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Tag: Nature

  • The Onion’s Guide To Renewable Energy

    The Onion’s Guide To Renewable Energy

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    Renewable energy is on the rise as it becomes cheaper to produce the necessary tools and systems for transitioning the planet to a greener future. The Onion presents a glossary to common terms in the renewable energy space.

    Wind Turbine: Electromechanical device that converts the wind’s kinetic energy into dead birds.

    Hydropower: It’s like when you flush a toilet.

    Recyclable: Not accepted by your local recycling plant.

    Carbon Credit: Certified proof that the wealthy can continue doing whatever they want.

    Wood: Tree bones.

    Offshore Wind Farm: Wind-based power plant built specifically to ruin ocean views from rich assholes’ beach houses.

    G/O Media may get a commission

    Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK): New acquisition that will save the company millions in infrastructure upgrade costs.

    Biohazards: The people running oil companies.

    Green Hydrogen: Hydrogen produced via water electrolysis that America would happily use as a weapon of war.

    Earth: Dying planet you’re reading this from.

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  • Linking mass extinctions to the expansion and radiation of land plants

    Linking mass extinctions to the expansion and radiation of land plants

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    Newswise — Boulder, Colo., USA: The Devonian Period, 419 to 358 million years ago, was one of the most turbulent times in Earth’s past and was marked by at least six significant marine extinctions, including one of the five largest mass extinctions ever to have occurred. Additionally, it was during the Devonian that trees and complex land plants similar to those we know today first evolved and spread across the landscape. This evolutionary advancement included the development of significant and complex root systems capable of affecting soil biogeochemistry on a scale the ancient Earth had yet to experience.

    It has been theorized that these two seemingly separate events, marine extinctions and plant evolution and expansion, were intricately linked in the Devonian. Specifically, it has been proposed that plant evolution and root development occurred so rapidly and on such a massive scale that nutrient export from the land to the ancient oceans would have drastically increased. This scenario is seen in modern systems where anthropogenically sourced nutrient export has vastly increased the nutrient load into areas such as the Gulf of Mexico and the Great Lakes, leading to large-scale algal blooms that ultimately deplete the oxygen in the water column. This effect, known as eutrophication, magnified on a global scale, would have been catastrophic to ancient oceans, fueling algal blooms that would have depleted most of the ocean’s oxygen.

    The key to linking mass extinctions and the expansion and radiation of land plants lies in identifying a nutrient flux elevated above background levels, linking that nutrient flux to either indirect or direct evidence of the presence of deeply rooting land plants and finally showing that this phenomenon occurred in multiple locations and times.

    This study, the first of its kind, was able to do precisely that by utilizing geochemical records from ancient lake deposits in Greenland, northern Scotland, and Orkney. Utilizing lake records, elevated values of the nutrient phosphorus were detected in five distinct locations during the height of plant evolution and expansion in the Devonian. In each case, elevated values of nutrient input were coincident with evidence of the presence of early trees in the form of fossilized spores and, in some cases, fossilized stems of the earliest deeply rooting tree, Archaeopteris. In two cases, that evidence coincided with a Devonian marine extinction event, including the most significant Devonian mass extinction, the Frasnian–Famennian extinction (also known as the Late Devonian mass extinction).

    Additionally, this study, published yesterday in the Geological Society of America Bulletin, linked the periodic wet/dry climate cycles known to exist in the region during the Devonian with specific episodes of plant colonization. While elevated nutrient export was noted during both wet and dry climate cycles, the most significant export events occurred during wet cycles, suggesting that plant expansion was episodic and tied to climate cyclicity.

    The episodic nature of plant expansion could help explain why there are at least six significant marine extinctions in the Devonian. While the scope of this study was limited to a single geographic region, it is likely that these events occurred throughout the Devonian Earth. The colonization of different types of land plants in different regions and at different times would have resulted in episodic nutrient pulses significant enough to sustain eutrophication and cause (or at least contribute) to the numerous marine extinction events throughout the mid- to Late Devonian.

    FEATURED ARTICLE
    Enhanced terrestrial nutrient release during the Devonian emergence and expansion of forests: Evidence from lacustrine phosphorus and geochemical records
    Matthew Smart; Gabriel Filippelli; William Gilhooly; John Marshall; Jessica Whiteside
    Contact: Matthew Smart, [email protected], Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis, Earth Sciences, Indianapolis, Indiana
    URL: https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/gsabulletin/article-abstract/doi/10.1130/B36384.1/618814/Enhanced-terrestrial-nutrient-release-during-the

    GSA BULLETIN articles published ahead of print are online at https://bulletin.geoscienceworld.org/content/early/recent . Representatives of the media may obtain complimentary copies of articles by contacting Kea Giles. Please discuss articles of interest with the authors before publishing stories on their work, and please make reference to The Geological Society of America Bulletin in articles published. Non-media requests for articles may be directed to GSA Sales and Service, [email protected]

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    Geological Society of America (GSA)

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  • People Keep Licking a Rare Toad in U.S. National Parks

    People Keep Licking a Rare Toad in U.S. National Parks

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    Visitors to national parks in the southwest keep kissing frogs, but they’re not hoping they’ll turn into a prince.

