Environment

BLM Christmas Tree Permits Now Available

Christmas tree permits now available. Courtesy/nmstatelands.org
 
BLM News:
 
SANTA FE – The Bureau of Land Management offices in Albuquerque, Socorro, Taos, Farmington, Las Cruces and Santa Fe are now selling Christmas tree permits.
 
The permits cost $5 and will be sold until Dec. 23. For a list of BLM office locations and contact information, click here.
 
Maps can be obtained when purchasing the permit at a local BLM office, and will show tree hunters where lands open to tree cutting are located. Tree permits are for sale on many parcels of public lands in the State. When
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NIST: Atomic Clocks Now Keep Time Well Enough To Improve Models Of Earth

NIST physicist Andrew Ludlow and colleagues achieved new atomic clock performance records in a comparison of two ytterbium optical lattice clocks. Laser systems used in both clocks are visible in the foreground, and the main apparatus for one of the clocks is located behind Ludlow. Courtesy/Burrus/NIST
 
NIST News:
 
Experimental atomic clocks at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have achieved three new performance records, now ticking precisely enough to not only improve timekeeping and navigation, but also detect faint signals from gravity, the
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BLM To Continue San Pedro Thinning Project

BLM News:
 
TAOS The Bureau of Land Management will continue thinning to reduce accumulated vegetation posing fire hazards in the San Pedro area through the end of December.
 
In addition to the presence of work crews, the public will be gathering wood in the area until Dec. 31. To ensure the safety of the work crews and the public, the area’s temporary closure to target shooting is extended until this time. The San Pedro Fuels Reduction Project is located on BLM lands on the south side of NM Highway 344, approximately one mile east of the intersection of NM Highway 14 and NM Highway 344.
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AGU: Whale Songs’ Changing Pitch May Be Response To Population, Climate Changes

A fin whale surfaces at 58˚S in the southern Indian Ocean in a photo captured in January 2010 from the R/V Marion Dufresne, the research vessel that collected hydrophone data for the new study. Courtesy/J-Y Royer
 
AGU News:
 
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Blue whales around the world are singing a little flat, and scientists may now have more clues as to the reason why.
 
A new study finds there’s a seasonal variation in the whales’ pitch correlated with breaking sea ice in the southern Indian Ocean. The new research also extends the mysterious long-term falling pitch to related baleen whales
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Zero Waste Gift Ideas: Thinking Outside The Gift Box

By THE ZERO WASTE TEAM:

Los Alamos, New Mexico— It’s November, and that means the seasonal food- and gift-based holidays are right around the corner! Every year at this time, I walk through stores crammed with festive lights, oversized toys, and decorated conifers, and it reminds me of the extent of consumerism.

Many of us are unaware of how much our gifts cost – not to our wallets, but to our planet. Manufacturing and transporting goods has become so efficient that most of us are blind to it. Things magically appear at the store for us to buy and take home. Online shopping provides another level of Read More

PEEC: Explore The Sun With Joyce Guzik Friday

Joyce Guzik will present the talk ‘Inside the Sun’ at 7 p.m. Friday at the nature center. Courtesy/PEEC
 
PEEC News:
 
Learn about a local star Friday, Nov. 30 at the Los Alamos Nature Center’s planetarium at a presentation from Joyce Guzik called “Inside the Sun.”
 
Guzik’s presentation begins at 7 p.m. and explores why the sun shines, the possible fate of the sun and earth and much more. She guarantees that the audience will learn something about the sun that they didn’t know before.
 
In her talk, Guzik will discuss what generates energy inside the sun, how the sun was formed,
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Three LANL Scientists Named Fellows By AAAS

Los Alamos newest AAAS Fellows from left, Manvendra Dubey, David Janecky and Greg Swift. Courtesy/LANL

LANL News:

  • Manvendra Dubey, David Janecky and Greg Swift honored for their lasting impacts in climate, oceanic and thermoacoustic science

Los Alamos National Laboratory scientists Manvendra Dubey, David Janecky and Greg Swift have been named Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Election as a Fellow of AAAS is an honor bestowed upon Association members by their peers.

“Becoming an AAAS fellow is a tremendous honor. I want to congratulate Manvendra, Read More

LANL: Innate Fingerprint Could Detect Tampered Steel

David Mascarenas, a research and development engineer at LANL, used Barkhausen noise to find unique-looking ‘fingerprints’ in steel that could help to verify weapons treaties and reduce the use of counterfeit bolts in the construction industry. Courtesy/LANL

LANL News:

  • Treaty compliance aided by spotting illicit artillery exchange and duplication

Researchers using magnetic signals have found unique “fingerprints” on steel, which could help to verify weapons treaties and reduce the use of counterfeit bolts in the construction industry.

