this horse-loving country an altogether different kind of drama has unfolded — the increasing slaughter of horses that people either do not want or cannot afford.
Many were bought during Spain's real estate-led boom years, when owning a horse was seen by some buyers as a way to gain social status and join the ranks of Spain's landed gentry, without always considering the long-term maintenance costs. Now that the economic bubble has burst, many of those same buyers have been offloading horses, often for slaughter.
Other horses are simply abandoned, or killed illegally, animal right activists say, their carcasses dumped in remote areas and sometimes even beheaded in order to remove their identification microchip and avoid a possible fine. The police recently unearthed a horse cemetery in the hills near Algeciras that contained the unidentifiable remains of around 20 horses.
"Many people who suddenly became rich thanks to property then also went crazy about buying nice horses," said Miguel Alonso, a horse veterinarian. "The major difference is that you can at least shutter a house if the market then collapses, while a horse has to continue to be fed."
The crisis has had the unexpected effect of making Spain an increasingly prominent supplier of horse meat to the rest of the Continent. The number of horses killed in Spanish slaughterhouses has doubled since the start of the financial crisis, to 59,379 last year from 30,563 in 2008, according to Spain's Agriculture Ministry.
Most of that Spanish horse meat is exported to countries like France and Italy, where horse meat is a culinary tradition. Spanish horse meat exports rose six-fold in 2011, according to the most recent figures from the Agriculture Ministry. (Spain itself, with the exception of the eastern regions closest to France, has little use for horse meat.)
Spanish officials say that the slaughtering boom has increasingly claimed horses in their prime years, not just those one step from the proverbial glue factory, which is good if you plan to eat their meat. "There has been a move from slaughtering older to younger horses, so the quality of Spanish horse meat is also much higher than before,"said Luis Vázquez, head of the animal inspection department in Seville, Andalusia's capital.
The slaughtering has gathered pace particularly in the southern farming region of Andalusia, home to almost a third of the country's horses. In Andalusia alone, the slaughtering activity almost tripled last year, to 16,391 horses from 6,256 in 2011, according to data from the regional government.
Animal rights activists warn that the number of abandoned horses is also soaring. "There are hundreds of horses whose lives are under threat right now in Spain," said Virginia Solera, who works for Cyd Santa María, a Málaga-based association that rescues abandoned horses.
The statistics on slaughter understate the true magnitude of the problem, Ms. Solera and other activists said, because under Spanish law only horses that have been registered can be taken to a slaughterhouse. As in other sectors of Spain's economy, the activists claim that a sizeable part of the horse business is underground.
The Agriculture Ministry said that it had been clamping down on unregistered horses and ranches in recent years, leading to a rise of 14 percent in the official census of 2011, which registered 748,622 horses in Spain.
Still, Rafael Olvera, who is director general for livestock and agricultural production in Andalusia, argued that the rise in slaughtering should still be seen "a legitimate business decision that any owner can make." As for horses being abandoned, Mr. Olvera said, "There have been some cases, but not on the scale of a major scandal."
Mr. Martín, the breeder, would of course prefer to sell his horses to buyers interested in keeping and raising them. On Monday morning, he was busy grooming some of the horses that he keeps and has not managed to sell since the start of the crisis, including 8-year-old Farruco, who has been earmarked for dressage, and 6-year-old Gallo, a black stallion.
Mr. Martín said he had lowered the price for his horses on average by 60 percent in the past year. He is now asking $14,000 for Gallo, for instance, compared with an initial price tag of more than $30,000.
"It used to be so easy to find buyers that I had never bothered with any marketing," he said, "But now, even with plenty of advertising, I'm lucky if I can sell one horse a month."
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Re: Pluto in Cap, the climate, ecology and environment topic
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Apr 11, 2013, 06:11 AM »
Baby elephant rescued from well in India - video
A baby elephant calf is rescued from a well in a rubber plantation in Kerala, south India. Forest officials bring in a crane to break the side of the well down, enabling them to pull out the distressed animal. Vets say the elephant was injured during the ordeal, but would fully recover
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Apr 12, 2013, 06:53 AM »
Radiating Remnants: Nuclear Waste Barrels Litter English Channel
By Nicola Kuhrt
German journalists have discovered barrels of radioactive waste on the floor of the English Channel, just a handful of thousands dumped there decades ago. It was previously thought the material had dissipated. Now politicians are calling for the removal of the potentially harmful containers.
Some 28,500 containers of radioactive waste were dropped into the English Channel between 1950 and 1963. Experts have assumed that the containers had long since rusted open, spreading the radioactivity throughout the ocean and thus rendering it innocuous. But a new investigative report from the joint French-German public broadcaster ARTE has concluded that the waste is still intact at the bottom of the sea.
As part of an investigative report set to air on April 23, affiliated German public broadcaster SWR sent an unmanned, remote-controlled submarine into the canal's depths, where they discovered two nuclear waste barrels at a depth of 124 meters (406 feet) just kilometers from the French coast.
Jettisoned by both the British and the Belgians, the containers hold some of the estimated 17,224 metric tons of low-level radioactive waste dumped in the English Channel's underwater valley known as Hurd's Deep, just north of the isle of Alderney, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The British barrels are estimated to have contained 58 trillion becquerels (units of radioactivity), while the Belgian barrels held some 2.4 trillion bequerels. By way of comparison, the European Union's limit for drinking water is 10 becquerels per liter.
"We think that there are still many more undamaged barrels below," SWR journalist Thomas Reutter told SPIEGEL ONLINE, adding that it was very unlikely that the broadcaster's expedition uncovered the only intact containers in existence.
'High Potential for Danger'
In response to the discovery, members of Germany's environmentalist Green Party have called for the barrels to be removed from the channel, SWR reports. "I believe that at such shallow depths these barrels pose a high potential for danger," Green Party parliamentarian and nuclear policy spokesperson Sylvia Kotting-Uhl told the broadcaster. "And it's not for nothing that dumping in the ocean has been forbidden for 20 years."
Hartmut Nies, a German oceanic expert for the IAEA, is also in favor of removing the waste. "If it's not too complex, then of course they should be removed," he told SWR.
In response to a parliamentary inquiry from the Green Party in August 2012, entitled "Final Disposal Site Ocean Floor," the German federal government stated: "The Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH), as part of its radioactivity monitoring in the North Sea, regularly carries out monitoring runs, which went into the British Channel Most recently in August 2009. The monitoring data contained no indication of emissions from dumping areas."
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Re: Pluto in Cap, the climate, ecology and environment topic
Reply #401 on:
Apr 12, 2013, 06:55 AM »
Muddy Waters: Mining Legacy Pollutes East German Rivers
By Christoph Seidler
The Spree River region in Eastern Germany is a major tourist destination, known for its picturesque, meandering tributaries. But now tons of iron ochre flushed up from brown-coal pit mines are turning the river brown, killing plants and animals, and threatening to drive visitors away from its prime attraction.
