Sunday, December 15, 2002

Ancient American Indian Cave's Despoiler Fined $2.5 Million

A man who federal officials say spoiled a major archaeological find when he looted ancient American Indian remains from a Nevada cave in the 1980s has been fined $2.5 million in civil penalties. Jack Lee Harelson destroyed what could have been one of the most important archaeological cave sites in the Great Basin, Bureau of Land Management officials said. Before Elephant Mountain Cave was looted during several years in the early 1980s, it contained a 10,000-year record of human life in northern Nevada.

Source: Orlando Sentinel

Thursday, March 7, 2002

"Buried Dams" Help Clean Recycled Water

Disease-causing microbes can effectively be eliminated from recycled water by storing it underground, new research by CSIRO scientists has found. Promising research findings into natural ways to cleanse polluted water have brought Australia a step closer to a revolution in water reclamation – the “underground dam”.

Researchers at CSIRO Land and Water have for several years been investigating the feasibility of diverting urban stormwater and treated effluent into underground aquifers, where it can be recycled for use on parks, gardens, ovals and farms.

The idea is to harvest surplus water during the wet part of the year, store it underground for some months, then bring it to the surface again for irrigation during the dry season.

Researchers consider these underground dams offer a uniquely Australian solution to the problems of water storage, water conservation and recycling. The water will be injected into appropriate aquifers, where it is protected from evaporation or pollution – and does not submerge valuable land or habitat, as does a surface dam.

Now, microbiologist Dr Simon Toze has produced the clear evidence that storing water underground also purges it of disease-causing organisms, making it clean enough to recycle as irrigation.

Tuesday, January 15, 2002

Afghan Caves Prove Daunting For U.S.

The extensive al-Qaeda training complex that U.S. warplanes have pounded since Jan. 3 is one of dozens in dry, cave-riddled valleys of southeastern Afghanistan where groups of fighters might be hiding, a senior Pentagon official said Monday.

Rear Adm. John Stufflebeem, deputy director of operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said there are so many of the complexes -- not simply cave hideaways but compounds with large, above-ground training camps -- that the work is overwhelming the small number of special-operations soldiers locating them and calling in airstrikes.

Sunday, December 15, 2002

Ancient American Indian Cave's Despoiler Fined $2.5 Million

A man who federal officials say spoiled a major archaeological find when he looted ancient American Indian remains from a Nevada cave in the 1980s has been fined $2.5 million in civil penalties. Jack Lee Harelson destroyed what could have been one of the most important archaeological cave sites in the Great Basin, Bureau of Land Management officials said. Before Elephant Mountain Cave was looted during several years in the early 1980s, it contained a 10,000-year record of human life in northern Nevada.

Source: Orlando Sentinel

Thursday, March 7, 2002

"Buried Dams" Help Clean Recycled Water

Disease-causing microbes can effectively be eliminated from recycled water by storing it underground, new research by CSIRO scientists has found. Promising research findings into natural ways to cleanse polluted water have brought Australia a step closer to a revolution in water reclamation – the “underground dam”.

Researchers at CSIRO Land and Water have for several years been investigating the feasibility of diverting urban stormwater and treated effluent into underground aquifers, where it can be recycled for use on parks, gardens, ovals and farms.

The idea is to harvest surplus water during the wet part of the year, store it underground for some months, then bring it to the surface again for irrigation during the dry season.

Researchers consider these underground dams offer a uniquely Australian solution to the problems of water storage, water conservation and recycling. The water will be injected into appropriate aquifers, where it is protected from evaporation or pollution – and does not submerge valuable land or habitat, as does a surface dam.

Now, microbiologist Dr Simon Toze has produced the clear evidence that storing water underground also purges it of disease-causing organisms, making it clean enough to recycle as irrigation.

Tuesday, January 15, 2002

Afghan Caves Prove Daunting For U.S.

The extensive al-Qaeda training complex that U.S. warplanes have pounded since Jan. 3 is one of dozens in dry, cave-riddled valleys of southeastern Afghanistan where groups of fighters might be hiding, a senior Pentagon official said Monday.

Rear Adm. John Stufflebeem, deputy director of operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said there are so many of the complexes -- not simply cave hideaways but compounds with large, above-ground training camps -- that the work is overwhelming the small number of special-operations soldiers locating them and calling in airstrikes.