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The Hypocrisy of the environmentalists in congress never ceases to amaze me. Last year we had Ted Kennedy fighting electric power generating wind mill Called cape wind. Cape Wind was proposing America’s first offshore wind farm on Horseshoe Shoal in Nantucket Sound. Miles from the nearest shore, 130 wind turbines will harness the wind to produce up to 420 megawatts of clean, renewable energy.Teddy Kennedy didn't want those wind mills in HIS back yard. California's Mojave Desert is ideally suited for solar energy production but not according to Diane Feinstein. Taking a cue from "Uncle Teddy, Feinstein is fighting the...

Sen. Dianne Feinstein said development of solar and wind facilities in California's Mojave Desert would violate the spirit of what conservationists had intended when they donated much of the land to the public

Earlier this month, we asked you to call your U.S. Representatives to show support for the national Omnibus Public Lands Bill, containing wilderness desig- nations for over 700,000 acres in California. (If you haven’t called your representative yet, please do so now.) Now we have an opportunity to get even more of California’s wild desert places formally designated as wilderness — the highest protection our public lands can receive from the federal government.All you need to do is write a quick, heart-felt note to Sen. Dianne Feinstein mentioning why you love wild desert places in general, and mentioning a few...

WASHINGTON -- California's Mojave Desert may seem ideally suited for solar energy production, but concern over what several proposed projects might do to the aesthetics of the region and its tortoise population is setting up a potential clash between conservationists and companies seeking to develop renewable energy. Feinstein said Friday she intends to push legislation that would turn the land into a national monument, which would allow for existing uses to continue while preventing future development.

WASHINGTON (AP) — More than 500,000 acres in the Mojave Desert would be off-limits to wind or solar energy production under legislation Sen. Dianne Feinstein intends to introduce. The land is coveted by companies seeking to develop alternative energy, setting up a potential clash with one of the more powerful members of Congress. The land would seem ideally suited for solar energy production. Nineteen companies have submitted applications to build solar or wind facilities on the property, but such development would violate the spirit of what conservationists had intended when they donated much of the land to the public, said...

Scientists have begun moving the Mojave Desert's flagship species, the desert tortoise, to make room for tank training at the Army's Fort Irwin despite protests by some conservationists. The controversial project, billed as the largest desert tortoise move in California history, involves transferring 770 endangered reptiles from Army land to a dozen public plots overseen by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. Fort Irwin has sought to expand its 643,000-acre training site into tortoise territory for two decades. The Army said it needs an extra 131,000 acres to accommodate faster tanks and longer-range weapons used each month to train some...

An Army Ranger who served in Iraq and Afghanistan took maps of the Mojave Desert and abandoned his car late last week southwest of Needles, sheriffís officials said Sunday. But rescuers ó including volunteers from Redlands and Yucaipa ó helped find the young soldier alive and unhurt Sunday afternoon on a mountaintop south of the Mojave National Preserve, said San Bernardino County sheriffís Deputy Dave Pichotta, who was assigned to the search. Andrew Stone, 20, of Wisconsin was found alone and uninjured about 1:30 p.m. Sunday on a peak in the Sacramento Mountains, said Pichotta, a volunteer forces coordinator working...

OCT. 9 3:56 P.M. ET A driverless Volkswagen won a $2 million race across the rugged Nevada desert Sunday, beating four other robot-guided vehicles that completed a Pentagon-sponsored contest aimed at making warfare safer for humans. The race displayed major technological leaps since last year's inaugural race, when none of the self-driving vehicles crossed the finish line. Stanley the Volkswagen, designed by Stanford University, zipped through the 132-mile Mojave Desert course in six hours and 53 minutes Saturday, using only its computer brain and sensors to navigate rough and twisting desert and mountain trails.

Semifinalists Named in $2 Million Mojave Desert Robot RaceBy Alicia Chang The Associated Press Published: Jun 6, 2005 LOS ANGELES (AP) - Let the battle of the machines begin again. Forty self-navigating robots were chosen Monday to compete in the Oct. 8 sequel to last year's first-ever robot race across the Mojave Desert. Only half of the semifinalists will qualify for a spot on the starting line, based on how they maneuver - without human help - through a series of obstacle courses. The stakes are higher this time around: Organizers of the Pentagon-sponsored race doubled the prize money after...

The Mojave Desert (search) is not the kind of hard-scrapple place you'd expect to find the latest battle in the culture wars. But that's exactly where the ACLU is battling with locals to tear down a cross that was erected as a tribute to World War I veterans.