 

“Magnetic signals provide a wide range Read More

New Report And Public Briefing On Disposal Of Surplus Plutonium At WIPP Nov. 30

Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) outside Carlsbad. Courtesy photo
 
NASEM News:
 
The U.S. government plans to dispose of 34 metric tons of surplus plutonium under the Plutonium Management and Disposition Agreement, signed by the U.S. and Russian Federation in 2000 and revised in 2010.
 
The U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has developed conceptual plans for disposing of the surplus plutonium in the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) outside Carlsbad.
 
Congress asked the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering,
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UbiQD Of Los Alamos Launches Quantum Dot Greenhouse Film Product

UbiQD launched its retrofit greenhouse film product called UbiGro on Monday, Nov. 26, 2018. Courtesy/UbiQD, Inc.

Greenhouse Technology Engineer Damon Hebert checks on a tomato study grown under UbiGro films at the New Mexico Consortium (NMC) greenhouse in Los Alamos. Courtesy/UbiQD, Inc.

UbiQD News:

  • The company has garnered EPA approval to manufacture its first commercial product, a luminescent film called UbiGro that improves crop quality and yield

UbiQD, Inc., a Los Alamos-based nanotechnology development company, announced today that it has launched its first commercial Read More

Elected Officials, Tribes, Activists Protest ‘Double Drilling’ During Oil Conservation Commission Hearing

The Nov. 19 hearing before the State of New Mexico’s Oil Conservation Commission. Courtesy photo

The Nov. 19 hearing before the State of New Mexico’s Oil Conservation Commission. Courtesy photo

SIERRA CLUB News:
 
The Nov. 19 hearing before the State of New Mexico’s Oil Conservation Commission (NMOCC) drew more than 70 people to hear a decision on Hilcorp Energy’s (Case No. 16403) application request to double the number of wells in the Blanco-Mesaverde Gas Pool in San Juan and Rio Arriba counties in northwest New Mexico.
 
Hilcorp Energy—an infamously bad actor—was granted permission
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SFNF: Chaparral Prescribed Burn May Start Today

SFNF News:

To take advantage of favorable conditions, to include fuel moisture levels, air quality and weather forecasts, fire managers on the Cuba Ranger District of the Santa Fe National Forest (SFNF) expect to begin ignitions today, Nov. 26 on Chaparral piles to reduce the risk of high-severity wildfire.

Weather permitting, crews are expected to treat up to 59 acres of the Chaparral piles, and may conduct treatments anytime between Nov. 26 and March 15, 2019 as conditions allow.

The Chaparral piles area is located along Forest Service Road 539, two to five miles south of the Rancho del Chaparral Read More

SFNF: Cattle Guard Installation On Jemez Ranger District Postponed Until Spring

SFNF News:

SANTA FE – Santa Fe National Forest officials postponed the installation of cattle guards on Forest Road 105 (Sulfur Creek Road) and Forest Road 106 (Thompson Ridge Road) until spring. 

Installation was originally planned the week of Nov. 12, but is postponed until forest officials can ensure emergency access during construction.

The plan is to complete the project ahead of the next grazing season.

Public notification will be made as soon as new installation dates are determined. Once the project begins, the forest roads will be impassible from approximately 9:30 a.m. to Read More

Be Aware … Share The Forest With Wild Animals

SFNF News:

SANTA FE – Winter is fast approaching, and hard times may be ahead for some forest animals.

Heavy snows and extended periods of bitter cold can take a toll on many forest creatures. Winter mortality is nothing to be concerned about since it has been occurring for ages.

What has not been occurring for quite as long; however, is the increased amount of human activity on the forest. Forest officials highly encourage visitors to enjoy the great outdoors, but to also be aware of the surroundings. Besides preparing for the weather, forest users need to be aware of what they should do should they Read More

Cuba Ranger District La Jara Burn Planned Nov. 26

SFNF News:

SANTA FE – Fire managers on the Santa Fe National Forest (SFNF) plan to take advantage of favorable conditions, including fuel moisture levels, air quality, and winds and weather forecasts to initiate a prescribed burn in the La Jara vicinity on the Cuba Ranger District as early as Nov. 26 through March 15, 2019.

A total of 79 acres may be treated in the area just east of the community of La Jara.

Prescribed fires are one of the most effective tools available to resource managers for restoring fire dependent ecosystems. These fires mimic natural fires by reducing forest fuels, recycling Read More

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