aviones y algo mas

Se registra temblor en Colorado

2011-08-24T14:23:00.001-07:00

VALDEZ, Colo. — The strongest earthquake to hit Colorado in more than four decades startled thousands of residents along the New Mexico border as it toppled chimneys, cracked walls and triggered minor rockslides in the arid, mountainous region. No injuries were reported Tuesday.

Monday night's magnitude-5.3 earthquake struck just hours before a magnitude-5.8 temblor in Virginia – also rare for that area – shook much of Washington, D.C., and the East Coast.

Small aftershocks rattled the region about 180 miles south of Denver but caused no further damage.

"This was the first time you could see the fear in people's eyes," said Dean Moltrer, 39, who with his brother Ray owns the Big 4 Country Store in Valdez, a former coal mining town of about 100 people in Colorado's Picketwire Valley.

"Your family looks to dad to figure out what to do," chimed in Ray Moltrer. "Dad didn't know what to do. Dad was scared for his life."

The quake hit at 11:46 p.m. MDT Monday about nine miles southwest of Trinidad, according to the U.S. Geological Survey's National Earthquake Information Center in Golden. It had an estimated depth of 2.5 miles and was felt in a relatively large area of southern Colorado and northern New Mexico.

The earthquake was the largest in Colorado since a magnitude-5.3 temblor was recorded in Denver's northern suburbs in 1967, said Paul Earle of the USGS.

Las Animas County Sheriff Jim Casias said Colorado authorities were assessing damage that included a porch collapse and a partially collapsed roof.

In Segundo, a tiny town a mile west of Valdez, the brick facade of a historic building lay in a pile. Nearby, daylight peered through a crack in the wall of Ringo's Super Trading Post, where owner Gary Ringo said he lost thousands of dollars' worth of liquor and soda.

Dozens of residents in Trinidad, a town of 9,000 people, and in northern New Mexico called the USGS to report the shaking. Others called from Colorado Springs and as far away as southwestern Nebraska, said Gavin Hayes, a USGS research seismologist.

In New Mexico, the town of Raton – already hit this summer by fire and flooding – was abuzz about Monday's quakes, which included a smaller foreshock at about 5:30 p.m.

"It was shaking first, like you were in a vibrating bed. Then there was a rolling effect and then there was shaking again," said Barbara Riley, owner of the Heart's Desire Bed and Breakfast.

Riley, a teacher, said she'll likely have to fill in cracks at her 100-year-old home.

Minor rockslides were reported on Colorado Highway 12, which follows the Purgatoire River, and along Interstate 25, but both highways remained open. A road grader trolled the side of Highway 12 clearing out small rocks.

Ron Thompson, mine manager with New Elk Mine about 30 miles west of Trinidad, said coal miners 300 to 800 feet underground didn't feel anything. But he said crews above ground and at the company office in Trinidad, where he was at the time, did.

"Not real exciting, but it got your attention," Thompson said.

Small aftershocks continued in a region that the USGS says is not known for major quakes or active faults. About a dozen small temblors were recorded in the area in August and September 2001, said USGS geophysicist Jessica Sigala.

Hayes said the quake likely was a rare product of interaction between the Eastern Shield – ancient rock east of the Rocky Mountains – and the newer formations of the Rocky Mountain range. Such quakes can be felt at greater distances because the underlying bedrock doesn't absorb energy the way more seismically active areas such as California do, he said.

Colorado is no stranger to earthquakes, but most are small and go unnoticed.

According to the USGS, an 1882 earthquake near what is now Rocky Mountain National Park is believed to be the largest recorded in the state, with an estimated magnitude of 6.6.

Mas informacion aqui: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/23/largest-colorado-quake-si_n_933854.html?ir=Green

El numero de carros global llega a mas de 1 billon

2011-08-24T14:19:00.001-07:00

The number of cars on the world's roads surpassed one billion last year, according to a study that has spurred debate on what the rapidly-growing car population will mean for the world's economy and environment.

According to a report from Ward's Auto released last week, the global number of cars exceeded 1.015 billion in 2010, jumping from from 980 million the year before.

Not surprisingly, China led the way in vehicle growth, with the number of cars on Chinese roads increasing by 27.5 per cent, amounting to half the entire global growth.

That gives China the world's second largest car population, with 78 million vehicles. But the United States still constitutes by far the largest vehicle population in the world, with 239.8 million cars, the Ward's study reported.

In fact, China would have to increase the number of cars on its roads nearly sixteen-fold to equal the number of cars in the U.S. on a per capita basis. Ward's reports that there are 1.3 people for every car in the U.S., while in China there are 6.75 people per vehicle.

If China were to have as many cars per capita as the U.S., its fleet alone would amount to approximately one billion cars.

But while China's car population has been exploding, the U.S. has seen a less than one per cent increase in its vehicle population, roughly in line with most developed economies.

Earlier this year, the OECD's International Transport Forum forecast that the number of cars worldwide would reach 2.5 billion by 2050.

According to a seminar from Daniel Sperling at UC Davis' Institute of Transportation, a vehicle population of 2 billion would require the world to produce at least 120 million barrels of oil per day, up from about 87 million today. Given the slow depletion of conventional oil sources and the gradual move towards more expensive alternative sources such as the Alberta oil sands, it's not clear the world could develop such a large capacity to produce oil.

Transportation "currently accounts for 23 percent of the world's greenhouse-gas emissions," Brad Plumer writes at the Washington Post. "And most of that unconventional oil is significantly dirtier, from a CO2 perspective, than the traditional stuff. If people in the developing world keep buying vehicles ... then simple upgrades in fuel-efficiency alone aren't going to be enough to stop a steady uptick in global temperatures."

In an analysis published two years ago, Sperling noted that while "Beijing alone now adds nearly 1,500 cars to its roads every day," China's rapidly evolving economy makes the country ideally suited to lead the way in developing alternative energy vehicles.

Calling the country a "hotbed of innovation" that is "well positioned to respond to internal demands and international initiatives," Sperling pointed out that China is working on small electric cars; is imposing "aggressive" fuel efficiency standards; and is developing innovative public transit systems.

"What China can do, with its massive size and economy, is foster these ideas until they are fully developed and then launch them abroad," Sperling and co-author Deborah Gordon wrote.

Yet China, along with the rapidly growing economies of India and Brazil, are leading the world in increased demand for cars. And these countries often express resentment when they perceive efforts to curb unsustainable growth as being unfriendly to their development.

At this year's International Transport Forum, European speakers urged a renaissance in the use of bicycles as an alternative to cars. But representatives from China and India pointed out that their populations are currently in the process of shedding their bicycles in favour of more sophisticated transportation.

"The bike is better to get around in Beijing, but bicycle use is dropping fast due to poor air quality and the danger from car traffic," Tongji University professor Pan Haixiao said.

"Cycling is a miniscule thing," B.K. Chaturvedi of India's Planning Commission said. "That's not the future."

Mas informacion aqui: http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2011/08/23/car-population_n_934291.html?ir=Green

Strong Solar Farside Activity

2010-11-26T15:27:00.001-08:00

Space Weather News for Nov. 26, 2010
http://spaceweather.com

SOLAR FARSIDE ACTIVITY: The Earth-facing side of the sun is relatively quiet, but the farside is alive with activity. On Nov. 26th, NASA's twin STEREO spacecraft and the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) observed eruptions from multiple farside blast sites. Visit http://spaceweather.com to view movies of these events and for more information about when the active regions might turn to face Earth.

RADAR MOON: Earlier this week, the Moon passed through the beam of the US Air Force Space Surveillance Radar in Texas. An electrical engineer in Georgia recorded the echo and made a simple image of the Moon based on the reflection. Sights and sounds of the "radar Moon" are featured on today's edition of http://spaceweather.com.

Autores al aire

2010-08-04T13:47:00.001-07:00

Authors on the Air: 'Nigella Fresh'; 'Higher Education?'; 'Encountering Heaven and the Afterlife'
Compiled by Diane Patrick
Aug 04, 2010
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This morning on Today, Nigella Lawson served up Nigella Fresh: Delicious Flavors on Your Plate All Year Round (Hyperion, 978-1401310424, $19.99).
Fox and Friends hosted Andrew Hacker and Claudia Dreifus, authors of Higher Education? How Colleges Are Wasting Our Money and Failing Our Kids--and What We Can Do About It (Times Books, 978-0805087345, $26).

On The Leonard Lopate Show: Amitava Kumar, whose A Foreigner Carrying in the Crook of His Arm a Tiny Bomb (Duke Univ. Press, 978-0822345787, $21.95) is recently out in paperback. From PW's starred review: "An arresting and heartrending work of public protest and valuable social analysis, this work contributes forcefully to a subtle, human-scaled accounting of 21st-century geopolitics."

This evening, The Daily Show talks to Bruce Henderson, whose book is Hero Found: The Greatest POW Escape of the Vietnam War (Harper, 978-0061571367, $27.99; Tantor unabridged CD, $34.99). PW declared "This often riveting account sheds new light on an oft-told true story."

Moody Radio's In the Market with Janet Parshall interviewed James Garlow, author of Encountering Heaven and the Afterlife: True Stories From People Who Have Glimpsed the World Beyond (Bethany House, 978-0764208119, $14.99; Oasis Audio unabridged CD, $27.99), which is just out this week.

Due to the nature of live programming, scheduling is subject to change.

Booksellers can order these titles through Ingram at ipage.

Authors on the Air is compiled by Diane Patrick. To be included in this compilation, email author appearance information to dpatrick@publishersweekly.com (at least TWO days in advance, please).

"Pétalos que lastiman" (Revista Proceso, 1 de agosto de 2010)

2010-08-04T13:29:00.001-07:00

La polémica desatada por el tibio señalamiento del Instituto Federal Electoral (IFE) a la Presidencia de la República por su desbordado activismo durante las más recientes campañas electorales, no es el indicador de una renovada autonomía del Instituto Electoral sino una muestra más de la soberbia con la que se conduce el Ejecutivo Federal. El IFE no "se extralimitó" en sus funciones ni "censuró" al Presidente, como ha sido señalado por la Secretaría de Gobernación. Muy por el contrario, los consejeros electorales se contentaron con una acción muy menor que simplemente les lava la cara dentro de un contexto de ilegalidad e inequidad en materia electoral que ellos mismos han permitido.
La resolución del IFE del 21 julio deja totalmente impune la grosera intervención de Felipe Calderón para favorecer al Partido Acción Nacional (PAN) en las elecciones estatales del 4 de julio. De manera irregular en plena campaña electoral, el 15 de junio Calderón transmitió un mensaje por cadena nacional para "informar" sobre sus acciones en materia de seguridad pública. Este informe no contenía ninguna información nueva, importante o de urgente transmisión y únicamente fue un esfuerzo de legitimación pública de las acciones del gobierno federal.
Calderón también súbitamente decidió que cuatro días antes de las elecciones era el momento adecuado para "informar" sobre la eventual eliminación del impuesto de la tenencia para automóviles. El día siguiente, el jueves, 1 de julio, al Presidente se le ocurrió que era el momento idóneo para compartir con la ciudadanía los grandes "logros" de su gobierno en materia de empleo. Así mismo, en días previos ya había emitido un mensaje en cadena nacional sobre la muerte del candidato del Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI) al gobierno de Tamaulipas y tanto él como el Secretario de Gobernación habían convocado conferencias de prensa para llamar a un "Diálogo nacional" sobre el tema de la inseguridad pública.
El anuncio que Calderón hiciera el 1 de julio fue particularmente grave porque tuvo lugar durante los tres días de "veda" cuando está estrictamente prohibido cualquier acto de campaña electoral. De manera descarada, Calderón decidió llenar este vacío informativo mandatado por la ley con sus proclamas exageradas sobre la supuesta efectividad de su programa económico.
Habría que recordar que ésta no es la primera ocasión que el actual presidente ha llegado al extremo de utilizar la propaganda gubernamental para influir en las campañas electorales. Tal y como denunciamos en su momento en estas mismas páginas (Proceso, 10 de mayo de 2009), apenas habían iniciado las campañas federales para renovar la Cámara de Diputados el año pasado cuando Calderón decidió aparecer en Cadena Nacional para "informar" sobre sus grandes logros en el combate al Virus de la Influenza H1N1 y para presentarse como el héroe del momento.
Todos estos actos de propaganda constituyen una violación flagrante de la norma. El artículo 41 de la Constitución señala sin rodeos la prohibición de "toda propaganda gubernamental" durante las campañas electorales federales y locales. La norma contiene algunas excepciones para "campañas de información" en materia educativa y de salud o "las necesarias para la protección civil en casos de emergencia". Los mensajes de Calderón, sin embargo, no entran en ninguna de tales supuestos. Por más que la violencia del crimen organizado implica una "emergencia" nacional, los discursos no informaban sobre ninguna acción específica en materia de protección civil ni formaba parte de "campaña informativa" de ningún tipo.
Ni siquiera Vicente Fox, Ernesto Zedillo o Carlos Salinas, ninguno de los cuales destaca por su respeto a la legalidad, se habían atrevido a llegar tan lejos, aún en un contexto en que la ley era omisa en la materia. Paradójicamente, hoy que sí contamos con una disposición constitucional explícita, Calderón demuestra aún menos respeto por la legalidad y la equidad que sus antecesores.
Ante esta situación, en su resolución del 21 de julio el IFE dejó totalmente impune las acciones de Calderón durante de la semana previa a las elecciones. Con respecto a la Cadena Nacional del 15 de junio, la autoridad se limitó a emitir una burocrática y gris resolución en que "declara fundada" la queja del PRI porque el discurso "no se ajustó" a las prohibiciones constitucionales. Eso es todo. Escondiéndose detrás de una lectura exagerada del artículo 108 Constitucional, los consejeros no se atrevieron a emitir reclamo formal alguno ni a exhortar a Calderón para que no volviera a incurrir en prácticas similares.
El IFE tampoco sancionó a la Secretaría de Gobernación, que organizó la Cadena Nacional, o a los otros Secretarios que acompañaron a Calderón en las conferencias de prensa. La autoridad se negó a sancionar al Partido Acción Nacional (PAN) por su responsabilidad como beneficiario de la propaganda o incluir los recursos erogados por la Presidencia en estas comunicaciones dentro de los gastos electorales del PAN. Los consejeros ni siquiera se atrevieron a dar vista al Congreso de la Unión, a la Fiscalía Especializada para la Atención de Delitos Electorales o a la Secretaría de la Función Pública.
Pero el gobierno federal no permite que se le toque ni con el pétalo de una rosa. En lugar de aceptar con humildad este tibio señalamiento emitido por la autoridad electoral, se lanzó contra los consejeros reclamando que su resolución "carece de toda lógica". El mensaje es claro: Calderón no permitirá el menor margen de independencia aunque sea simbólica de parte de los consejeros. Su subordinación al ejecutivo debe ser total.
En los hechos, la presidencia ganó la polémica de manera contundente. De manera paralela a los "infomerciales" en Oaxaca y el "Dictamen de validez" de la elección presidencial de 2006, las autoridades electorales una vez más se niegan a actuar aún cuando reconocen la existencia de graves violaciones a la ley. La mancha de impunidad en materia electoral se extiende y se fortalece, generando un escenario verdaderamente sombrío para las elecciones de 2011 y 2012.
www.johnackerman.blogspot.com

Temblores espaciales retumban en la cercania de la tierra

2010-08-04T13:19:00.001-07:00

Temblores espaciales retumban en la cercanía de la Tierra

Investigadores de la NASA han descubierto "temblores" en el campo magnético de la Tierra, los cuales parecen estar conectados con las auroras y podrían tener un impacto importante en el estado del tiempo en el espacio.