The green club-tailed dragonflies are gone. Isabell Hiekel knows not to look for them anymore along the Wudritz, a tributary of the Spree River in eastern Germany. The majestic Ophiogomphus cecilia was once at home here, growing up to seven centimeters (2.75 inches) long. "They hide their larvae here along the riverbed for four years before they emerge" she says.
The freshwater ecologist works with the activist group Saubere Spree, or Clean Spree, fighting what has become a lethal danger to the rivers around the eastern German state of Brandenburg, just a short distance from Berlin. A fine brown sludge is filling them up, killing the wildlife, from dragonflies to fish and worms.
Now, emergency measures are to be implemented in hopes of saving the Spreewald, a popular tourist attraction and a UNESCO biosphere reserve that features a network of small channels meandering through the forested landscape. Populated by the Slavic Sorbs, it is a deeply traditional region where even the mail is delivered by boat.
The idyllic setting attracts some 1. 6 million overnight guests each year, not to mention countless day-trippers who enjoy the lazy rowboat trips and pickles the region is famous for. "We earn our money with an environment that's intact," says Jana Eitner, who works for tour operator Spreescouts in the small town of Burg.
But the brown slime could endanger many of the 7,700 tourism jobs in the area, which is why activists like Eitner and Hiekel are in a delicate position. Should their warnings grow too loud, tourists might stay away, even though the catastrophic-looking sludge doesn't pose a danger to humans. But if the Spreewald's residents remain silent, the death of the surrounding flora and fauna will continue.
The problem has been of interest to a few scientists and environmentalists for some time now, and the dead zones in the headwaters of the tributaries continue to grow in size. Now that the brown mess has reached the edge of the Spreewald, politicians have suddenly -- and literally -- jumped on board.
The Legacy of Open-Cast Mining
The rust-colored mud results from a chemical compound known as iron (III) oxide-hydroxide, or iron ochre. The fact that it is present in such large quantities here in the rivers and streams of southeast Brandenburg can primarily be attributed to mining. For decades, brown coal has been mined from open pits in the surrounding Lausitz region, both in Brandenburg and Saxony, its neighboring state to the south.
To prevent the massive pits from flooding, the underground water level has been lowered in large areas. Doing so has exposed ferrous compounds to the air, leaving them to rust. When the open-cast mines were shut down, the water level climbed back up, and a particularly rainy last few years have now flushed out large quantities of iron ochre. A study by the IWB Dresden, an institute focused on geophysical and hydrological issues related to mining, posits that the Spree River dumps 6.8 metric tons of iron ochre into the reservoir of the Spremberg Dam alone -- per day.
The Lausitz and Central-German Mining Administration Company (LMBV), a federally owned company, is responsible for dealing with the legacy of mining activities from the era when this region was still part of communist East Germany. The brown river is keeping LMBV spokesman Uwe Steinhuber very busy these days. He just had new flyers printed. "My message is always: Things are still fine in the Spreewald," he says.
Steinhuber also points out what his company is doing to protect the popular tourist region. For example, a mine-water cleaning plant is supposed to go back into operation near the town of Vetschau. The name makes it sound like a large technological device. On closer inspection, though, it looks much more like three little fish pools -- at least to the untrained eye. But plans call for the water of Vetschau's extremely polluted mill channel to start flowing back through this cleaning facility in the near future. The process is slow, however, because the iron ochre in the water has to be allowed to settle at the bottle of the three basins, where it can then be collected.
Steinhuber promises that doing so will bring about "an enormous relief." But first a canal of some 200 meters (650 feet) must be dug for the water, which is supposed to happen in the next few weeks.
'Just at the Beginning of the Problem'
It must be clearly stated that the battle against iron ochre is not a story about environmentalists campaigning against an evil company. In principle, both sides agree that something must urgently be done to counter this lethal muck.
On the other hand, the inhabitants of the Lausitz region need to think about how open-pit mining will be conducted here in the future. The mining fields of Vattenfall, the Swedish energy giant, still contain some 1.3 billion metric tons of coal. Extracting just a portion of that could result in more jobs and at least modest prosperity -- and, of course, give rise to more environmental concerns. By themselves, the current problems with iron ochre could last until the end of the century. On top of that comes pollution from sulfate. "We're just at the beginning of the problem," warns Falkner Schwarz, deputy head of Brandenburg's LAVB anglers' association.
The emergency measures currently being undertaken do nothing to combat the source of the iron ochre and, instead, only somewhat slow its path to the Spree. Among these measures is a loud vehicle standing near the small village of Klein Radden alongside the ochre-colored water of the Wudritz, a Spree tributary. The walking excavator lifts up mud from the bottom of the little river and dumps it out on both banks. Then it moves forward a few meters and repeats the process.
The iron ochre makes the sludge a dirty brown. But the excavator pulls much more than just the legacy of mining out of the Wudritz. When asked whether this brutish operation might cause much damage, Hiekel, the ecologist, pauses to think before shrugging her shoulders and saying that it doesn't matter much seeing that everything in the river is already dead. But, she adds, the river used to be a "genuine highlight," back when the green club-tailed dragonflies were still alive.
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Re: Pluto in Cap, the climate, ecology and environment topic
Reply #402 on:
Apr 12, 2013, 07:27 AM »
"Artificial Leaf" Makes Clean Energy From Dirty Water
April 11, 2013 Tina Casey
By CleanTechnica
What's all this fuss about silly federal research projects? If one day in the not too distant future you can go to the dollar store, buy a thin, flat device the size of a playing card, dunk it in a quart of dirty bath water and use it to generate about 100 watts of electricity 24 hours a day, you can thank the Air Force. Along with other federal agencies, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research has been pouring funds into the development of an "artificial leaf," a low cost solar-powered device that splits water into hydrogen and oxygen, for powering fuel cells.
Clean Energy From Dirty Water
We first noticed the artificial leaf concept a couple of years ago, when lead researcher Daniel Nocera (formerly of MIT, now at Harvard) called it "one of the Holy Grails of science."
The device, which really is about the size of a playing card or a medium-sized leaf, is a stripped-down version of the process by which leaves create energy from sunlight and water.
Its simple design consists of a slim wafer of silicon coated with catalysts that break water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen gases, which can then be stored in tanks and used as fuel in hydrogen fuel cells.
The initial research resulted in a "practical artificial leaf" with commercial potential, but it required purified water. Otherwise, naturally occurring bacteria create a film on the wafer, which interferes with its efficiency and eventually prevents it from working altogether.
In the latest twist, which was just unveiled at a convention of the American Chemical Society, Nocera revealed a new iteration of the device that has the ability to keep chugging along in contaminated water.
The trick was to "tweak" the catalyst so that it creates a rough surface, preventing biofilm from forming. While that involves making part of the catalyst fall apart, it also has the capability to heal and reassemble itself.
Low Cost Solar Power For Everybody
The artificial leaf is not particularly efficient, but the driving force behind Nocera's research is not to create the most efficient device. The aim was to develop a simple, durable device that could help provide affordable, renewable energy to the billions of people (3 billion and counting) who currently don't have reliable access to conventional energy and clean water.