    The rare Sonoran desert toad, also known as the Colorado river toad, naturally secretes a strong hallucinogenic venom called Bufotenin, which is four to six times more potent than DMT.

    Licking the frogs can produce a short but intense psychedelic trip that lasts around 30 minutes.

    But the frog secretions can also be quite dangerous, leading the National Park Service to post a warning on their Facebook page to stay away from the frogs.

    “These toads have prominent parotoid glands that secrete a potent toxin,” the service wrote. “It can make you sick if you handle the frog or get the poison in your mouth. As we say with most things you come across in a national park, whether it be a banana slug, an unfamiliar mushroom, or a large toad with glowing eyes in the dead of night, please refrain from licking.”

    Toad venom is all the rage

    The rare toad venom has become all the rage among celebrities such as Mike Tyson, Chelsea Handler, and Hunter Biden.

    “I died during my first trip,” Tyson told The New York Post. “In my trips, I’ve seen that death is beautiful. Life and death both have to be beautiful, but death has a bad rep. The toad has taught me that I’m not going to be here forever. There’s an expiration date.”

    The toad venom has been used in rituals for its healing properties for thousands of years, but it only recently became mainstream in the last ten years.

    Now vacationers go on retreats to sample the rare toad venom.

    “People pay anywhere from $250 for a ceremony in the East Texas woods to $8,500 for a more gilded beachfront setting in Tulum, Mexico, to consume the toxin,” according to The New York Times.

    Or they can go to a national park in the U.S. Southwest and try to lick a frog for free.

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    Jonathan Small

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  • Why Do Farmers Need to Test Their Soils?

    Why Do Farmers Need to Test Their Soils?

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    Newswise — October 24, 2022 – The nutrients in the food we eat is a vital component to supporting a healthy lifestyle. But did you know that most of the nutrients in our food comes from the soil it is grown in? The October 22nd Sustainable, Secure Food Blog explains why farmers need to regularly test soils to ensure optimum levels of nutrients.

    Plants need 17 essential nutrients to function and carry their routine physiological processes. Of these nutrients, three are found in air and water: carbon (C), hydrogen (H), and oxygen (O). The remaining 14 nutrients come from the soil. Since humans cannot see, touch, or count nutrients through their naked eyes, they rely on scientific instruments found in soil testing laboratories to measure them.

    That is why every fall, after the harvest of cash crop, farmers collect representative soil cores from 4 to 6 inches depth at several locations on their farm. They send them a soil testing laboratory for analysis.

    Once a soil testing laboratory receives the soil, the lab dries, grinds, and sieves the sample to make it uniform before running the tests. Then they perform the requested tests designed to quantify nutrients in the soil. The results provide information on the soil’s nutrient supplying capacity primarily phosphorus, potassium, and micronutrients.

    Rishi Prasad, a scientist at Auburn University, explains that after soil scientists evaluate the soil test results, they can make recommendations on what is present in the soil and how much additional fertilizer would be needed to achieve optimal crop yields. Maintaining a record of soil test reports also provides valuable information on long-term changes in soil fertility. This allows farmers to make better decisions on fertility management to get optimum yields.

    To read the entire blog, visit: https://sustainable-secure-food-blog.com/2022/10/22/why-do-farmers-need-to-test-their-soils/

    About us: This blog is sponsored and written by members of the American Society of Agronomy and Crop Science Society of America. Members are researchers and trained, certified professionals in the areas of growing the world’s food supply while protecting the environment. Members work at universities, government research facilities, and private businesses across the United States and the world.

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    American Society of Agronomy (ASA), Crop Science Society of America (CSSA), Soil Science Society of America (SSSA)

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  • Exposure to ‘Blue Spaces’ Linked to Better Mental Health

    Exposure to ‘Blue Spaces’ Linked to Better Mental Health

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    Oct. 14, 2022 — Spending time in “blue spaces” — such as beaches, rivers, and lakes — as a child can have significant and lasting benefits for wellbeing throughout life, according to a new study published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology.

    When exposed to blue spaces in childhood, people are more likely to revisit bodies of water in adulthood and appreciate the time spent in natural settings.

    “Learning to swim and appreciate the dangers in terms of rip currents, cold temperatures, etc., is of course primary,” Mathew White, one of the study authors and a senior scientist at the University of Vienna, told The Guardian.