Estruendos sin sonido
Lluvia de auroras
Campos magnéticos sacudidos
¡Cuidado con el temblor espacial!

Julio 27, 2010: Utilizando la flota de cinco naves espaciales THEMIS, de la NASA, los investigadores han descubierto un fenómeno relacionado con el tiempo en el espacio que tiene la potencia de un terremoto y desempeña un papel importante en el proceso de hacer resplandecer las auroras boreales. Lo llaman "temblor espacial".

Un temblor espacial es un temblor que tiene lugar en el campo magnético de la Tierra. Se puede detectar principalmente en la órbita terrestre, pero no se limita al espacio exterior. Los efectos pueden incluso alcanzar la superficie de la Tierra.
Derecha: Un temblor espacial en acción. Haga clic aquí para dar comienzo a la película de una simulación por computadora creada por Walt Feimer, del Laboratorio de Visualización Científica, del Centro Goddard para Vuelos Espaciales.

"Se han detectado reverberaciones magnéticas en estaciones terrestres de todo el mundo, de una manera similar en la cual los detectores sísmicos registran un gran terremoto", dice el investigador que lidera el proyecto THEMIS, Vassilis Angelopoulos, de la Universidad de California en Los Ángeles (UCLA, por su sigla en idioma inglés).

Ésta es una buena analogía porque "la energía total de un temblor espacial puede compararse con la de un terremoto de magnitud 5 o 6", según Evgeny Panov, del Instituto de Invesgitación Espacial, en Austria. Panov es uno de los autores principales de un artículo de investigación que anunció estos resultados en la edición de abril de 2010 de Geophysical Research Letters (Cartas de Investigación en Geofísica o GRL, por su sigla en idioma inglés).

En el año 2007, el proyecto THEMIS descubrió los precursores de los temblores espaciales. El fenómeno comienza en la cola del campo magnético de la Tierra, la cual es estirada, como si fuera una manga de aire, por el viento solar que se mueve a millones de kilómetros por hora. En ocasiones, la cola puede estirarse tanto y someterse a una tensión tan grande, que cuando recobra su forma original lo hace súbitamente, como una banda elástica que experimenta una torsión excesiva. El plasma del viento solar atrapado en la cola se precipita hacia la Tierra. En más de un evento, las cinco naves del proyecto THEMIS se encontraron en la línea de fuego cuando uno de estos "chorros de plasma" barrió la región. Claramente, los chorros iban a hacer contacto con la Tierra. ¿Qué ocurriría entonces? Para averiguarlo, la flota de naves espaciales se desplazó más cerca de nuestro planeta.

"Ahora lo sabemos", dice David Sibeck, el científico que es integrante del proyecto THEMIS, en el Centro Goddard para Vuelos Espaciales. "Los chorros de plasma causan temblores espaciales".
Arriba: Durante un temblor espacial, el campo magnético de la Tierra se sacude de manera análoga a cómo lo hace el suelo durante un terremoto. Crédito de la imagen: Evgeny Panov, Instituto de Investigación Espacial de Austria. [Imagen ampliada]

Según el proyecto THEMIS, los chorros se estrellan contra el campo geomagnético a aproximadamente 30.000 km por encima del ecuador de la Tierra. El impacto causa un proceso de rebote, en el cual el plasma de hecho rebota hacia arriba y hacia abajo, siguiendo el campo magnético que está reverberando. Los investigadores lo llaman "repulsión repetitiva de flujo". Es parecido a una pelota de tenis que rebota hacia arrriba y hacia abajo sobre un piso alfombrado. El primer rebote es grande, y los rebotes sucesivos son de amplitud decreciente debido a que la energía se disipa en la alfombra.

Anótese aquí para recibir nuestro servicio de ENTREGA INMEDIATA DE NOTICIAS CIENTÍFICAS

"Durante mucho tiempo, hemos sospechado que algo de esta naturaleza estaba ocurriendo", dice Sibeck. "Sin embargo, al observar el proceso in situ, el proyecto THEMIS ha descubierto algo nuevo y sorprendente".

Lo sorprendente de esto son los vórtices de plasma, enormes bucles de gas magnetizado tan grandes como la Tierra misma, que se forman alrededor de la región donde el campo magnético está siendo sacudido.

"Cuando los chorros de plasma golpean la magnetósfera interna, aparecen y desaparecen vórtices que giran en direcciones opuestas a ambos lados del chorro de plasma", explica Rumi Nakamura, del Instituto de Investigación Espacial, quien es uno de los co–autores del estudio. "Creemos que estos vórtices pueden generar corrientes eléctricas sustanciales en el ambiente cercano a la Tierra".

Si actuaran en conjunto, los vórtices y los temblores espaciales podrían tener un efecto apreciable sobre la Tierra. Las colas de los vórtices podrían dirigir partículas hacia la atmósfera terrestre, haciendo resplandecer auroras y creando ondas de ionización que interfieren en las comunicaciones por radio y en el GPS (Global Positioning System o Sistema de Posicionamiento Global, en idioma español). Al arrastar campos magnéticos superficiales, los temblores espaciales generan corrientes eléctricas en el piso sobre el que caminamos. Las sobrecargas de corriente en el suelo pueden tener profundas consecuencias ya que, en casos extremos, pueden deshabilitar redes de energía en áreas muy extensas.
Derecha: Un mapa creado por el proyecto THEMIS que muestra flujos de plasma durante un temblor espacial. Los ejes están dados en radios terrestres, por lo que cada bucle es aproximadamente del tamaño de la Tierra. [Imagen ampliada]

Después de que el proyecto THEMIS descubrió los chorros y los temblores, Joachim Bim, del Laboratorio Nacional de Los Álamos, en Nuevo México, llevó a cabo una simulación por computadora del proceso de rebote. Y quién lo diría, los vórtices aparecieron de acuerdo con lo establecido por las mediciones del proyecto THEMIS. Además, las simulaciones sugieren que el proceso de rebote puede ser observado desde la superficie de la Tierra, en forma de ondulaciones y remolinos que aparecen en las auroras. Las estaciones en la Tierra informan precisamente sobre un fenómeno parecido.

"Aunque es un proceso complicado, todo concuerda", dice Sibeck.

El trabajo aún no está terminado. "Todavía tenemos mucho que aprender", agrega. "¿Cuán grandes pueden ser los temblores espaciales? ¿Cuántos vórtices pueden girar en torno a la Tierra en un momento dado —y cómo interaccionan entre sí?"

Manténgase en contacto para obtener más respuestas proporcionadas por el proyecto THEMIS.
Vórtices que giran
Remolinos de plasma
Richter predice
uno de magnitud seis

Autores al aire

2010-08-02T18:51:00.000-07:00

Tonight on The Daily Show: science writer Mary Roach, whose Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void (W. W. Norton, 978-0393068474, $25.95; Brilliance Audio unabridged CD, $29.99) pubs today.
Talk of the Nation interviewed professor and bestseller Andrew Hacker, co-author of Higher Education? How Colleges Are Wasting Our Money and Failing Our Kids--and What We Can Do About It (Times Books, 978-0805087345, $26), which pubs tomorrow.

Authors on today's Sirius XM Book Radio's Pia Lindström Presents:

Nonfiction author Joseph Wallace with his debut novel Diamond Ruby (Touchstone, 978-1439160053, $16; Blackstone Audiobooks unabridged CD, $32.95), based on the true story of a lady pitcher who struck out Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig in exhibition play. PW wrote "Sharply sketched, convincing historical characters like Ruth and Dempsey add to the considerable appeal of Wallace's gritty but fun period baseball tale."

Jim Knipfel, whose new book is These Children Who Come at You with Knives, and Other Fairy Tales: Stories (S&S, 978-1439154120, $14). PW declared "Funny, sarcastic, and disturbing, Knipfel's stories will cause readers to squirm in their seats and laugh out loud at the same time."

Playwright David Mamet discusses his children's book The Trials of Roderick Spode, "The Human Ant" (Sourcebooks, 978-1402238307, $15.99). PW's review had this to say: "The series of misadventures is gently amusing, but it's hard to imagine anyone without Mamet's fame getting the book published—certainly not in hardcover and at this price."

Authors on today's Leonard Lopate Show:

Siobhan O'Connor and Alexandra Spunt examined No More Dirty Looks: The Truth about Your Beauty Products--and the Ultimate Guide to Safe and Clean Cosmetics (Da Capo Lifelong Books, 978-0738213965, $14.95).

Rick Moody talked about his ninth book, The Four Fingers of Death (Little, Brown, 978-0316118910, $25.99), which pubbed last week. PW thought "No amount of familiarity with Moody's body of work will prepare a reader for this distressingly impertinent exercise in bafflement."

On The Wendy Williams Show: Playboy beauty and reality-show star Kendra Wilkinson, author of Sliding Into Home (Gallery, 978-1439180914, $25).

Due to the nature of live programming, scheduling is subject to change.

Booksellers can order these titles through Ingram at ipage.

Authors on the Air is compiled by Diane Patrick. To be included in this compilation, email author appearance information to dpatrick@publishersweekly.com (at least TWO days in advance, please).

Observan OVNIs

2010-08-02T18:31:00.001-07:00

North Carolina - 05-14-10 - I had pick up my son from school at about 3:05 PM. On the way home we came to a stop sign at a high ridge. I looked to the right, and that's when I saw it just over the tree line.

I could not believe it, but it was so big, so clear. I asked my son, "Do you see that? - He said yes!"

The craft was 1500 ft away and only 50 ft over the tree tops. The craft was a disk shape, but on each end was like a ball. It had to be 350 to 400 feet long. It was in the direction of my house and shops.

I did not want to move as it was just hovering over the trees. Under the craft the air looked like the air over a road on a hot summer day. After about 2 minutes, I had to try to get closer.

I turned right and sped after it. As I drove down the hill I lost sight of it, and when we got to where it had been, it was gone. I drove around and back to where we originally saw it, but it was just gone. Source: www.mufon.com

North Carolina - 07-18-10 - A strong storm system rolled through the Raleigh-Durham area of NC tonight and wiped out power in parts of Durham for about two hours. Within minutes of the power being turned back on, we saw a bright, orange light slowly emerge from the horizon of the woods and travel over our neighborhood.

It was making no sound, and as soon as it hit a certain height in the sky, it immediately started to move faster.

Within a minute, the orange light had become smaller, flashed twice and disappeared. If you held a silver dollar in the sky with your arm straight it would be the approximate size of the UFO. Source: www.mufon.com

North Carolina - 07-21-10 - We were sitting on the deck of our beach house at Sunset Beach, NC, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean facing due south. About 9:30 PM as we were talking, one of our family members (there were four of us that witnessed this) said "What is that?"

I looked to the sky and there were two orange/yellow lights in the sky above the ocean directly out from our deck... they seemed to be fairly close to together (more apart than two headlights coming toward you), and were fairly bright, like a street light from about a 100 yards away.

There was a pretty bright moon out over the ocean, and they were just under the moon, so they were pretty high up (unless they were much closer to shore than we thought, but definitely not on the water).

After about two seconds, the left-most light turned off, then three or four more lights to the right all came on. They were on for another 3-5 seconds, then all of them went dark.

There was no sound of any engines in the air. All of the lights were in a parallel line with the horizon. During the time the lights were on, they didn't move at all.

We first thought fireworks, like when they reach their zenith, and right before they explode, but these lights couldn't have been fireworks as they floated still for several seconds, and were in such perfect parallel order. Source: www.mufon.com

North Carolina - 07-22-10 - I was fishing with a couple of friends and my 2 sons on the beach. At about 10:00 PM, one of my friends jumped from his chair and yelled, "Did you see that, did you see that? Please tell me I'm not the only one that saw that."

He told me he had just seen 2 bright, orange lights high in the sky. They only stayed on for about 5 seconds and then disappeared.

Our other friend also saw it, but myself and my sons did not. I sat down in one of the other chairs and started to watch the sky. The moon was very bright and the beach and skies were fairly light.

My 2 friends stood near their fishing poles. I had asked where exactly they had seen the lights so I could focus my time on that area. They told me it was to the left of the moon and pointed to a star as reference.

It was about 5 minutes after that that I was sitting there watching, when all of a sudden 6 lights in a triangle shape came on. The lights were very, very bright and orange. It was almost as if they were illuminating or glowing.

They were pointed in my direction, as if they were coming my way. I had yelled to my friends to look up in the sky. My one friend looked up and saw the lights and said it was almost exactly what he had seen a few minutes earlier, only they were in a different part of the sky. They were to the left of the moon. Source: www.mufon.com

Autores al aire

2010-07-28T13:27:00.001-07:00

This morning on The Today Show: bestseller Lis Wiehl, co-author of Hand of Fate (Thomas Nelson, 978-1595547064, $24.99; Oasis Audio unabridged CD, $29.99), the second novel in the Triple Threat series, which PW said "offers an exciting if familiar plot."
On The Wendy Williams Show, Father Alberto Cutié discussed his upcoming book Dilemma: A Priest's Struggle with Faith and Love (Celebra, 978-0451232014, $25.95), which pubs in January.

On The Leonard Lopate Show, food journalist Laura Shapiro served up Perfection Salad: Women and Cooking at the Turn of the Century (Univ. of California Press, 978-0520257382, $16.95). PW thought "This serious study is lively entertainment, spiced by the author's wit and wry perceptions."

The Diane Rehm Show chatted with longtime Forbes magazine correspondent Richard Morais, whose debut novel is The Hundred-Foot Journey (Scribner, 978-1439165645, $23). From PW's review: "Morais delves into a rich, imagery-filled culinary world that begins in Bombay and ends in Paris, tracing the career of Hassan Haji as he becomes a famed Parisian chef. Regardless of one's relationship with food, this novel will spark the desire to wield a whisk or maybe just a knife and fork."

This evening, The Daily Show hosts military historian Robert O'Connell, whose new book is The Ghosts of Cannae: Hannibal and the Darkest Hour of the Roman Republic (Random House, 978-1400067022, $27; Tantor unabridged CD, $39.99). PW's review declared "O'Connell has established the new standard for studies of the second conflict between Rome and Carthage. In dramatic and comprehensive fashion, he describes the rivalry, based on temperament and territory, that led to the slaughter at Cannae in 216 B.C.E. and beyond."

Jimmy Kimmel Live interviews Lisa Ling, co-author of Somewhere Inside: One Sister's Captivity in North Korea and the Other's Fight to Bring Her Home (William Morrow, 978-0062000675, $26.99).

Due to the nature of live programming, scheduling is subject to change.

Booksellers can order these titles through Ingram at ipage.

Authors on the Air is compiled by Diane Patrick. To be included in this compilation, email author appearance information to dpatrick@publishersweekly.com (at least TWO days in advance, please).

Could Drinking Help Thwart Rheumatoid Arthritis?

