Grass Fires Research Articles

Disasters and Democracy: The Politics of Extreme Natural Events

Review: Disasters and Democracy: The Politics of Extreme Natural Events Rutherford H. Platt (Ed.) Reviewed by Graham E.L. Holton La Trobe University, Australia Rutherford H. Platt (Ed.). Disasters and Democracy: The Politics of Extreme Natural Events. Washington DC: Island Press, 1999. 320 pp. ISBN 1-55963- Natural disasters in the United States cost $20 billion a year in direct costs to government, the insurance industry, and to victims, and the costs continue to burgeon. Non-economic losses are not only death and the tragedy of grief, but also the loss of family pets and treasured irreplaceable items. These papers discuss the history and impact of government legislation of compensating communities for tragedies related to floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, and brush fires. Before 1950, disaster assistance was viewed as the moral responsibility of the community, charities, and church groups, according to a 1916 court decision defining Acts of God. The Federal Disaster Relief Act of 1950 marked the beginning of a half- century of federal laws, programs, and policies intended to reduce the economic burden on stricken communities. Chapter 1 traces the evolution of federal initiatives and relief measures such as grants, subsidized loans, federal insurance policies, and technical assistance. The chapter ends with a discussion of when compassion leads to codependency whereby the victims and government become locked into a repetitive cycle of loss and compensation. Chapter 2 discusses the geographical distribution of presidential disaster declarations under the Stafford Act. Chapter 3 traces the various approaches to hazard mitigation since the 1960s and what the federal role should be. Chapters 4 and 5 in Part II examine the property rights movement and the takings issue as obstacles to hazard mitigation through land use restrictions in areas of known risk. Disasters and Democracy is more than a fascinating read; it will open the public’s eyes to the real problems and costs associated with disaster relief. The book is splendidly illustrated with photographs, tables, and maps. It is an excellent comprehensive and critical analysis of public policy on natural hazards in the United States. Platt outlines a number of feasible steps the federal government should take to ease the disincentives that reduce local government efforts to create disaster-resistant communities. Anyone with an interest in environmental and natural disasters will find something of great

ARM Southern Great Plains Site Observations of the Smoke Pall Associated with the 1998 Central American Fires

Drought-stricken areas of Central America and Mexico were victimized in 1998 by forest and brush fires that burned out of control during much of the first half of the year. Wind currents at various times during the episode helped transport smoke from these fires over the Gulf of Mexico and into portions of the United States. Visibilities were greatly reduced during favorable flow periods from New Mexico to south Florida and northward to Wisconsin as a result of this smoke and haze. In response to the reduced visibilities and increased pollutants, public health advisories and information statements were issued by various agencies in Gulf Coast states and in Oklahoma. This event was also detected by a unique array of instrumentation deployed at the U.S. Department of Energy's Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) program Southern Great Plains Cloud and Radiation Testbed and by sensors of the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality/Air Quality Division. Observations from these measurement devices sugg...

Are modern savannas degraded forests?-A Holocene pollen record from the Sudanian vagetation zone of NE Nigeria

A pollen record from a crater lake (Lake Tilla, 10°23′N, 12°08′E, c. 700 m asl) in the Sudanian zone of northeast Nigeria provides evidence for the persistence of woodland savanna throughout the Holocene. Wetter conditions from c. 10,000 B.P. to c. 6800 B.P. enabled the establishment of a dense Guinean savanna, though the occurrence and rapid spread of the montane elementOlea hochstetteri indicates cool climatic conditions prior to c. 8800 B.P. Patches of closed dry forest may have existed, but never completely displaced the savanna vegetation. Grass fires were frequent throughout the Holocene and were probably important in promoting the open character of the vegetation. From c. 6800 B.P. onwards a gradual floristic change from a Guinean to a Sudano-Guinean savanna and a lowering of lake levels point to drier environmental conditions, which intensified around 3700 B.P. Human impact might have caused increasing sedimentation rates from c. 2500 B.P. onwards. The pollen diagram of Lake Tilla reflects a history of the savanna which appears to have been primarily controlled by climatic changes. The lack of unambiguous pollen indicators might be the reason why human activities remain palynologically hidden even for the late Holocene.

