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Tag: extinction
A Supernova 2.6 Million Years Ago Could Have Wiped Out the Ocean's Large Animals
For many years, scientists have been studying how supernovae could affect life on Earth. Supernovae are extremely powerful events, and depending on how close they are to Earth, they could have consequences ranging from the cataclysmic to the inconsequential. But now, the scientists behind a new paper say they have specific evidence linking one or more supernova to an extinction event 2.6 million years ago.
About 2.6 million years ago, one or more supernovae exploded about 50 parsecs, or about 160 light years, away from Earth. At that same time, there was also an extinction event on Earth, called the Pliocene marine megafauna extinction. Up to a third of the large marine species on Earth were wiped out at the time, most of them living in shallow coastal waters.
"This time, it's different. We have evidence of nearby events at a specific time." – Dr. Adrian Melott, University of Kansas.
Continue reading "A Supernova 2.6 Million Years Ago Could Have Wiped Out the Ocean's Large Animals"
A Rapid Rise in Temperature Led to the Worst Extinction in our Planet's History
Everyone knows about the extinction of the dinosaurs. A cataclysmic asteroid strike about 66 million years ago (mya) caused the Death of the Dinosaurs. But there've been several mass extinctions in the Earth's history, and they didn't involve killer asteroids. The worst extinction was caused by a rapid rise in temperature.
Earth's most severe extinction occurred long before the killer asteroid impact that wiped out the dinosaurs. It happened some 252 mya, and it marked the end of what's called the Permian Period. The extinction is known as the Permian-Triassic Extinction Event, the End-Permian Extinction, or more simply, "The Great Dying." Up to 70% of terrestrial vertebrates and up to 96% of all marine species were extinguished during The Great Dying.
How did it happen? Could it happen again?
Continue reading "A Rapid Rise in Temperature Led to the Worst Extinction in our Planet's History"
Does Climate Change Explain Why We Don't See Any Aliens Out There?
In the 1950s, famed physicist Enrico Fermi posed the question that encapsulated one of the toughest questions in the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI): "Where the heck is everybody?" What he meant was, given the age of the Universe (13.8 billion years), the sheer number of galaxies (between 1 and 2 trillion), and the overall number of planets, why has humanity still not found evidence of extra-terrestrial intelligence?
This question, which has come to be known as the "Fermi Paradox", is something scientists continue to ponder. In a new study, a team from the University of Rochester considered that perhaps Climate Change is the reason. Using a mathematical model based on the Anthropocene, they considered how civilizations and planet systems co-evolve and whether or not intelligent species are capable of living sustainability with their environment.
The study, titled "The Anthropocene Generalized: Evolution of Exo-Civilizations and Their Planetary Feedback", recently appeared in the scientific journal Astrobiology. The study was led by Adam Frank, a professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Rochester, with the assistance of Jonathan Carroll-Nellenback (a senior computational scientist at Rochester) Marina Alberti of the University of Washington, and Axel Kleidon of the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry.
Today, Climate Change is one of the most pressing issues facing humanity. Thanks to changes that have taken place in the past few centuries – i.e. the industrial revolution, population growth, the growth of urban centers and reliance on fossil fuels – humans have had a significant impact on the planet. In fact, many geologists refer to the current era as the "Anthropocene" because humanity has become the single greatest factor affecting planetary evolution.
In the future, populations are expected to grow even further, reaching about 10 billion by mid-century and over 11 billion by 2100. In that time, the number of people who live within urban centers will also increase dramatically, increasing from 54% to 66% by mid-century. As such, the quesiton of how billions of people can live sustainably has become an increasingly important one.
Prof. Frank, who is also the author of the new book Light of the Stars: Alien Worlds and the Fate of the Earth (which draws on this study), conducted this study with his colleagues in order to address the issue Climate Change in an astrobiological context. As he explained in a University of Rochester press release:
"Astrobiology is the study of life and its possibilities in a planetary context. That includes 'exo-civilizations' or what we usually call aliens. If we're not the universe's first civilization, that means there are likely to be rules for how the fate of a young civilization like our own progresses."
Using the Anthropocene as an example, one can see how civilization-planet systems co-evolve, and how a civilization can endanger itself through growth and expansion – in what is known as a "progress trap". Basically, as civilizations grow, they consume more of the planet's resources, which causes changes in the planet's conditions. In this sense, the fate of a civilization comes down to how they use their planet's resources.
In order to illustrate this process Frank and his collaborators developed a mathematical model that considers civilizations and planets as a whole. As Prof. Frank explained:
"The point is to recognize that driving climate change may be something generic. The laws of physics demand that any young population, building an energy-intensive civilization like ours, is going to have feedback on its planet. Seeing climate change in this cosmic context may give us better insight into what's happening to us now and how to deal with it."
The model was also based on case studies of extinct civilizations, which included the famous example of what became of the inhabitants of Rapa Nui (aka. Easter Island). According to archaeological studies, the people of the South Pacific began colonizing this island between 400 and 700 CE and its population peaked at 10,000 sometime between 1200 and 1500 CE.
Professor Adam Frank, who led the study in how civilization-planet systems evolve. Credit: University of Rochester photo / J. Adam Fenster
By the 18th century, however, the inhabitants had depleted their resources and the population declined to just 2000. This example raises the important concept known as "carrying capacity", which is the maximum number of species an environment can support. As Frank explained, Climate Change is essentially how the Earth responds to the expansion of our civilization:
"If you go through really strong climate change, then your carrying capacity may drop, because, for example, large-scale agriculture might be strongly disrupted. Imagine if climate change caused rain to stop falling in the Midwest. We wouldn't be able to grow food, and our population would diminish."
Using their mathematical model, the team identified four potential scenarios that might occur on a planet. These include the Die-Off scenario, the Sustainability scenario, the Collapse Without Resource Change scenario, and the Collapse With Resource Change scenario. In the Die-Off scenario, the population and the planet's state (for example, average temperatures) rise very quickly.
This would eventually lead to a population peak and then a rapid decline as changing planetary conditions make it harder for the majority of the population to survive. Eventually, a steady population level would be achieved, but it would only be a fraction of what the peak population was. This scenario occurs when civilizations are unwilling or unable to change from high-impact resources (i.e. oil, coal, clear-cutting) to sustainable ones (renewable energy).
Four scenarios for the fate of civilizations and their planets, based on mathematical models developed by Adam Frank and his collaborators. Credit: University of Rochester illustration / Michael Osadciw
In the Sustainability scenario, the population and planetary conditions both rise, but eventually come to together with steady values, thus avoiding any catastrophic effects. This scenario occurs when civilizations recognize that environmental changes threaten their existence and successfully make the transition from high-impact resources to sustainable ones.
The final two scenarios – Collapse Without Resource Change and Collapse With Resource Change – differ in one key respect. In the former, the population and temperature both rise rapidly until the population reaches a peak and begins to drop rapidly – though it is not clear if the species itself survives. In the latter, the population and temperature rise rapidly, but the populations recognizes the danger and makes the transition. Unfortunately, the change comes too late and the population collapses anyway.
At present, scientists cannot say with any confidence which of these fates will be the one humanity faces. Perhaps we will make the transition before it is too late, perhaps not. But in the meantime, Frank and his colleagues hope to use more detailed models to predict how planets will respond to civilizations and the different ways they consume energy and resources in order to grow.
From this, scientists may be able to refine their predictions of what awaits us in this century and the next. It is during this time that crucial changes will be taking place, which include the aforementioned population growth, and the steady rise in temperatures. For instance, based on two scenarios that measured CO2 increases by the year 2100, NASA indicated that global temperatures could rise by either 2.5 °C (4.5 °F) or 4.4 °C (8 °F).
In the former scenario, where CO2 levels reached 550 ppm by 2100, the changes would be sustainable. But in the latter scenario, where CO2 levels reached 800 ppm, the changes would cause widespread disruption to systems that billions of humans depends upon for their livelihood and survival. Worse than that, life would become untenable in certain areas of the world, leading to massive displacement and humanitarian crises.
In addition to offering a possible resolution for the Fermi Paradox, this study offers some helpful advice for human beings. By thinking of civilizations and planets as a whole – be they Earth or exoplanets – researchers will be able to better predict what changes will be necessary for human civilization to survive. As Frank warned, it is absolutely essential that humanity mobilize now to ensure that the worst-case scenario does not occur here on Earth:
"If you change the earth's climate enough, you might not be able to change it back. Even if you backed off and started to use solar or other less impactful resources, it could be too late, because the planet has already been changing. These models show we can't just think about a population evolving on its own. We have to think about our planets and civilizations co-evolving."
And be sure to enjoy this video that addresses Prof. Frank and his team's research, courtesy of the University of Rochester:
Further Reading: University of Rochester, Astrobiology
Long After Humanity is Gone and the Sun Dies, the Water Bears Will be There
Like all living creatures, stars have a natural lifespan. After going through their main sequence phase, they eventually exhaust their nuclear fuel and begin the slow process towards death. In our Sun's case, this will consist of it growing in size and entering the Red Giant phase of its evolution. When that happens, roughly 5.4 billion years from now, the Sun will encompass the orbit's of Mercury, Venus, and maybe even Earth.
However, even before this happens, astronomers theorize that the Sun will dramatically heat up, which will render Earth uninhabitable to most species. But according to a new study by a team of researchers from Oxford and the University of Harvard, the species known as tardigrades (aka. the "water bear") will likely survive even after humanity and all other species have perished.
This study, which was recently published in the journal Scientific Reports under the title "The Resilience of Life to Astrophysical Events", was conducted by Dr. David Sloan, Dr. Rafael Alves Batista – from the Department of Astrophysics at Oxford University – and Dr. Abraham Loeb of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA). As they indicate, previous studies into the effect Solar evolution will have on life have been rather lopsided.