2010-07-28T13:11:00.001-07:00

Could Drinking Help Thwart Rheumatoid Arthritis?
Early study suggests it might, but that's no reason to imbibe heavily, experts say

By Amanda Gardner
HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, July 28 (HealthDay News) -- Drinking alcohol may help keep rheumatoid arthritis at bay, possibly because it dampens the body's immune response, new research suggests.

Alcohol consumption may also protect people who already have the autoimmune disease from developing a more debilitating form.

"This actually isn't a new concept. There have been other articles [stating] that alcohol might be protective," said Dr. Guy Fiocco, assistant professor of internal medicine at Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine and director of rheumatology at Scott & White in Temple, Texas. "[But] I don't think we're going to be advocating alcohol to prevent rheumatoid arthritis."

Nor do the study authors advise drinking as a cure for arthritis. "We would wish to point out that, at the moment, that our findings are preliminary, and would not recommend that patients drink alcohol with the specific purpose of treating their arthritis," said Dr. James Maxwell, lead author of the study and a consultant rheumatologist at The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust in England.

"We would also remind patients to observe recommended government limits for alcohol consumption," he added.

According to background information in the study, published online July 28 in Rheumatology, previous studies were mostly conducted in mice. The benefit of ethanol exposure for these rodents seemed to be due to higher levels of testosterone, the researchers wrote.

For this study, the authors compared 1,004 healthy participants to 873 people with rheumatoid arthritis. Both of those groups were divided into four groups: nondrinkers, those who drank 1 to 5 days a month, the ones who drank 6 to 10 days a month, and those who drank more frequently.

"We found that arthritis was progressively less severe as alcohol frequency increased, with a definite difference compared to nondrinkers even in the least frequent alcohol consumption group," Maxwell said.

The teetotalers had quadruple the risk of having rheumatoid arthritis compared with those who drank in the highest category.

And the more often one drank, the less damaging the rheumatoid arthritis tended to be, including healthier joints as shown on X-rays and less inflammation.

The association was seen in both men and women, though it was stronger in males.

Although no one can pinpoint a reason for the link with certainty, "essentially we think that alcohol may be having an effect by reducing the immune response, which leads to joint inflammation, and also that it may have a mild pain-killing effect," said Maxwell.

"There's a little information that alcohol can suppress the immune system," added Fiocco. "What's been reported is that people who drink excessive alcohol actually have higher levels of the cytokines that lead to the inflammation and moderate amounts of alcohol actually may lower these levels."

This finding is slightly different than what is reported in the current study (that the severity of the disease decreased with more alcohol).

Because the researchers assessed drinking frequency, rather than the amount of alcohol consumed, it is not clear how much alcohol might be helpful, they said.

And Maxwell stressed that their preliminary findings need to be replicated in the future.

"There are limitations to any research which asks patients to report their exposure to something (such as alcohol) over a period of time," Maxwell added. "We would therefore recommend that a future prospective study should be performed to further assess the impact of alcohol consumption on rheumatoid arthritis, a study recording alcohol consumption at the time rather than asking about it later."

More information

The U.S. National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases has more on rheumatoid arthritis.

SOURCES: James Maxwell, M.D., consultant rheumatologist, The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust, England; Guy Fiocco, M.D., assistant professor, internal medicine, Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine, and director, rheumatology, Scott & White, Temple, Texas; July 28, 2010, Rheumatology, online

Last Updated: July 28, 2010

Copyright © 2010 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Solar Activity Surges on the Eve of South Pacific Eclipse

2010-07-10T12:25:00.001-07:00

Space Weather News for July 10, 2010
http://spaceweather.com

A LIVELY SOLAR ECLIPSE: Fast-growing sunspot 1087 is crackling with C-class solar flares. A spectacular eruption recorded by the Solar Dynamics Observatory is featured on today's edition of Spaceweather.com. This surge in activity comes on the eve of a total eclipse of the sun over the South Pacific. Will eclipse chasers see material blasting away from the sun when the Moon hides the blinding stellar surface? It's a possibility. Stay tuned to http://spaceweather.com for updates and pictures from the path of totality.

SUNSET CONJUNCTION: Look west at sunset. Venus is passing by 1st magnitude star Regulus. They're only a little more than a degree apart. Bright Venus catches the eye first. As the glow of sunset fades, Regulus pops out of the twilight a little below Venus. The view through binoculars is superb.

SPACE WEATHER ALERTS: Did you miss the last big solar flare or geomagnetic storm? Don't let that happen again. Turn your cell phone into a full-featured space weather alert system: http://spaceweatherphone.com

Hubble Photographs Jupiter Impact Site

2010-06-17T18:48:00.001-07:00

Space Weather News for June 16, 2010
http://spaceweather.com

HUBBLE SEEKS DEBRIS, FINDS NONE: Even the Hubble Space Telescope cannot find any debris where a meteoroid apparently hit Jupiter on June 3rd. Today, researchers released new HST images of the impact site, which show nothing but uninterrupted clouds. The non-detection is consistent with a relatively small asteroid or comet fragment making a shallow strike in Jupiter's high atmosphere. Links to photos and more information may be found at http://spaceweather.com

NOCTILUCENT CLOUDS: Observers in Europe are reporting brightening displays of noctilucent clouds (NLCs). That's to be expected. Late spring and early summer often bring the strongest displays of these electric-blue clouds wafting across the top of Earth's atmosphere. Visit today's edition of http://spaceweather.com for photos, observing tips--and a possible connection between NLCs and sunspots.

Thoughtful, Impactful Father's Day Gift Ideas + Free Shipping

2010-06-16T13:44:00.001-07:00

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Dear Supporter,

Last minute doesn't mean less thoughtful: Father's Day is right around the corner, and if you haven't snapped up the perfect gift yet, we can help. Shop for dear old Dad today and find an untraditional, no-ship gift that's sure to please. Our Gifts That Give More™ department is full of great ways to honor all the Fathers in your life while helping to support a cause that is close to his heart (and yours!).

For as little as $10, you can purchase our Give Books to U.S. Children in Need Gift That Gives More™. This donation will support the work of First Book, a non-profit organization with a single mission to give children from low-income families the opportunity to read and own their first new books. Through Gifts like these, First Book has provided more than 50 million new books to children in need!

Each of these direct donation opportunities come with a full-color pdf that you can print for your recipient; all are 100% tax-deductible in the U.S.; and, all are a truly unique way to give twice--once to your gift recipient and once to the cause! Click here to view all these amazing Gifts.

Done with your Father's Day shopping? Find great deals for yourself and save with free standard shipping on your $20 U.S. or $50 international order! Hurry: This offer ends at the stroke of midnight on Wednesday, June 16th.

Thank you for supporting the causes you and your family care about.

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timkunin@theliteracysite.com
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MNN Daily Briefing: Dolphin Diplomacy

2010-06-12T19:59:00.001-07:00

Good morning! And welcome to the Daily Briefing for the weekend of June 12. To stay on top of Earth-friendly news all day, visit us at Mother Nature Network.

BP PHONE HOME: Saturday's U.S.-U.K. World Cup soccer match isn't the only trans-Atlantic grudge match playing out this weekend. As Americans' anger over the Gulf oil spill grows, it has begun stirring a backlash in Britain, the birthplace and home base of the multinational company once known as "British Petroleum." Many indignant Britons are suddenly struggling to keep their upper lips stiff, fuming over what they see as mean-spirited U.S. critiques of BP, a major British taxpayer and pension-fund contributor. London Mayor Boris Johnson said Thursday he was concerned about "anti-British rhetoric" and "name-calling" from U.S. politicians, warning that "it starts to become a matter of national concern if a great British company is being continually beaten up on the airwaves." Such defensiveness is largely a response to growing pressure on BP from the Obama administration, which is pushing the company to repay oil-rig workers' lost wages on top of cleanup costs, and is also conducting a criminal investigation into what caused the spill. BP's market value has plunged at least 50 percent since the spill began, and the escalating outrage has even raised questions of whether the company should withhold stock dividends until the scope of devastation is better understood. Americans may find it appropriate for BP to avoid paying billions to shareholders while people and animals suffer throughout the Gulf Coast, but the idea still irks people like George Osborne, the U.K.'s finance minister, who says it's important to remember "the economic value BP brings to people in Britain and America." Osborne and other BP apologists, however, have been much quieter about the importance of another great asset that's in even worse shape than BP - the Gulf of Mexico. (Sources: New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Reuters)

DOLPHIN DIPLOMACY: It may not help them survive the Gulf oil spill, but a new study has discovered that bottlenose dolphins are apparently master diplomats, capable of defusing fights with a few subtle clicks and squeaks. Marine biologists have long believed these mammals mainly rely on whistling to communicate, but Italian researchers based at Sardinia's Bottlenose Dolphin Research Institute have now shown the importance of another, little-known tool in the dolphin vocabulary: "burst-pulsed sounds." On top of complementing dolphins' other vocalizations, which already help them navigate highly complex social communities, burst-pulsed sounds also serve a variety of other purposes, the researchers say, including putting upstarts in their place, submitting to dominant dolphins and even talking down would-be attackers. "Burst-pulsed sounds are used in the life of bottlenose dolphins to socialize and maintain their position in the social hierarchy in order to prevent physical conflict," says Bruno Diaz, the study's lead author, "and this also represents a significant energy saving." Dolphins' well-known tonal whistles allow them to stay in contact with each other over long distances and to coordinate hunting strategies, according to the study, while the more elaborate burst-pulsed sounds are mostly used "to avoid physical aggression in situations of high excitement, such as when they are competing for the same piece of food," Diaz says. Unfortunately for the Gulf of Mexico's large bottlenose population, though, the deadly and ever-expanding oil spill there probably won't listen to reason. (Source: ScienceDaily)

CLIMATE CONTROL: The U.S. Senate may not be quite ready to pass a comprehensive climate-change bill this year, but it showed Thursday that it's at least not entirely opposed to curbing the emissions that fuel global warming. By a vote of 53-47, the Senate rejected a proposal challenging the Obama administration's authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from power plants and other large polluters. The proposal would have stripped the EPA of its power to cut greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act, a strategy the agency only began pursuing after the Senate failed to act last year on a climate bill passed by the House. As President Obama's broader climate agenda has stalled amid political hoopla over other issues like health care and immigration, Thursday's vote was seen by many as a senatorial referendum on whether climate-change legislation is even still on the table. "If ever there was a vote to find out whose side you are on, this is it," says Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., chair of the Environment and Public Works Committee. Independent Connecticut Sen. Jospeh Lieberman predicts the vote will "increase momentum" to pass a climate bill this year, but opponents such as Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., are nonetheless finding a silver lining to the setback. Although the EPA challenge was shot down, Inhofe says the vote made clear that a majority of senators support either delaying or banning "the Obama EPA's job-killing global warming agenda." (Sources: AP, Boston Globe, USA Today)

Check out all of the news for the weekend.

Quick Links:
> Artisan rice? A 5th generation farmer in CA is growing what might be the best rice in the country
> A neglected canal in Milan, Italy has been turned into an amazing bird haven.

Looking forward to your visit,

The team at Mother Nature Network

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Solar Flares and Radio Bursts

2010-06-12T19:52:00.001-07:00

Space Weather News for June 12, 2010
http://spaceweather.com

ACTIVE SUNSPOT: A new sunspot has popped up and it is crackling with solar flares. Today, AR1081 has unleashed a series of M- and C-class eruptions plus at least one strong shortwave radio burst detected by amateur radio astronomers on the Pacific side of Earth. High resolution movies of the flares and an audio recording of the solar radio burst may be found at http://spaceweather.com.

SPACE WEATHER ALERTS: Would you like to turn your phone into a space weather monitoring system? Sign up for Space Weather PHONE: http://spaceweatherphone.com

Help Feed U.S. Families In Need + Free Shipping Offer!

2010-06-07T10:22:00.001-07:00

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Dear Supporter,

According to a 2008 report prepared by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, nearly 7 million households in America are considered to have very low food security, the highest level recorded in 13 years. This means that people in these homes had much less to eat and often skipped meals due to lack of food.

In these times of need, many families turn to food assistance programs and nonprofit organizations, like our charity partner Feeding America®, to help fill their pantries and their bellies. Today, June 7th (through 11:59 p.m. PT), you can do your part to continue their amazing work by shopping in our do-good store. Place your order at The Child Health Site store to help feed a U.S. family...at no additional cost to you. Shop now to support the cause.

You can also increase your impact by helping fund the work of our charity partner Feeding America through the purchase of either our Feed a U.S. Family Gift That Gives More™ or our Feed U.S. Kids with The Backpack Program Gift That Gives More™. Easing the worries of families who are concerned with where their next meal is coming from will go a long way toward helping break the cycle of hunger and poverty. And, when you make your 100% tax-deductible donation, we'll provide you with a full-color pdf certificate of acknowledgement that makes a thoughtful Father's Day gift. You can help the 7 million households in America get the help they need: Start today.

Shop To Help Save Lives...And, Save!

Starting today, through Wednesday, June 16th (11:59 p.m. PT), when you spend a mere $20 in our do-good store ($50 for international orders), you'll receive free standard shipping! It's our way of saying thank you for clicking and shopping on behalf of children in need: Your purchases at The Child Health Site store provide basic, but vital healthcare for children all over the world. Start your savings spree in our Gifts For Kids department where you'll find a great selection of charming toys and treats for the young people in your life.

Thank you for helping to positively impact the world each and every day!

Sincerely,

Tim Kunin & Greg Hesterberg
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The Child Health Site
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Jupiter Impact Event Caught on Video

2010-06-04T14:15:00.001-07:00

Space Weather News for June 3, 2010
http://spaceweather.com

SOMETHING HAS JUST HIT JUPITER: Veteran amateur astronomers Anthony Wesley of Australia and Christopher Go of the Philippines have independently observed an impact event on Jupiter. The strike occurred at 20:31 UT on June 3rd and produced a bright flash of light in the giant planet's cloudtops. Visit http://spaceweather.com for images and video.

72 Hours to Act: Polar Bear Homes, Lives at Risk

2010-06-04T14:12:00.001-07:00

Urgent: Protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Irresponsible development in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge could wreck the most important onshore denning habitat for America's threatened polar bears.

Urge the Fish and Wildlife Service's Alaska Regional Director to protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the polar bears and other spectacular wildlife that live there.

Forward this message to a friend!

Dear Raul,

Imagine the potential damage from an industrial oil field in the midst of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge – one of the most important onshore denning habitats for polar bears – and you'll understand why I need your help today.

Polar bear mothers are particularly sensitive to noise and other disruptions. Construction, road traffic, airplanes and other noisemaking activities can cause these beloved wild bears to abandon their cubs, leaving them to die without the important lessons that only a mother bear can teach.

Help preserve the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Tell the Fish and Wildlife Service to protect the Arctic Refuge – and the polar bears and other wildlife that rely on this pristine landscape to survive.

With the Fish and Wildlife Service set to revise the Arctic Refuge's 15-year management plan, we only have until Monday (June 7^th) to make our voices heard. We only need 800 messages from caring people in your state like you to meet our goal of 40,000 messages. Will you help?

Please take action right now! Urge the Fish and Wildlife Service's Arctic Refuge Planning Team to protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the spectacular wildlife that live there.