    “But the message we are trying to get across is that to only teach children about the dangers of water settings may make them overly afraid of, and ill-equipped to benefit from, places that can also be hugely beneficial to their health and wellbeing as they grow up,” he said. “The vast majority of blue space visits — both for adults and children — do not involve getting wet, so there are also many advantages from spending time near water, not just in it.”

    Researchers from the U.S. and a dozen other countries analyzed data from the BlueHealth International Survey for more than 15,000 people across 18 countries, examining the links between childhood exposure to blue spaces and adult wellbeing. 

    Participants recalled their experiences up to age 16, noting how often they visited blue spaces, how local they were, and how comfortable their parents or guardians were about allowing them to swim and play. They also discussed their recent contact with blue spaces and green spaces during the previous four weeks, as well as their mental health status during the previous two weeks.

    Researchers found that more childhood exposure to blue spaces was associated with better adult wellbeing. They noted the results were consistent across all countries and regions.

    Adults also had familiarity with and confidence around coasts, rivers, and lakes, as well as higher levels of joy around bodies of water and a greater propensity to spend recreational time in nature during adulthood. In turn, this lifted their mood and wellbeing.

    “We recognize that both green and blue spaces have a positive impact on people’s mental and physical health,” Valeria Vitale, one of the study authors and a doctoral candidate at Sapienza University of Rome, told The Guardian.

    In recent years, a growing number of studies have noted the benefits of spending time in nature, including both blue spaces and green spaces such as forests, parks, and gardens. The natural settings can increase people’s physical activity levels, boost mood and wellbeing, and lower stress and anxiety. 

    Vitale and colleagues noted that blue spaces, in particular, have unique sensory qualities such as wave sounds and light reflections that can improve mood, as well as leisure activities such as swimming, fishing, and water sports.

    “We believe our findings are particularly relevant to practitioners and policymakers because of the nationally representative nature of the samples,” she said. “First, our findings reinforce the need to protect and invest in natural spaces in order to optimize the potential benefits to subjective wellbeing. Second, our research suggests that policies and initiatives encouraging greater contact with blue spaces during childhood may support better mental health in later life.”

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  • Researchers find first evidence that hoverflies migrate north in spring

    Researchers find first evidence that hoverflies migrate north in spring

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    Newswise — A team at the University of Exeter has shown experimentally for the first time, that hoverflies migrating during the spring orientate north.

    In late spring earlier this year, a large-scale migration of insects arrived on the Isles of Scilly and mainland Cornwall. Species included many migratory butterflies and moths such as the Painted Lady and Hummingbird Hawkmoth, but the majority of the arrivals were Hoverflies.

    These hoverflies were of a variety of species, but the main insect observed in the experiment was the glass-winged Syrphus (Syrphus vitripennis). Analysis of wind conditions revealed that the insects had most likely flown across the channel from Western France, a minimum distance of 200km.

    “Sat in a field on the beautiful Isles of Scilly, I could hardly believe it. Nearly every single hoverfly we released flew purposefully north, as if pulled by a magnet!” Said Will Hawkes, PhD student from the University of Exeter’s Centre of Ecology and Conservation at the Penryn Campus in Cornwall.

    To perform the experiment, the researchers caught the hoverflies feeding on flowers before taking them to wide-open fields on both the Isles of Scilly and in mainland Cornwall. The hoverflies were then released, crawling up the researcher’s finger, spending a few seconds to orientate themselves before flying off, nearly always towards the north. The hoverflies were flown in cloudy and sunny conditions, with and without the presence of wind, and on all occasions the mean direction was to the north. This provides the first experimental confirmation of a northerly compass sense in springtime migrating hoverflies.

    “Studying insect migration is crucial if we are to fully reap the benefits of the ecological roles insects perform, from pest controllers and decomposers to pollinators. Understanding their routes and orientation mechanisms will help conservationists protect the large-scale movements of these insects.” Remarks Dr Karl Wotton, Senior Lecturer at the University of Exeter, and a Research Fellow at the Royal Society University.

    The paper is entitled: “Migratory hoverflies orientate north during spring migration”

    It is published in an issue of the journal Biology Letters by PhD Student Will Hakes, alongside Scarlett T. Weston, Holly Cook, Toby Doyle, Richard Massy, Eva Jimenez Guri, Rex E. Wotton Jimenez and Karl R. Wotton, all from the University of Exeter.

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    University of Exeter

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  • Allen Coral Atlas at ASU launches improved tool to uncover reef threats and support conservation measures

    Allen Coral Atlas at ASU launches improved tool to uncover reef threats and support conservation measures

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    Newswise — The loss of coral reefs is a serious threat to the health of marine ecosystems around the world. 