Artist's impression of the Earth scorched by our Sun as it enters its Red Giant Branch phase. Credit: Wikimedia Commons/Fsgregs
Essentially, much attention has been dedicated to whether or not humanity will survive our Sun leaving its main sequence phase. Comparatively, very little research has been conducted on whether or not life itself (and which lifeforms) will be able to survive this change. As such, they considered the most statistically-likely events that would be capable of completely sterilizing an Earth-like planet, and sought to determine what lifeforms could endure them.
As Dr. Loeb told Universe Today via email, their team wanted to consider if there was an extinction-level event that could eliminate all life on Earth (not just humans):
"We wanted to find out how long life may survive on a planet once formed. Most previous studies focused on the survival of humans which are very sensitive to changes in the atmosphere or climate of the Earth and can be eliminated by the impact of an asteroid (nuclear winter) or bad politics."
What they found was that the species Milnesium tardigradum would survive all potential astrophysical catastrophes. What's more, they estimated that these creatures will be around for another 10 billion years at least – far longer than what is anticipated for the human race! As Loeb indicates, this was not an outcome that they were expecting.
"To our surprise, tardigrades are likely to survive all astrophysical catastrophes," he said. "Most likely, the DNA of tardigrades is able to repair itself quickly due to damage encountered by the environment. The process is not fully understood, and there is a group at Harvard University who studies the SNA of tardigrades with the hope of understanding it better."
Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) image of Milnesium tardigradum in active state. Credit: Schokraie E/Warnken U/Hotz-Wagenblatt A/Grohme MA/Hengherr S, et al.
To be fair, it has been known for some time that Tardigrades are the most resilient life form on Earth. Not only can they survive for up to 30 years without food or water (half their natural lifespan), they can also survive temperatures of up to 150 °C (302 °F) and as low as -200 °C (-328 °F). They have also shown themselves to be capable of enduring extremes in pressure, ranging from the 6000 atmospheres to the vacuum of open space.
Under these conditions, the research team concluded that they are likely to survive the Sun becoming a red giant and irradiating Earth, and will likely be alive even after the Sun has winked out of existence. On top of that, tardigrades can even be brought back to life, under the right circumstances. Much like all life on Earth, tradigrades need water to survive, even though they can survive in a dry state for extended periods of time – up to ten years, in fact.
But even after being deprived of water to the point of death, scientists have found that these organisms can be reanimated once water is reintroduced. This was demonstrated in 2007 when a batch of tardigrades was dehydrated before being launched to Low Earth Orbit (LEO). After being exposed to the hard vacuum of space and UV radiation for 10 days, they were returned to Earth and rehydrated – at which point, the majority were revived and able to produce viable embryos.
The team also concluded that other cataclysmic events – such as an asteroid strike, exploding stars (i.e. a supernovae) or gamma ray bursts – pose no existential threat to tardigrades. As Loeb explained:
"We have found that asteroid impacts are capable of boiling off all the oceans on Earth, but only if the asteroid is more massive than 1018 kg [10,000 trillion metric tons]. Such events are extremely rare and will not happen before the Sun will die; the probability of them happening earlier is less than one part in a million."
Artist's concept of a collision between proto-Earth and Theia, believed to happened 4.5 billion years ago. Credit: NASA
In fact, the last time an object large enough to boil the oceans (2 x 1018 kg) collided with Earth occurred roughly 4.51 billion years ago. On this occasion, Earth was struck by a Mars-sized object named Theia, which is believed to be what caused the formation of the Moon. Today, there are only a dozen known asteroids or dwarf planets in the Solar System that have this kind of mass, and none of them will intersect the Earth's orbit in the future.
As for supernova, they indicated that an exploding star would need to be 0.14 light-years from Earth in order for it to boil the oceans from its surface. Since the closest star to our Sun (Proxima Centauri) is 4.25 light years away, this scenario is not a foreseeable risk. As for gamma-ray bursts, which are even rarer than supernova, the team determined that they too are too far away from Earth to pose a threat.
The implications of this study are quite fascinating. For one, it reminds us just how fragile human life is compared to basic, microscopic life forms. It also demonstrates that similarly hardy organisms could exist in a variety of locations that we may have once considered too hostile for life. As Dr Rafael Alves Batista, one of the co-authors on the study, said in a University of Oxford press release:
"Without our technology protecting us, humans are a very sensitive species. Subtle changes in our environment impact us dramatically. There are many more resilient species' on earth. Life on this planet can continue long after humans are gone. Tardigrades are as close to indestructible as it gets on Earth, but it is possible that there are other resilient species examples elsewhere in the Universe. In this context there is a real case for looking for life on Mars and in other areas of the Solar System in general. If Tardigrades are earth's most resilient species, who knows what else is out there?'"
The tiny Tardigrade: Nature's toughest creature? Credit: Katexic Publications, unaltered, CC2.0)
And as Dr. Loeb explained, studies like this have potential benefits that go far beyond assessing our own survivability. Not only do they help us understand life's ability to endure catastrophic events – which is essential to understanding how and where life could emerge in the Universe – but they also offer possibilities on how we might better our own chances of survival.
"We get a better understanding of the conditions under which life will persist," he said. "In about a billion years, when the Sun will heat up life will cease, but until then it will continue in some form. Understanding the self-repair mechanism of the DNA on tardigrades could potentially help in combating disease for humans as well."
And all his time, we thought cockroaches were the toughest critters on the planet, what with their ability to withstand a nuclear holocaust. But these eight-legged creatures, which are arguably cuter than cockroaches too, clearly have the market on toughness cornered. We're just lucky they only get up to 0.5 mm (0.02 in) in size, otherwise we might have something to worry about!
Further Reading: University of Oxford, Scientific Reports
New Estimate Puts the Supernova Killzone Within 50 Light-Years of Earth
There are a lot of ways that life on Earth could come to an end: an asteroid strike, global climate catastrophe, or nuclear war are among them. But perhaps the most haunting would be death by supernova, because there's absolutely nothing we could do about it. We'd be sitting ducks.
New research suggest that a supernova's kill zone is bigger than we thought; about 25 light years bigger, to be exact.
Iron in the Ocean
In 2016, researchers confirmed that Earth has been hit with the effects from multiple supernovae. The presence of iron 60 in the seabed confirms it. Iron 60 is an isotope of iron produced in supernova explosions, and it was found in fossilized bacteria in sediments on the ocean floor. Those iron 60 remnants suggest that two supernovae exploded near our solar system, one between 6.5 to 8.7 million years ago, and another as recently as 2 million years ago.
Iron 60 is extremely rare here on Earth because it has a short half life of 2.6 million years. Any of the iron 60 created at the time of Earth's formation would have decayed into something else by now. So when researchers found the iron 60 on the ocean floor, they reasoned that it must have another source, and that logical source is a supernova.
This evidence was the smoking gun for the idea that Earth has been struck by supernovae. But the questions it begs are, what effect did that supernova have on life on Earth? And how far away do we have to be from a supernova to be safe?
"…we can look for events in the history of the Earth that might be connected to them (supernova events)." – Dr. Adrian Melott, Astrophysicist, University of Kansas.
In a press release from the University of Kansas, astrophysicist Adrian Melott talked about recent research into supernovae and the effects they can have on Earth. "This research essentially proves that certain events happened in the not-too-distant past," said Melott, a KU professor of physics and astronomy. "They make it clear approximately when they happened and how far away they were. Knowing that, we can consider what the effect may have been with definite numbers. Then we can look for events in the history of the Earth that might be connected to them."
Earlier work suggested that a supernova kill zone is about 25-30 light years. If a supernova exploded that close to Earth, it would trigger a mass extinction. Bye-bye humanity. But new work suggests that 25 light years is an under-estimation, and that a supernova 50 light years away would be powerful enough to cause a mass extinction.
Supernovae: A Force Driving Evolution?
But extinction is just one effect a supernova could have on Earth. Supernovae can have other effects, and they might not all be negative. It's possible that a supernovae about 2.6 million years ago even drove human evolution.
"Our local research group is working on figuring out what the effects were likely to have been," Melott said. "We really don't know. The events weren't close enough to cause a big mass extinction or severe effects, but not so far away that we can ignore them either. We're trying to decide if we should expect to have seen any effects on the ground on the Earth."
Melott and his colleagues have written a new paper that focuses on the effects a supernova might have on Earth. In a new paper titled "A SUPERNOVA AT 50 PC: EFFECTS ON THE EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE AND BIOTA", Melott and a team of researchers tried to shed light on Earth-supernova interactions.
The Local Bubble
There are a number of variables that come into play when trying to determine the effects of a supernova, and one of them is the idea of the Local Bubble. The Local Bubble itself is the result of one or more supernova explosion that occurred as long as 20 million years ago. The Local Bubble is a 300 light year diameter bubble of expanding gas in our arm of the Milky Way galaxy, where our Solar System currently resides. We've been travelling through it for the last five to ten million years. Inside this bubble, the magnetic field is weak and disordered.
Melott's paper focused on the effects that a supernova about 2.6 million years ago would have on Earth in two instances: while both were within the Local Bubble, and while both were outside the Local Bubble.
The disrupted magnetic field inside the Local Bubble can in essence magnify the effects a supernova can have on Earth. It can increase the cosmic rays that reach Earth by a factor of a few hundred. This can increase the ionization in the Earth's troposphere, which mean that life on Earth would be hit with more radiation.