Aside from general quality of life improvement, low cost devices like the artificial leaf could help provide sustainable alternatives to the widespread use of primitive cookstoves, which cumulatively have a significant impact on the global climate with a double whammy of "black carbon" emissions and deforestation.
With population movement already linked to climate change, affordable renewable energy devices will also play an important future role in relocation and disaster relief.
The combination of fuel production and energy storage also lends itself to any number of uses in the developed world that lack ready access to transmission lines and other forms of energy transportation.
Silly Federal Research Projects
That brings us right around to this whole idea of mocking federal research projects. It's not a particularly new or original trend (National Geographic's Carl Zimmer has a great article on the topic), but until recently it occurred within a social context of general respect for scientific method.
The current version is a different animal altogether, given the willful ignorance of settled science that has been aggressively promoted into the mainstream by political partisans, most infamously in the form of climate change "skepticism," a fringe concept that made its way into the last presidential campaign and continues to bubble around certain members of Congress.
In that context, while the artificial leaf could find itself next in line for mockery, the last laugh you hear will probably be from Nocera and his team, which is already looking into using the device as a first step to creating liquid fuel.
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Posts: 28717
Re: Pluto in Cap, the climate, ecology and environment topic
Reply #403 on:
Apr 15, 2013, 06:57 AM »
Antarctic summer ice melting 10 times faster: study
By Agence France-Presse
Monday, April 15, 2013 6:34 EDT
Summer ice in the Antarctic is melting 10 times quicker than it was 600 years ago, with the most rapid melt occurring in the last 50 years, a joint Australian-British study showed Monday.
A research team from the Australian National University and the British Antarctic Survey drilled a 364-metre (1,194 feet) long ice core from James Ross Island in the continent's north to measure past temperatures in the area.
Visible layers in the ice core indicated periods when summer snow on the ice cap thawed and then refroze.
By measuring the thickness of these melt layers, the scientists were able to examine how the history of melting compared with changes in temperature at the ice core site over the last 1,000 years.
"We found that the coolest conditions on the Antarctic peninsula and the lowest amount of summer melt occurred around 600 years ago," said lead author Nerilie Abram of the ANU Research School of Earth Sciences.
"At that time, temperatures were around 1.6 Celsius lower than those recorded in the late 20th century and the amount of annual snowfall that melted and refroze was about 0.5 percent.
"Today, we see almost 10 times as much of the annual snowfall melting each year.
"Whilst temperatures at this site increased gradually in phases over many hundreds of years, most of the intensification of melting has happened since the mid-20th century," she added.
The research, published in the journal Nature Geoscience, is only the second reconstruction of past ice melt on the Antarctic continent.
Abram said it helped scientists gain more accurate projections about the direct and indirect contribution of Antarctica's ice shelves and glaciers to global sea level rise.
"What it means is that the Antarctic peninsula has warmed to a level where even small increases in temperature can now lead to a big increase in summer ice melt," she said.
"This has important implications for ice instability and sea level rise in a warming climate."
Robert Mulvaney, from the British Antarctic Survey, led the ice core drilling expedition and co-authored the paper.
"Having a record of previous melt intensity for the peninsula is particularly important because of the glacier retreat and ice shelf loss we are now seeing in the area," he said.
"Summer ice melt is a key process that is thought to have weakened ice shelves along the Antarctic peninsula leading to a succession of dramatic collapses, as well as speeding up glacier ice loss across the region over the last 50 years."
Greenpeace activists plant North Pole flag to fight Arctic oil drilling
By Agence France-Presse
Monday, April 15, 2013 6:10 EDT
Activists have planted a flag at the North Pole along with millions of signatures calling for the Arctic to be declared a global sanctuary protected from oil drilling, lobby group Greenpeace said on Monday.
Expedition members cut a hole in the ice and lowered the "flag for the future" onto the seabed along with a titanium-glass capsule containing 2.7 million signatures against the exploitation of the pristine Arctic.
The flag, atop the titanium-ringed glass sphere, was lowered near where a Russian mini-submarine in 2007 controversially planted a Russian flag at the bottom of the Arctic Ocean.
The Greenpeace expedition included Hollywood actor Ezra Miller, indigenous Sami MP Josefina Skerk from Sweden and Renny Bijoux from the Seychelles, all of who trekked for a week to reach the geographical North Pole, a statement said.
"We're here to say this special area of the Arctic belongs to no person and no nation, that it is the common heritage of everyone on Earth," said Sami Parliament member Skerk, 26.
Amsterdam-based Greenpeace says the Arctic is under threat from climate change, oil companies, industrial fishing and shipping, with oil giants such as Shell and Gazprom moving in as nations lay claim to areas previously covered by ice.
Shifting ice and dwindling supplies meant that the expedition members had to hitch a lift with a helicopter for one of the final legs of their journey.
The Arctic seabed is thought to hold about 90 billion barrels of oil and 30 percent of the world's undiscovered gas resources, according to the US Geological Survey.
"As temperatures rise and the ice retreats, the oil companies are moving in. They want to drill for the fossil fuels that caused the melting in the first place. It's madness, we have to stop them," said Miller, star of the 2011 film "We Need to Talk About Kevin".
"My country would literally disappear if sea levels rise. I have come to the North Pole from the Seychelles to plant this flag because what happens in the Artic matters to me, people from my country and everyone across the world," Bijoux said in the Greenpeace statement.
The flag was designed by Malaysian schoolgirl Sarah Batrisyia in a competition judged by British fashion icon Vivienne Westwood.
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Posts: 28717
Re: Pluto in Cap, the climate, ecology and environment topic
Reply #404 on:
Apr 17, 2013, 06:44 AM »
Failed Emissions Trading Reform: 'The End of a European Climate Policy
Europe's once celebrated cap-and-trade system to limit carbon emissions has languished. The economic crisis has caused the price of emissions licenses to plummet, and a recent remedy to the problem has been rejected by EU lawmakers. Climate policy expert Felix Matthes tells SPIEGEL ONLINE that an opportunity has been squandered.
The European Parliament on Tuesday voted down a proposal to make it more expensive for companies to burn fossil fuels, in what environmental advocates are calling a major setback in the fight against climate change.
The European Commission, the EU's executive branch, had proposed measures that would have increased the price per ton of emitted carbon dioxide that companies must pay under the bloc's Emissions Trading System (ETS), which was set up in 2005. EU lawmakers narrowly rejected the bill 334 to 315, with 63 abstentions.
The ETS was initially lauded by environmental advocates as the world's most ambitious effort to combat climate change. The number of certificates granting permission to emit carbon dioxide is capped, and companies can trade those certificates on the open market, in theory giving an economic incentive to invest in cleaner energy.
However the economy slump in Europe has caused the price of the emission certificates to drop dramatically, currently hovering around €5 ($6.50) per ton of carbon dioxide. The European Commission's plan would have delayed the auctioning of 900 million additional pollution certificates. While the European Parliament voted down the bill, it sent it back to committee for revision, leaving the door open for future reform.