Encyclopedia of environmental science

Encyclopedia of environmental science

Trace gas emissions from laboratory biomass fires measured by open‐path Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy: Fires in grass and surface fuels

The trace gas emissions from six biomass fires, including three grass fires, were measured using a Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer coupled to an open‐path, multipass cell (OP‐FTIR). The quantified emissions consisted of carbon dioxide, nitric oxide, water vapor, carbon monoxide, methane, ammonia, ethylene, acetylene, isobutene, methanol, acetic acid, formic acid, formaldehyde, and hydroxyacetaldehyde. By including grass fires in this study we have now measured smoke composition from fires in each major vegetation class. The emission ratios of the oxygenated compounds, formaldehyde, methanol, and acetic acid, were 1–2% of CO in the grass fires, similar to our other laboratory and field measurements but significantly higher than in some other studies. These oxygenated compounds are important, as they affect O3 and HOx chemistry in both biomass fire plumes and the free troposphere. The OP‐FTIR data and the simultaneously collected canister data indicated that the dominant C4 emission was isobutene (C4H8) and not 1‐butene. The rate constant for the reaction of isobutene with the OH radical is 60% larger than that of 1‐butene. We estimate that 67±9% of the fuel nitrogen was volatilized with the major nitrogen emissions, ammonia, and nitric oxide, accounting for 22±8%.

Aircraft Measurements of Nitrogen Dioxide and Peroxyacyl Nitrates Using Luminol Chemiluminescence with Fast Capillary Gas Chromatography

Fast capillary gas chromatography with luminol detection has been used to make airborne measurements of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN). The analysis system allows for the simultaneous measurement of NO2 and peroxyacyl nitrates (PANs) with time resolution of less than 1 min, an improvement of a factor of 4−5 over previously reported methods using electron capture detection. Data presented were taken near Pasco, Washington, in August 1997, during a test flight onboard the U.S. Department of Energy G-1 aircraft. We report measurements of NO2 in the boundary layer in a paper mill plume and a plume from a grass fire, in addition to analyses for free tropospheric NO2 and PAN. Ratios of PAN/NO2 were observed to increase with altitude (decreasing temperature) and to reach values of 2−4 above the boundary layer, consistent with the thermal equilibrium of the peroxyacetyl radical and NO2 with PAN. Estimates for the peroxyacetyl radical in the continental free troposphere, calculated from this equilibrium, were found to be in the range of 104−105 molecules per cubic centimeter. These results demonstrate the application of this approach for airborne measurements of NO2 and PAN in a wide range of field study scenarios.

An International Haze-Monitoring Network for Students

The Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Program is an international network of schools in 71 countries that monitors up to 20 environmental parameters. Recently GLOBE added a haze-monitoring program to its measurement protocols. This network has the potential of providing important data about changes in the aerosol optical depth of the atmosphere caused by weather fronts, industrial and automobile pollution, and smoke from forest and brush fires and volcanic eruptions. Initially, monitoring will be conducted with an inexpensive, single-channel (520 nm) sun photometer. Unlike conventional sun photometers that use interference filters that are subject to unpredictable and rapid degradation, the GLOBE instrument uses a common light-emitting diode (LED) as a spectrally selective detector. Annual calibrations of two LED sun photometers at Mauna Loa Observatory since 1992 show that these instruments have insignificant degradation when compared to filter sun photometers. Some 175 prototype versions of a kit LED sun photometer have been assembled and tested by students from 16 countries at the University of the Nations and by more than 130 high school teachers in various pilot studies. These studies have demonstrated that even inexperienced students and teachers can quickly assemble a sun photometer from a kit of parts and perform a reliable Langley calibration. The pilot studies have also demonstrated that sun photometery provides a convenient means for allowing students to perform hands-on science while they learn about various topics in history, electronics, algebra, statistics, graphing, and meteorology.