Outside the Local Bubble, the magnetic field is more ordered, so the effect depends on the orientation of the magnetic field. The ordered magnetic field can either aim more radiation at Earth, or it could in a sense deflect it, much like our magnetosphere does now.
Focusing on the Pleistocene
Melott's paper looks into the connection between the supernova and the global cooling that took place during the Pleistocene epoch about 2.6 million years ago. There was no mass extinction at that time, but there was an elevated extinction rate.
According to the paper, it's possible that increased radiation from a supernova could have changed cloud formation, which would help explain a number of things that happened at the beginning of the Pleistocene. There was increased glaciation, increased species extinction, and Africa grew cooler and changed from predominantly forests to semi-arid grasslands.
Cancer and Mutation
As the paper concludes, it is difficult to know exactly what happened to Earth 2.6 million years ago when a supernova exploded in our vicinity. And it's difficult to pinpoint an exact distance at which life on Earth would be in trouble.
But high levels of radiation from a supernova could increase the cancer rate, which could contribute to extinction. It could also increase the mutation rate, another contributor to extinction. At the highest levels modeled in this study, the radiation could even reach one kilometer deep into the ocean.
There is no real record of increased cancer in the fossil record, so this study is hampered in that sense. But overall, it's a fascinating look at the possible interplay between cosmic events and how we and the rest of life on Earth evolved.
A supernova at 50 pc: Effects on the Earth's atmosphere and biota
Recent near-Earth supernovae probed by global deposition of interstellar radioactive 60Fe
The locations of recent supernovae near the Sun from modelling 60Fe transport
Proof that ancient supernovae zapped Earth sparks hunt for after effects
Mammals Were Already Flourishing When The Axe Fell On The Dinosaurs
It's an apocryphal image. The ignorant faces of the dinosaurs, roaring helplessly at their fate, and looking skyward as an asteroid plunged to Earth. And the sneaky, clever little mammals coming out of their hiding holes to take their rightful place. If you grew up reading about this version of things, you're not alone.
The line of reasoning says that mammals were present during the dinosaur's reign, but their potential to thrive was suppressed by the dinosaurs, which were supremely evolved to dominate conditions on Earth at the time. It took the extinction of the dinosaurs to allow mammals to flourish. But according to new studies, that might not have been the case. As it turns out, mammals may have been well on their way to displacing the dinos long before the Chicxulub meteor hastened the dinosaur's demise.
One such study, from researchers at the Universities of Southampton and Chicago, focused on hundreds of fossilized mammal teeth. As you know if you've been paying attention to how you eat, different teeth have different purposes. Carnivores have sharp teeth designed to rip and shred flesh, while herbivores have duller teeth for grinding up vegetation. Omnivores, like us, have a bit of both. That's a simplification, of course, but its generally true.
What this study showed is that mammals with varied diets began to appear 10 to 20 million years before the dinosaurs were extinguished. It focused on early therian mammals, which are the ones that gave rise to the modern marsupials (ones with pouches) and placentals (ones where a fetus is carried inside the uterus). The third class of mammal, monotremes, were egg-laying mammals like the platypus.
In recent years, more and more early mammal fossils have been discovered, and they show that mammals were well on their way to diversifying long before the dinosaurs disappeared. The mammal fossil record also shows that mammal diversity suffered from the meteor strike, but mammals recovered and diversified into a greater number of species in the new conditions.
Another study, by Manabu Sakamoto and Chris Venditti from the University of Reading, and by Michael Benton from the University of Briston, shows that the opposite is true for dinosaurs. For tens of millions of years before their extinction, dinosaur species were becoming extinct and new species were not taking their place. This made the dinosaurs more vulnerable to extinction, whereas the diversifying mammals were in a better position to thrive, regardless of dinosaur extinction.
The main threat posed by the asteroid strike was the climate change that followed it. With greater species diversity in place immediately preceding the strike, mammals had a greater probability to survive the changing climate than did their dinosaur counterparts.
Evolutionary biologist and co-author of the study, Dr. Chris Venditti, told BBC News, "The current widespread view is that dinosaurs were reigning strong right up to the impact that hit the Earth – and it's the impact that drove their final extinction," he said. "And while that's certainly true, what we found was that they were on the decline long before that."
This image shows a very faint circular outline of the Chicxulub crater, site of the asteroid strike that finished off the dinosaurs. After 65 million years, it is barely visible. Image: NASA/JPL
"If they were reigning strong perhaps they would have fared much better than they did," said Venditti. Dinosaurs had been around for 160 million years and had faced pressures and had dips in their diversity before.
This begs the question, why were dinosaurs in decline?
It likely all revolves around the environmental conditions. At the dawn of the dinosaurs 230 million years ago, Earth was a warm, lush place. Not just near the equators, but all the way to the poles. And there was one single continent, called Pangaea. But it's the nature of things to change, and change it did.
The climate cooled, the sea level changed, and the dinosaurs were facing new environmental pressures. And as the record shows, the dinosaurs were losing species faster than they could replace them. Chicxulub was more than they could recover from.
Study co-author Mike Benton also talked to the BBC about this study. He said, "World climates were getting cooler all the time. Dinosaurs rely on quite warm climates and mammals are better adapted to the cold."
"So there might have been a switch over in any case without the asteroid impact."
Looking back on the older narrative, that the asteroid strike wiped out the dinosaurs, and mammals took their place and became dominant, it looks a little simplistic. But it has a nice narrative hook, and there is the matter of the cataclysmic asteroid strike, which no doubt had a huge effect on life on Earth, any way you want to slice it.
It's possible that had the asteroid not struck, or had struck a few million years earlier or later, Earth would be a much different place. Perhaps we would not be here, and maybe intelligent dinosaurs would be in our place.
We'll never know, of course, but it's a fun narrative.
Dinosaur Killer Chicxulub Crater To Be Drilled For First Time
All over the Earth, there is a buried layer of sediment rich in iridium called the Cretaceous Paleogene-Boundary (K-Pg.) This sediment is the global signature of the 10-km-diameter asteroid that killed off the dinosaurs—and about 50% of all other species—66 million years ago. Now, in an effort to understand how life recovered after that event, scientists are going to drill down into the site where the asteroid struck—the Chicxulub Crater off the coast of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula.
The end-Cretaceous extinction was a global catastrophe, and a lot is already known about it. We've learned a lot about the physical effects of the strike on the impact area from oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. According to data from that drilling, released on February 5th in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, the asteroid that struck Earth displaced approximately 200,000 cubic km (48,000 cubic miles) of sediment. That's enough to fill the largest of the Great Lakes—Lake Superior—17 times.
The Chicxulub impact caused earthquakes and tsunamis that first loosened debris, then swept it from nearby areas like present-day Florida and Texas into the Gulf basin itself. This layer is hundreds of meters thick, and is hundreds of kilometers wide. It covers not only the Gulf of Mexico, but also the Caribbean and the Yucatan Peninsula.
In April, a team of scientists from the University of Texas and the National University of Mexico will spend two months drilling in the area, to gain insight into how life recovered after the impact event. Research Professor Sean Gulick of the University of Texas Institute for Geophysics told CNN in an interview that the team already has a hypothesis for what they will find. "We expect to see a period of no life initially, and then life returning and getting more diverse through time."
Scientists have been wanting to drill in the impact region for some time, but couldn't because of commercial drilling activity. Allowing this team to study the region directly will build on what is already known: that this enormous deposit of sediment happened over a very short period of time, possibly only a matter of days. The drilling will also help paint a picture of how life recovered by looking at the types of fossils that appear. Some scientists think that the asteroid impact would have lowered the pH of the oceans, so the fossilized remains of animals that can endure greater acidity would be of particular interest.
The Chicxulub impact was a monumental event in the history of the Earth, and it was extremely powerful. It may have been a billion times more powerful than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. Other than the layer of sediment laid down near the site of the impact itself, its global effects probably included widespread forest fires, global cooling from debris in the atmosphere, and then a period of high temperatures caused by an increase in atmospheric CO2.
We already know what will happen if an asteroid this size strikes Earth again—global devastation. But drilling in the area of the impact will tell us a lot about how geological and ecological processes respond to this type of devastation.
Posted on January 21, 2016 November 18, 2016
Extinction Alert: Stephen Hawking Says Our Technology Might Wipe Us Out
If you're thinking of having yourself cryogenically suspended and awakened in some future paradise, you might want to set your alarm clock for no later than 1,000 years from now. According to the BBC, Stephen Hawking will be saying this much in the 2016 Reith Lectures – a series of lectures organized by the BBC that explore the big challenges faced by humanity.
In Hawking's first lecture, which will be broadcast on February 26th on the BBC, Hawking covers the topic of black holes, whether or not they have hair, and other concepts about these baffling objects.
But at the end of the lecture, he responded to audience questions about humanity's capacity for self destruction. Hawking said that 1,000 years might be all we have until we meet our demise at the hands of our own scientific and technological advances.
As we have become increasingly advanced both scientifically and technologically, Hawking says, we will be creating "new ways that things can go wrong." Hawking mentioned nuclear war, global warming, and genetically engineered viruses as things that could cause our extinction.
Through the Cold War, annihilation at the hands of our own nuclear weapons was a real danger. The threat of a nuclear launch in response to a real or perceived threat was real. The resulting retaliation and counter-retaliation was a risk faced by everyone on the planet. And the two superpowers had enough warheads between them to potentially wipe out life on Earth.
One nuclear explosion can ruin your whole day. Image: Andrew Kuznetsov, CC by 2.0
The USA and the USSR have reduced their stockpiles of nuclear weapons in recent decades, but there are still enough warheads around to wipe us out. The possibility of a rogue state like North Korea setting off a nuclear confrontation is still very real. By the time Hawking's 1,000 year time-frame has passed, we'll either have solved this problem, or we won't be here.