SPIEGEL ONLINE spoke with climate policy expert Felix Matthes about the consequences of the proposal's failure.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: What does this vote mean for the emissions trade?
Matthes: This will have grave consequences. The price for certificates, which is already much too low today, will collapse. On top of that, I foresee a re-nationalization of climate policy.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Is Europe-wide emissions trade threatened with extinction?
Matthes: I would go even further: The decision means the end of a European approach to climate policy. The paradox is that all the politicians who are constantly calling for more harmonization of climate policy in the EU and internationally are sending the policy back to the national level. That is an enormous step backwards -- also for global climate policy. Even China is now starting to pursue emissions trade. South Korea and Australia have already implemented it, and California has started a very ambitious system.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Why do you find emissions trading so important?
Matthes: The advantage is that you can connect the systems worldwide. That would achieve what the United Nations has been unable to accomplish for years -- a global climate policy. And this opportunity is being intentionally destroyed.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Why did the parliament reject the Commission's reform?
Matthes: There were largely two kinds of opponents. For the larger contingent, the opposition on the right, this wasn't at all about emissions trading. They want to break the climate change policy itself. And they might even manage to do that on the EU level. But they won't achieve that in Britain, France and Germany. The big member states have agreed on this policy. The German government is a leader with its transition away from nuclear energy.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: But there was also opposition from the left.
Matthes: Yes. They say it's not good for the markets to regulate it. They want environmental protection by other means. But they recognize that we need efforts that are feasible on a global scale. CO2 taxes and renewable energy laws are interesting tools, but in the end they are not feasible across the globe. Emissions trading, despite all its problems, is the measure with the greatest perspective. And now it's being broken.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: In its current form, emissions trading has proven ineffective. The certificates have become so cheap that investments in environmentally friendly technologies aren't worth it anymore. What happened?
Matthes: There are two main reasons for the problem. The first is that no one could have imagined an economic crisis of the proportion that we experienced in 2008. Economic activity in 2020 will be 15 to 20 percent lower than what we expected in 2008. That also means less energy consumption and industrial production, resulting in a surplus of some 500 million certificates.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: What's the second reason?
Matthes: Europe's Emissions Trading System is very generous in recognizing emissions reduction certificates from projects in China and other places as equal measures. So 1.5 billion certificates have flooded into the system, which you can see in today's current prices of just a few cents. There's no real emissions reduction there. We in Europe always assumed that the price could never realistically fall below €10. Now there are certificates for 30 cents and less. All together that means that there's a surplus of 2 billion certificates in the system. That just about corresponds to the annual CO2 emission of all regulated facilities. The tightening (of certificates) would have been a signal to the markets and the world that an effective emissions trading system will be in place beyond 2020, and it would have built the decisive framework for a long-term climate policy. The European Parliament has squandered this chance.
Interview conducted by Christian Teevs
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text:
Watermelon Festival in Palm City
Scenes from the inaugural Watermelon Festival Saturday at D&D Family Farms in Palm City. The event — featuring a petting zoo, gem mining, corn cannon, watermelon-eating contest, train rides and more — continues from 10 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Sunday. D&D Family Farms is located at 5059 SW Citrus Blvd. For more information, visit http://www.danddfamilyfarms.com.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Daytona Beach police have arrested the man who they say robbed a Wells Fargo bank and then left suspicious belongings at the Kmart across the street.
Michael Mauphin has been arrested in the bank robbery after police said they found cash on him. It's not clear how much.
Police said Mauphin went to the bank at 1302 W. International Speedway Blvd. at 3:15 p.m. and implied he had a gun. He got away with an undisclosed amount of money, according to police.
Police said they came across Mauphin's belongings at the Kmart nearby, including a bag with wires sticking out, which was deemed suspicious.
The Kmart was evacuated as authorities investigated the belongings as a suspicious package. The package was deemed safe and the scene was cleared shortly after.
Check back for more updates.


text:
John Lewis Reveals Record Festive Sales
John Lewis Reveals Record Festive Sales
Palabras clave
Workers handle items along the assembly line in the giant... Fotografía de noticiasBestof,Finanzas,Grupo de objetos,Horizontal,Inglaterra,Internet,Manilla,Mercancía,Milton Keynes,Negocio,Oficio,Reino Unido,Servicio de entrega,Temas,Tienda,TopixPhotographer Oli ScarffCollection: Getty Images News 2013 Getty ImagesMILTON KEYNES, ENGLAND - JANUARY 03: Workers handle items along the assembly line in the giant semi-automated distribution centre where the company's partners process the online orders for the John Lewis department store on January 3, 2013 in Milton Keynes, England. John Lewis has published their sales report for the five weeks prior December 29, 2012 which showed online sales had increased by 44.3 per cent over the same period in 2011. Purchases from their website Johnlewis.com now account for one quarter of all John Lewis business. (Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images)


text:
Oh happy day! A check from the government! No, not a welfare check or a "stimulus" check, but a refund check to your editor from the U.S. Department of the Treasury — for tax year 2007. Seems the IRS — a division of the Treasury — with which this scribbler has had a running feud, has surrendered. After years of dunning me with claims that I owe thousands in back taxes and penalties, the good folks at the IRS have shown mercy; they have agreed with me that I overpaid my taxes. And they have generously deigned to return several thousand dollars of my meager salary that they had previously confiscated — with interest, no less!
What's not to love about a government so kind, and munificent? Of course, in order to obtain the refund (of my own money), yours truly was forced to spend a couple hundred hours of indentured servitude researching, copying, and documenting records and receipts. Not to mention hundreds of dollars in accounting fees. Even worse though is the incredible invasion of privacy one faces for the decision to itemize deductions and business expenses, in the hope of retaining a fraction more of one's hard-earned income. But after all, Big Brother must know of, and approve of, every penny earned and spent by the taxpayer — to keep us all honest, and keep us all paying our "fair share," so that the government can keep doing all the wonderful things it does for us, right? That's the "American way," yes?
Click here to read the entire article.
Photo: William F. Jasper


text:
"Some where"
May 4th 1918
Dear Father and Mother:-
Received your letter of April 4th glad to hear
that everything is fine at home.
You tell Mrs. Laury not to worry about Rae,
that she is fine. You know that they sent our cable
[gauns] from New York to conceal our address.
This is for the same reason that you address our
letter New York. Our hospital consists of two
hotels, one for surgical and the other for medical
cases. I am in the medical hospital.
I have not received any papers for some
time do you still send them.
Write more often
Eliza Ann Tanner
Navy Base Hospital Unit #2
c/o Post Master New York- New York


text:
St. Petersburg, Florida - It's a question of privacy. Can you imagine the personal photos you have in your cell phone right now being shared with strangers without you knowing? That's exactly what hashappened to the Bucs star quarterback Josh Freeman. But as 10 News has learned,it's something that could easily happen to any of us.
Josh Freeman never intended for his private cell phone photos to become public, but that's what happened whenT-Mobile customer Diana Furey was given his SD card.Freeman's personal photosshow him with his friends, high end sports cars and new shoes.