Detecting Process from Snapshot Pattern: Lessons from Tree Spacing in the Southern Kalahari

The spatial distribution of plants is often thought to be an indicator of underlying biotic and abiotic processes. However, there are relatively few examples of spatial patterns being analysed to detect an underlying ecological process. Using the spacing patterns being analysed to detect an underlying ecological process. Using the spacing of savanna trees in the southern Kalahari as an example, we applied methods of computer simulation modelling and point pattern analysis in an evaluation of their potential for identifying relevant pattern generating processes from snapshot pattern. We compared real tree patterns from the southern Kalahari, derived from aerial photographs, with patterns produced from computer simulation experiments in an investigation of the following questions: does the present pattern of tree distributions allow us to characterize (1) the relative importance of the major driving forces (e.g., competition for moisture, grass fire, herbivory), (2) the spatial dimensions and structures of the underlying processes, and (3) the actual dynamic status of the ecological system (a phase of decline, increase or constancy with respect to tree abundance)? The simulation experiments are based on a well established, spatially explicit, grid-based model that simulates the vegetation dynamics of the major life forms under a realistic rainfall scenario of the southern Kalahari and under the impact of grass fires, herbivory and the formation of localized clumps with increased tree seed availability. For a realistic range of parameters the simulation model produces long-term coexistence of trees and grasses with tree densities that correspond with long-term coexistence of trees and grasses with tree densities that correspond with densities observed in the field. Both real tree distributions derived from acrial photographs and tree pattern produced by the model are characterized by a tendency towards even spacing at small scales, clumping at intermediate scales and randomness or clumping at large scales. However, increasing the spatio-temporal correlation in the formation of seed patches in the model caused an increase in the tendency towards clumping in the tree distribution whereas an increase in seed patch numbers led to a decrease in clumping. Within single simulation runs the tree pattern could change in response to the variable rainfall sequences and the corresponding differences in grass fire frequency: periods of slightly increasing tree numbers caused by higher precipitation were characterized by an increase in tree clumping whereas periods of slightly decreasing tree numbers showed a tendency towards random or even tree spacing. Simulating the transition of an open savanna to a savanna woodland showed that the tree pattern in the transitional phase can be diagnostic of the underlying process: If the transition was caused by improved moisture conditions the transitional phase was characterized by increased clumping in the tree pattern. In contrast, a transition caused by an increase in the number of localized tree seed patches led to a characteristic even spacing of trees. Even though the simulated savanna clearly showed non-equilibrium dynamics, simulation results indicate that the tree population in the simulated area of the southern Kalahari is in a state of long-term tree-grass coexistence with the persisting structure of an open savanna system.

The Politics of Border Disputes

TERRITORIAL BORDERS ON THE Arabian Peninsula have long been the source of bitter disagreements. The peninsular states - Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen - have periodically challenged their respective frontiers. Though disagreements over territorial demarcations simmered among the peninsular states for decades, in the aftermath of the 1990-1 Gulf War, challenges to the status quo intensified, with competing claims dramatically thrust onto the regional political agenda. The purpose of this article is to examine and explain the almost simultaneous ignition of brush fires all along the international frontiers on the Arabian Peninsula.At one extreme, resolution to outstanding border disputes was pursued violently. For example, armed confrontations occurred in 1992 and 1994 along the border between Saudi Arabia and Qatar, and in 1995, 1997, and 1998 between Saudi Arabia and Yemen. At the other extreme, competing territorial claims were hurriedly accommodated. For example, after ten years of negotiations to define their respective borders, Oman and Yemen eventually reached a preliminary settlement in 1992, and a final agreement in 1997. Between these extremes was much posturing and bargaining. The point is that, whether through armed conflict or diplomatic agreement, after years of inertia territorial issues were confronted with a heightened sense of urgency in the wake of war.NEW INTEREST IN OLD DISPUTES: CASES AND THEMESThe question of international frontiers on and near the Arabian Peninsula took on great saliency because the competition for economic resources and the search for political identity were complicated by the absence of a viable regional arrangement for security. In the early 1990s, various peninsular states accelerated their efforts to explore and develop oil reserves near politically sensitive boundaries, in part to offset a flat international market and the 'maturation of older fields.'(f.1) Most important, the Gulf War of 1991 was a catalyst that brought into sharp focus new political realities. Old tensions were exacerbated and new territorial understandings were pursed vigorously as the logic of territoriality gained potency in the political climate of 'self-definition and self-assertion.'(f.2) The new interest paid to old disputes was further intensified by the lack of an effective institutional mechanism by which to accommodate divergent claims, as is clearly demonstrated by comparing five on-going and three newly resolved territorial contests on and near the Arabian Peninsula. The complexity of tripartite frontiers that are 'resolved' only through bilateral agreements is addressed.(f.3)In the comparative analysis of the eight cases, three factors are addressed: historical lineage, contested issues, and mediators. The basis for progress in the disputes that have been resolved through interstate negotiations is also explored and the similarities are emphasized so as to allow more general patterns to emerge from the territorial challenges made by the states in the region, though differences are acknowledged. The eight disputes involve the following sets of actors: - Saudi Arabia and Qatar, over approximately fifteen miles of territory; - Saudi Arabia and Yemen, over land near the old division of North and South Yemen; - Iran and the United Arab Emirates, over the islands of Abu Musa and the Tunbs; - Bahrain and Qatar, over the Hawar Islands and surrounding reefs; - Iraq and Kuwait, over the islands of Warba and Bubiyan, and Umm al Qasr; - Oman and Yemen (finalized in May 1997); - Oman and the United Arab Emirates (settled in April 1993); and - Saudi Arabia and Oman (finalized in 1995).Individually, some of these disputes appear relatively insignificant; however, against the backdrop of regional and peninsular politics since the end of the Gulf War, they assume much more significance, and the status of international boundaries for future relations among the Arabian Peninsula countries is painted in starker colours. …