A federal judge in Riverside, Calif., has issued orders for the destruction of the solitary Roman cross at the Mojave Desert World War I Veterans Memorial. The court ruled in favor of the American Civil Liberties Union to nullify an act of Congress last year sponsored by Congressman Jerry Lewis, R-Calif., which authorized a land exchange which would place the cross site on private land and in private hands in a land exchange. The ACLU contended the land exchange was a "sham" to evade the court's injunctive order to destroy the cross, first issued in 2002. The court has so...

The first of 15 driverless robots began trundling across the Mojave Desert on Saturday in an unprecedented race for $1 million in government-funded prize money. First out of the gate was Carnegie Mellon University's converted Humvee, nicknamed Sandstorm, which took off at a fast clip. Within 15 minutes it had covered five miles of the roughly 150-mile course. "That's amazing. It's moving. It's moving. For a million dollars, I'd move too," said spectator Arturo Martinez. The vehicles were leaving the starting line at staggered times, racing against the clock rather than each other. The Pentagon's research and development agency plans...

The robots are coming.   At dawn today (about 9 a.m. EST), 15 of the strangest looking vehicles ever to put rubber to the road will rev their engines at Barstow's Slash X bar and barbecue and head out into the Mojave Desert.   Officially, the destination is Primm, Nev., a glitzy casino resort 200 miles to the east. But the real race is not to Primm. This is a race into the future.   A big red Humvee called Sandstorm, built by a robotics team from Carnegie Mellon University, will have the pole position, thanks to its fastest time...

MOJAVE, CA (September 26, 2003) -- Rocket manufacturers Interorbital Systems (IOS) announced their intention to launch the first teenager into space. Justin Houchin, a 16-year old high school graduate, robotics enthusiast, and Eagle Scout candidate, is seeking sponsorship to complete the purchase of a $50,000 ticket to ride aboard a rocket currently under construction by Interorbital Systems at their Mojave, California facilities. Justin's supporters made a down payment on a suborbital space tourism ticket for the young man who has taken the first step toward becoming the world's 'First Teenager in Space.' At the recent Palms to Pines Air Race,...

General Information Edwards Air Force Base, California — The 2003 Open House and Air Show at Edwards is scheduled for Oct. 25 and 26, 2003 with the gates opening at 7 a.m. and the flying tentatively set to begin at 9 a.m. and the event closing at 4:30 p.m. There is no admission or parking fee. The U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds (http://www.airforce.com/thunderbirds/), and several other aerial demonstrations are scheduled to appear at this event, which will celebrate 100 yeas of powered flight. This event showcases the aircraft systems and capabilities of the Air Force Flight Test Center, NASA Dryden Flight...

<p>EL MIRAGE DRY LAKE, Calif. (AP) - Something was burning even hotter than the Mojave Desert as Caltech students conducted test-runs of a robot they hope will be up to speed when they go after a $1 million prize offered by a Pentagon agency.</p>

DARPA intends to conduct a challenge of autonomous ground vehicles between Los Angeles and Las Vegas in March of 2004. A cash award of $1 million will be granted to the team that fields the first vehicle to complete the designated route within a specified time limit. The purpose of the challenge is to leverage American ingenuity to accelerate the development of autonomous vehicle technologies that can be applied to military requirements. Many of the details of the event are being developed, and new information will be posted to this web site as soon as possible.The current version of...

The Pentagon is offering $1 million to whoever builds an unmanned vehicle that can cross up to 250 miles of some of the toughest terrain imaginable, the Mojave Desert between Los Angeles and Las Vegas. Competitors are not allowed any type of remote control to maneuver around whatever obstacle the desert may throw at them. No one will be able to change a flat tire or refuel, either.

<p>LOS ANGELES — The high-desert house where a man suspected of killing a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy was holed up erupted in flames Friday night after authorities attempted to flush him out with tear gas and a battering ram.</p>

A 6-foot cross in the Mojave National Preserve must go, a federal judge ruled Wednesday. Attorneys for the American Civil Liberties Union argued the cross violated the Constitution because it was a religious symbol on public land, and U.S. District Court Judge Robert J. Timlin of Riverside ruled in their favor. The cross atop an outcropping 11 miles south of Interstate 15 between Barstow and Las Vegas dates to 1934. A prospector, John "Riley" Bembry, raised a cross to honor World War I veterans and asked a friend, almost as a dying wish, to make sure it remained there. After...