Free Republic

Russia's Black Sea Fleet has told Ukrainian forces in Crimea to surrender by 5.am (0300 GMT) on Tuesday or face a military assault, Interfax news agency quoted a source in the Ukrainian Defence Ministry as saying. The ultimatum, Interfax said, was issued by Alexander Vitko, the fleet's commander.

No one knows how much is left, but humankind can't wait any longer before coming up with alternativesAre global oil supplies about to peak? Are they, in other words, about to reach their maximum and then go into decline? There is a simple answer to this question: no one has the faintest idea. Consider these two statements: 1. "Last year Saudi Aramco made credible claims that as much as 500bn-700bn barrels remain to be discovered in the kingdom." 2. "Saudi Arabia clearly seems to be nearing or at its peak output and cannot materially grow its oil production." The first...

<p>The most comprehensive mapping of California's natural resources is now available to the average person -- for free -- online.</p> <p>The California Digital Conservation Atlas -- a kind of Mapquest for natural resources -- combines maps of urban growth projections, polluted rivers, toxic sites, floodplains, land trusts, fish consumption warnings and conservation plans.</p>