For years, the oil industry and its political supporters have pushed to industrialize this special place. Just this week, one of the oil industry's biggest supporters, former Alaska governor Sarah Palin even claimed that the offshore oil disaster in the Gulf proves the need to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge! In fact, the Gulf oil spill proves only that drilling is too dangerous to risk harming a pristine place like the Arctic Refuge.

The Arctic Refuge is home to polar bears, grizzly bears, caribou, musk oxen, Dall sheep, wolves and rare wolverines. It's also an important area for millions of migratory birds, many of which make their way across your state on their way to the Arctic Refuge.

Today you have the unique opportunity to tell the Fish and Wildlife Service how you think the Arctic Refuge should be managed for future generations. Please help protect the Refuge's wildlife by taking a moment to tell the Fish and Wildlife Service how important the Arctic Refuge is to you.

Send your message today and urge federal officials to…

Begin a comprehensive review with an eye toward designating the entire Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as federally designated Wilderness, so that polar bears and other wildlife need never again be threatened by the potential for harmful oil and gas drilling and other destructive development in the habitat they need to survive;

Stand strong against the State of Alaska's efforts to extend its out-of-control and scientifically unfounded predator control programs into the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge; and

Preserve the viability of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and its wildlife for future generations of Americans by setting aside unique ecological areas and regulating recreation.

With the lives of threatened polar bears and other arctic wildlife hanging in the balance, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is considering how exactly to manage the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

It's up to us to ensure that these federal officials act on behalf of the Arctic Refuge…and the wildlife that call this special place home. Please take action right now!

For the Wild Ones,

Peter Nelson
Director, Federal Lands Program
Defenders of Wildlife

Today Only: Savings Coupon, Half-Off Shipping & Free Necklace Offer!

2010-06-02T13:34:00.001-07:00

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Dear Supporter,

Just yesterday, June 1st, people all over the world took part in events to celebrate International Children's Day. For almost 90 years, this global holiday has focused on the rights, health, and education of young people. Some countries even declare June 1st a national holiday: Kids get the day off from school to go out and, well...be kids!

Although International Children's Day is not a widely recognized holiday here in the U.S., you can still do your part on behalf of young people at The Literacy Site each and every day. Make your clicks on the orange button to help fund free books for kids; keep up on the latest news on literacy and education; or take action by signing one of our online petitions. Together, our community that cares can help bring about some amazing changes in the lives of kids all over the world.

Three Reasons To Shop Today

Today, June 2nd (through 11:59 p.m. PT), is your last chance to take advantage of two great cost-cutting opportunities in our do-good store. Start by taking $5 off your $25 order: All you need to do is enter TAKEFIVE into the promotion code box when you checkout to cash in on these savings. It's also the last day to get half off all of our shipping on your $25 U.S. or $50 international order. And we do mean all shipping options: Standard, 3-Day, 2-Day, or Next Day deliveries.

If that weren't enough, if you shop before the stroke of midnight tonight, we'll throw a little something extra in with your order, absolutely free: a Peace Love Harmony Hoop Necklace! This triple-dose of inspiration features three silver-tone hoops, each engraved with one of these positive attributes. All are strung on a faux-suede cord making for a simple, yet impactful everyday accessory. Knowing that each item you purchase in our do-good store gives at least one book to a child in need is perhaps the greatest gift of all: Shop today.

On behalf of young people across the globe, we thank you.

Sincerely,

Tim Kunin & Greg Hesterberg
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Don't Let Mitsubishi Destroy a Natural Treasure

2010-06-02T13:26:00.001-07:00

STOP MITSUBISHI.
SAVE BRISTOL BAY.

Speak out now to be heard at Mitsubishi's Shareholders Meeting on June 24 -- before Alaska's unspoiled Bristol Bay watershed is ruined.

Dear Raul,

"America does not want the Pebble Mine! Stay out of Bristol Bay!"

That's the Earth Day message we delivered -- in the form of a Petition signed by more than 100,000 Americans -- to foreign mining giant Anglo American at its Shareholders Meeting in London last month.

Now it's time to ratchet up the pressure on another mega-company behind the disastrous Pebble Mine: the Mitsubishi Corporation.

Please sign our new Petition of Protest so that your voice can be heard loud and clear at Mitsubishi's annual Shareholders Meeting in Tokyo on June 24.

Nothing less than an American natural treasure is at stake. Bristol Bay is home to orcas and beluga whales, wild moose and caribou, and one of only two populations of freshwater harbor seals in the world -- all intimately connected to the health of the bay and its world-class salmon runs.

Those salmon runs also support thousands of sustainable jobs in fishing and tourism as well as Alaska Natives who depend on the salmon for food.

Anglo American and Mitsubishi couldn't pick a much worse place on the planet to dig a 2,000-foot-deep open-pit mine.

Sited in a known earthquake zone, the Pebble Mine's colossal earthen dams -- which are supposed to hold back some 10 billion tons of mining waste mixed with toxic chemicals -- are a disaster waiting to happen.

But it wouldn't even take an earthquake to irreparably contaminate this unspoiled corner of Alaska. Just constructing the Pebble Mine -- before it goes into full-scale operation -- will permanently destroy over 60 miles of salmon habitat.

If Bristol Bay's world-famous salmon runs collapse, so could the entire ecosystem -- not to mention the communities that rely on salmon for their very subsistence. That's why a vast majority of Native Alaskans oppose the Pebble Mine.

Please stand in solidarity with Alaska's Native communities by making your voice heard at Mitsubishi's Shareholders Meeting.

It is unconscionable for a company that sells so many cars, trucks, and electronics in the United States to sacrifice a spectacular piece of America's heritage.

Will Mitsubishi back down when faced with worldwide opposition? It did 10 years ago.

When Mitsubishi and the Mexican government planned a massive industrial salt plant in the planet's last untouched gray whale nursery at San Ignacio Lagoon in Baja, Mexico, NRDC joined with leading Mexican environmental groups to oppose it.

Working with an international coalition, we brought public opinion to bear on Mitsubishi -- deluging the company with more than one million petitions. In the end, the Mexican government called a halt to the project, and Mitsubishi abandoned its salt plant project!

Today, Mitsubishi needs to know that proceeding with the Pebble Mine will give the company a black eye in the view of millions of American consumers.

Please tell Mitsubishi's CEO that you will vigorously oppose his company's efforts to build a mega-mine that will destroy our natural heritage, devastate Alaskan Native communities, and contaminate Alaska's wild salmon paradise.

Let me know that you'll help us stop Mitsubishi and defeat the disastrous Pebble Mine.

Sincerely,

Frances Beinecke
President
Natural Resources Defense Council

P.S. Hurry -- with the Mitsubishi Shareholders Meeting only weeks away, we don't have much time to collect at least 100,000 signatures on our Petition. Please act now when your signature will do the most good!

Secret Space Plane Sighted in the Night Sky

2010-05-25T16:10:00.001-07:00

Space Weather News for May 25, 2010
http://spaceweather.com

X-37B SIGHTINGS: Amateur satellite watchers have spotted a US Air Force space plane similar in appearance to NASA's space shuttle circling Earth in a heretofore secret orbit. Known as the "X-37B," it can be seen in the night sky shining about as brightly as the stars of the Big Dipper. Flyby predictions and more information may be found at http://spaceweather.com .

Would you like to turn your iPhone into an X-37B tracker? There's an app for that: http://simpleflybys.com .

AURORA WATCH: A magnetic filament on the sun erupted yesterday (May 24th), and the blast hurled a coronal mass ejection in the general direction of Earth. High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras around May 27th when the advancing cloud is likely to deal a glancing blow to our planet's magnetic field.

MNN Daily Briefing: Birds in the Urban Forest

2010-05-22T23:49:00.001-07:00

Good morning! And welcome to the Daily Briefing for the weekend of May 22. To stay on top of Earth-friendly news all day, visit us at Mother Nature Network.

THE BIRDS AND THE TREES: As songbirds migrate across the United States each fall and spring, even tiny urban forests may offer a big boost to their chances for survival, according to a new study in the journal Landscape Ecology. Researchers used data from radio tags to learn the Swainson's thrush (pictured) often rests and refuels in small tree clusters while making its grueling cross-country trips, and they even deduced how the bird decides when to pull over. "We were able to record how long the birds were staying, and we found that it was not necessarily the forest size that was influencing the birds," one of the study's co-authors tells the BBC. "Instead, they were responding to internal factors, such as [the amount of] fat reserves they had." In other words, it's like a hungry family settling for fast food on a road trip instead of holding out for something better. But unlike McDonald's and Taco Bell, bird-friendly forests may be getting harder and harder to find, the authors write: "With the expansion of urban areas worldwide, migrating songbirds increasingly encounter fragmented landscapes where habitat patches are embedded in an urban matrix." Since land birds spend up to 90 percent of their migrations resting and regaining energy, the researchers say their study shows the importance of even minor tree-conservation efforts. "These findings suggest that remnant forests within urban areas have conservation value for Swainson's thrushes and, potentially, other migrant land birds," one says. "Obviously, larger forest patches are better, but even smaller ones are worth saving." (Source: BBC News)

CAR TALK: Toyota has announced that it will purchase $50 million in stock of the electric car company Tesla during its initial public offering of stock later this year. The joint venture will operate out of the recently shuttered auto plant known as Nuumi in Freemont, Calif. Listeners of the popular This American Life radio show will be familiar with the Nummi plant, which revolutionized car assembly in the mid-1980s. (The radio show recently dedicated an entire hour to a report about the unique plant.) As MNN's car blogger Jim Motavalli reports in the New York Times, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger says the new facilities "could create more than 1,000 green jobs in California." The Associated Press reports that the embattled Toyota is hoping, among other things, that its investment in the up-and-coming Tesla will help its recently tarnished image over faulty car components. As for Tesla, the investment comes with the added benefit of years of Toyota know-how. "We look forward to learning and benefiting from Toyota's legendary engineering, manufacturing and production expertise," says Elon Musk, Tesla's chief executive (who, apparently, was the inspiration for Iron Man's Tony Stark). (Sources: New York Times, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, This American Life, Associated Press)

DISPERSION IMMERSION: The chemical dispersants being used to break up the growing oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico are just too risky, the EPA has decided, just a few weeks after the agency gave BP its blessing to use them. In a statement released Thursday, the EPA said that, "Because of its use in unprecedented volumes and because much is unknown about the underwater use of dispersants, EPA wants to ensure BP is using the least toxic product authorized for use." BP has already sprayed nearly 700,000 gallons of Corexit dispersants onto the surface oil slick as well as the leaking oil well located a mile underwater, shattering the previous record of about 160,000 gallons used for a single spill. The EPA gave BP 24 hours to identify a less toxic alternative to Corexit, and 72 hours after that to make the switch. Corexit is made by the Illinois-based Nalco, which has hired some senior executives from major oil companies, Wired reports. According to EPA testing data, at least one competitive product, U.S. Polychemical's Dispersit SPC 1000, is already known to be less toxic and and more effective than Corexit. U.S. Polychemical tells the New York Times that it has received an order from BP and will boost its production to 20,000 gallons a day, and eventually up as high as 60,000 daily. A BP spokesman, however, also defends the company's use of Corexit up till now: "Corexit was an EPA-approved dispersant that had been widely used in the Gulf and was available in the quantities we required." (Sources: New York Times, Wired, EPA)

Check out all of the news for the weekend.

Quick Links:
> 5 cheap ways to save 1,000 gallons of water a year (good for Earth, good for the wallet)
> Nearly barefoot: Three awesome minimalist shoes that may improve your running.

Looking forward to your visit,

The team at Mother Nature Network

Atlantis and the ISS Transit the Sun

2010-05-22T23:31:00.001-07:00

Space Weather News for May 23, 2010
http://spaceweather.com

SOLAR TRANSIT: Yesterday in Switzerland, Thierry Legault photographed the International Space Station and space shuttle Atlantis passing directly in front of the sun, not far from new sunspot 1072. The veteran astrophotographer calls the image his "best ever of a solar transit," and indeed the silhouette of the docked spaceships backlit by "solar fire" is a must see. It is featured on today's edition of http://spaceweather.com.

DOUBLE FLYBY ALERT: Atlantis is scheduled to undock from the ISS on Sunday, May 23rd, at 11:22 am EDT, setting the stage for double flybys over many towns and cities around the world. Need a flyby prediction? There's an app for that: http://simpleflybys.com .

Amazing 3D Space Station Movie

2010-05-16T22:13:00.001-07:00

Space Weather News for May 14, 2010
http://spaceweather.com

Today's edition of spaceweather.com features a remarkable 3D movie of the International Space Station (ISS) recorded by French astrophotographer Thierry Legault. No special glasses are required to see the ISS pop out of your screen in amazing detail.

The movie will whet your appetite for a weekend of bright spaceships and planets. On Friday, May 14th at 2:20 pm EDT, space shuttle Atlantis is scheduled to launch from Kennedy Space Center on its final voyage to the ISS. An on-time liftoff would set the stage for an incredible sky show. On Saturday and Sunday, May 15th and 16th, many observers will be able to see Atlantis and the ISS flying past Venus and the crescent Moon in the evening sky. Visit http://spaceweather.com for sky maps and more information.

Seeing the ISS is easy if you know when to look. Sign up for Spaceweather PHONE (http://spaceweatherphone.com) and we will call you when the space station is about to fly over your hometown.

Fwd: Gulf Spill: Can We Learn to Conserve?

2010-05-16T22:11:00.000-07:00

If you have problems viewing this email, please click here to read NRDC Online

MAY 2010, VOLUME 2

WILL WE PROTECT GULF WILDLIFE?

The Gulf of Mexico, which supplies as much as a third of America's domestically caught seafood, is at risk of becoming a giant "no fishing" zone after the Deepwater Horizon drilling platform disaster. Eminent marine biologist Daniel Pauly spoke with OnEarth about the expected impacts of the BP oil spill, the damage it will likely cause to ocean life and the hope that this disaster could provide an opportunity for rebirth.

Watch the audio slideshow.

Read the full interview with Daniel Pauly.

See all of NRDC's Gulf oil spill coverage.

CO2 Smackdown, Step 5: Low-Cost Cooling
Before the full heat of summer hits, take steps to shrink your AC use and your energy bill with our guide to passive cooling. Read the article.

Change Shouldn't Be This Hard
It's time for our politicians to break their addiction to Big Oil so we can break ours. It's time for clean American energy.

Check out NRDC's call for Senate action on YouTube.

Tell your senators to pass energy legislation that will prevent future oil spills.

Take action now »

Obama's Man in the Gulf
On the eve of retirement, Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen was tasked with cleaning up BP's mess and protecting Gulf Coast shores from a massive oil spill. Read our exclusive interview about how he's helping reshape the government's approach to safeguarding our seas.

Rocky Kistner, press secretary

On the Water Next to the Oil Slick, Dolphins Swimming Nearby
"Gulls, terns and frigate birds circled overhead, oblivious to the toxic soup below. The smell quickly overcame us. It was a sharp, pungent stench of petroleum and diesel. It was ugly to see and depressing to witness. What lay underneath the water no one could tell. But the reddish brown pollutant was about two football fiends wide. And we had no idea how far it stretched."

Read the post.

To subscribe to NRDC Online or to read it on the web, go to http://www.nrdc.org/newsletter/.

NRDC Online is a weekly email newsletter from the Natural Resources Defense Council, the nation's most effective environmental action organization. To learn more about what we do and how to become a member of NRDC, please visit www.nrdc.org or write to us at nrdcinfo@nrdc.org.