Furey saysa T-Mobile worker gave herthe SD cardat the T-Mobile store inside Tampa's International Plaza mall. Furey says, "When I went into the store and asked why I couldn't take pictures on my phone, it was because there was no SD card and so he just finally gave me one to put in there - that he had in the back of the store."
She saysshe was excited about itbecauseshe'd been frustrated with the company after receiving two replacement Blackberry phones from them after one broke. She says another onewas defective.
Finally it appeared that her cell phone was working.
But later when she went back to pull up photos she had taken of her newborn nephew, she says she discovered images on her SD card from a stranger. They turned out to be photos from Bucs quarterback Josh Freeman's cell phone.
Furey says,"It seemed like some kind of - I don't know - celebrity party or something."
Freeman's attorneyTerry Princesent 10 News a letterconfirming that the photos areFreeman's.
Furey says once again she contacted T-Mobile after she discovered the images. She says, "I emailed them on two separate occasions."
But she says the company didn't seem too concerned.
"I didn't get a response from either of them. I actually went to another T-Mobile kiosk at a different location and they said my only solution was to call the hotline - the T-Mobile hotline - and when I did that, they didn't really take me seriously. They said they'll send me a new card."
T-Mobile declined our request to talk on camera. But a manager atComputer Zone at 940 58th Street North in St. Petersburgwas happy to explain to us howyou can protect yourself, and your privacy when it comes to the SD card in your cell phone, especially when you trade or upgrade your phone.
Blake Chiszar says, if you think deleting your photos from the SD card is the answer, you're wrong. "There are a lot of commercially available programs that allow you to quickly recover data that's been deleted."
Chiszar'scompany specializes in all things computer and data recovery. 10 News put him to the test.
We took three photos inside the store and then deleted them from our SD card. Within about 15 minutesChiszarwas able to recover the images.
He says you shouldforget about trying to delete pictures from your SD card. Instead, he recommends downloading an app that allows you to encript the data on your SD card.
Chiszar says, "Most of the major platforms - Android and Apple - have apps that are available that allow you to encrypt your data that's held on the SD card, so somebody that obtains the information with or without permission, would need additional permission from the original person in order to view the content on there."
He says that way your card can't be viewed on any other device without your approval.
IfJosh Freeman or T-Mobile had simply done that, Fureywould not have been able to make out the pictures. Chiszar adds,"It would have just looked like garbage to her. You wouldn't have been able to see them at all."
Which Furey says would have been just fine for her."Nobody wants all that information out there or in the hands of a stranger."
T-Mobile Spokesman, Juan Cornejo,did release this statement about what happened to Josh Freeman.
"This appears to be an isolated incident. We recommend that customers make sure to delete any private information, including personal photos, before recycling or returning equipment".
Meanwhile, Fureysays she has tried for weeks to get T-Mobile to address her concerns about the SD card. This week she says she received a not so sincere "mistakes happen" apology from T-Mobile.
She hasfired off a letter to the CEO of T-Mobile and Florida's Attorney General, Pam Bondi, hoping they can look into the situationto prevent it from happening again, and she has also reached out to the Bucs.
She says she plans to give the SD card back to Freeman after she hears from T-Mobile.
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text:
By RICHARD SHAWSun Advocate community editor
Gerard Gierlinski thinks the College of Eastern Utah Prehistoric Museum is a great place to study dinosaur tracks.
"People find the bones in the field and that is what they concentrate on," he said Thursday evening. "They fail to look around and see other things, like the tracks in the stone next to the fossils."
Gierlinski is a fellow with the Polish Geological Institute in Warsaw, Poland. A very long way from home, he was obviously comfortable in the museum with the fossils and the tracks he loves so much.
"I like Utah," he commented in his thick accent. "This is a beautiful place."
Gierlinski said that few papers have been published on dinosaur tracks and that he is working to see and photograph as many as he can and he plans to publish on the subject.
"This museum has one of the best collection of tracks I have ever seen," he stated. "This is a great museum for such a small town."
Reece Barrick, paleontologist and the director of the museum, said the facility is always excited to have researchers visit, but when someone of Gierlinski's caliber comes along he is especially impressed.
"Look how far he came to be here," said Barrick as he watched Gierlinski work. "It's truly wonderful to have international researchers want to come and look at what we have."
Visitation by professionals and by lay people is largely what a museum is all about and with the beginning of tourist season Barrick and co-director Pam Miller announced some changes at the museum that will affect everyone who comes to see the exhibits.
Beginning today, June 1st the museum will institute an admission fee. Historically the CEU Prehistoric Museum has had free admission. But like many museums across the country, the CEU Prehistoric Museum is facing the challenge of increasing expenses without matching increases in revenue.
According to a musuem media advisory, the "funding comes from a variety of sources: foundations, corporations, endowments, individual donations, gift shop sales, Price city and the College of Eastern Utah. While the money we receive from these sources generally remains stable, the services we offer or are expected to offer and the staff required to support those services has continued to grow."
According to Barrick and Miller the idea for charging an admission fee began in the winter of 2002. The museum received a grant from the Institution of Museum and Library Services to hire two consultants to evaluate the educational and public programs.
The consultants reported that the museums educational services to the public schools needed significant expansion and the attention of a full-time Curator of Education. They suggested that a means of funding growth in the educational programs would be the introduction of admission fees to the museum.
"The decision to begin charging a fee did not come easily," the release stated. "In spring of 2003 the museum staff and advisory board members researched the issues faced by museums when they go from donations to required admission fees."
It continued, "All positive and negative issues associated with admission fees were studied in detail, including the impact on our stakeholders, everyone from visitors to members to volunteers."
Ultimately, the institution of an admission fee became absolutely necessary. The funds will be used to build public educational programs and continue the growth of the kindergarten through high school programming. The museum is accredited by the American Association of Museums.
"The expectations for maintaining accreditation are raised each year," stated the release. "A full-time educator and funds for implementing new educational programs will go far in helping the museum maintain its accreditation status and increase the quality and variety of educational programs for children and our visitors in general."
The museum is also a state and federal repository for arheological and paleontological collections. This means that dinosaur bones or ancient artifacts collected by the museum will remain here in Castle Country and eastern Utah for the benefit of residents and stakeholders.
"If we don't maintain our accreditation our collections from public lands would go to other museums," noted the release.
Presently, the museum's annual donations average approximately $0.80/person while serving over 30,000-40,000 yearly.
"By keeping our required fees to what has been our requested donation, the museum will remain one of the most economical educational and recreational experiences in the state," it was noted in the release.
Barrick and Miller said in order to reduce the impact of admission fees on regular and local visitors, the museum has revised its associate membership program and will provide member families with an annual pass to the museum for the a minimal cost of $30. Benefits of membership will include a quarterly newsletter and a 10 percent discount on all items in the museum gift shop. The Museum will also be including one free museum pass to Price City residents in their June utility bills.