Earth is getting warmer, and though the Earth has warmed and cooled many times in its history, this time we only have ourselves to blame. We've been inadvertently enriching our atmosphere with carbon since the Industrial Revolution. All that carbon is creating a nice insulating layer around Earth, as it traps heat that would normally radiate into space. If we reach some of the "tipping points" that scientists talk about, like the melting of permafrost and the subsequent release of methane, we could be in real trouble.
Global Mean Surface Temperature. Image: NASA, Goddard Institute for Space Studies
Different climate engineering schemes have been thought up to counteract global warming, like seeding the upper atmosphere with reflective molecules, and having fleets of ships around the equator spraying sea mist into the air to partially block out the sun. Or even extracting carbon from the atmosphere. But how realistic or effective those counter-measures might be is not clear.
Genetically Engineered Viruses
As a weapon, a virus can be cheap and effective. There've been programs in the past to develop biological weapons. The temptation to use genetic science to create extremely deadly viruses may prove too great.
Smallpox and Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers have been weaponized, and as our genetic manipulation abilities grow, it's possible, or even likely, that somebody somewhere will attempt develop even more dangerous viral weapons. They may be doing it right now.
There's a ban on viral weapons, called the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention signed in 1972. But, not everybody has signed it.
Hawking never mentioned AI in his talk, but it fits in with the discussion. As our machines get smarter and smarter, will they deduce that the only chance for survival is to remove or reduce the human population? Who knows. But Hawking himself, as well as other thinkers, have been warning us that there may be a catastrophic downside to our achievements in AI.
A Google driverless car: Looks harmless, doesn't it? Image: Michael Shick http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0
We may love the idea of driverless cars, and computer assistants like SIRI. But as numerous science fiction stories have warned us (Skynet in the Terminator series being my favorite,) it may be a small step from very helpful AI that protects us and makes our lives easier, to AI that decides existence would be a whole lot better without us pesky humans around.
The Technological Singularity is the point at which artificially intelligent systems "wake up" and become—more or less—conscious. These AI machines would start to improve themselves recursively, or build better and smarter machines. At this point, they would be a serious danger to humanity.
Drones are super popular right now. They flew off the shelves at Christmas, and they're great toys. But once we start seeing drones with primitive but effective AI, patrolling the property of the wealthy, it'll be time to start getting nervous.
Extinction May Have To Wait
As our scientific and technological prowess grows, we'll definitely face new threats, just like Hawking says. But, that same progress may also protect us, or make us more resilient. Hawking says, "We are not going to stop making progress, or reverse it, so we have to recognise the dangers and control them. I'm an optimist, and I believe we can." So do we.
Maybe you'll be able to hit the snooze button after all.
Original Source: BBC News
Gamma Ray Bursts Limit The Habitability of Certain Galaxies, Says Study
Gamma ray bursts (GRBs) are some of the brightest, most dramatic events in the Universe. These cosmic tempests are characterized by a spectacular explosion of photons with energies 1,000,000 times greater than the most energetic light our eyes can detect. Due to their explosive power, long-lasting GRBs are predicted to have catastrophic consequences for life on any nearby planet. But could this type of event occur in our own stellar neighborhood? In a new paper published in Physical Review Letters, two astrophysicists examine the probability of a deadly GRB occurring in galaxies like the Milky Way, potentially shedding light on the risk for organisms on Earth, both now and in our distant past and future.
There are two main kinds of GRBs: short, and long. Short GRBs last less than two seconds and are thought to result from the merger of two compact stars, such as neutron stars or black holes. Conversely, long GRBs last more than two seconds and seem to occur in conjunction with certain kinds of Type I supernovae, specifically those that result when a massive star throws off all of its hydrogen and helium during collapse.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, long GRBs are much more threatening to planetary systems than short GRBs. Since dangerous long GRBs appear to be relatively rare in large, metal-rich galaxies like our own, it has long been thought that planets in the Milky Way would be immune to their fallout. But take into account the inconceivably old age of the Universe, and "relatively rare" no longer seems to cut it.
In fact, according to the authors of the new paper, there is a 90% chance that a GRB powerful enough to destroy Earth's ozone layer occurred in our stellar neighborhood some time in the last 5 billion years, and a 50% chance that such an event occurred within the last half billion years. These odds indicate a possible trigger for the second worst mass extinction in Earth's history: the Ordovician Extinction. This great decimation occurred 440-450 million years ago and led to the death of more than 80% of all species.
Today, however, Earth appears to be relatively safe. Galaxies that produce GRBs at a far higher rate than our own, such as the Large Magellanic Cloud, are currently too far from Earth to be any cause for alarm. Additionally, our Solar System's home address in the sleepy outskirts of the Milky Way places us far away from our own galaxy's more active, star-forming regions, areas that would be more likely to produce GRBs. Interestingly, the fact that such quiet outer regions exist within spiral galaxies like our own is entirely due to the precise value of the cosmological constant – the factor that describes our Universe's expansion rate – that we observe. If the Universe had expanded any faster, such galaxies would not exist; any slower, and spirals would be far more compact and thus, far more energetically active.
In a future paper, the authors promise to look into the role long GRBs may play in Fermi's paradox, the open question of why advanced lifeforms appear to be so rare in our Universe. A preprint of their current work can be accessed on the ArXiv.
New Analysis Sets a Space & Time Zone for Complex Life
If too close to an environment harboring complex life, a gamma ray burst could spell doom for that life. But could GRBs be the reason we haven't yet found evidence of other civilizations in the cosmos? To help answer the big question of "where is everybody?" physicists from Spain and Israel have narrowed the time period and the regions of space in which complex life could persist with a low risk of extinction by a GRB.
GRBs are some of the most cataclysmic events in the Universe. Astrophysicists are astounded by their intensity, some of which can outshine the whole Universe for brief moments. So far, they have remained incredible far-off events. But in a new paper, physicists have weighed how GRBs could limit where and when life could persist and evolve, potentially into intelligent life.
In their paper, "On the role of GRBs on life extinctions in the Universe", published in the journal Science, Dr. Piran from Hebrew University and Dr. Jimenez from University of Barcelona consider first what is known about gamma ray bursts. The metallicity of stars and galaxies as a whole are directly related to the frequency of GRBs. Metallicity is the abundance of elements beyond hydrogen and helium in the content of stars or whole galaxies. More metals reduce the frequency of GRBs. Galaxies that have a low metal content are prone to a higher frequency of GRBs. The researchers, referencing their previous work, state that observational data has shown that GRBs are not generally related to a galaxy's star formation rate; forming stars, including massive ones is not the most significant factor for increased frequency of GRBs.
As fate would have it, we live in a high metal content galaxy – the Milky Way. Piran and Jimenez show that the frequency of GRBs in the Milky Way is lower based on the latest data available. That is the good news. More significant is the placement of a solar system within the Milky Way or any galaxy.
The brightest gamma-ray burst ever seen in X-rays temporarily blinded Swift's X-ray Telescope on 21 June 2010. This image merges the X-rays (red to yellow) with the same view from Swift's Ultraviolet/Optical Telescope, which showed nothing extraordinary. Credit: NASA/Swift/Stefan Immler
The paper states that there is a 50% chance of a lethal GRB's having occurred near Earth within the last 500 million years. If a stellar system is within 13,000 light years (4 kilo-parsecs) of the galactic center, the odds rise to 95%. Effectively, this makes the densest regions of all galaxies too prone to GRBs to permit complex life to persist.
The Earth lies at 8.3 kilo-parsecs (27,000 light years) from the galactic center and the astrophysicists' work also concludes that the chances of a lethal GRB in a 500 million year span does not drop below 50% until beyond 10 kilo-parsecs (32,000 light years). So Earth's odds have not been most favorable, but obviously adequate. Star systems further out from the center are safer places for life to progress and evolve. Only the outlying low star density regions of large galaxies keep life out of harm's way of gamma ray bursts.
The paper continues by describing their assessment of the effect of GRBs throughout the Universe. They state that only approximately 10% of galaxies have environments conducive to life when GRB events are a concern. Based on previous work and new data, galaxies (their stars) had to reach a metallicity content of 30% of the Sun's, and the galaxies needed to be at least 4 kilo-parsecs (13,000 light years) in diameter to lower the risk of lethal GRBs. Simple life could survive repeated GRBs. Evolving to higher life forms would be repeatedly set back by mass extinctions.
Piran's and Jimenez's work also reveals a relation to a cosmological constant. Further back in time, metallicity within stars was lower. Only after generations of star formation – billions of years – have heavier elements built up within galaxies. They conclude that complex life such as on Earth – from jelly fish to humans – could not have developed in the early Universe before Z > 0.5, a cosmological red-shift equal to ~5 billion years ago or longer ago. Analysis also shows that there is a 95% chance that Earth experienced a lethal GRB within the last 5 billion years.
The question of what effect a nearby GRB could have on life has been raised for decades. In 1974, Dr. Malvin Ruderman of Columbia University considered the consequences of a nearby supernova on the ozone layer of the Earth and on terrestrial life. His and subsequent work has determined that cosmic rays would lead to the depletion of the ozone layer, a doubling of the solar ultraviolet radiation reaching the surface, cooling of the Earth's climate, and an increase in NOx and rainout that effects biological systems. Not a pretty picture. The loss of the ozone layer would lead to a domino effect of atmospheric changes and radiation exposure leading to the collapse of ecosystems. A GRB is considered the most likely cause of the mass extinction at the end of the Ordovician period, 450 million years ago; there remains considerable debate on the causes of this and several other mass extinction events in Earth's history.