    Rising ocean temperatures and coastal pollution are among many environmental stressors that contribute to the degradation of critical coral reef environments. Additional threats including deforestation, agricultural pollutants and land development, are damaging coastal marine zones at an alarming rate.

    Today, the Allen Coral Atlas at Arizona State University is launching a novel turbidity monitoring tool, which is part of a new toolkit called “Reef Threats.” The Reef Threats system provides global, real-time, integrated data on bleaching, ocean temperature and turbidity. Turbidity is the ‘muck’, mostly from neighboring land use, that can harm coastal coral habitats. 

    The expanded capability of the Atlas’s monitoring system will provide crucial information for conservation managers around the world tasked with deciding where and how to best protect, support and save coral reefs.

    “Each Allen Coral Atlas monitoring tool we create offers new insight into how conditions are changing on coral reefs,” says Greg Asner, director of ASU’s Center for Global Discovery and Conservation with the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory.

    “The new Reef Threats toolkit will link changes in ocean temperature, turbidity and coral bleaching to coral loss and reef change over time. This is important because now we’ll see both the human drivers and the reef response with increasing breadth and detail. We’re hopeful that innovative mitigation measures will emerge for coral reefs worldwide,” says Asner.

    Brianna Bambic leads the Allen Coral Atlas engagement team by facilitating workshops and field opportunities to use data from the Atlas in real time. Working directly with researchers, students, governments, and coastal managers in reef communities around the world, Bambic says the new tool will make a global impact in reef management.

    “In a time of increasing human disturbance both on land and in our oceans, dynamic turbidity monitoring at this scale will drastically improve time and efficiency, as well as prioritize areas for conservation,” says Bambic, senior manager of global engagement with the ASU Center for Global Discovery and Conservation. “These new data can help local communities make more informed decisions about where to restore reefs and mangroves, and it will help identify sources of pollution caused by coastal land development and urban runoff.”

    Having a visual, real-time tool provides an immediate focus on conservation action, and can help reduce the time it takes to complete a report. For example, the Ministry of Environment of Sri Lanka is creating an Environmentally Sensitive Areas map of Sri Lanka. The Atlas data will dramatically cut down the time and resources it takes to compile these reports, thus more time can be used for mitigation and conservation action.

    Bambic says with real-time feedback to see where the coast is being disturbed, coastal communities can monitor if and when their restoration efforts are making a difference. 

    What is ocean turbidity?

    Turbid water is cloudy and heavy with sediment, contaminants and pollutants stemming from land damage and disturbances. Coastal ocean turbidity is an accepted index of water quality that has been widely applied in field-based water quality monitoring programs. For example, the United States Geological Survey and National Water Quality Program use this index.

    However, field-based point recordings have extremely limited spatial coverage. As a result, it is challenging to scale field data to large regions to capture the extent, temporal variation and sources of turbid waters. 

    Saving coral reefs requires the identification and reduction of local stressors and the cumulative impacts caused by human activities, particularly overfishing, coastal water pollution and land development.

    “The muck smothers corals that generate habitat for other marine species and for humans. The improved turbidity monitor uses satellite imagery taken on a regular basis worldwide,” says Asner. “The tool uses European Sentinel-2 data, and while it does come with some satellite-based artifacts, it’s important to push our monitoring boundaries to provide timely, detailed information about the health of coral reefs.”

    Mapping the health of coral reefs

    The Atlas uses satellite imagery, advanced analytics and global collaboration to create maps of and monitor threats to marine ecosystems’ benthic and geomorphic data in unprecedented detail. The Atlas is a collaborative project led by the ASU Center for Global Discovery and Conservation Science in partnership with Vulcan Inc., Planet Inc., the University of Queensland and the Coral Reef Alliance.

     

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    Arizona State University (ASU)

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  • Gray Whale Numbers Continue Decline; NOAA Fisheries Will Continue Monitoring

    Gray Whale Numbers Continue Decline; NOAA Fisheries Will Continue Monitoring

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    Newswise — The population also produced the fewest calves on record this year since counts began in 1994, an accompanying report explains.

    The 38 percent decline from a peak of about 27,000 whales in 2016 to 16,650 this year resembles past fluctuations in the eastern North Pacific population. Researchers at the Southwest Fisheries Science Center said it warrants continued close monitoring. Population counts for eastern North Pacific gray whales are typically conducted over the course of a 2-year period. However, NOAA Fisheries will add a third year counting gray whales that pass along the Central California Coast to this survey, from late December to mid-February 2023.