© Copyright 2010 Natural Resources Defense Council

Photo credits -- Lorna Baldwin, PBS NewsHour; Simple Steps: I, Timmy/Flickr

Pets Pulled to Safety after Tennessee Floods

2010-05-16T22:10:00.001-07:00

Having trouble viewing this email? Read it online in your browser.

Latest News from the Frontlines of Animal Welfare
May 14, 2010

1. Anti-Cruelty Team Battles Toxic Flood Waters in Tennessee
Last week, we told you about our brave team members who had arrived in Tennessee to assist local officials with animal rescue and recovery efforts. Our latest update includes a jaw-dropping slideshow of images, as well as a harrowing tale of our crew navigating toxic waters to pull pets to safety. Read More...

2. ASPCA Happy Tails: Ma Belle Amie
When she isn't baying with delight or artfully arranging her collection of toys, Belle loves to comfort and cuddle with her pet mom and canine sisters.

3. What If Disaster Strikes? Emergency Planning for Pets
Emergencies come in many forms, and may require anything from a brief absence from your home to permanent evacuation. Learn how to protect your pets from sudden disasters.

4. Go Orange Photo Contest Winners Announced!
It's the day you've been waiting for—we've officially crowned the 10 winners of our Go Orange Photo Contest. Check out the spirited pics we loved most!

- Want to make sure you receive all of the ASPCA's latest newsletters and alerts? To prevent ASPCA email from being caught by your spam filter, please put website@aspca.org in your email address book. Learn how.

No Impact Project on a roll

2010-05-16T21:22:00.001-07:00

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Help Others Live Better

Imagine if for one week, everyone tried out the same experiment I did for one year, seeing what is important in life by stripping away all the things that clutter our world.

Well 10,000 people have so far. They did the No Impact Experiment, and have committed themselves to living better and lighter on the planet.

The idea is on a roll. Here's what's coming up:

· Next fall 30,000 college freshmen will read No Impact Man as part of the "All Freshman Read" on campuses across the country. We will facilitate No Impact Weeks on each campus to make the book come alive for students.

· The TV premiere of No Impact Man will be on Planet Green on August 28th. We are organizing viewing parties in living rooms everywhere, with a toolkit to facilitate discussion and action.

· 10,000 teachers will use our No Impact curriculum in their classrooms, reaching hundreds of thousands of students.

· And I continue to cross the country talking to people about how individuals can make a real difference, even when the problem feels so big.

But all this work costs money. To bring this great message to even more people, we need to raise $10,000 in the next few weeks. Thousands of people have gotten involved – if everyone gives a bit, we can raise the whole amount easily.

I gave up take out food for a year. Can you give it up for a month, and send $50 or $100 to spread the word to others about how we can live better by living simply? Click here to donate.

Unsubscribe miapodoescolar2@gmail.com from this list.

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ECO-Boletín

2010-05-16T20:35:00.001-07:00

Domingo 16 de Mayo, 2010

ECO-Boletín


Centenar de productos creados en la provincia cuentan con la Marca Parque Natural de Andalucía
	La Consejería de Medio Ambiente ha concedido hasta el momento la Marca Parque Natural de Andalucía a 51 productos y servicios turísticos suministrados por empresas ubicadas en los parques naturales de la provincia de Córdoba, según informaron a Europa Press fuentes del Gobierno andaluz.


El cambio climático podría provocar la extinción del 20% de las especies de lagartos y lagartijas en 2080
		Una investigación internacional con participación del Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) ha calculado que, en 70 años, se extinguirán un 20% de las especies de lagartos y lagartijas del planeta como consecuencia del cambio climático. En total, según sus cálculos, podrían desaparecer unas 1.300 de las 5.100 especies de saurios conocidas a través de la paulatina extinción del 39% de sus poblaciones locales. Este fenómeno, según los autores, podría atajarse mediante la reducción de las emisiones de CO2 pero, aunque se tomen medidas, las conclusiones del estudio consideran inevitable que, para 2050, un 6% de las especies de saurios se haya extinguido.


El Gobierno Vasco inicia la tramitación del segundo PTS eólico
	El nuevo PTS parte del postulado de que el uso de las energías renovables es uno de los principales ejes para el desarrollo sostenible y uno de los factores más importantes para la reducción de las emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero.


Cantabria, Asturias y Castilla y León confían en cerrar mañana un acuerdo sobre el traspaso de Picos de Europa
	Cantabria, Castilla y León y Asturias confían en cerrar mañana, durante la reunión que se celebrará en Covadonga, un acuerdo sobre el traspaso de la gestión del Parque Nacional de Picos de Europa con el fin de poder trasladar una posición común al Ministerio para asumir las competencias de este espacio de forma compartida.


Petra Inventum crea la primera cubierta solar térmica del mercado
	Petra Inventum, empresa que se dedica a la investigación, desarrollo, fabricación y comercialización de productos de energías renovables, ha creado la primera cubierta solar térmica del mercado, denominada Solar Item, un producto innovador puesto que cubre al mismo tiempo las necesidades de cubierta y de captador solar térmico.


Siria y España analizan el establecimiento de un parque eólico para producir la energía eléctrica en Siria
	Ahmed Qusai Kayali, Ministro de Electricidad, quien se encuentra en una visita a España examino el acuerdo con el Gobierno español sobre el establecimiento de un parque eólico para producir energía eléctrica en Siria.


PTEOR de Lanzarote contempla la devolución a su estado paisajístico original de canteras, roferas y vertederos ilegales
	La Dirección Insular de Residuos del Cabildo de Lanzarote, a través del Plan Territorial Especial de Ordenación de Residuos (PTEOR), estudia un programa de actuaciones e intervenciones a realizar sobre el inventario de canteras y roferas de titularidad pública y privada, como la antigua rofera del Lomo de San Andrés, entre otras de propiedad de la Corporación, que prevé la devolución de estas zonas a su estado paisajístico original.

Cantabria
Se instalan paneles de energía solar fotovoltaica en el colegio Buenaventura González de Bezana
	El Ayuntamiento de Santa Cruz de Bezana, en colaboración con la Consejería de Medio Ambiente, ha instalado paneles generadores de energía solar fotovoltaica en la cubierta del colegio público Buenaventura González.


Un sistema informático evalúa el estado ecológico de los ríos españoles
		Un equipo formado por biólogos e informáticos de la Universidad de Granada (UGR) han diseñado un sistema que permite evaluar el estado ecológico de los ríos mediterráneos españoles.


La OMS publica banco de datos sobre serpientes venenosas
		Pocos animales han provocado tanto temor y fascinación a lo largo de la historia. La OMS estima en 100.000 los casos mortales por mordedura de serpientes, y ha publicado un banco de datos.


Qué significan los símbolos de reciclaje
		No son jeroglíficos ni signos al azar, sino símbolos de reciclaje. Los envases o productos que los llevan nos recuerdan que pueden ser o que han sido reciclados, y nos ofrecen información tan diversa como el tipo de material con que están fabricados, o el lugar concreto donde deben depositarse para su conveniente reciclaje. Gracias a ello, los consumidores pueden concienciarse de la importancia de reciclar, un hábito que ayuda a ahorrar energía, materias primas y en el proceso de recogida y eliminación de basuras.


Técnicos del ITER (Tenerife) trabajan en Sudamérica para promover las energías renovables como motor de desarrollo
	Técnicos del Instituto Tecnológico y de Energías Renovables (ITER), organismo autónomo dependiente del Cabildo de Tenerife, se encuentran en Perú, Paraguay y El Salvador para comprobar el correcto funcionamiento de las instalaciones en el marco del programa Euro-Solar, y asimismo, realizarán labores de formación dirigidas al personal encargado de la asistencia técnica del programa y de las Células Nacionales de Coordinación.


Desarrollan un PVC más seguro, duradero y no contaminante
	La mayor parte de los objetos realizados en policloruro de vinilo (PVC), desde guantes profilácticos hasta juguetes para niños, incorporan plastificantes que permiten moldearlos fácilmente. Hasta el momento, los más utilizados son los ftalatos, compuestos químicos que al cabo del tiempo migran desde el interior del PVC hasta la superficie y pueden llegar a ser cancerígenos si entran en contacto con el cuerpo humano.


Detectadas 349 especies de aves en Madrid
		SEO/BirdLife presentó este martes el Anuario Ornitológico de Madrid 2007-2008, que recopila más de 2.500 observaciones de aves de 349 especies en toda la Comunidad de Madrid. El anuario, que en su 13ª edición es ya una referencia para el conocimiento y la conservación de las aves, ha sido elaborado por el Grupo Ornitológico SEO-Monticola y el grupo local de SEO/BirdLife, que han contado con la colaboración de la Comunidad de Madrid.


La Fundación Gates apoya por primera vez la agricultura ecológica en África
	El Instituto de Investigación para la Agricultura Ecológica (FiBL) presentó recientemente un proyecto nuevo para transmitir a los pequeños agricultores africanos las bases de la agricultura ecológica.


La cuota de mercado ecológico estadounidense se triplica en una década
	Desde la aprobación de la versión definitiva del National Organic Program en los EE UU en el año 2000, las ventas de fruta y verdura en los EE UU subieron de 2.500 millones de dólares estadounidenses, o bien una cuota de mercado del 3 %, a aproximadamente 9.500 millones de dólares estadounidenses, lo que equivale a una cuota de mercado del 11,4 %.


El CSIC analizará cómo crecen las plantas en el espacio
	El próximo jueves 14 de mayo, el transbordador espacial Atlantis viajará rumbo a la Estación Espacial Internacional con un experimento de sello español. Un equipo del Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), en colaboración con investigadores franceses, han embarcado ocho contenedores con semillas de Arabidopsis thaliana, planta modelo de investigación. Una vez en la estación, y en ausencia de gravedad, se harán germinar las plantas durante 12 días. El estudio, que se completará cuando los ejemplares regresen a la Tierra en otoño, busca conocer qué proteínas activa la planta para crecer en el espacio.


Endesa produce más de la mitad de su electricidad sin emisiones de CO2
	Endesa produjo el año pasado 71.900 gigavatios hora (GWh) libres de emisiones de CO2, lo que equivale al 52% de su producción eléctrica total, que ascendió a 137.100 GWh, anunció la compañía. De toda la producción de la eléctrica presidida por Borja Prado, el 64% correspondió a energía hidráulica, el 31% a energía nuclear y más del 4% a fuentes renovables.


El Consorcio Valencia Interior creará 13 ecoparques en cinco comarcas y 34 Áreas de Agregación
	El Consorcio Valencia Interior --que gestiona el tratamiento de los residuos urbanos y los ecoparques de 61 municipios de cinco comarcas de la provincia-- creará 13 nuevos ecoparques en la zona, cinco de ellos dotados con Aulas de Naturaleza y Actividades para la sensibilización ciudadana, como visitas escolares, talleres de reciclaje o charlas para las asociaciones de la población, según explicó en un comunicado.

CARLOS ASTORELLI / LAURA SALI - www.consumer.es - EROSKI
Instalaciones eléctricas en buen estado, ahorro seguro
		Un correcto mantenimiento de las instalaciones eléctricas ahorraría a los hogares españoles cerca de 2.400 millones de euros anuales.


Lavadora para pájaros que elimina el petróleo en 7 minutos
		Las aves especialmente se han visto gravemente afectadas por la fuga de crudo en el Golfo de México. El petróleo, al llegar a la costa, ha recubierto a los pájaros marinos con el chapapote que les asfixia, intoxica e inmoviliza. En el mejor de los casos, hasta ahora el proceso de limpieza ha sido laborioso, lento y seriamente estresante para las aves. Para facilitar la tarea, una compañía petrolera europea ha creado una máquina lavadora que reduce el tiempo de eliminación de los residuos hasta 7 minutos.


Reciclar agua de lluvia para uso doméstico
	Los embalses no son los únicos que pueden beneficiarse del agua caída del cielo. Por unos 2.000 euros de media por vivienda, los consumidores pueden instalar sistemas que aprovechan el agua de lluvia. Gracias a ellos, sus usuarios evitan utilizar el agua de la red de suministro hasta en un 50%, lo que redunda en un beneficio tanto ecológico como económico.


Más de 520 personas garantizarán la conservación de Doñana
	El consejero de Medio Ambiente, José Juan Díaz Trillo, detalló hoy los medios destinados por su departamento al Plan Romero 2010, entre cuyas novedades destaca un plantel compuesto por 524 personas procedentes del Plan Infoca y personal del Espacio Natural de Doñana. Este equipo humano estará activo entre el 17 y el 27 de mayo, y su objetivo será colaborar en el correcto desarrollo de la romería de El Rocío, así como asegurar la conservación del entorno de Doñana, por donde discurre cada año esta celebración.

Fwd: MNN Daily Briefing: The Strongest, Fastest Animal on Earth is....

2010-05-15T21:39:00.001-07:00

Good morning! And welcome to the Daily Briefing for the weekend of May 15. To stay on top of Earth-friendly news all day, visit us at Mother Nature Network.

BEAST OF BURDEN: Quick, what's the world's strongest animal? A gorilla? Grizzly bear? Ant? Nope, none of the above - the Mr. Universe of the animal kingdom is a 1-millimeter-long crustacean known as a copepod (pictured). It's both the strongest and the fastest animal on Earth, and its superpowers have served it well, since it's also the most abundant multicellular animal known to science. While we probably won't see copepods pulling buses with their teeth on late-night ESPN2 anytime soon, the powerful plankton are still shedding some of their secrets thanks to Danish scientists who used high-speed videos to analyze one of copepods' signature moves: their escape jump. "The copepods' evolutionary success should be seen in relation to their ability to flee from predators," says lead researcher Thomas Kiørboe. "Their escape jump is hugely powerful and effective." Copepods can jump more than 1.5 feet (about 500 times their body length) in one second, making them at least 10 times stronger than any previously tested animal, or even any human-made motors. They manage such powerful leaps by using two propulsion mechanisms - a set of forelimbs plus four to five pairs of rear swimming legs - that give them an edge over animals stuck with just one propulsion mechanism, such as a pair of legs, wings or fins. "The copepod does not experience material fatigue, because it has two systems of movement at its disposal," Kiørboe says. By studying the leaps of copepods, kangaroos and other jumpy animals, researchers hope to incorporate their abilities into space-exploring robots, potentially creating artificial astronauts that can easily jump over tall objects. (Sources: ScienceDaily, Discovery News)

WELCOME TO THE BIG LEAKS: Amid all the confusion surrounding the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, one thing that has seemed relatively certain is the official estimate of how much oil is leaking out every day: 5,000 barrels. But a newly released video of the deep-sea oil plume (pictured) has led scientists to question that number, with many arguing the spill must be several times larger - possibly as large as 70,000 barrels daily. And while the video is hardly proof of the spill's exact flow rate, it has brought up the point that BP could actually measure how much oil is leaking out, even though the company calls such a task "impossible." An existing technique for measuring hydrothermal vents could offer a simple and reliable estimate of the oil's flow, but BP has canceled plans to meet with scientists who want to apply the method. "You can use this type of technique to determine the velocity of the particles," explains a scientist with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, "and if you know what the area is, it's relatively straightforward mathematics to determine what the volume is." BP has been reticent to acknowledge the leak's size since the beginning, protesting when the government first raised its initial estimate from 1,000 to 5,000 barrels daily. The company argues the spill's size is irrelevant: "[T]he estimated rate of flow would not affect either the direction or scale of our response, which is the largest in history," a BP spokesman tells the New York Times. Scientists counter that knowing the size of the spill is the only way to accurately predict its effects on the environment. On Friday, U.S. Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., said he will ask BP to be more forthcoming about the leak, and that he plans to launch a formal inquiry to determine how much oil is really being released. (Sources: New York Times, Washington Post, CNN, NPR)

CAP WITHOUT TRADE: As U.S. senators mulled over a newly introduced climate bill this week, the Obama administration moved forward on Thursday with plans to regulate greenhouse gas emissions on its own by using the Clean Air Act. The EPA announced that it's finalizing a rule designed to slash climate-warming pollution from the country's largest emitters, a proposal that would cover 67 percent of the emissions from stationary sources like power plants and oil refineries. The rule would soften the impact on small businesses by tweaking the Clean Air Act's standard for regulation - normally, facilities emitting 100 to 250 tons of a pollutant annually must apply for a federal permit, but since so many businesses emit CO2, the new EPA rule would raise that threshold to 100,000 tons a year. "After extensive study, debate and hundreds of thousands of public comments, EPA has set common-sense thresholds for greenhouse gases that will spark clean technology innovation and protect small businesses and farms," says EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson. The rule will take effect in July 2011 and will affect about 15,550 sources in its first two years, the EPA says, although it's sure to face court challenges from critics. (Source: Washington Post)

Check out all of the news for the weekend.