Effects of the SW Atlantic burrowing crab Chasmagnathus granulata on a Spartina salt marsh

In this work we evaluated the effect of the burrowing crab Chasmagnathus granulata on the soil quality and on the cordgrass Spartina densiflora in a SW Atlantic coastal lagoon (Argentina, 37°32'S. 57°19'W). Soil hardness and percolation rates were higher outside the crab inhabited area than inside, and soil profiles showed 2 different strata in areas without crabs. Crabs were associated with low soil water content, a higher variability in pH, and a homogeneous distribution of organic matter. Meiofaunal abundance was lower inside the area inhabited by crabs than outside. The water content of aboveground structures of S. densiflora was lower inside the crab populated areas. Leaf survival was lower inside the area inhabited by crabs than outside. In areas with new shoots (after burning by a brush fire) crabs depleted the aboveground plant structures. A caging experiment showed that crabs decreased leaf survival by herbivory. During the experiment, substrata was covered by sediment displaced by crabs, and the area showed less soil hardness and lower percolation rates than controls. Crabs decreased water content and organic matter on upper sediment layers. Meiofaunal abundance (arachnids and insects) was higher in control plots (without crabs) than in treatment plots. A field selection experiment showed that crabs decreased survival of young stems, but did not affect old stems. All this evidence suggests that C. granulata affects cordgrass production by herbivory on new shoots, and can change the physical characteristics of the environment, which may also indirectly affect S. densiflora production. Thus, the general belief that in Spartina marshes only a small proportion of primary production is consumed in situ may not apply to SW Atlantic Spartina marshes inhabited by crabs.

99/00268 Kinetic study of the water gas shift reaction and its role in the conversion of methane to syngas over a Pt/MgO catalyst