    “Given the continuing decline in numbers since 2016, we need to be closely monitoring the population to help understand what may be driving the trend,” said Dr. David Weller, Director of the Marine Mammal and Turtle Division at the science center. “We have observed the population changing over time, and we want to stay on top of that.”

    An increase in gray whale strandings led NOAA Fisheries to declare an Unusual Mortality Event for the population in 2019, prompting an investigation into the likely causes. That ongoing investigation has identified several likely contributors. These include ecological changes in the Arctic affecting the seafloor and the amphipods and other invertebrates living in and above the sediment and in the water column that gray whales feed on each summer, according to new research published earlier this year.

    Some gray whales may have struggled to find food amid those shifts, said Dr. Sue Ellen Moore, a University of Washington researcher who leads the UME team assessing ecological influences. She noted that gray whales feed on a wide variety of prey over an enormous range, so there could be many variables affecting how, when, and where they find food.

    While many of the roughly 600 dead whales recorded from 2019 to 2022 appeared malnourished, some did not. Some stranded whales had clearly died of other causes such as getting hit by ships or predation by killer whales. The number of strandings initially spiked in 2019 but then fell in subsequent years. That suggests that most of the gray whale population decline probably occurred in the years shortly after the UME was declared.

    “There is no one thing that we can point to that explains all of the strandings,” said Deborah Fauquier, Veterinary Medical Officer in NOAA Fisheries’ Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program, who coordinates the UME investigation. “There appears to be multiple factors that we are still working to understand.”

    Population Reflects Changing Ocean Conditions

    Gray whales are known for their visible migration along the West Coast each year. The population has fluctuated widely before, including a similar drop of roughly 40 percent from the late 1980s to the early 1990s. The population later rebounded to a new high point. Gray whales in the eastern Pacific Ocean are fully recovered from the days of commercial whaling, and were removed from the list of endangered species in 1994.

    A similar spike in strandings led to the declaration of an earlier Unusual Mortality Event in 1999 and 2000, when the population declined by around 25 percent. It later climbed back to a peak in 2015-2016. (While Table 1 in the report includes a higher estimate for 2014-2015, that number was less precise, so scientists rely on the 2015-2016 estimate.)

    Most gray whales migrate between feeding grounds in the Arctic during summer and lagoons in Baja Mexico in the winter where they nourish their newborn calves. This annual roundtrip of more than 10,000 miles exposes them to many stressors along the way. A small group of gray whales also spends the summer feeding along and around the Pacific Northwest Coast.

    The population has likely always fluctuated in response to changes in its environment, without lasting effects, said biologist Dr. Tomo Eguchi, lead author of the new NOAA Fisheries reports on the whale population abundance and calf production. “The population has rebounded multiple times from low counts in the past,” he said. “We are cautiously optimistic that the same will happen this time. Continued monitoring will determine whether and when they rebound.”

    Calf Numbers Also Decline

    NOAA Fisheries researchers track the numbers of gray whales in the population by counting southbound whales heading for Mexico. They monitor calf production by counting mothers and calves migrating north each spring from lagoons in Baja California, where some whales give birth. The most recent count that concluded in May estimated the total calf production this year at about 217. This number was down from 383 calves last year and the lowest since the counts began in 1994.

    Like the gray whale population as a whole, the number of calves born each year has also fluctuated. Low calf counts were recorded for periods of 3 to 4 years at a time before rebounding. Two of the three prior periods of low calf production have coincided with Unusual Mortality Events and declines in the population. This suggests that the same factors that affect gray whale survival likely also affect their reproduction, the report on calf numbers concludes.

    Aerial photographs of gray whales in the lagoons in Mexico showed declines in the body condition of many adult whales, underscoring that connection. “Depending upon the age of the whales, this lower body condition may have led to delayed reproduction and lower calf counts, and/or reduced survival in thin whales,” scientists reported.

    In December, teams will begin the next count by training binoculars on whales migrating south past Granite Canyon, just south of Monterey Bay in California. “What we hope to see in the next few years is that the abundance stabilizes and then starts to show signs of increase,” said Dr. Aimee Lang, a coauthor of the new reports. “We will be watching closely.”

     

    FOR MORE INFORMATION

    Gray Whales in the Eastern North Pacific

    Laguna San Ignacio Ecosystem Science Program

    2019-2022 Gray Whale Unusual Mortality Event

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    NOAA Fisheries West Coast Region

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  • UNESCO Site Machupicchu Among Peru’s 4 Awards at 2021 World Travel Awards South America

    UNESCO Site Machupicchu Among Peru’s 4 Awards at 2021 World Travel Awards South America

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    The award-winning Pacific Coast, South American destination, Peru, is a haven for nature and adventure travelers, offering diverse land, sea, and wildlife activities to experience.