Quick Links:
>The world's oldest beehive has been discovered in an ancient church (even cooler, it's the Scottish church from the Da Vinci Code).
> Turns out that Tesla CEO Elon Musk was the inspiration for Tony Stark of 'Iron Man' fame (we told you electric cars were cool! :)

Looking forward to your visit,

The team at Mother Nature Network

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USA: Support the Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act!

2010-05-15T20:53:00.001-07:00

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Dear Animal Advocates,

U.S. Representatives Diane Watson and Elton Gallegly have introduced the Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act (H.R. 4733), an ASPCA-supported bill that would require the federal government to purchase animal products only from entities that do not keep animals cruelly confined in gestation crates, veal crates or battery cages.

Factory farms in this country commonly house animals in cruel confinement systems. Veal calves are chained in small crates without enough room to turn around; sows are confined in gestation crates only a few inches wider and longer than the sows themselves; and egg-laying hens are jammed into tiny "battery" cages with less space, per bird, than the size of a regular 8.5″×11″ sheet of paper.

Whether or not it intends to, the federal government supports these cruel practices by spending over $1 billion per year on meat and eggs from animals who are raised in overcrowded cages and cramped crates. (This food is distributed to our military, federal prisons, school lunch programs, and many other government programs and services.)

Since almost all major packers and distributors do business with the federal government, passage of the Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act would have a significant impact. It would dramatically improve living conditions for countless farm animals across America, and would put an end to the federal government's economic support of this form of cruelty.

What You Can Do
Your U.S. representative needs to hear that this bill is important to you as a voter. Please visit the ASPCA Advocacy Center to email your representative and urge him or her to support the Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act.

Thank you for taking action for animals!

Protect Alaska's Bristol Bay - NRDC's Save BioGems News, May 2010

2010-05-10T19:30:00.001-07:00

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Hello, Raul! Read on to see the victories you're helping to achieve

BioGems is now on Facebook!
Join us on our BioGems Defenders Facebook page.

BioGems Update
A big thank you to BioGems Defenders who contributed more than $4,000 to buy two dozen bear-proof dumpsters for the Yellowstone area.

BioGems Defenders:
595,014

Action Messages Sent:
12,894,143

» See the timeline of victories we've won

To Do Even More
You can support NRDC's BioGems campaign to save these and other threatened wild places.

» Donate

Get Your BioGems Widget
Have action alerts delivered to Facebook, MySpace, iGoogle, and lots of other sites.


	Bristol Bay BioGems Defenders join forces to stop Pebble Mine We're escalating our campaign to stop construction of the disastrous Pebble Mine in the heart of Alaska's pristine Bristol Bay watershed. A consortium of foreign mining companies, including Anglo American, has proposed a 2,000-foot-deep, two-mile-wide gold and copper mine in Bristol Bay, a true wildlife Eden that is home to the world's largest sockeye salmon streams, bears, whales, seals and eagles. The mining giants' plan for Pebble Mine includes five colossal earthen dams to hold back an estimated 10 billion tons of mining waste, laced with toxic chemicals. NRDC is joining with Native groups, led by Nunamta Aulukestai ("Caretakers of the Land"), Alaskan fishermen, sportsmen and conservationists to protect Bristol Bay from the Pebble Mine project. BioGems Defenders contributed more than $120,000 to run a full-page ad in the New York Times that helped generate more than 100,000 signatures on a Petition of Protest, which NRDC and Native Alaskans delivered to Anglo American's shareholders meeting in London on Earth Day. Now we're turning the pressure up on another mega-corporation that is backing the Pebble Mine project: the Mitsubishi Corporation. We need BioGems Defenders to create a similar wave of protest leading up to Mitsubishi's shareholders meeting on June 24. » Tell Mitsubishi to abandon the Pebble Mine project and spare this wildlife Eden

In the News
	NORTHERN ROCKIES WOLF HUNTS FINALLY END Wolf hunts have now ended in both Idaho and Montana, but tragically not before 260 wolves were killed. The states declared open season on wolves after they were stripped of their federal Endangered Species Act protections last spring, despite massive public opposition to that decision. The loss of so many wolves is a setback to wolf recovery in the northern Rockies. NRDC will continue its courtroom fight to restore endangered species protection to wolves in both states. A decision on our lawsuit against the Interior Department is expected later this year. EPA MOVES TO CURB MOUNTAINTOP REMOVAL MINING The Environmental Protection Agency has announced a bold new set of policies aimed at limiting water pollution from the horribly destructive practice of mountaintop removing mining. The impacts of such coal mining on Appalachian waterways and communities have been profound -- to date, nearly 2,000 miles of streams throughout the region have been obliterated. Citing new research conclusively demonstrating that burying streams with mining waste causes permanent loss of ecosystems, the EPA issued new measures to protect 95 percent of aquatic life and freshwater streams in central Appalachia, which includes our Cumberland Plateau BioGem. HUNTING TAKES MAJOR TOLL ON GRIZZLIES ALONG CANADIAN BORDER A new report released by NRDC and the David Suzuki Foundation reveals that the number of grizzly bear deaths in British Columbia is on the rise -- and the leading cause is trophy hunting. Between 2004 and 2008, bear deaths in many parts of the province regularly exceeded the human-caused mortality limits set by the government. The disturbing death toll poses a serious threat to the future of the endangered grizzly population in the lower 48 states, which depends on populations in Canada for survival. Based on the study's findings, NRDC has called on Premier Gordon Campbell to close existing loopholes in the Wildlife Act that allow for grizzlies to be shot by trophy hunters in British Columbia's parks, and to establish protective no-kill zones.

Action Insider
	CONNECT WITH OTHER BIOGEMS DEFENDERS ON FACEBOOK BioGems is now on Facebook! Find us on the BioGems Defenders Facebook page, where you can join discussions with other Defenders and get the latest news and updates on our campaigns.

Photo credits: Bristol Bay Landscape - © Robert Glenn Ketchum; wolf - © John and Karen Hollingsworth, USFWS

72 Hours to Act: Stop a Double-Barreled Threat to Sea Turtles and Polar Bears!

2010-05-10T19:25:00.001-07:00

Save Sea Turtles
& Polar Bears

Big Oil's lobbyists are working to deep-six legislation to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels by insisting on more dangerous offshore drilling.

Urge your senators to pass comprehensive legislation to address climate change and reject Big Oil's call for more offshore drilling.

The next 72 hours are key. Please help us send at least 45,000 messages to the Senate by 5 PM Wednesday.

Dear Raul,

Offshore oil drilling in the Gulf threatens the survival of endangered sea turtles, while in Alaska it further imperils threatened polar bears. In both places climate change is robbing these imperiled animals of the vital habitat they need to survive.

Urge your senators to address these threats… and save America's sea turtles and polar bears from extinction.

As soon as Wednesday, Senators John Kerry and Joe Lieberman are expected to announce legislation to address the impacts of climate change and move America toward a new energy future.

Unfortunately, Big Oil's high-paid lobbyists are swarming Capitol Hill, enlisting allies in the Senate to sink this important legislation by attaching dangerous offshore drilling provisions to the bill.

Don't let them get away with it. Urge your senators to stand up for a clean climate bill and a clean energy future, and to reject more offshore oil drilling that threatens our coasts and our wildlife.

The ongoing offshore oil crisis in the Gulf – and its potentially devastating effects on nesting sea turtles, endangered sperm whales and other wildlife – makes two points abundantly clear:

Offshore drilling for oil and gas is a dangerous, dirty proposition; and
Our nation must reduce its dangerous dependence on fossil fuels now.

America can meet these challenges head-on by passing comprehensive legislation to address climate change and move America towards a cleaner energy future… but your senators need to hear from you today!

Unless we address climate change and reduce fossil fuel emissions, sea levels will continue to rise, submerging vital nesting grounds for imperiled turtles. Sea ice in the Arctic will continue to disappear, causing more polar bears to starve and drown.

And if Big Oil is successful in its drive to industrialize our coasts, we'll see more carbon pollution, more climate change – and of course more devastating oil spills.

Send a message to your senators now and urge them to say "Yes!" to comprehensive legislation to address climate change and "No!" to more dangerous offshore drilling.

The next 72 hours will be key to shaping the debate on this important legislation. Please take action now.

For the Wild Ones,

Rodger Schlickeisen
President
Defenders of Wildlife

Stop Shell Oil's Arctic offshore drilling plans

2010-05-10T06:43:00.001-07:00

Dear Raul,

The Chukchi and Beaufort Seas off the coast of Alaska are home to whales, seals, seabirds, and polar bears.

Shell Oil will start offshore drilling there within weeks.

Urge the Obama administration to say no to drilling in these pristine Seas!

Within the remote waters of the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas – off the coast of Alaska – swim gray and bowhead whales, more than 3,000 belugas, and endangered fin and humpback whales.

This wild place draws seabirds, seals, and roughly half of America's polar bears. Ninety percent of the entire Pacific walrus population lives here year round.

But this region will see new guests within weeks: ships from Shell Oil, bent on drilling five exploratory oil wells.

The disaster in the Gulf is a tragic reminder that there is no fail-safe way to drill for oil offshore. Help us stop oil drilling in the Arctic before it ever begins – and avert another offshore drilling disaster.

Take action today to block drilling in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas!

Under the Bush Administration, millions of acres of the Arctic Ocean were leased to Shell Oil. The Wilderness Society and other conservation groups were able to convince the Obama Administration to review leasing plans there. The WildAlert community's support had a big impact. Now Interior Secretary Salazar's safety review is due out by May 28th, so we have a small window of time to influence his decision.

An oil spill in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas would have devastating consequences on the marine life there, far from ports or any clean-up support. In fact, Coast Guard commandant Admiral Thad Allen, who is overseeing response efforts in the Gulf, told a recent Senate field hearing in Alaska that oil spill cleanup is "significantly more difficult" in colder temperatures and the [Arctic] region has "limited response resources and capabilities."

Take action now! Urge Secretary Salazar to stop Shell Oil from drilling in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas.

Time and again the WildAlert community has rallied to block harmful development that values corporate gain over the protection of wild places. We're calling on you once again because we need your support to save these pristine wildlife habitats off the coast of Alaska from oil drilling.

Cold coastal waters are fragile: the bountiful wildlife that call them home can't handle an oil spill like what we've witnessed in the Gulf. Send a message to the Obama administration today, urging them to stop Shell's offshore drilling plans before it's too late.

Thank you for everything you do to preserve our special wild places.

Sincerely,

Kathy Kilmer
The Wilderness Society

Visit your subscription management page to modify your email communication preferences or update your personal profile. To stop ALL email from The Wilderness Society, click here to remove yourself from our lists (or reply via email with "remove" in the subject line).

The Wilderness Society's mission is to protect wilderness and inspire Americans to care for our wild places. As a subscriber to WildAlert, you join more than 500,000 Wilderness Society members and supporters in protecting and restoring America's wild places.

This message from Pierce Brosnan is a must read.

2010-05-09T22:01:00.001-07:00

Dear Raul,

If you haven't had a chance to read the message below from Pierce Brosnan, please take a minute right now. The only way to stop commercial whaling is to make sure that President Obama hears from thousands of people like you right away. Please make your voice heard today!

An important message from Pierce Brosnan

"The Obama Administration is backing a deadly deal that would make it legal once again to kill whales for profit. Please call on the President to reverse course."

Dear Raul,

I was appalled to hear -- on Earth Day of all days -- that the International Whaling Commission has put forward a deal that would legalize commercial whaling for the first time in a generation.

Even worse, the Obama Administration has backed this deadly proposal, which would suspend the international ban on whaling and make it legal once again to kill whales for profit.

During his campaign, President Obama promised America he would oppose the killing of these magnificent creatures. It's time for you and me to hold him to that promise.

Please call on the White House to oppose any deal that would legitimize the hunting and killing of whales.

Obama Administration officials claim that the IWC deal would be a "step forward" for whales because it could rein in Japan, Iceland and Norway, which have killed thousands of whales since 1986 by exploiting loopholes in the whaling ban.

But, in fact, this new deal is a giant step backward. It rewards those three nations for years of defying international law. It does their bidding by suspending the whaling ban for 10 years. It opens up the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary to whaling. And it will not stop them from trading in whale meat or killing whales under legal loopholes like "scientific permits."

Don't believe for a minute that this kind of deal would phase down whaling. Instead, it would breathe new life into a dying industry.

Worst of all, the deal gives moral cover to the absurd notion that we can save whales by killing them -- instead of by banning their slaughter.

There is no moral justification for killing whales. There is no scientific justification for killing whales.

And if the Obama Administration persists in supporting a deal that encourages the killing of whales, it will tarnish not only the White House but our entire nation.

Please join me in telling President Obama to vigorously oppose this deal and instead push for a deal that closes the loopholes and ends commercial whaling once and for all!

Thanks to the efforts of NRDC, you and I have prevailed so many times in defense of our planet's whales. We saved the gray whale's last untouched nursery in Mexico's San Ignacio Lagoon against Mitsubishi's plans for industrialization. And we reined in the Navy's use of dangerous sonar systems around marine mammals.

Now, with our own government supporting an unthinkable deal that would legalize the commercial killing of whales, we must unite again and say: Not on our watch!

I hope you'll make your own voice heard inside the White House today. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Pierce Brosnan
Natural Resources Defense Council

Fwd: Urgent: Gulf Oil Spill Kills. Please Take Action.

2010-05-09T21:57:00.001-07:00

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Rodger Schlickeisen, Defenders of Wildlife <defenders@mail.defenders.org>
Date: 2010/5/3
Subject: Urgent: Gulf Oil Spill Kills. Please Take Action.
To: miapodoescolar2@gmail.com

Urge Obama to Restore the Ban on Offshore Drilling

Experts say at least 400 species of wildlife are threatened by the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Dead sea turtles have already been photographed on Mississippi's beaches.