Coal fires are difficult and persistent problems throughout the world wherever coal is at or near the surface. Coal fires can be associated with mining activities including underground and surface mine operations, coal stockpiles and coal waste piles, and they can also occur in unmined areas along coal seam outcrops.Environmental safety and health hazards are posed by coal fires in the form of ground surface subsidence, air pollution, forest and brush fires, and destruction of property and surface improvements, in addition to the potential massive loss of energy resources. While many causes exist, the most common source of coal fire ignition is spontaneous combustion as weathered, or broken/pulverized coal oxidizes and the temperature rises to the ignition point. This process can occur before any mining in the case of outcrop fires, or anytime during and after the mining cycle.The magnitude of coal fire problems varies worldwide depending on reserves available, extent of mining, population, political/economic situations, and a host of other influencing factors. Mining and environmental regulations imposed in the United States have heightened awareness regarding coal fire problems and resulted in efforts to control the most problematic existing fires and extinguish small fires before they escalate. Coal fires in other major coal-bearing countries, such as China and India, pose a significantly greater problem in terms of worldwide impact. Figures for China vary dramatically but estimates indicate that as much as 100–200 million tons of coal reserves are consumed annually as a result of coal fires. Similar estimates for the Jharia Coal Field in India indicate that about 40 million tons of coal reserves were burned during the 1990s. These data point to a significant source of global pollution, in addition to substantial economic losses.Goodson & Associates, Inc. (G & AI), a Lakewood, CO engineering firm, has developed a technology utilizing cellular (foam containing) grout to mitigate coal fires from the perspectives of prevention, control and extinguishment. The variable combination of portland cement, waste fly ash, aggregates and special foams create a highly flowable, high-heat resistant grout that is used to simultaneously address each of the three necessary fire elements: fuel, oxygen and heat.Coal fire prevention can be achieved by spraying the material on the exposed surface of coal seams following completion of strip mining. Control is enabled by grout injection into cracks, vents and cut-off trenches to stall or prevent continued growth. Extinguishment can be accomplished by grout injection directly into the fire zone, air intakes and exhausts.The benefits of using this technology are numerous. Cellular grout injection is safer at lower cost than conventional techniques such as complete excavation, while causing less environmental disruption and providing for quicker applications. The use of large quantities of fly ash in the process is economically and environmentally sound, by providing for disposal of a waste material while addressing the worldwide problem of coal fires.

On the flight paths of metal particles and embers generated by power lines in high winds—a potential source of wildland fires

Abstract In dry grasslands, dangerous wildfires are of particular concern during hot, dry seasons in regions encountering high winds. It is possible that such winds can cause power cables to come close enough together to arc or collide with trees, and produce metal sparks or burning embers which can be carried by the wind and land in adjacent areas of dry vegetation. A major issue is whether or not such possibly generated particles can initiate a brush or grass fire. In this work, a predictive, numerical model is used to calculate trajectories, combustion rates, and lifetimes of metal particles and burning embers of different sizes for various wind conditions and terrain. Three distinct cases are studied: (1) hot particles produced by arcing copper power lines; (2) burning sparks produced by arcing aluminum power lines; and (3) burning embers produced by the collision of high voltage power lines with surrounding trees. The results show that for the same wind conditions, the distances reached by firebrands are the greatest, followed by aluminum and copper. Large aluminum sparks (e.g. 1·5 mm diameter) that do not burn up in flight travel farther than copper particles of the same size. Since copper particles do not emerge burning, they immediately cool down in flight, as they are carried away by the wind. Nonetheless, with a slightly larger heat capacity than that of aluminum (and non-regressing size), a copper particle can bring with it a significant amount of heat into its area of impact. Although smaller aluminum particles can burn out while in flight, larger aluminum particles can land while still burning. Burning embers or firebrands burn heterogeneously and are not susceptible to high Re extinction due to flame blow-off. Larger embers can land still burning; however, they may carry less heat than their metal counterparts.

Cancer in the Elderly: A Nursing and Medical PerspectiveCancer in the Elderly: A Nursing and Medical Perspective Edited by RedmondK. and AaproM.S.. Amsterdam: Elsevier Science BV. ISBN 0444-82858-3