    LIMA, Peru, October 28, 2021 (Newswire.com)
    –
     Peru, on the Pacific Coast of South America, is home to extraordinary ancient ruins, gorgeous beaches, lush Amazon jungles, spectacular mountains, and more, making it perfect for nature and adventure-loving travelers. It’s also one of South America’s most award-winning destinations for 2021, as informed by PROMPERU, Peru’s Export and Tourism Promotion Agency.

    Peru left the podium at the 2021 World Travel Awards South America, weighed down with four awards in a range of categories. It’s no surprise that the continent’s most famous ancient archaeological site, Machupicchu, was named South America’s Leading Tourist Attraction 2021 during the awards ceremony. As a supreme testament to the country’s wide-ranging cultural and natural wealth, Peru was also bestowed with South America’s Leading Cultural Destination 2021 and South America’s Leading Culinary Destination 2021 awards.

    Travelers can’t go wrong choosing the country, now honoring its bicentennial, another reason for celebration. With easy connections to the United States from the award-winning international airport, Peru makes for a great getaway option this coming winter season, summer in South America. Must-try nature and adventure-filled vacation activities are spread across the country and include:

    Cusco Trekking: The capital of the ancient Inca Empire, Cusco is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the Western Hemisphere and was made a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1983. The city streets retain the skillfully cut Inca stone architecture, preserved in the lower stories of overlaid Spanish colonial structures. Nearby trekking opportunities abound.

    One important trail is Camino del Inca, starting near Ollantaytambo in the Sacred Valley, ending at Machupicchu, South America’s most important archaeological site. The Inca Trail is lined with amazing ruins, hikers making the trek with the assistance of Peruvian guides and porters. There are three different routes, including the Classic Inca Trail (or Four-day Trek) and the Sacred Inca Trail (or Two-Day Trek), both meeting at the Wiñay Wayna ruins to the Inti Punku, the ‘Sun Gate’ offering a first glimpse of Machupicchu. There is also the Salkantay Alternate Trek, the longest of the three, ending at Aguas Calientes at the base of Machupicchu. Other trails include Salkantay Trek (or Salcantay), from a Quechua word meaning “Savage Mountain,” named one of the 25 best Treks in the World by National Geographic Adventure Travel Magazine.

    The Ausangate Trek is a 43-mile backpacking trip through striking Andean landscapes. The high elevations start at 12,000 ft, reaching 17,000 ft, passing small villages, glacial lakes, towering snowcapped peaks, and alpaca herds.

    Amazon Jungle Trekking: Adventure travelers also head to the Peruvian Amazon, in search of flora, fauna, and birdwatching opportunities. Many tour operators include five exciting options, including Puerto Maldonado and Iquitos, both serving as urban gateways for exploring the deeper jungle. Other destinations on their tours include the Northern Jungle with river expeditions, Parque Nacional del Manu, set in a cloud forest teeming with exotic wildlife. The beautiful biodiversity of the Amazon jungle comes through in the Rainforest Master Hike. Inside of the Tambopata National Reserve, one of the best-preserved areas of the Amazon, this Rainforest Expeditions tour lets adventurous travelers encounter rare and endangered animals.

    More: https://www.peru.travel/en

    Aquatic Activities near Cusco: Several companies offer water sports tours with stand-up paddling, adventure rafting, kayaking, and more in the wild waters of the Sacred Valley. The Urubamba River beckons the most adventurous, especially during the December through March rainy season, South American summer.

    The Sacred Valley surrounds Cusco and the ancient city of Machupicchu, the heart of the Inca Empire. This fertile farmland is dotted with Spanish colonial villages like Ollantaytambo and Pisac, the latter famed for its Sunday handicraft market and hilltop Incan citadel. Within this picturesque region is the Via Ferrata, a mountain climbing path with a permanently installed safety system, allowing beginners to move through striking mountain scenery with little skill or equipment. Climbers are attached to a steel cable, ensuring their safety, letting them concentrate on the beauty around them normally only accessible to the most skilled climbers.

    More details: https://www.peru.travel/en

    Urubamba Bicycling: One of the most beautiful vacation spots in the Sacred Valley is Urubamba. The ideal, year-round climate makes it an important destination for adventure seekers offering panoramic views of the valley and the towering peaks of the Cordillera Vilcanota. Adrenaline-spiking adventure options in a once-in-a-lifetime setting abound, from canoeing, mountain biking and horseback riding and more.

    Paddling and Kayaking in Cusco and Lake Titicaca: Tucked into the Andes at the border of Peru and Bolivia, majestic Lake Titicaca is the world’s highest navigable body of water. Legend places it as the Inca Empire’s birthplace, and the area teems with archeological treasures and Titicaca National Reserve, sheltering rare aquatic wildlife like gargantuan frogs. The Peruvian city Puno is the main gateway, with tours to this unique destination and its cool, shimmering waters.