The paper focuses on what are deemed long GRBs – lGRBs – lasting several seconds in contrast to short GRBs which last only a second or less. Long GRBs are believed to be due to the collapse of massive stars such as seen in supernovas, while sGRBs are from the collision of neutron stars or black holes. There remains uncertainty as to the causes, but the longer GRBs release far greater amounts of energy and are most dangerous to ecosystems harboring complex life.
The paper narrows the time and space available for complex life to develop within our Universe. Over the age of the Universe, approximately 14 billion years, only the last 5 billion years have been conducive to the creation of complex life. Furthermore, only 10% of the galaxies within the last 5 billion years provided such environments. And within only larger galaxies, only the outlying areas provided the safe distances needed to evade lethal exposure to a gamma ray burst.
This work reveals how well our Solar System fits within the ideal conditions for permitting complex life to develop. We stand at a fairly good distance from the Milky Way's galactic center. The age of our Solar System, at approximately 4.6 billion years, lies within the 5 billion year safe zone in time. However, for many other stellar systems, despite how many are now considered to exist throughout the Universe – 100s of billions in the Milky Way, trillions throughout the Universe – simple is probably a way of life due to GRBs. This work indicates that complex life, including intelligent life, is likely less common when just taking the effect of gamma ray bursts into consideration.
On the role of GRBs on life extinction in the Universe, Tsvi Piran, Raul Jimenez, Science, Nov 2014, pre-print


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Home > Melbourne > Parks and Gardens > Williamstown Botanic Gardens
The White Hat Guide to Williamstown Botanic Gardens
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Williamstown Botanic Gardens
Cnr Osborne & Giffard Streets, Williamstown
Open 24 hours daily
Williamstown Botanic Gardens remain, along with Hamilton, Ballarat and St Kilda gardens, as a reminder of the smaller Victorian era civic gardens. Like many gardens of that time, it included enclosures for animals and birds. Unusually for today, it retains its aviary. It is no surprise that they share some aspects with the Fitzroy Gardens as they were both designed by the same man, Edward Latrobe Bateman. The gardens were established in 1860.
An unusual aspect for a garden in Victoria is the formal planting of Moreton Bay fig trees.
More information on Williamstown.
Some forthcoming events at Williamstown Botanic Gardens:
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The 20 Best Places to Live in Colorado
Liz Flynn 4 months ago
Just as one man's freedom fighter is another man's terrorist, so one man's favorite district is another man's least. That said, there are a few things that can be measured objectively: school quality, median household income, crime rate, number of green areas, and shopping and leisure facilities can all help give an overall picture of an area that goes beyond mere opinion. Across the board, Colorado scores highly on all the usual criteria used to judge a state's merit. Its economy is strong, its schools are excellent, its cost of living is (relatively) low. Couple that with some truly outstanding areas of natural beauty, and you're looking at a state that makes for a very attractive proposition indeed. But which areas, in particular, are the best places to live in Colorado? Using the helpful data provided by Niche, The Street, HomeSnacks and other sources, we've found out:
20. Belcaro
Just scraping a pass onto our list at number 20 is Belcaro, a family-friendly neighborhood of Denver, Colorado, with a population of 5,827. Along with excellent civic amenities and an above-average public-school system, Belcaro boasts one of the lowest violent crime rates in Denver, annually averaging only 16.4 robberies (compared to a national average of 135.5), 0 rapes and murders (compared to a national average of 40.7 and 6.1 respectively) and 49.3 assaults (compared to an average of 282.7).
19. Congress Park
Of the 11,559 residents that live in Congress Park in Denver, 40% own their own homes (which average $477,748 in value), 43% hold a bachelor's degree (with a further 28% holding a master's degree or higher), and most enjoy an average household income of $78,658.4
18. Platt Park
The close-knit community of Platt Park, a small neighborhood of Denver with 5,722 residents, enjoys access to an excellent nightlife (which may explain the high proportion of young professionals in its population), a below-average crime rate, a median household income of $103,441, and an average home value of $487,316.
17. North Capitol Hill
Despite enjoying easy proximity to Denver's city center, residents of North Capitol Hill report the area to have a small town, friendly vibe enhanced by its numerous green spaces and parks. The vast majority of residents rent their homes (with the average cost of rent coming in at $1,218 per month, compared to the median home value of $257,668), and as a whole, the population is one of the most well educated in Denver, with 42% of residents holding a bachelor's degree.
16. Louisville
In at number 16 is Louisville, a suburb of Denver with a population of 20,319. A quick glance at the stats reveals why so many Denver residents would like to call the neighborhood their home: 71% of residents own their own home (with the average home value sitting at $489,400); crime is way below the national average (last year, it averaged 174.3 burglaries compared to the national average of 500.1, 150.8 thefts compared to an average of 2042.8, and 37.7 assaults compared to an average of 282.7); its resident are highly educated (35% have earned a Bachelors, and a further 36% have studied to Masters level); and the average household enjoys an income of $94,784 ($39,463 above the national average).
15. North Park Hill
North Hill Park, a mid-sized, urban neighborhood of Denver, is well served with excellent amenities, an above-average school system, a highly educated population (21% of its 10351 population have earned a master's degree or higher), a median household income of $101,281, and a median home value of $368,266. Despite proving an attractive area for young families (30% of residents have kids), the area misses out an a higher position on our list as a result of its less than stellar crime stats: although by no means an unsafe area to live, its reported crime figures show an annual incidence of 759.5 burglaries, 911.4 thefts, 265.8 motor vehicles thefts, 66.5 robberies, and 161.4 assaults.
14. Washington Park
The majority of Washington Park's 7,400 residents are young professionals, which may explain the abundance of excellent shopping, leisure and recreational facilities to be found in the area. As well as being young and supremely well educated (39% of residents hold a bachelor's degree, and a further 39% hold a master's degree or higher), the district can boast some of the highest-paid professionals in Denver, with the average household bringing in an income of at least $127,594. Naturally, living in such a desirable location comes at a price: if you have plans to own a property in this exclusive district, you'll need to lay down around $645,221.
13. Inverness
Not to be confused with the small Scottish town of the same name, Inverness, Colorado, is in fact a small suburb of Denver that ranks as one of the city's most desirable areas to live. Its small population of 1,808 is well served by the neighborhood's excellent selection of eateries, coffee shops, parks, and libraries, while young families enjoy privileged access to a highly rated public education system. Unlike the majority of other entries to our list, most residents of Inverness rent rather than own their homes (79% compared to 21%), something which is perhaps understandable when you consider the average cost of a property in this highly exclusive neighborhood will set you back $502,900.
12. Hilltop
With a population of 9,891, a median home value of $9,891, a median rent of $1,301, a lower than average occurrence of violent crime (in 2018, 91.1 assaults were reported compared to the national average of 282.7, while the robbery rate stands at 20.3 compared to a national average of 135.5), a median household income of more than twice the national average ($134,801 compared to $55,322), a median home value of $567,484, and an above-average level of education (44% of residents have at earned a bachelors degree), it's easy to understand why Hilltop is one of the most desirable neighborhoods in Denver.
11. Cherry Creek
If you want to enjoy easy proximity to the stunning Cherry Creek State Park, you'll not find a better place to live than Cherry Creek. Its population of 12,310 enjoys some of the lowest crime rates of any suburb in Denver, first-class local amenities (including an excellent education system), a median household income of 97,883, and a median home price of $559,900.
10. Chessman Park
If you're looking for a safe, liberal, well serviced area to live in Denver, you'll be hard pushed to find many places capable of delivering the goods quite so well as Chessman Park. Its 8,895 residents can enjoy a great beverage at one of the neighborhood's many coffee shops, tuck into some world-class cuisine at one of its fine dining establishments, and enjoy access to one of the best school systems in the state.
9. Downtown
Number 9 brings us Downtown. The downtown area of Denver serves as the city's financial, commercial, and entertainment hub, making it a great place to live for anyone who's willing to sacrifice the peace and quiet of the suburbs for the thrill of city living. With popular attractions such as the 16th Street pedestrian mall, Larimer Square, the up and coming Theatre District, and the vibrant Civic Center Park all within easy reach, Downtown has more than enough at its disposal to keep its 4,107 residents happy. On the downside, its crime stats are slightly higher than average, with 1333.7 burglaries reported annually (compared to the national average of 500), and 20128.4 thefts reported (compared to a national average of 2042.8).
8. Country Club
Some quick facts about Country Club: it is not a country club, despite its highly suggestive name; it has a population of 3,170; it's a neighborhood in Denver; its public school system is above average; its median home value is $942,310; 78% of residents own their own homes; the median rent is $1,331; it reported no violent crimes in 2018 but experienced 94.1 robberies; its median household income is $166,223; 45% of its residents have a Master's degree or higher; it's the 8th best place to live in Colorado.
7. Highlands Ranch
In 7th position is the family-friendly suburb of Denver, Highlands Ranch. The suburban feel of the neighborhood attracts many young families into the area, as does its low crime rate, superb local amenities, and proximity to highly regarded local schools. The average median household income sits at $116,973 (well above the national average of $55,322), which is just as well given its astronomically high median home price of $407,200.
6. Eastbridge Ptarmigan Park
Eastbridge Ptarmigan Park is a small, friendly community of 2,263 residents in Aurora, Colorado. 88% of the neighborhood's residents own their own homes (with the average home value coming in at $243,886), while 29% have a bachelor's degree and 15% have a Masters. With its close proximity to some of the best schools in Colorado, Eastbridge Ptarmigan Park is understandably a highly desirable area for young families (29% of the population consists of families with young children), while its low crime rate, excellent amenities, and suburb number of green spaces make it as equally attractive to young professionals and seniors.