School groups will continue to enjoy free admission if their tours are scheduled two weeks in advance.
For all other visitors the fees will be: two years and under, free; 12 years and under, $1; 13 years and over, $3. A family admission will also be available; two adults and their children living in one house will cost $7.
"We hope that people will understand why we have to do this," said Miller. "It's just a matter of offering programs and economics."


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Four student suicides connected to cyberbullying: who is to blame?
Our 9OYS investigation found page after page of Facebook posts aimed at one girl
Notes by: Forrest Carr, KGUN9 News Director
Our 9 On Your Side investigation into cyberbullying struck a chord with many viewers this week. The exclusive report uncovered a shocking fact not previously reported in local media: four students in Tucson have killed themselves this school year in incidents police say were connected to cyberbullying. KGUN 9 News relayed the story of one parent who'd asked us to look into bullying directed at her daughter and we indeed found page after page of Facebook postings targeting the girl. The child, parent, school principal and police did everything they could do within the confines of the law, but as of this publication have still not been able to put a final, complete stop to the bullying.
A related 9 On Your Side story from last month about a student whose parents withdrew her from school because of bullying was a top-commented story from that week, too. The comments proved the point. Many commenters continued the verbal attack on the student, posting "nastygrams" directed at the victim on KGUN9.com. KGUN9 removed those comments, banned the posters and closed the story to further commentary.
One common question in the viewer feedback is: when kids pick on one another, who is ultimately to blame? Most felt it's the job of parents, not police or educators, to monitor their children's online activities. One viewer felt there's more to it than just a parental failure to check up on and/or monitor this kind of unacceptable behavior, making the point that some parents become actively involved in their kids' cruelty. Still others felt there really is no problem at all, that life is cruel and that kids had best learn these coping skills now.
Here's a sample of what viewers had to say:
Elizabeth Rosas (via Facebook): "So sad that children kill them selves."
Terra Shishido (via Facebook): "I don't understand why these kids don't report it! I was always reporting harassment and bullying to my school officials."
Tiffany Holzer (in response to Terra): "It's not like it was before. The kids that are bullying are not just bullying, they threaten these kids. They're scared.... If you're gunna put blame on a parent put it on the ones who raised a child to be so cruel."
Donna Tucker (via Facebook): "School officials don't do anything to stop it! And if the child defends themself then they are the ones that are punished!"
Angy Anderson (via Facebook): "It's not that easy, especially now a days. Not only are children afraid for more ridicule, but also their safety. There's very little kids won't do to get attention or get back at someone for getting them in trouble. It's heartbreaking. Another issue is child and parent relationships. For whatever reason, children feel uncomfortable to talk to their parents about problems they have with other students. As parents, I believe we need to open up lines of communication by opening up and sharing our experiences and how we handled it or could of handled it better. Once our children see that we have been through some of things they have been through, then maybe they could feel comfortable enough to open up with us. It is unfortunate, the things children find 'funny' now a days. Maybe if children understood at a younger age what is appropriate and what isn't, then that might reduce some bullying, or at least attention from it."
Nickole Rinde (via Facebook): "Ya know,you gotta wonder, what were the parents doing? Blame is laid on EVERYONE else, but did they not notice changes in their children?? You can't tell me the kids were happy go lucky and the next day killed themselves??! It's all very very sad - and yes, I have kids. And before I'm attacked -- yes I WAS bullied!"
Dan Crescent (via Facebook): "Parents too busy to teach their kids, but not too busy to have them."
Henry Graham (via Facebook): "I sure don't understand cyber bullying. Why not just stay off line all together if someone is driving you to that point? Why is the parent not involved more? Are they that oblivious to the facts surrounding their child's life? Look around, be nosy. That is what parents are for. That is keeping them safe just like they would with predators."
"Creeping Critter" (via KGUN9.com): "Okay I'm glad that this article is addressing that parents are to blame. It isn't however addressing the entire problem. And yes it's NOT too late to do something about it. The problem is that both sides need to be addressed -- that is, the bullying kid's parents and the victim's parents. Parents these days don't seem to monitor ANYTHING! Don't let your kid get victimized! Teach them to report things! BE THERE FOR THEM!"
Christina Hamill (mother of child featured in KGUN9 story, via Facebook): "First of all my daughter felt that she had to make that video to try and show her bullies that she is not afraid of them, and posted it to her [Facebook] wall because the bullying is still happening to let them know that she can fight and she will stand up for her self.... My daughter is a good kid and I don't feel that she did anything wrong. Do you have a child that has been bullied? Do you know what that does to a child? Didn't think so. The whole reason I did the video on KGUN9 in the first place was not just for my child but to help the parents and kids that are being bullied to know that there is help out there and they do have a voice."
"xazothia" (via KGUN9.com): "My niece was being bullied (offline) once, and when her sister stood up to the bully, the bully's parent came around the next day and threatened my nieces and brother-in-law!! Some people actually think this is okay!"
TaitAZ (via KGUN9.com): "Parents need to prepare their kids. Not everyone will like you and not every comment is going to make you feel good. A negative comment towards you doesn't mean that you re being bullied, just not liked."
Aileen Brewer (via Facebook): "Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can never hurt me."
Aileen, if only that statement were true.
By the way, we conducted this investigation because Christina contacted us and asked us to so. We do take requests at 9 On Your Side -- "You Ask, We Investigate." The best way to pitch a story idea to us is to email the idea to email@example.com. Or, you can call our assignment desk at 520-290-7700. Also, reporters Valerie Cavazos and Stephani Ruiz are interested in more follow-ups to this investigation. They can be emailed at these addresses: email@example.com
In the mean time, we invite you to add your voice to the conversation. Please feel free to post your comments here, or on our Facebook page.
A friendly reminder -- our terms of use prohibit, discourage and forbid any type of bullying whatsoever. This includes any and all forms of negativity, personal attacks, etc. This doesn't mean you can't disagree with someone else's post, it means please keep it civil and respectful at all times. Please direct your response to the statement you're questioning, not the person who posted it.
Correction: an earlier version of this this posted stated incorrectly that the four teen suicides reported by police were all in the Tucson Unified School District. What police actually said was that the suicides were in Tucson; they did not specify which school district. KGUN9 News regrets the error.
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The Walk: An IMAX 3D Experience
The Walk is the true story of a young dreamer, Philippe Petit, and a band of unlikely recruits who together achieve the impossible: an illegal wire walk in the immense void between the World Trade Center towers. With little more than nerve and blind ambition, Petit and his ragtag crew overcome daunting physical obstacles, betrayals, countless close calls... Learn More
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Inspired by the incredible events surrounding an attempt to reach the summit of the world's highest mountain, Everest documents the awe-inspiring journey of two different expeditions challenged beyond their limits by one of the fiercest snowstorms ever encountered by mankind. Their mettle tested by the harshest elements found on the planet, the... Learn More


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|Watauga And Ashe Commissioners Meet Today
|Written by Christie James
|Monday, 02 April 2007 02:48
The Watauga County Commissioners will meet this morning in their first regularly scheduled meeting of the month. That meeting will take place at 9am at the County Administration Building on King Street in Boone.The Ashe County Commissioners will hold their first meeting of the month this afternoon. That meeting will include a public hearing on Amendments to the Residential Subdivision Ordinance including revisions relevant to lot sizes and building in the floodplain It gets underway at 3:30pm at the Ashe County Courthouse on Highway 221 in Jefferson.