Please take action right now and urge President Obama to reverse the expansion of harmful drilling off our coasts.

Help us send 50,000 messages to President Obama by Friday. Take action now...

raul,

Eleven human deaths. [1] Dead sea turtles and fish washed ashore. [2] Whales swimming through oily, toxic waters, [3] poisoned as they surface for air. [4] And potentially billions of dollars lost to already-struggling fishing- and tourism-dependent communities along the Gulf Coast. [5]

We've seen enough. It's time to act.

Say "No!" to another drilling disaster! Urge President Obama to reinstate the ban on drilling for offshore oil and gas deposits off our coasts and revoke Shell Oil's permits to drill in Alaska's Beaufort and Chukchi Seas this summer.

Even as I write this, our staff experts are preparing to fly to the Gulf to document the impact of the spill on wildlife and advocate for the animals and habitat now imperiled by the spill. Defenders board member and world-famous wildlife biologist Jeff Corwin is already on the scene.

Whether you live on the Gulf Coast or elsewhere, this is a tremendous environmental emergency, and our Gulf Coast wildlife is going to need Jeff, our staff experts… and you.

Please take action right now and urge President Obama to restore the presidential ban on harmful drilling off our coasts.

At least 400 wildlife species (not counting micro-organisms) and 19 essential wildlife refuges – one of which hosted some 34,000 birds just days before the spill – are already threatened by the Gulf spill. [6]

And the remnants of the Deepwater Horizon offshore oil drilling operation continue to spew at least 5,000 barrels (more than 200,000 gallons) of toxic oil into the Gulf of Mexico each day… with no end in sight. [7]

Send your message to President Obama now: No more offshore oil disasters!

For 27 years, a congressional ban on offshore drilling largely protected our coastal wildlife from offshore drilling disasters like this. But that all changed in 2008, when then-President George W. Bush rescinded the ban his father put in place after the Exxon Valdez tanker spill – and Congress quickly followed suit by lifting their own ban on drilling in certain areas.

President Obama – who just weeks ago called for more offshore drilling – has issued a temporary halt to drilling activities in new areas in the wake of the Deepwater disaster, granting a temporary reprieve to sensitive areas like North Carolina's Outer Banks and the only known calving grounds for the North Atlantic right whales off the coast of Georgia and Florida.

But the President has not yet said that he'll stop drilling activities planned for this summer in Alaska's pristine Chukchi and Beaufort Seas – home to polar bears, walrus, and bowhead whales.

Worse, Big Oil and their political allies are tenacious, well-funded and committed to industrializing our coasts… even at the cost of another ecological disaster. As the Gulf Coast crisis continues to grow, drilling proponents like former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin (who should know better!) continued the call for more offshore drilling. [8]

Now is the time to stop them… and protect our sea turtles, whales and other wildlife. Please take action right now.

For the Wild Ones,

Rodger Schlickeisen
President
Defenders of Wildlife

Defending Wildlife

One month before the Deepwater Gulf oil disaster, President Obama called for more offshore drilling… and Defenders responded. We mobilized hundreds of conservationists along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts to testify against a proposal that could lead to more dangerous dirty drilling at public hearings. And today, we've delivered more than 47,000 comments from caring people like you urging the Department of Interior to abandon the plan altogether.

Notes

[1] http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36732329/ns/us_news-environment/

[2] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/02/dead-fish-sea-turtle-wash_n_560237.html

[3] http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2010/04/30/30greenwire-as-oil-slick-drifts-closer-resource-defenders-g-9775.html

[4] http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503543_162-20003738-503543.html

[5] http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-04-29/oil-spill-imperils-gulf-coast-fishing-industry-update1-.html

[6] http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2010/04/30/30greenwire-as-oil-slick-drifts-closer-resource-defenders-g-9775.html

[7] http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1986323,00.html

[8] http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20003924-503544.html

This message was sent to miapodoescolar2@gmail.com.

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Click here to update your information or unsubscribe.

Defenders of Wildlife is a national, nonprofit membership organization dedicated to the protection of all native wild animals and plants in their natural communities.

Defenders of Wildlife can be contacted at:
1130 17th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036

Fwd: Spill, Baby Spill? Call Discovery and Urge Them To Unplug Palin

2010-05-09T21:48:00.001-07:00

Call Discovery Today!

Discovery Communications wants to give Sarah Palin a golden opportunity to greenwash her anti-wildlife reputation.

Call Discovery Communications today and urge the network to pull the plug on Sarah Palin's Alaska.

Dear raul,

This Wednesday, Discovery Communications shareholders will meet at their headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland.

And thanks to the support of people like you, they'll be met with our powerful ads in nearby bus stops and the subway station -- including a large banner they can see from their headquarters.

Now, you can literally lend your voice to the growing chorus demanding that the network pull the plug on Sarah Palin's Alaska -- a new show giving the former Alaska governor a golden opportunity to greenwash her anti-wildlife and anti-conservation record. The shareholder's meeting is tomorrow -- so please call today!

Please call (240) 662-2000 today between the hours of 8:30 AM and 6:00 PM Eastern. To ensure your voice is heard, press 0 immediately to be transferred to an operator and deliver this important message in your own words:

"My name is raul and I'm calling from Guadalajara, None. As someone who cares about wildlife, the environment and responsible TV programming, I am extremely disappointed in Discovery Communications' decision to broadcast Sarah Palin's Alaska.

[Please indicate which Discovery TV stations you watch, if any--e.g., TLC, Animal Planet, the Discovery Channel, the Science Channel or the Military Channel.]

Providing this platform for Palin will either feature her extreme anti-wildlife and anti-conservation views or greenwash her reputation. This undermines Discovery's credibility and flies in the face of the reputation for quality wildlife programming that the company has worked so hard to build. Please pull the plug on Sarah Palin's Alaska immediately. Thank you for your time.

If the operator transfers you to Viewer Relations or another department, please wait through the recording until you are able to leave your message for Discovery.

Then be sure to let us know you called.

Even as a disastrous oil spill threatens the Gulf Coast and its wildlife, Sarah Palin is still championing "drill here, drill now" -- an odd refrain from a former governor whose state was devastated by the Exxon Valdez spill. But it's no surprise coming from Palin, who escalated Alaska's unscientific and brutal aerial wolf hunts, and fought against protecting struggling polar bears and Cook Inlet belugas.

Our powerful campaign to pull the plug on Sarah Palin's Alaska is going strong -- together with our partners, we've already generated more than 525,000 messages to the network demanding that they pull the plug on Palin's show. We've also completely overwhelmed Discovery's Facebook pages for TLC, Animal Planet and the Discovery Channel.

We have a real shot at winning, but we need your voice to make it happen.

Please call today -- and let us know how it went.

Sincerely,

Rodger Schlickeisen
President
Defenders of Wildlife

P.S. Check out the difference you are making at www.defenders.org/palinupdate. Thanks to supporters like you, we're demanding this show be dropped on many fronts.

Defenders of Wildlife

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Month of action...are you in?

2010-05-09T21:45:00.001-07:00

Dear raul,

Now that the Campaign for Better Care is in full swing — and you've helped us get noticed on Capitol Hill — we need your help spreading the word to your friends and family. And what better time than the month of May!

Why? May is "Older Americans Month." It's a great opportunity to recognize the contributions of older Americans to our country and, this year, to celebrate the launch of the Campaign for Better Care.

The Campaign for Better Care is all about older Americans as we work to ensure that health reform works for those who need it most — vulnerable older adults with multiple health problems, and their family caregivers.

We all deserve comprehensive, coordinated health care, and it's just not right that the people who are the sickest and most vulnerable are not getting the health care they need.

So let's do something about it! Let's build a movement that will drive the change America needs. Take the pledge to join the Campaign for Better Care's month of action for older Americans!

We are launching a month-long public education drive to spread the word about the need for better coordinated, patient- and family-centered care. This month, we'll provide you with a variety of tools to help you spread the word. From online actions through Facebook, Flickr, and Twitter, to the tools you need to start meaningful conversations about these crucial issues with your friends and family — we'll give you everything you need to be an "ambassador" for better care!

Why is better care so important? Older adults with multiple health problems need:

Their doctors to talk to one another,
Providers to work together as a team,
Medical records at their fingertips, and
A "point person" so they aren't left to fend for themselves.

They need better coordinated care to help avoid medical errors, duplicative tests, and wasted time and costs. They need services in their communities that help them take care of themselves and live independently.

At the Campaign for Better Care, we get it. We fought long and hard for the passage of the historic health reform law. And we now have an equally important challenge to ensure that the new law is implemented effectively... so all Americans can fully realize the promise of better care.

We will be a powerful voice for older Americans as reform is implemented. But we need you to help spread the word! Whether online or in your community, we need you to help raise awareness about why the Campaign for Better Care is so important to you, me and all our family and friends!

Your voice, as part of the chorus of voices for better care, will make a real difference for older Americans.

Sincerely,

Cecili Thompson Williams

Outreach Director
Campaign for Better Care

MONTH OF ACTION: ARE YOU IN?

May is "Older Americans Month" and we need your help spreading the word to your friends and family.

Become an "ambassador" for better care and make a personal commitment to forward emails, share a story, add a photo, notify others on Facebook, or simply talk to your friends and family.

Sign up »

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Urgent: Preventing the next oil spill

2010-05-09T21:42:00.001-07:00

The BP Oil Spill is a threat to wildlife.

Please Donate Now to Prevent Future Spills

Dear Raul,

Down here on the Gulf Coast, the size and scope of this oil spill is hard to comprehend -- and the threat to over 400 species of wildlife is getting worse by the minute.

Just yesterday, our staff spotted this turtle (pictured) surfacing briefly at the edge of the oil slick. I felt ill to my stomach when I saw this sea turtle struggling in oily water, knowing that this is only a first glimpse of a long-term ecological catastrophe.

But while I'm on the ground in Venice, Louisiana, the window of opportunity is open for you. If our National Wildlife Federation Action Fund team can count on your support now, we have the opportunity to advocate for safer, cleaner energy choices.

Help us send the wake-up call to Congress. Make a contribution today to help us push for legislation that can prevent the next oil spill and protect vulnerable wildlife populations.


	Make a donation »

	Take Action »
	Alert your friends »

Right now, we're pushing our elected officials to get us on the path to a better future for our wildlife, environment and economy by:

1. Ending our reliance on the oil companies, like BP, that endanger our natural world;

2. Restoring Coastal Louisiana's wetlands and protecting the animals living there; and

3. Stopping the rush to invest in dirty fuels and block legislation that would allow oil companies to bring dangerous fuels into America's heartland.

This story is front and center with the media, shining a spotlight on America's dirty oil dependency. But it won't last, which is why we need to make sure Congress hears our message loud and clear: We can't stand by while oil companies like BP continue to put the future of America's wildlife, environment, and economy at risk.

Please give what you can today, and help us make sure a disaster like this never happens again.

Sincerely,

Larry Schweiger
Board of Directors, National Wildlife Federation Action Fund
President and CEO, National Wildlife Federation

info@nwa.org
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I'm surrounded by oil

2010-05-09T21:36:00.001-07:00

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Dear Raul,

I'm in a boat, looking at the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history. I can't describe the horror of it, knowing that the black water surrounding me is literally killing thousands of birds and marine animals, and is devastating the local economy.

The real horror of this has only just begun. This oil spill is already more than 3 million gallons and is growing by at least 210,000 gallons every day.

I was here just 5 years ago, right after hurricanes Katrina and Rita delivered such a devastating blow to this region. I never imagined witnessing anything like it again. But this is no natural disaster — and it should never have happened.

The government is taking aim at BP — the company leasing the rig — and BP has said they will be paying the bill for the cleanup. That's a good thing — Big Oil should be 100% liable for disasters that happen on their watch. But trying to clean up this spill won't address the problem at its source. Congress needs to pass a ban on new offshore oil drilling and pass laws that jumpstart the clean energy revolution, NOW. As long as we are dependent on fossil fuels, we can expect more catastrophes just like this one.

The bottom line is that oil will spill, period. And it can't be adequately "cleaned up." Let's hope the legacy of this disaster is not one of more oil drilling and spills, but of a meaningful shift away from our dependence on fossil fuels in order to protect human life, the economy, and the environment.

For a greener future,

Mark Floegel

P.S. If you're in the Gulf region, you can also volunteer to help with the cleanup.

Click here to forward this message.

702 H Street, NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20001 | 1-800-326-0959

Tell the President to put a moratorium on new offshore drilling

2010-05-09T21:35:00.000-07:00

Tell President Obama to Impose a Moratorium on New Offshore Drilling

With some of America's richest marine and coastal ecosystems facing devastation, it's time to tell him we won't stand for more "Drill, Baby, Drill."

Dear Raul,

As a runaway oil spill threatens to kill marine life across the Gulf of Mexico, it is high time to turn our distress into action.

The oil slick gushing from the Deepwater Horizon at 210,000 gallons per day has the potential to wreak environmental and economic devastation on an unimaginable scale.

But it's up to you and me to make sure that our leaders transform this tragic lesson into a saner energy future.

Tell President Obama to impose a moratorium on all new oil drilling activities off our coasts until the causes of this disaster are known and the dangers fully understood. That moratorium must include Shell's plan to begin exploratory drilling this summer in the Arctic, including in the waters off the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Thanks to your support, NRDC has had a team of experts on the ground in the Gulf states since last weekend. They are documenting the devastating impacts as oil spreads through vulnerable wetlands and wildlife sanctuaries. They are advocating for fishermen, shrimpers and local communities that are reeling from this staggering blow to their way of life.

And they are arming the national media with credible, real-time analysis that builds a powerful case against risky drilling off our coasts.

Simply put, oil kills. Eleven oil workers are presumed dead. And locals fear their ocean-based economy -- fishing and tourism -- could wither for a generation.

Hundreds of species of wildlife are caught in the widening bulls-eye. When sea turtles surface in an oil slick, they can swallow the oil and die. Whales, dolphins and seals can die simply by inhaling the spill's toxic fumes, which cause brain lesions and disorientation. Oil is also toxic to fish. And tens of thousands of birds are exposed as they nest and lay eggs in sensitive coastal marshes.

NRDC is working with our partners on the ground to protect these innocent victims, both people and wildlife.

But we need your help to make sure that the next political victim is "Drill, Baby, Drill" -- that headlong rush to sacrifice anything and everything to America's oil addiction. If we are going to break the oil industry's death grip on our environment and our economy, then we must send our leaders a wake-up call right now.

Call on the President to impose a moratorium on ALL new oil drilling off our coasts.

President Obama has called a temporary halt to new oil leasing and exploration off some coasts -- not all coasts. For example, he has NOT pledged to stop Shell from drilling this summer off the coast of the Arctic Refuge, America's premier denning ground for polar bears.

In the wake of the unfolding disaster in the Gulf, putting Shell's operation on hold should be a no-brainer.

Of course, preventing the next oil spill catastrophe will take more than just a moratorium on new drilling. It will take bold new policies that break our destructive dependence on Big Oil.

That's why, in the days and weeks ahead, I'll be asking you to make your voice heard in support of legislation that promotes clean energy and slashes global warming pollution from dirty fuels.