5. Superior
Superior by name, superior by nature… in at number five is this mid-sized suburb of Denver. Of the 12,879 residents that call Superior their home, 58% own their own homes (with the average median home value sitting at $491,100), 41% can claim a bachelor's degree to their name (with 36% boasting a Master's degree or higher), most have an household income of around $119,810, and all have access to some of the highest rating schools in Boulder County.
4. Wellshire
Wellshire, a small neighborhood in Denver with a population of 3,529, tends to attract a slightly older demographic than some of our other entries and has plenty to offer senior citizens by way of leisure and recreational facilities. Which isn't to say it's not an equally attractive proposition to the younger generation: with some of the best schools in Colorado on its doorstep, young families have been flocking to the area in the last few years (at least, those that can afford its average house price of $562,845 are), and now represent 34% of the population. As with most of our entries, the median household income of $130,279 sits well above the national average; fortunately, the area is well served with enough shops, restaurants, and leisure facilities for its residents to have somewhere to spend their large disposable incomes.
3. South Park Hill
Family-friendly South Park Hill, a medium-sized suburb of Denver with a population of 9,491, comes in next. The multitude of upscale bars, restaurants, boutiques, and recreational facilities lends the area an urban feel, while its proximity to several high-ranking schools makes it as desirable with families as it is with young professionals. 39% of the population have at least a master's degree, while the median household income comes in at just under twice the national average at $109,875. Its crime rate is slightly worse than our two highest-ranking places, but is still low enough to justify its ranking at number 3.
2. Pine Brook Hill
Pine Brook Hill may be tiny (its population sits at just 1,070) but it packs a lot into its 2.9 square miles. Educationally speaking, over 48% of its population can claim a master's degree or higher, which may explain why the median household income is a whopping $234,091. Giving its size, living space is at a premium, allowing its lucky residents to demand $889,300 on average for home price. While industry in the area is limited, it lies close enough to larger areas to make for an easy commute… something most residents can easily justify by comparing the average incidence of crime in larger populaces to its own crime rate of 0%.
1. Holly Hills
Small, safe and perfect for raising a family, Holly Hills comes in as the best place to live in Colorado. This small suburb of Denver may only have a population of 2979, but it certainly packs a punch when it comes to things like shopping and leisure facilities, recreational areas, green areas, and schools. Most residents own their own homes (a huge majority of 91%, in fact) which lends the area a level of prosperity and stability absent from areas dominated by rented residences. The median home value comes in well above the national average ($370,400 compared to an average of $184,700) while the average rental price is almost double the average ($1,750 versus the average of $949). With no violent or property crimes committed in the area in reported history, a median household income of $117,917, and a highly educated population (67% have a bachelor's degree or higher), it's easy to understand what makes Holly Hills Colorado's best place to live in 2019.
Liz Flynn
Liz Flynn has worked as a full-time writer since 2010 after leaving a career in education. She finds almost all topics she writes about interesting, but her favorite subjects are entertainment, travel, health, food, celebrities, and pets. Liz loves the process of researching information, learning new things, and putting into words what others who share her interests might like to read. Although she spends most of her time writing, she also enjoys spending time with her husband and four children, watching films, cooking, dining out, reading, motorsports, gaming, and walking along the beach next to her house with her dog.
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Q: PowerShell lambda function with array parameter takes only the first element I've come across a strange behaviour in PowerShell. I wrote a lambda function that receives an array parameter and when I'm passing an array to it, in the scope of the lambda function, only the first element is processed. Why is this happening and what can I do to get the desired behaviour?
This is an example:
...> $x = { param([string[]] $y) Write-Host $y }
...> $x.Invoke(@("yes", "no"))
yes

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The Lotus Feed Yoga Retreat Center in California at Taylor Maid Farms rests on 108 acres of vital Sonoma coast nature. Its diverse landscape provides the most exquisite and magical experience of raw and cultivated beauty. From our redwood, fir and oak forests, to our thoughtfully designed circle gardens. Our ocean view ridge-tops overlook our colorful and hidden creek beds; The Lotus Feed Retreat Center is blessed with a full palette of wonder.
Start your day with a pond side meditation and spend your day meandering through our medicinal herb gardens. Hike our trails through fern groves and cool off with a dip in the fresh water springs. Cultivate a relationship with the earth and lend a hand in the organic gardens harvesting the fruits and labor of the land tofeast for our Farm To Table Communal Feast.
End your day with a sunset yoga practice under thepassion flower canopy and the rest of you evening can be spent star gazing by the fire pit.
French farm house chic, four twin beds with private kitchen and full bathwith a clawfoot bath. Sleeps up to 4.
Sufi Poet Rumi inspired yurt, Queen bed and futon with a half bath, private clawfoot tub. Sleeps up to 3.
Country chic inspired yurt, Queen Bed with private kitchen and full bath witha clawfoot bath. Sleeps up to 2.
India inspired yurt, two twin day beds, half bath and a private clawfoot tub. Sleeps up to 2.
Yoga inspired yurt, three twin beds and a private sink. Sleeps 1-3.
We're so excited to find this amazing farm to host our wonderful yoga retreats in California.


For a "Tasty Tuesday" (6/29) WSET Certified Wine Specialist, Jim "Casey" will offer each tasting participant a mini "Wine Tasting 101″ class. The focus will be the "Systematic Approach to Tasting" used by wine industry professionals. Participants will discover how to describe wines to others in a fun and understandable manner.
Tasting & Instruction available beginning anytime after 6:30 until 8:30 for $14.99 (includes service of complimentary paired "Tapas"). Reservations appreciated, but not required. What a DEAL: Half Price Tasting if you take a bottle home & FREE if you Buy 3!
For this night only SPECIAL Pricing will be offered on individual bottle sales. The Essential Wine Co. Food Menu and additional Tasting Night Specials will be available. Exact wine line-up subject to change.
Certified Wine Specialist & EWCo. Proprietor Jim "Casey" personally selects every wine that is offered for sale and served.
On FRIDAY July 2nd, Essential Wine Co. presents a Perfect "Pairing" from the new generation of Jazz: Guitarist Zhenya Patapenka with David Leoncavallo on Upright Bass. Get the long holiday weekend started right by CELEBRATING Friday with Live Music, Unique Wines, Craft Beers, Delicious "Tapas" Style Dining & $5 HAPPY HOUR SPECIALS. No Cover Charge!
Zhenya Patapenka was born in Belarus, where his parents noticed his natural talent and love of music. After studying the Bayan, a Russian Accordian, he received a guitar for his 16th birthday from his brother. Zhenya came to the U.S. in 1999 and took up American Jazz under the tutelage of talented guitarists from Wisconsin to Denver to Southern California. Zhenya may hail from Belarus, but he'll Jam w/ Dave on American Style Jazz! More info.
JOIN US FOR AN EVENING OF FUN, GOOD MUSIC, AND GREAT WINE & CRAFT BEER! Reservations recommended, but not required.
Zhenya may hail from Belarus, but he knows American Jazz!
Petillant Originel sparkling wine, to which sugar and yeast may not be added, is a product of the Loire Valley's Montlouis appellation.
At L'Ebauchoir, an upscale bistro in Paris' 12th arrondissement, a quickly gentrifying neighborhood east of Bastille, a swarm of wine professionals — journalists, bar owners and sommeliers — is diligently tasting a range of Chenin Blancs from the Montlouis area of France's Loire Valley.
At the stroke of 7 p.m., two vignerons, Bertrand Jousset and Damien Delecheneau, interrupt the tasting with an ear-splitting call to attention.
They are standing at the front of the restaurant, beside an oak wine barrel attached to a small bottling machine, and are about to demonstrate a crucial step in the making of a new kind of Montlouis: a thoroughly dry, gently sparkling wine officially named Pétillant Originel but often called by its makers Pétillant Naturel, or more affectionately, Pet'Nat.
Montlouis is an appellation just east of the city of Tours, where white wines are made from Chenin Blanc in a multitude of styles — from bone dry to unctuously sweet; from still to two traditional types of sparkling wine, méthode traditionelle, made like Champagne, and Pétillant, which, with half the bubbles of Champagne, is creamier and less vigorously fizzy.
And now comes Pétillant Originel, which won legal status from the Institut National des Appellations d'Origine in 2007, different from traditional Pétillant. Most significant, Pétillant Originel must be absolutely natural, a product of the grapes harvested and no more. It is illegal to add either sugar or yeast at any stage of the wine's production, although both are commonly used in Champagne.
Hyper-naturalists view these additions — not to mention the use of other additives such as enzymes and bentonite — as nothing more than chemistry, all of which undermines the purity of the wine.
While eschewing additives may be a matter of principle for all Pet'Nat producers, for Montlouis vintners like Delecheneau and Jousset, it is also a matter of law, not to mention painstaking, meticulous work in vineyard and cellar, as Jousset is about to demonstrate.
A rangy 35-year-old with the square-jawed good looks of a latter-day Marlboro Man, Jousset explains that the barrel is filled with new, unfinished wine. The wine stopped fermenting in January while it still had 14 grams of residual sugar and has been kept in a refrigerated room since then.
Behind him, a small assembly line of vintners suctions the wine from the barrel, through the spigots of the bottling machine and into bottles that are then capped like Coca-Cola. Jousset continues: Once warmer weather arrives, that residual sugar and any remaining natural yeasts will restart the fermentation and, in the process, produce the bubbles that make the wine sparkle.
Whatever you call them, the wines are made, for the most part, by resolutely organic, doggedly noninterventionist vintners, among them Christian Chaussard, who, Delecheneau observes, inspired him and a lot of other young winemakers.