Book ReviewsCancer in the Elderly: A Nursing and Medical Perspective Robert StuartMD Robert Stuart Search for more papers by this author Published Online:1 May 1998https://doi.org/10.5144/0256-4947.1998.278aSectionsPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload citationTrack citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditEmail AboutIntroductionFor the last dozen years, Fellows in my Hematology-Oncology training program have asked me, “If I want to have an academic career, what area of Hematology/Oncology should I emphasize?” And for at least ten years, my unhesitating and invariable answer has been: “Geriatric Oncology.” This reply has never failed to elicit surprise and cries for explanation, but regrettably it has not yet succeeded in convincing a Fellow to follow my advice.Cancer in the elderly, the topic of this second monograph in a new series from the European School of Oncology (ESO), is the next great frontier in oncology research. As this 98-page booklet concisely summarizes, cancer in the elderly is a demographic brush fire driven by the twin winds of decreasing cardiovascular mortality and rapid population increase in the over-70 age group. And, at least in North America, we are not well prepared for the demands that will be made on the health care system by a large cohort of otherwise healthy oldsters with newly diagnosed malignant neoplasms.Why are we not prepared? In North America the traditional practice in the design of cancer therapy clinical trials has been to exclude individuals over 70 years of age. Some aggressive chemotherapy trials have used upper age limits of 65 (breast cancer), 60 (acute leukemia), or even 40-50 (marrow transplantation). While these restrictions were motivated by genuine concerns about the marrow therapeutic ratios of some cytotoxic chemotherapy regimens, the result has been the systematic exclusion of potential new knowledge about cancer therapy in older patients. Only recently (perhaps as oncologists themselves began to approach old age?) has this deficiency been recognized and clinical trials without upper age limits initiated.Cancer in the Elderly: A Nursing and Medical Perspective represents the results of a study group or task force sponsored by ESO, wherein “leading experts exchange views on the state of the art of a given field, discuss controversies and new developments, and give opinions on future directions.” In seven well-chosen chapters, the seven multidisciplinary and multinational authors provide an overview of the problem with emphasis on patient care and cancer treatment in the elderly. (Interestingly, the editors do not list the specific authors of the individual chapters, a way of emphasizing the collaborative nature of the book.) Both medical and nursing care are emphasized, reflecting the disciplines of the authors, three of whom are nurses.The strength of the booklet lies in its readability—at 98 pages, it can be read in an evening—and in the timeliness of its subject matter. Its principal weakness is the lack of hard data in the field.Repeatedly, the authors are forced to temper their conclusions due to a lack of prospective studies, a limited amount of information, or a lack of evidence that certain data apply to the elderly as well as to the younger population. This is not a flaw of the book, but a fault of investigators worldwide.Who should buy this book? I should buy this book so that I can lend it to the next Fellow who seeks career advice. It also deserves a place on the shelves of physician and nurse educators and in medical libraries. Previous article FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Volume 18, Issue 3May 1998 Metrics History Published online1 May 1998 InformationCopyright © 1998, Annals of Saudi MedicinePDF download

Pathology of diseases in wild desert tortoises from California.

Twenty-four ill or dead desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) were received between March 1992 and July 1995 for necropsies from the Mojave and Colorado deserts of California (USA). Diseases observed in these animals included cutaneous dyskeratosis (n = 7); shell necrosis (n = 2); respiratory diseases (n = 7); urolithiasis (n = 3); and trauma (n = 5). In tortoises with cutaneous dyskeratosis the horn layer of shell was disrupted by multiple crevices and fissures and, in the most severe lesions, dermal bone showed osteoclastic resorption, remodeling, and osteopenia. In tortoises with shell necrosis, multiple foci of necrotic cell debris and heterophilic inflammation within the epidermal horn layer were subtended by necrotic dermal bone colonized by bacteria and fungi. Of the seven tortoises with respiratory disease, five were diagnosed with mycoplasmosis. The diagnosis of mycoplasmosis was based on the presence of chronic proliferative rhinitis and positive serologic tests and/or isolation of Mycoplasma sp. Chronic fungal pneumonia was diagnosed in one tortoise with respiratory disease. In the three tortoises with urolithiasis, two were discovered dead, and the live tortoise had renal and articular gout. Traumatic injuries consisted of one tortoise entombed within its burrow, one tortoise burned in a brush fire, two tortoises struck by moving vehicles, and one tortoise attacked by a predator. While the primary cause of illness could be attributed to one or two major disease processes, lesions were often found in multiple organ systems, and a variety of etiologies were responsible for morbidity and mortality.

Phylogeny of Lycopodiaceae (Lycopsida) and the Relationships of Phylloglossum drummondii Kunze Based on rbcL Sequences

A cladistic analysis based on rbcL sequences from a representative sample of 12 species yields a single most parsimonious tree that supports monophyly of Lycopodiaceae, Lycopodium, and Lycopodiella. Huperzia is resolved as paraphyletic to the morphologically divergent, monotypic Australasian Phylloglossum. The Huperzia-Phylloglossum clade is strongly supported and is sister group to a Lycopodium-Lycopodiella clade. These results provide the first clear evidence for the relationships of the problematic Phylloglossum drummondii. Profound differences in life cycle and morphology between Phylloglossum and other Lycopodiaceae are interpreted in terms of pedomorphosis (specifically, progenesis) and are viewed as adaptive responses to drought and brush fire. Our results show that rbcL sequence divergence among neotropical species of the supposedly ancient genus Huperzia is extremely low and that additional data will be necessary to resolve relationships among epiphytes and ground-living species. These surprising...