    Surfing in Lima: With its surfer culture and cliff-lined beaches, metropolitan capital Lima resembles Los Angeles, with Miraflores offering easy access surfing. Close to the heart of the city beneath the towering cliffs of the Costa Verde coastline, the district is full of backpacker hotels ideal for adventure travelers. On the north end, Playa Makaha features rolling breaks, perfect for beginners. Redondo, on the southern side, is great for beginners and intermediates, with consistent year-round left and right reef breaks. Experienced surfers head north to Punta Roquitas and reef breaks La Pampilla, with their reliable year-round swells and lefts and rights.

    Other Lima surfer hotspots include La Herradura, in Chorrillos south of Miraflores, where swells with four-meter or 12-foot waves can be ridden for 500 meters or over 1600 feet. Farther south is Villa, for experienced surfers.

    With its incredible mix of landscapes spreading from mountains to the jungles to the sea, the adventures awaiting travelers in award-winning Peru are more accessible than ever with several direct flights to Lima from many U.S. gateways.

    For more information, visit:www.peru.travel

    For more on the 2021 World Travel Awards South America, visit: https://www.worldtravelawards.com/nominees/2021/south-america

    Media contact

    Edwin Unzalu

    Edwin.unzalu@newlink-group.com

    Source: Peru’s Export and Tourism Promotion Agency, PROMPERU

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  • Sparrow Springs Releases the Expression Collection

    Sparrow Springs Releases the Expression Collection

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    This collection of living room decor is made from a smooth concrete, river driftwood, and lustrous hand dyed wools. Due to the nature of these materials many of these pieces are irresistibly unique.

    Press Release
    –


    updated: Oct 16, 2017


    Fargo, ND, October 16, 2017 (Newswire.com)
    –
    Designer Sara Ferrari from Sparrow Springs is releasing the brand new Expression Collection. Each product will be individually made by the designer herself. The Expression Collection will be released on October 18th, 2017.

    For the first time, Sara has created an entire product line of her favorite and most popular living room décor so that hardworking women can let their home smile with their style.

    The collection will be exclusively sold on the website sparrowspringsart.com where the limited products are expected to sell out by the end of the season.

    This living room decor is designed to showcase unique home expression with style in mind that makes homeowners feel at ease in their own refuge.

    Some table accents are made from concrete which means hardworking women will be able to spend less time color matching and more time relaxing.

    Several products come in a coastal blue to capitalize on today’s trends.

    Each individual living room accent has its own name. A few examples are:

    • Willow it Rains
       
    • Sparrows
       
    • Coastal Dream
       
    • Waterfall
       
    • Guide Me

    The Expression Collection ranges in price from $35 to $175.

    Sara is excited to welcome her fans to her the new handmade product line collection.

    For more information about The Expression Collection or for an interview with Sara, please write to thenest@sparrowspringsart.com. Media high-res photos available upon request.

    About Sparrow Springs

    Sara started designing home decor after she was faced with a very real problem: no retail store décor really fit the style of her home, or the dear people she often bought gifts for. She wanted something special. After many years of creating home decor by hand, Sara’s products have started gaining notoriety in the home decor industry.  

    Source: Sparrow Springs

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  • HomeGardenandHomestead.com Releases ‘Fall-Holiday 2017 Home and Garden Guide’

    HomeGardenandHomestead.com Releases ‘Fall-Holiday 2017 Home and Garden Guide’

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    What’s new and trending for Homes, Gardens and Homesteads is included in the new online guide

    Press Release
    –


    updated: Oct 3, 2017


    SANTA FE, N.M., October 3, 2017 (Newswire.com)
    –
    HomeGardenandHomestead.com has released its Fall/Holiday Season 2017 online guide to what’s new and trending for homes and gardens. New for the fall and holiday seasons are fall yard and garden tools, new varieties of indoor plants, gifts for the home, gifts for gardeners, holiday season décor, eco-friendly deer control, backyard greenhouses, homestead and ranch products, and tips for a healthy home.

    Also included in the fall and holiday content on Home Garden and Homestead are informational stories about home and garden topics including “Five Terrific Trees to Plant this Fall,” from NatureHills.com, “One Good Tool Deserves Another,” from CobraHead.com, and “Natural Fungus Gnat Control,” from Summit Responsible Solutions.

    The modern home is a place where a family can enjoy all of the benefits of high-speed web access and also enjoy organic herbs harvested from a backyard greenhouse. It’s an interesting melding of the old and the new.