If we can finally put America on the path to a clean energy future -- and consign oil spills to history -- then our nation will emerge wiser and stronger from this terrible tragedy. In the meantime, we have our work cut out for us in the Gulf.

Sincerely,

Frances Beinecke
President
Natural Resources Defense Council

P.S. You can follow the unfolding environmental crisis in the Gulf and NRDC's on-the-ground efforts here.

Add your story to Voices for the Wild

2010-05-09T20:44:00.003-07:00



		Dear Raul, As I travel around the country, I often get to meet BioGems Defenders like yourself who are doing their part to save our last wild places and imperiled wildlife. These encounters not only lift my spirits, they remind me of how committed and passionate our online activists are. That's why I wanted to create a special place on our SaveBioGems website where friends like you can explain why you take online action to protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Utah's Redrock Wilderness and countless other threatened BioGems. I invite you to read stories from other BioGems Defenders and get inspired. Then click on the Tell Your Story button and tell us why you care about wolves and polar bears, what motivates you to protect our last wild places, or any other personal reflections on nature that you'd like to share with our BioGems community. Please take a few minutes to explore Voices for the Wild and submit your story. And thanks again for defending nature through your online activism! Sincerely, Frances Beinecke President Natural Resources Defense Council

Add your story to Voices for the Wild

2010-05-09T20:44:00.001-07:00



		Dear Raul, As I travel around the country, I often get to meet BioGems Defenders like yourself who are doing their part to save our last wild places and imperiled wildlife. These encounters not only lift my spirits, they remind me of how committed and passionate our online activists are. That's why I wanted to create a special place on our SaveBioGems website where friends like you can explain why you take online action to protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Utah's Redrock Wilderness and countless other threatened BioGems. I invite you to read stories from other BioGems Defenders and get inspired. Then click on the Tell Your Story button and tell us why you care about wolves and polar bears, what motivates you to protect our last wild places, or any other personal reflections on nature that you'd like to share with our BioGems community. Please take a few minutes to explore Voices for the Wild and submit your story. And thanks again for defending nature through your online activism! Sincerely, Frances Beinecke President Natural Resources Defense Council

ECO-Boletín

2010-05-09T19:55:00.001-07:00

Domingo 9 de Mayo, 2010

ECO-Boletín


Agua virtual y huella hidrológica
		Cada español consume de media al día unos 2.740 litros de agua. No se trata de una errata, sino de la cantidad empleada en elaborar, empaquetar y transportar los productos de consumo, conocida como "agua virtual". Por este concepto su creador, el investigador John Anthony Allan, recogerá en agosto el Premio Estocolmo del Agua, valorado en unos 96.000 euros.


Biocombustibles de segunda generación
		Los actuales biocombustibles generan cada vez más dudas acerca de su viabilidad y su impacto medioambiental. Por ello, diversas investigaciones y proyectos tecnológicos en todo el mundo están trabajando en el desarrollo de una segunda generación que contrarreste estos inconvenientes. Las posibilidades en cuanto a materias primas y tecnologías son diversas, y los expertos creen que en los próximos años podrían estar ya en los depósitos de nuestros vehículos.


Ecologistas piden precaución al catalogar al buitre negro como 'vulnerable'
		Ecologistas en Acción en Andalucía mostró su "alegría" porque el buitre negro en Andalucía haya pasado a incluirse en una categoría de menor amenaza, 'vulnerable', por alcanzar una población reproductora de 278 parejas, si bien pidió "precaución" porque "aún hay amenazas que no se han solucionado totalmente".

Frances Beinecke, Presidenta del Consejo de Defensa de los Recursos Naturales (NRDC)
Tres pasos que Obama debe tomar para prevenir futuros desastres de petróleo
	Mientras la tragedia en el Golfo de México se despliega de manera impredecible y dolorosa, los estadounidenses nos preguntamos "¿qué podemos hacer para prevenir otro desastre de petróleo en el futuro?"


Certificado de la asociación española de gestores de residuos de construcción y demolición
	La Asociación Española que cuenta con más de 85 asociados y está presente en todas las CCAA no comparte la orden de cierre del Vertedero "Las Canteras", ya que si en España el nivel de reciclaje es todavía de un 15% respecto a un 45% de media en la Unión Europea, estas actuaciones hacia iniciativas como la desempeñada por Sudismin, S.L., estos últimos años y más ahora en un mercado complejo por la situación constructiva actual, ponen en peligro los avances en materia de reciclaje en España de estos últimos años.


La regasificadora irregular
	La Coordinadora Ecoloxista d'Asturies ha recibido la resolución del Ayuntamiento de Gijón en la que nos comunica que se informa favorablemente de la licencia de la planta regasificadora del Musel solicitada por Enagas, en la que lleva trabajando sin licencia desde noviembre.

Alicante
Los flamencos regresan al Parque Natural de El Hondo tras 12 años de ausencia
		Después de 12 años de ausencia, el Parque Natural de El Hondo (Alicante) ha vuelto a acoger varios ejemplares de flamencos que, además, han iniciado allí su reproducción. La Conselleria de Medio Ambiente de la Generalitat Valenciana ha contabilizado 600 ejemplares adultos y decenas de nidos. Este retorno ha sido posible gracias, sobre todo, a los buenos niveles de agua y a la abundante alimentación para esta especie.


Cenizas de biomasa: Reutilizar desechos doblemente
		Dicen que del cerdo se puede aprovechar todo. De los desechos procedentes de la materia vegetal, la biomasa, incluso por partida doble: Además de su utilización como fuente de energía renovable, las cenizas resultantes del proceso de combustión pueden reutilizarse nuevamente.


I Encuentro Internacional sobre prevención de riesgos laborales en el sector eólico
		Los próximos días 11 y 12 de mayo, AEE celebra el I Encuentro Internacional sobre prevención de riesgos laborales en el sector eólico, que cuenta con la colaboración de las diferentes empresas del sector. Estas conferencias, que se celebrarán en Barcelona, supondrán el inicio de una nueva concepción de la prevención de riesgos laborales.

Comunidad Valenciana
La Generalitat amplía en un mes el período de prohibición de quemas para prevenir incendios forestales
	La Conselleria de Medio Ambiente ha ampliado en un mes el período de prohibición de quemas agrícolas para este año 2010, con el objetivo de lograr "una mayor prevención de incendios forestales en los montes o terrenos forestales", según informó en un comunicado la directora general de Gestión del Medio Natural, Mª Ángeles Centeno.


Almacenar hidrógeno como combustible ecológico
	Expertos como Jeremy Rifkin sostienen que el hidrógeno será el motor de la economía en las próximas décadas. Además de ser un elemento abundante y limpio (no emite CO2 en su utilización), es el compañero ideal de las fuentes renovables, al ser un vector que almacena y transporta la energía. Sin embargo, uno de los principales escollos que impiden por el momento su generalización es precisamente su almacenamiento. Por ello, científicos de todo el mundo trabajan con diversos materiales y sistemas que permitan salvar este problema.


¿Son necesarias las incineradoras?
	El tratamiento y eliminación de las basuras domésticas, o Residuos Sólidos Urbanos (RSU), es uno de los problemas medioambientales más controvertidos de estos últimos años. Se sabe que en una ciudad cada habitante produce al día más de un kilo de residuos, cantidad que, además, crece sin que nada lo evite: en los últimos diez años, los países europeos han aumentado el volumen de residuos "per cápita" en más de un 60%.

Weekend Solar Flares

2010-05-09T19:54:00.001-07:00

Space Weather News for May 9, 2010
http://spaceweather.com

WEEKEND SOLAR FLARES: This weekend, magnetic fields around sunspot 1069 became unstable and erupted--over and over again. On May 8th alone, the active region produced more than half a dozen flares. High-resolution movies from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory show that even the "minor" eruptions were jaw-dropping spectacles. Visit http://spaceweather.com for highlights.

EMERGENCY: Immediate Oil Threat to Endangered Sea Turtles

2010-05-09T00:26:00.001-07:00

raul,

Please donate now to help support our emergency efforts to save sea turtles.

Right now, threatened and endangered sea turtles are fighting their way through oil coated waters in their annual migration to their nesting grounds – fighting for their very survival because of reckless drilling off our coasts.

The Gulf oil disaster couldn't have come at a worse time for sea turtles. It started just days before they must return to shore to nest and lay their eggs.

Please help save sea turtles threatened by the massive offshore oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.

Like humans, sea turtles will die from ingesting too much oil. And like us, they can drown. Sea turtles need to surface to breathe, which is hard to do when the ocean's surface is coated with oil. Other wildlife will need our help, but first the sea turtles…

Please support our work in the coming days to save these threatened and endangered sea turtles. Donate now.

I've just completed a tour of some of the many wildlife refuges on the Gulf threatened by the offshore oil drilling crisis, including Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge in Alabama – an important nesting area for threatened loggerhead sea turtles that are fighting their way to shore right now.

It doesn't take a wildlife expert to know that sea turtles need oil-free beaches and waters to survive…especially during nesting season and immediately after, when their hatchlings must return to sea.

Defenders of Wildlife President Rodger Schlickeisen and I have already directed our staff to make emergency response to the offshore oil crisis our immediate priority.

Your tax-deductible donation today of whatever you can afford will help support Defenders of Wildlife's emergency three-point strategy to address this crisis:

Point 1. Emergency Response for Sea Turtles
Threatened and endangered sea turtles are in waters off the Florida Panhandle right now. And females are expected to begin laying eggs within the week.

Our Florida staff is heading to some of the Sunshine State's most important nesting grounds to assist with the clean-up and rehabilitation of oil-soaked sea turtles and other wildlife impacted by the spill. In the weeks ahead, we will recruit and train more volunteers to assist with these efforts.

The response to this disaster could well determine the fate of the next generation of loggerhead, Kemp's ridley and other threatened and endangered sea turtles, so it's vital that we act now.

Help save sea turtles…

Point 2. Prevent the Next Offshore Oil Disaster.
On July 1^st, Shell Oil plans to begin offshore drilling operations in the remote and harsh waters of the Chukchi Sea off the coast of Alaska – setting the stage for America's next great drilling disaster.

Since Monday, we have mobilized more than 51,000 Defenders supporters to urge President Obama to reinstate the ban on offshore drilling that protected our coasts for 27 years and to rescind Shell's permits to conduct exploratory drilling in this vital habitat for America's threatened polar bears, bowhead whales and other wildlife.

Yesterday, we joined with Native Alaskans and other allies to challenge Shell's permits at a federal court hearing in Portland, OR. This week, we called on Congress to stop promoting offshore drilling. And next week, we will urge the U.S Senate to pass legislation that moves America away from its dangerous dependence on fossil fuels and addresses the impacts of climate change on wildlife like our vulnerable sea turtles without sacrificing our coasts.

Help prevent the next offshore oil disaster…

Point 3. Document the Crisis and Educate the Public.
Working with people like Defenders Board member and world-famous wildlife biologist Jeff Corwin, photojournalist Krista Schlyer, and others, we're helping to highlight the terrible implications of the Gulf offshore oil spill through compelling images and informed first-hand accounts… so that a tragedy like this never happens again.

Defenders Senior Marine Policy Advisor Richard Charter is working with some of the top data analysts in the country to predict the spill's trajectory, providing expert analysis on the technical perils of offshore drilling in the media, and working with policy makers to address the crisis.

This week, we launched a new blog, where we will provide up-to-the-minute news and analysis on wildlife impacted by the spill.

Help us document the crisis and educate the public…

The massive gulf oil spill is now just a few miles from Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge and other critical nesting sites for threatened and endangered sea turtles. And the toxic tide could hit other vital nesting sites on the Florida Panhandle as early as next week.

The annual cycle of sea turtle reproduction leaves no time for delay! We must act now to save these sea turtles. To do so, we – and the sea turtles – desperately need your help.

Please make your tax-deductible contribution today.

With Gratitude,

Jamie Rappaport Clark
Executive Vice President
Defenders of Wildlife

P.S. We need your support to respond to this crisis. Please make a secure donation online now or call 1-800-385-9712 to contribute by phone.

Astronomia en el dia de la madre

2010-05-09T00:23:00.001-07:00

Astronomía en el Día de la Madre*

Este Día de la Madre el cielo despliega un espectáculo celeste que puede ser un buen regalo para mamá.

Mayo 6, 2010: ¿Estás buscando un buen regalo para el Día de la Madre? La búsqueda terminó.

Mamá quiere que la despierten.

Derecha: Venus y la Luna sobre Daytona, Florida, en abril de 2010. Así se verá la conjunción Luna-Júpiter que tendrá lugar el Día de la Madre. Crédito de la imagen: Ben Cooper.

En el amanecer del domingo 9 de mayo (el Día de la Madre, *en algunos países), la Luna creciente y Júpiter se reúnen en una bella conjunción. Sólo cinco grados de arco separarán a los dos brillantes encantos celestes mientras están en el cielo colorido del amanecer. Mamá ni siquiera tiene que salir de la vivienda. Una mirada desde cualquier ventana con dirección al Este encuadrará bien el espectáculo: mapa estelar.

Quizás valga la pena destacar cuánto más se puede ver con la ayuda de un pequeño telescopio. Hay cuatro grandes lunas que orbitan a Júpiter: Io, Europa, Ganímedes y Calisto, también conocidas como "Satélites Galileanos". Galileo las descubrió hace 400 años usando un instrumento un poco mejor que un catalejo de pirata. Las montañas y cráteres repletos de sombras de la Luna creciente también son magníficas opciones para observar. Casi cualquier instrumento óptico que haya en casa podrá servir.

Sólo mamá podrá decir si esto está yendo demasiado lejos a las 5:30 de la madrugada.

Salvo en raras ocasiones, a una madre no le gustará que la despierten cuando llegue el fin del mundo (error, del amanecer). Ella incluso podría negarse a salir de la cama. Si esto sucede, se necesitará un plan de emergencia.

Buenas noticias: también habrá un bello despliegue cuando se ponga el Sol. Al tiempo que el Sol desciende y el cielo se desvanece en un profundo azul cobalto, dos luces brillantes emergerán del crepúsculo: Venus y Sirio. No te los puedes perder (especialmente a Venus) brillando a mitad del cielo del Oeste: mapa estelar. No están tan cerca como Júpiter y la Luna, pero lo que les falta en proximidad, lo compensan con su brillo. Venus es el más brillante de los planetas y Sirio es la estrella más brillante. Colocados en el crepúsculo como joyas sobre un terciopelo, Venus y Sirio constituyen una imagen inolvidable.

¿Recuerdas ese pequeño telescopio? Apúntalo hacia Venus. El segundo planeta, visto desde el Sol, brilla con un firme resplandor color perla que sólo se puede describir como de otro mundo. Desplázate sobre Sirio. La distante estrella centellea como si fuera un diamante con súbitos destellos con los colores del arco iris. (Una rápida lección de astronomía: las estrellas titilan pero los planetas no lo hacen. De nada, Mamá.)

Perlas y diamantes en el cielo son una bella manera de cerrar el día —especialmente si juzgaste mal esa llamada para despertarse.

¡Feliz Día de la Madre!

*Nota de la Editora: el Día de la Madre se celebra en diferentes fechas en los distintos países del mundo. En Estados Unidos, es el segundo domingo de mayo que, en esta ocasión, es el día 9