Way back in the 1990s, when Chaussard was located in Vouvray — across the Loire River from Montlouis — he made a fizzy, not-quite-pétillant simply by letting his Vouvray re-ferment spontaneously in springtime.
Those were the very early days of the hyper-naturalist, noninterventionist winemaking movement in France — when outliers like the Puzelat brothers (Clos du Tue-Boeuf) and Claude Courtois (Cailloux du Paradis) in Touraine and J.J. Brun in Beaujolais (Domaine des Terres Dorées) began opting for organic or biodynamic farming and forswearing industrial yeasts, enzymes, sulfur, added sugar, added tannins — you name it — as well as just about any technique counseled by modern enologists.
Since that time, hyper-natural winemaking has become a movement, spreading the gospel of "natural wines" throughout France and well beyond.
And the Pet'Nat movement is spreading throughout France as well. Now relocated an hour north in the Coteaux du Loir appellation, Chaussard remains true to the cause, making a variety of quirky hyper-natural wines including Pet'Nats such as "You Are So Happy," a herbaceous blend of Chenin and Sauvignon Blanc, and "You Are So Bubbly," a foamy weave of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Grenache and Cinsault.
Other popular producers such as Pierre and Catherine Breton in Bourgueil, Thierry Puzelat in Touraine, and Dominique Derain in Burgundy are among the growing number of eco-serious vintners adding some Pet'Nat fizz to their line of still wines.
Most of these Pet'Nats from outside Montlouis are sweet — ranging from slightly off-dry to as sweet as Dr Pepper — and many hark back to old-fashioned styles of winemaking (appropriately called méthode ancestrale and méthode rurale) in the regions of Limoux and Gaillac.
An important subgroup is deep pink, in the style of Cerdon, a sparkling wine in the Savoie's Bugey appellation. Emile Heredia from the Domaine de Montrieux outside Vendome, for example, makes a Cerdon-like Pet'Nat called Boisson Rouge from old Gamay vines. Simon Hawkins of Domaine de Fontenay in the Côte Roannaise makes a sudsy Gamay with the sweet-tart flavors of cranberry relish.
Montlouis Pétillant Originel is totally dry, however. And it differs from Pet'Nats in another significant way: Most, if not all Pet'Nats, are vins de table or vins de France — in other words, not part of any official wine group, with all the anarchy and qualitative differences that implies, from the urbane to the outlandish. Montlouis Pétillant Originel is governed by law and aims to be reliably urbane.
To this end, they drew up a quality charter with exigent requirements. In addition to abolishing the addition of yeast and sugar, the charter mandates low yields, greater ripeness of the grapes than is anticipated for most sparkling wines, as well as aging for a minimum of nine months before being disgorged.
Less consequential risks include off-flavors resembling beer or cider, which is why Jacky Blot of Domaine de la Taille aux Loups decided to add just a bit of yeast for the prise de mousse when making his very successful "Triple Zero," a Montlouis Pétillant.
According to Delecheneau, his Pétillant Originel is catching on nicely in the U.S. and the wines are beginning to surface in up-to-the-minute wine bars and shops in Paris like La Quincave and Cru et Découvertes.
To understand the simple yet huge pleasures that are Pétillant Originel, try Xavier Weisskopf's 2006. Disgorged in 2008, it's rich and appetizing, lightly salty, with subtle, intriguing flavors of apple and stone. Downright gourmand. Add grace notes of ginger and you've got the 2007 version.
Weisskopf sells almost his entire production of Pétillant Originel to Denmark. "They're crazy for natural wines," he explains.
It is also available in Southern California at Wine Expo and Hi-Times Wine Cellars. Indeed, availability of any Pet'Nats is spotty — though that is supposed to improve by early summer —it's a new product made in startlingly small quantities.
Risks combined with the very newness of the wine explain why only four Montlouisiens currently produce it and why there is so little of it — roughly 20,000 to 25,000 bottles a year.
But as Delecheneau and Jousset point out, the wine has no track record. Other vintners may be waiting to see how it catches on; others may be experimenting until they get it right.
On SATURDAY June 26th, Essential Wine Co. presents a LIVE MUSIC party with the "Round Trip" Quartet. It will be Tasty, Funky & Simmering Jazz. 1st Music Set at 8′ish. No Cover Charge. Reservations recommended but not required (its usually a full house for these guys).
Round Trip is David Olivas (Sax & Keyboards), Kenny Dapron (Vocals & Guitar), Kent Moore (Bass) and Jim Mulligan (Drums). "Great harmony's and that sax player had everyone's attention all night" (Susan from Camarillo). More info at http://www.roundtripband.com/PHOTOS.html.
Want a change from events promoting the newest releases from this winery or that region? Come by for our "Stash Under the Glass" Tasting. We dip into the EWCo. Library Wines for some special selections.
Certified Wine Specialist "Casey" will pour and discuss some rare gems from a Napa Organic Pinot Blanc to an '03 Italian Lagrein.
Tasting available beginning at 6:30 for $16.99 (includes service of complimentary paired "Tapas"). What a DEAL: Half Price Tasting if you take a bottle home & FREE if you Buy 3!
SPECIAL Pricing will be offered on individual bottle sales to go. Due to a limited quantity of the tasted wines, Tasting Participants Save 15% Off Take Home Purchases of all other wines!
Click here to see the "Stash Under the Glass" Tasting Notes for the Wine Selections.
The fine print: Exact wine line-up subject to change. No rainchecks. 25% Off applies to regular pricing.
Bring Dad for a Glass of Wine, "Tapas" Style Dining & a Father's Day Weekend Sale w/ Savings up to 40% Off! He can also enjoy Afternoon Music by Jazz Guitarist Barry Cooper. The Sale is All Day & Music begins 4:30′ish. NO COVER CHARGE! Reservations recommended, but not required.
Need more to bring a smile to dear old Dad's face? How about Door Prize Drawings throughout the day & 50% Wine "Flights" from 3:30 to 5:00!
– "More is More" Sale: 15% Off 1-2 Bottles, 25% Off 3-5 Bottles & 40% Off 6 or More!
– "100 Bottles of Wine on the Wall" Half Price Sale: Look for the 50% Off Yellow Dots during June.
–"Bargain Box of Wine Values" – "Orphan" Bottles hoping for a loving home via Deep Discounts!
*The fine print: specials for take home bottles only, no rainchecks, offers cannot be combined, discounts off non-sales pricing and EWCo. encourages responsible alcohol consumption and reserves the right to refuse service.
Wine Tasting for the Cure Event at Essential Wine Co. this Thursday (6/17). Fight Breast Cancer! Sample good wines! Support a great cause!
Tasting is from 5:30 – 8:30, includes 5 wines and delicious appetizers for $25. A portion of beverage and food sales at the Wine Bar & Wine Shop are being donated to Breast Cancer. Tasting for the Cure Event flyer.
THINK PINK, COME TASTE, AND LEND YOUR SUPPORT TO A GREAT CAUSE!
The Event Organizers & EWCo. encourage responsible alcohol consumption. EWCo. reserves the right to refuse service at its discretion.
The inaugural "Grab a Friend & Grab a Bottle to Share" was so successful, let's do it again! Come in and Select ANY Wine from our Racks or Library Wine Room and Enjoy it at the Wine Bar. The best part? The Cost is only the Out-the-Door Sales price (that's the Wine Shop price, which is less than the standard in Wine Bar consumption price).
That could mean a Chilean Chardonnay for just $16.99, or a 90 Point '01 Napa Petite Sirah for $49 (what would that cost from a Ruth's Chris Wine List?). Need more incentive? Friday kicks off the EWCo. Father's Day Weekend Sale with up to 40% Savings Off Out-the-Door Bottles!
It all starts Friday June 18 at 5:00. RSVPs appreciated, but not required. WHITE WINE DRINKERS READ THIS CAVEAT: We cannot keep every White cold in our refrigerator. So you may want to come in before the event to pre-select a bottle or check our Wine Lists on the EWCo. website and let us know what to chill for you.
*The fine print: no rainchecks, offers cannot be combined, discounts off non-sales pricing and EWCo. encourages responsible alcohol consumption and reserves the right to refuse service.
EWCo. presents Half-Price "Flights of Wine" this Tuesday June 15! It's a part of our "Fighting June Gloom" Special Events. Added Bonus: Save 25% Off any Bottles you take home after tasting! That's what our "Try Before You Buy" concept is all about.
*The fine print: wine line-up subject to change, no rainchecks, offers cannot be combined, discounts off non-sales pricing and EWCo. encourages responsible alcohol consumption and reserves the right to refuse service.
Cheryl & Barbara Enjoy a Glass at EWCo.
Sally was driving home from one of her business trips in Northern Arizona when she saw an elderly Navajo woman walking on the side of the road. As the trip was a long and quiet one, she stopped the car and asked the Navajo woman if she would like a ride. With a silent nod of thanks, the woman got into the car.
and said, "It's a bottle of wine. I got it for my husband." The Navajo woman was silent for another moment or two. Then speaking with the quiet wisdom of an elder, she said, "Good trade".
Thanks to Essential Wine Co. Supporter Duane W. for bringing the above to our attention.