Faces of feminism: an activist's reflections on the women's movement

As one of the main players in the second wave of feminism, Sheila Tobias returns to Kate Millets central tenet, sexual politics, and argues that it can still unite progressive men and women around a common set of goals. Providing a map of a complex terrain, Tobias details generations of issues, each more radical and therefore harder to tackle than the ones before. She sets the story in two contexts: feminisms own evolving strategies and Americas political landscape. Even though her passion for feminism remains, she is not unwilling to critique the sisterhood and herself for failing to see, for example, that not every woman would be a feminist nor every man an enemy. In the heady first years, feminists forgot that deeper even than gender is the liberal/conservative divide in American politics. }As one of the main players in the second wave of feminism, Sheila Tobias returns to Kate Millets central tenet, sexual politics, and argues that it can still unite progressive men and women around a common set of goals. Providing a map of a complex terrain, Tobias details generations of issues, each more radical and therefore harder to tackle than the ones before. She sets the story in two contexts: feminisms own evolving strategies and Americas political landscape. Even though her passion for feminism remains, she is not unwilling to critique the sisterhood and herself for failing to see, for example, that not every woman would be a feminist nor every man an enemy. In the heady first years, feminists forgot that deeper even than gender is the liberal/conservative divide in American politics.From the origins of the movement through feminist theory and new scholarship on women, Tobias traces the political history of the second wave and its comeuppance at the hands of Phyllis Schaflys StopERAcoincidental with the nations careering toward the Right. Somehow, feminism survived the 1980s, but by having to fight brush fires throughout the Reagan-Bush presidencies, the movement lost some of its breadth and much of its taste for the mainstream. Because of her activism and her feeling for the period she chronicles, Tobias is at once inside and outside the issues of sexual preference, pornography, the draft, the Mommy Track, comparable worth, affirmative action, reproductive rights, and the challenges of equality versus difference. }

Nitrogen Oxide Pollution May Spark Seeds' Growth

Two ecologists have learned that the seeds of a common California wildflower can be prompted to germinate by exposure to nitrogen oxides, gases produced by both natural wildfires and motor vehicles and power plants. The finding, reported on page 1248, helps explain why the flower springs up so quickly after brush fires. It also raises a provocative question: Could nitrogen oxides in air pollution be fooling the seeds of this and other fire-adapted plants into germinating when conditions are deadly to the seedlings?

Corazon Aquino and the Brushfire Revolution

Corazon Aquino and the Brushfire Revolution

Spectroscopic sensing of NH 3 emissions from flame retardants

A Fourier transform spectrometer system housed in a four-wheel drive vehicle has been developed by the Army Research Laboratory, and recently was used to observe the smoke plume from a large brush fire in the Organ Mountains of south central New Mexico. The spectrometer was approximately 8 km from the fire during data acquisition. After processing, it was apparent that emission spectra from the plume contained ammonia emission lines. Ammonia is believed to have been released by the thermal decomposition of flame retardant chemicals that were being used to contain the fire.

Implications of prehistoric glassy biomass slag from east-central Botswana

Glassy biomass slag occurs in midden piles of prehistoric settlements of east-central Botswana. The slag forms decimetre thick concordant layers in stratified ashy soil, and lacks associations with domestic ceramic and iron melting activities. Petrographic evaluation of the slag suggests maximum temperatures in the order of 1155–1290 °C during burning of the midden. These values exceed reasonable estimates for combustion temperature of plant remnants and cattle manure in open fire. It is suggested, as alternatives, that the glassy slag formed either from surface melting caused by strokes of lightning in an accumulation of partially decomposed organic soil, or from subsurface combustion of organic soil strata ignited by grass fires. Glassy biomass slag of prehistoric settlements, therefore, may not result from human activities, such as intentional burning of excess midden piles, and may not be contemporaneous with human occupation of the sites. © 1995 Academic Press Limited