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BUFFALO, N.Y. - The 2nd amendment is not the only debate revolving around New York State's tough new gun laws. The mental health provision has produced it's share of talk as well.
The provision requires physicians, nurses and clinical social workers to alert county health officials if a mental health patient is likely to harm themselves or others. Law enforcement officials are then called in to seize any firearm owned by the patient. If the patient does not own any firearm, their name is then placed on a state-wide database making them ineligible to purchase a gun in the future.
Some health care providers fear that the legislation, while intending to get people the help they need, might instead deter patients from seeking care or fully disclosing their condition. Ken Houseknecht, Executive Director of the Mental Health Association of Erie County is one who says that this could add to the stigma that already exists around mental illness. Houseknecht says "you might accomplish the opposite of what you are trying to accomplish". Houseknecht says that he would have preferred that mental health and illness issues were addressed separately from gun control legislation.
On the other side of the debate is DJ Jaffe, the Executive Director of Mental Illness Policy Org. Jaffe says that the fears that patients may avoid treatment because of the new law are unfounded. Jaffe likes the legislation, saying "the last thing we'd want is to know someone is mentally ill, know someone is dangerous and do nothing about it."


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He was a Rabun County native and longtime resident. He was born May 7, 1945, to Ray Wilborn and Otta Jenkins Wilborn. He was a carpenter by trade and loved the outdoors. He was a caring loving man who was always there to help a friend. He enjoyed his life and family and will greatly missed by all that knew him.
He was preceded in death by his parents and two granddaughters.
Survivors include: two daughters, Rachel Wilborn Greene of South Carolina and Dawn Erin Wilborn of Rabun Gap; five grandsons, Mitchell Padgett, Matthew Padgett, Conner Greene, Ryan Padgett and Doyle Greene; two sisters, Pansy Wilborn Bingham and Betty Gaye Wilborn Lakey; and many nieces and nephews.
Visitation was held April 12 at Hunter Funeral Home followed by a funeral service April 13 at Newman's Chapel Baptist Church with Clay Patton, Ray Conner, Larry Bryson and Danny Cannon officiating.
Hunter Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements. An online guestbook is available at www.hunterfuneralhomega.com.


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Guidebooks only tell a miniscule portion of Mexico's story. Beyond the infinity pools and mega-resorts lies a country as ancient, complex and mysterious as its Mayan ruins. The spirit of Mexico lives on in centuries-old cathedrals, spritely street vendors and colorful outdoor markets. From the densely populated Mexico city to water wonderlands Cancun, Cozumel, Puerto Vallarta and Los Cabos, a novel's worth of experiences awaits, whether you're craving the arts, adventure, food or la playa.
Leave it to Orbitz to map out your Mexico vacation with top 10 attractions, the best time to go and insider tips. And then let's all pour ourselves a shot of tequila.
Blessed with bountiful sunshine, Mexico attracts the most travelers between late December and Easter, traditionally the high season, while the rest of the year is low season. Expect prices to be higher during the holidays and especially during Spring Break, when American co-eds blow off steam South of the Border at any of the sprawling beach resorts.
Be on watch during hurricane season -- typically June through October -- especially if you're headed to the Yucatan Peninsula. Summers are especially hot and humid, so dress appropriately if you're planning to be outdoors.
If your plan is pure R&R, find an all-inclusive that functions as its own town. Moon Palace in Cancun anticipates every possible need, whether it's a babysitter while parents lounge at the swim-up bar or the 15 restaurants and 12 bars for endless grazing and cocktailing.
Clear the schedule. Leave the iPhone at home. You'll be thinking about neither at Rosewood Mayakoba, the most heavenly resort on the Yucatan Peninsula. The luxury property had us at Sense, a spa on its very own island.
Mexico is rich in alfresco dining choices, but none are as majestic as El Farallon at Capella , which is reminiscent of a coastal seafood market. Cliff-side tables are lit up by white lights and overlook the stunning sea, while mounds of ice hold the fresh catches of the day. If you're planning on popping the question, make sure to ask for a private table on the beach.
At all costs, arrange your airport transfer before you land. The shuttle and taxi drivers tend to be an aggressive bunch, and you'll be glad that you don't have to haggle for a ride.
Brave the stage at Playa del Carmen's Karaoke Bar, which also serves fantastic local beer.
Catch the latest films at Centro Mayo cinemas, located within the Centro Mayo Shopping Mall on the outskirts of Playa del Carmen.
Indulge in a rich café-latte or espresso specially brewed at the scrumptious chocolate themed Ah Cacao Chocolate Café.
Chill out at the wifi-equipped Coffee Stop, which serves real Chiapas roasted coffee and fresh pastries.
John Gray's Place is famous for delectable crab cakes, fresh cilantro garnishes, and exceptional wine served in classy ambiance.
Brave the stage at Playa del Carmen's Karaoke Bar, which also serves fantastic local beer.
Catch the latest films at Centro Mayo cinemas, located within the Centro Mayo Shopping Mall on the outskirts of Playa del Carmen.
Indulge in a rich café-latte or espresso specially brewed at the scrumptious chocolate themed Ah Cacao Chocolate Café.
Chill out at the wifi-equipped Coffee Stop, which serves real Chiapas roasted coffee and fresh pastries.
John Gray's Place is famous for delectable crab cakes, fresh cilantro garnishes, and exceptional wine served in classy ambiance.