    Randall D. Schultz, Content Editor, HomeGardenandHomestead.com

    “Fall is when temperatures cool off and we split our time between inside our homes and outdoors in our yards,” said Randall D. Schultz, content editor for Home, Garden and Homestead. “As the holiday season approaches, our focus turns toward making our homes festive places to celebrate the holidays and stay comfortable during winter. So our stories for fall and holidays feature lots of late-season and indoor gardening ideas, gift ideas for home and garden, and festive holiday decorating. We want Home, Garden and Homestead to serve as an online destination that brings people closer to the lifestyle they want to live.”

    Featured in the new content on HomeGardenandHomestead.com are stories about new and cool products from American Meadows, Bird-X, Bison Pumps, CobraHead, Cozy Products, Exaco, EZ Lawn & Garden, Gothic Arch Greenhouses, Jackson & Perkins, Logee’s Tropical Plants, Nature Hills Nursery, Park Seed, Power Planter, Repellex, Sloggers, Summit Responsible Solutions, Wayside Gardens and more.

    Information for the Digital Age

    HomeGardenandHomestead.com has been called “the guide to modern living in the digital age.” The website’s content includes new and unique home and garden products ranging from tools and technology to seasonally appropriate gifts, plants and decor.

    “One of the ironies of the digital age is that millions of people want to get closer to a more natural, simpler way of life,” said Schultz. “The modern home is a place where a family can enjoy all of the benefits of high-speed web access and also enjoy organic herbs harvested from a backyard greenhouse. It’s an interesting melding of the old and the new.”

    Consumers are encouraged to read the information posted on the Home Garden and Homestead website and follow the links to the products that interest them. Media professionals can use Home, Garden and Homestead as an online resource where they can download editorial content and royalty-free photos. Editors, writers, producers and other media professionals can instantly download text and digital image files by simply clicking on the Media Room link at the top of the Home page and then selecting a story category from the left navigation list. All of the content on HomeGardenandHomestead.com is royalty and copyright free, and it can be used and disseminated by any editor, writer, blogger, producer or media person.

    The Home, Garden and Homestead blog (http://homegardenandhomestead.com/blog) keeps visitors informed with new stories throughout the year about home and garden topics. Facebook users can also “like” the Facebook page at www.facebook.com/homegardenandhomestead to receive daily posts and updates.

    For more information about HomeGardenandHomestead.com, contact Randall D. Schultz at info@homegardenandhomestead.com or 505-822-8222. 

    Source: HomeGardenandHomestead.com

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  • Rustic Adornment Releases Summer Line of Wedding Decor — the Natural Elegance Collection

    Rustic Adornment Releases Summer Line of Wedding Decor — the Natural Elegance Collection

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    Press Release
    –


    updated: Jun 12, 2017


    San Jose, CA, June 12, 2017 (Newswire.com)
    –
    On Monday, June 5th, 2017, Rustic Adornment debuted their first product launch — the Natural Elegance Collection. This California-based business features rustic wedding decor and handmade items suitable for couples who are looking for unique wedding decorations. A look at Rustic Adornment’s Natural Elegance Collection will immerse you in the classic and captivating beauty of handmade items. Celebrate the union of two individuals with special items, handcrafted and designed just for the couple’s most memorable day.

    At Rustic Adornment, all pieces are handmade from solid pine and poplar wood and painted with eco-friendly water-based paints, stains and finishes. The Natural Elegance Collection showcases 13 rustic decor items including table numbers, centerpieces, alternative guest books, card boxes, and wedding signs.The pieces of the Natural Elegance Collection can be combined to provide coordinating rustic charm for many areas of the wedding, from ceremony to reception.

    Rustic Adornment is a realization of a dream. The owner, Kati Brazil, translated her passion for woodworking, rustic style, and interest in wedding decor design into a full-fledged e-commerce business in California. Brazil remarks that this small business specializes in rustic style decor to help give your wedding day the charm and elegance that comes from natural elements. Rustic Adornment’s goal is to make your wedding day special and unique. With handmade decor from Rustic Adornment, you can be sure that you are getting beautiful pieces that will help bring the rustic elegance you desire for your wedding day.

    Couples, wedding planners, event organizers and caterers are welcome to visit launch of Rustic Adornment to get inspired and make their wedding dreams come true! More information can be found at the company website https://www.rusticadornment.com.

    About Rustic Adornment: Rustic Adornment is a company that specializes in creating handmade rustic wedding décor. Rustic Adornment is based in San Jose, California and has been providing high-quality rustic décor since 2016.

    Contact:

    You can contact Kati direct at kati@rusticadornment.com.

    You can follow Rustic Adornment on:

    Website – https://www.rusticadornment.com
    Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/rusticadornment
    Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/rusticadornmentest2017
    Pinterest – https://www.pinterest.com/rusticadornment

    Source: Rustic Adornment

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