text:
Niqnaq
οἱ θεοὶ πολλοί, οἱ ἄνδρες ὀλίγοι
« electronic intifada
military summary »
Kiev Goes Dark As NATO Sacrifices Ukraine
South Front, Nov 24 2022
https://s3.cdnstatic.space/wp-content/uploads/video/24.11.2022_IMR_Ukraine.mp4
As a result of the ongoing massive strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure facilities, the situation in the war-torn country is becoming critical. Cold weather has set in all over Ukraine, and most citizens were left without water and electricity. Many of them will not be able to survive in such conditions. However, the Kiev regime continues to fight with Russia with bravura slogans, ignoring the price of hundreds of lives of civilian people. Kiev's Western partners continue to fuel the fire and expose the hypocrisy of their policy. As a result of the latest missile attack by Russian forces, about a dozen strategic objects were damaged. As of the morning of Nov 24, more than 70% of Kiev remains without electricity. There is no water in half of the capital. Power outages continue in all regions throughout the country. At three nuclear power plants in Ukraine, which include Yuzhno-Ukrainskaya, Khmelnitsky and Rivne plants, power units were turned off. According to Energoatom, the power units began to work "in the design mode, without generating into the power system."
For the ongoing attacks on energy infrastructure facilities, Russia was awarded the title of "state sponsor of terrorism" by the European Parliament. It is amazing how the EU cynically ignored that Kiev cut off energy and water supplies to Donbass, and unleashed a so-called counter-terrorist operation against its own population. Also in 2014, in the middle of winter, the Kiev regime staged a Blackout in the Crimea, and blocked the North Crimean canal, leaving the peninsula without water needed to support any agriculture work. In his turn, today's president of Ukraine, who became the main fighter for justice and democracy, then being a clown on TV, mocked Crimeans who were drying up from thirst in his shows. Sergey Lavrov commented on the resolution of the European Parliament, hinting at the unhealthy policy of the West:
In my opinion, everything is obvious to all sane people, but I have no medical education.
Meanwhile, the story of Ukrainian missile strikes on the territory of Poland, which has already been dubbed for the pretext of WW3, is nearing its denouement, leaving less doubt that it was a staged provocation. Germany had previously agreed to send Patriot missile systems to Poland. However, Warsaw decided that it was more convenient to defend the country from the territory of Ukraine. The Polish Defense Minister offered Germany to transfer the Patriot systems to Ukraine. According to him, the systems can be deployed on the western border of Ukraine in order to protect his country. NATO uses all its ingenuity and hypocrisy in an attempt to win the war against Russia, not paying for with the lives of its own citizens, but sacrificing Ukraine and its population.
This entry was written by niqnaq, posted on November 24, 2022 at 6:25 pm, filed under Uncategorized. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post. Trackbacks are closed, but you can post a comment.
CuChulainn
Posted November 24, 2022 at 7:39 pm | Permalink
do you have any idea what happened to Tarpley & Wayne Madsen?
I have Tarpley's book about Mitt Romney, "Just Too Weird" from 10 years ago, 2012. I haven't thought about them since. Remember Tarpley was an early schismatic from Larouche?
rick rozoff
strategic culture
military summary
colonel cassad
grayzone
kit klarenberg
alastair crooke
Rich on michael manning
lobro on michael manning
niqnaq on michael manning
Rich on caitlin johnstone
niqnaq on vanessa beeley
lobro on vanessa beeley
niqnaq on wsws
RZ on wsws
lobro on forbes (from sasha kots on telegram)
rowan dot berkeley at gmail dot com


text:
Meher Mount was founded in response to instructions from Avatar Meher Baba requesting that a retreat center be established one-to-two hours outside a major city.
A DRIVE IN RESPONSE TO MEHER BABA'S INSTRUCTIONS
THE ORIGINAL GUEST HOUSE at Meher Mount in the 1940s. This was the building where Avatar Meher Baba greeted visitors during His visit on August 2, 1956. This house and all the other buildings on the property were destroyed in the 1985 New Life Fire. (Archive photo.)
Before Meher Baba issued these instructions, His followers Jean Adriel, author of Avatar, and Alexander Markey had founded the 500-acre New Life Center in La Crescenta, California.
In response to Meher Baba's instructions, they took a drive one afternoon to look at property outside the Los Angeles, California, area. They invited Agnes Baron, who had worked with Jean on the book Avatar, to come along.
THE PULL OF DESTINY
A serendipitous pull of destiny led them to the heights of Sulphur Mountain.
As they motored through the Upper Ojai Valley driving along Highway 150, a curious stand of oak trees atop the mountain ridge caught the eye of Agnes Baron. She insisted they find their way up there.
When they stopped at the driveway of 9902 Sulphur Mountain Road, the wooden gate was closed. It appeared as if no one were home. Agnes insisted they investigate further.
THE ORIGINAL FARMHOUSE and garage (upper left-hand corner) were part of the complex of buildings when the property was purchased in 1946. The greenhouse (lower right) was built later in the 1970s. (Archive photo.)
"Baba's going to send six of the mandali [close men disciples] to live with us," Jean said. "We'll need a lot of buildings if we move here."
Agnes was sure there were more buildings on the property, so she jumped over the fence to investigate and called the others to join her. They liked what they saw.
The 173-acre property contained a main house, a guest house, a garage with caretaker quarters on top, five or six outbuildings, a greenhouse, an orchard, a rose garden, and a swimming pool.
The property was being looked after by a local farmer who was not present. They located his wife, who told them the property belonged to Mrs. Gertrude Ralphs Mccoonaty, the wealthy widow of the son, Walter B. Ralphs, of the founder of the Ralphs supermarket chain.
AGNES BARON pointing to the "white house", an old carpenter's shed, that was brought onto the property for Meher Baba's mandali (close men disciples) to stay in during Meher Baba's proposed 1952 visit. (Archive photo.)
"WE WON'T BE ABLE TO AFFORD IT"
"There's no point in calling; we won't be able to afford it," remarked Jean. But at Agnes' insistence, they phoned.
Mrs. McCoonaty said that although she had planned to retire there, she and her husband were now divorcing, and the property was to be sold.
"Go and talk with my business manager," she instructed.
So the next day Jean Adriel and Alexander Markey went. They reasoned that if they sold the 500-acre New Life Center, they would be able to afford this property which was only 173 acres.
Escrow closed on August 9, 1946, and they christened it "Meher Mount."
AGNES BARON STAYS ON
AGNES BARON (foreground) in a rare moment of relaxation. Unidentified woman in the background. They are in front of the farmhouse and garage. (Archive photo.)
The group lived there for several years, conducting retreats and other spiritual activities, and receiving many visitors. However, Markey and Jean had some disagreement, and he moved back to New York.
Jean had asked Agnes to move to Ojai with her, and although still not committed to Meher Baba, Agnes had agreed.
Later, Jean also left Meher Mount. Agnes Baron stayed on and remained as caretaker of Meher Mount until her death in 1994.
"I WILL KEEP IT FOR YOU THROUGH HELL, FIRE AND DAMNATION"
MEHER MOUNT RELIES ON VOLUNTEERS to help with weed abatement and general maintenance. Agnes Baron (left) is using a scythe and visitor Margaret Craske, a close disciple of Meher Baba (right), helps by raking circa 1949. (Archive photo.)
At Meher Mount, Agnes faced one difficulty after another in managing and holding onto the property.
At one point she wrote to Meher Baba describing a troublesome situation and stating, "If you want me to take care of Meher Mount, I will keep it for you through hell, fire and damnation!"
Meher Baba replied that she should keep it by all means, and He sent His love.
"IT WAS NO TROUBLE, NO TROUBLE AT ALL"
When Agnes Baron visited Meher Baba at the Meher Spiritual Center in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina in 1952, He said, "…I want Agni to know that only Agni, God and Baba know what she has gone through in these six years to hold Meher Mount for me."
Agnes looked at Him in surprise and said, "It was no trouble, Baba, no trouble at all."
She had completely forgotten all the problems she had encountered simply by being in His presence.
A NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION IS CREATED
Early on, Meher Baba told Agnes to put the property in her name which she did through considerable effort and overcoming a number of obstacles.
Before her death in 1994, Agnes gave the property to the non-profit, 501(c)3 organization, Meher Mount Corporation.
Today, Meher Mount is governed by a Board of Directors and is a place of pilgrimage dedicated to Avatar Meher Baba.
Meher Prabhu: Lord Meher, The Biography of the Avatar of the Age, Meher Baba, by Bhau Kalchuri, "Manifestation, Inc.", 1986.
Agnes Baron - A Short Biography
Meher Mount Is a Gateway to the Divine


MARGARITAS! HAPPY CINCO DE MAYO!
Want to enjoy yummy margaritas on Cinco de Mayo, but watch the drinking calories? Try this recipe for a yummy, low calorie margarita! This delicious drink definitely tastes better than ones with sugary sweet & sour mixers and is healthier.
Whether you're having people over, going to a party, or headed to a bar…bring the ingredients to make this margarita to your friend's house or ask the bartender for a skinny margarita (which usually has similar ingredients…ask what's in it!).
Use a lime to wet the rim of the glass, and then dip the top of the glass into the sea salt.
Combine the first 4 ingredients in a shaker, add the ice, and shake.
Pour contents from the shaker into the glass with fresh ice (strain if desired).


text:
Božeteh war zwischen 1000 und 1030 unter König Krešimir III. und dessen Mitregent Gojslav der vierte Ban des mittelalterlichen Königreiches Kroatien.

Er wird erwähnt in einer Urkunde von König Petar Krešimir IV. dem Großen aus dem Jahr 1068.

Einzelnachweise

Ban (Kroatien)
Geboren im 10. Jahrhundert
Gestorben im 11. Jahrhundert
Mann

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


I used these beautiful sky blue coral beads and three crazy looking irradiated corner drilled moonstone cube beads on each side with silver Bali spacers and an icy looking round silvered glass pendant, to keep you cool on a hot summer day.
I really like this necklace! Keep up the good work!


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