Temptation Resort and Spa lives up to its name at this adults-only getaway (guests must be at least 21 years old to check-in), where guests sunbathe topless. With sleek lines and a fresh, contemporary edge, this modern and chic designed hotel has entertainment readily... More
The GR Solaris Cancun Resort & Spa is a budget-minded beachfront property in the hotel zone featuring nightly entertainment, water activities and dining at five restaurants. Rooms are comfortable with balconies and picturesque views. The resort has four swimming pools... More
The Riu Cancun is situated on the postcard-worthy, white sand beaches of the transparent, turquoise Caribbean Sea. The all-inclusive Yucatan peninsula resort caters to families and honeymooners with a disco, 24-hour sports bar, mini-club and playground for kids. There's... More
The beachfront Complete ME by Melia Cancun is an adults-oriented destination with a hopping, expansive infinity pool and full-floor lounge. Rooms are outfitted with artwork from Yuri Zatarain, iPod docks and private Jacuzzis. Guests can chill out at the beach club deck,... More
Master planned to take full advantage of the only resort property in Cancun with water on three sides, capturing views and water access whenever possible.The lobby is a large elevated breezeway designed to capture ocean views to the north, east and the light of Isla... More
Escape the daily grind of city life and retreat to a tropical paradise destination at Paradisus Cancun Resort & Spa - All Inclusive. This deluxe resort in famous Cancun features stylish accommodations housed in five pyramid-shaped buildings against the picturesque... More
Vacationers at Live Aqua Cancun - All Inclusive Adults Only can indulge in mouth-watering varieties of cuisines creativeley prepared through three different concepts. Patrons can feast on the robust flavors of the Mediterranean, Mexico and Asia, combined with... More
With its Mediterranean style and beautifully crafted interior, the GR Caribe by Solaris Deluxe All Inclusive exudes charm and a welcoming atmosphere. The resort underwent extensive renovations and reopened in 2011. The resort complex offers attractive details, from its... More
The Westin Lagunamar Ocean Resort is a modern, chic getaway situated in an ideal location for easy access to many of Cancun's treasures. Sandy beaches, golf courses, waterfront restaurants, fantastic shopping and ancient ruins are dotted throughout the area. Guests... More
Guests enjoy 24-hour in-room dining as well as all-inclusive meals and snacks at several a la carte and buffet restaurants. Options include Los Arcos, Japanese restaurant, steakhouse and fusion-minded eatery. Several bars, including a poolside bar and a terrace lounge,... More
RIU Santa Fe All Inclusive spans a palace-sized stretch of land on the southern tip of the Baja Peninsula. All 902 rooms further the luxury, with heavy wood furniture, stately columns and balconies or terraces overlooking the sea or grounds. A full roster of recreational... More
Pristine and palatial, RIU Palace Cabo San Lucas All Inclusive attracts every category of traveler, from honeymooners to parents with children in tow. With 642 rooms and a sparkling, massive pool heightening the appeal, the hotel manages its size well with plenty of a la... More
Villa el Palmar Beach Resort & Spa Los Cabos plays to families and couples with pristine grounds, a full-service spa and leisure activities for kids and adults. The all-suite resort honors contemporary design driven by sleek furniture and luxurious bedding. Active... More
Melia Cabo Real All Inclusive Beach and Golf Resort entices with Sea of Cortez views and a well-rounded menu of leisure activities for all ages. The kids 12 and under stay-and-eat-for-free policy lures families who make full use of the supervised activities and multiple... More
ME Cabo sizzles with scene, starting with picture-perfect views of Land's End, and becoming a party hotel during the weekends and a lounge during midweek. The adults-oriented property pays special attention to ambiance featuring contemporary rooms and three... More
Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos - All Inclusive provides a stunning array of amenities for guests, including many that are family friendly and aimed at the kids. With four different swimming pools plus a splash deck for children, guests soak up the sun in the beautiful surroundings... More
Soak up the best of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico from a perch above the Sea of Cortez and Cabo San Lucas marina. The Tesoro Los Cabos is a reasonably-priced hotel central to the action of this famously sunny Baja beach town. Avoid long taxi rides and walk out the front door to... More
Situated on a private beach overlooking the Sea of Cortez, Pueblo Bonito Pacifica Resort & Spa shines with a desert-meets-coastline feel driven by lush landscaping and stunning contemporary design. The 154-room property sports ocean views and unique activities for its... More
There is plenty to do at the beachfront Holiday Inn Resort Los Cabos- All Inclusive, with golf, tennis, swimming and horseback riding on-site or nearby. Little ones love the crafts and pool activities of the Chiqui Kids Club. Holiday Inn Resort Los Cabos- All Inclusive... More
Guests revel in the laid-back vibe at Bahia Hotel, which is just a block from local favorite Medano Beach. The boutique chic property embraces minimalist decor, favoring stark white bedding that complements Mexican tiles and unique bed accents like oversized shells carved... More
Join guided tours to Mayan relics like Chichen Itza and modern parks like Xcaret for an additional fee, or get your adventure fix at the Tulum Extreme zip-lining circuit.Book rooms on higher levels for excellent views. GeneralBarcelo Riviera Maya All Inclusive Complex,... More


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FORT DRUM Commercial logging in the posts wooded areas helps to clear them for military training and creates funding used to improve their long-term sustainability.
Were always thinking 20, 30, even 50 years into the future when we make cuts like these, said Rodger H. Voss, a forester with the forest management program, part of the posts Department of Public Works.
The management of woodlands is an important task, since forests cover about 60,000 of the posts 107,000 acres.
The Times was taken around a 150-acre harvest site being worked on Friday by Seaway Timber Harvesting Inc., Massena. Crews, which have been in place for nearly a month, will continue their work for about two more weeks.
Miles deep into the woods north of Wheeler-Sack Army Airfield, near the posts Training Area 8, the sound of helicopters and the smell of artillery fire gave way to the buzz of mechanical saws, the roar and rattle of massive trucks and the strong smell of newly chopped trees.
I love the smell of fresh-cut pine, Mr. Voss said.
About a mile from the sites landing zone, a feller buncher easily sliced through pairs of trees at a time and laid them out for the large pinching arms of a group of passing grapple skidders.
The entertainment is all free, said Donald R. Mahan, natural resources specialist.
At the landing zone, the trees were smoothed out by a stroke delimber, cut to appropriate length, then set up to be taken away.
Mr. Voss said the wood cut down will be used either for making paper or for fuel at the biomass facility being redeveloped on post by ReEnergy Holdings LLC, Albany.
They use everything they take out, down to the last branch, Mr. Voss said.
According to post statistics, logging takes place on about 1,500 acres of post land annually. The winter is the main time for such operations, as crews take advantage of the frozen ground to maneuver their heavy machinery.
Post forestry officials take part in preparing sites for clearing work, marking which trees are to be cut or preserved before submitting their work to the Army Corps of Engineers district office in Norfolk, Va., which then creates the listing for contractors to bid on.
About 45 to 50 tons of lumber can be generated per acre, Mr. Voss said. Lumber can generate $5 to $8 per ton for Fort Drum, with logging work generating $80,000 to $120,000 for the post annually, he said, adding that this year is heading toward the higher end of those estimates.
However, the price for the lot seen Friday was reduced, Mr. Voss said, because a number of the trees were contaminated with metal from embedded bullets.
In addition to providing more room for training, the clearing of some trees can assure the ones that are left, and the seeds they distribute, are of the best quality.
Many times the forest is too dense, and we just need to thin it out, Mr. Mahan said. Trees grow best when theres less competition.
The reduced clutter gives the remaining trees in trimmed areas a strong outlook for future generations.
I wont see it in my lifetime, but thats the goal, Mr. Voss said.
Additionally, several steps are taken to preserve sensitive areas near logging work, including creating a buffer around wetlands and using temporary bridges to transport crews in range areas. Local animal populations also are taken into account, with crews sparing the trees that have openings used by animals. And logging work is permitted only between Oct. 15 and April 15 to avoid affecting endangered Indiana bats.
For the past three years, forestry staff has worked to create an inventory of the posts woodland areas, which will help it know the best timetable for allowing clearing work to take place.
That work is expected to be finished next year. After that, inventories will be done every 10 years.
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