Good Earth – The Durango Herald

Lobster population is shifting north; ocean warming blamed

PORTLAND, Maine – The lobster population has crashed to the lowest levels on record in southern New England while climbing to heights never before seen in the cold waters off Maine and other...

DATE: Aug 18, 2015 | CATEGORY: Good Earth

Air pollution killing 4,000 in China a day, U.S. study finds

WASHINGTON – Air pollution is killing about 4,000 people in China a day, accounting for 1 in 6 premature deaths in the world’s most populous country, a new study finds. Physicists...

DATE: Aug 13, 2015 | CATEGORY: Good Earth

Mushrooms planted to heal rooftop soil

Experiment aims to restore ecosystem atop Telluride’s water treatment building

DATE: Aug 12, 2015 | CATEGORY: Good Earth

Earth Briefs

Nature Studies announces programs Durango Nature Studies will offer these programs: The Durango Nature Center will be open to the public from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday...

DATE: Aug 12, 2015 | CATEGORY: Good Earth

U.S. carbon pollution from power plants hits 27-year low

WASHINGTON – Heat-trapping pollution from U.S. power plants hit a 27-year low in April, the Department of Energy announced Wednesday. A big factor was the long-term shift from coa...

DATE: Aug 5, 2015 | CATEGORY: Good Earth

Hiker safety reconsidered at this geological gem

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – A geological gem awaits hikers in the wilderness along the Arizona-Utah border. Swirls of searing reds, oranges and yellow fold into a bowl that visitors from ...

DATE: Aug 5, 2015 | CATEGORY: Good Earth

Good Earth Briefs

Nature Studies offers training for teachers Durango Nature Studies will offer the training titled “Teaching Outside the Classroom: Using the School Yard as a Learning Laboratory f...

DATE: Aug 5, 2015 | CATEGORY: Good Earth

Toxic algae blooming in warm water from California to Alaska

SEATTLE – A vast bloom of toxic algae off the West Coast is denser, more widespread and deeper than scientists feared even weeks ago, according to surveyors aboard a National Oceanic and Atm...

DATE: Aug 4, 2015 | CATEGORY: Good Earth

Hunting isn’t the biggest problem for the king of the jungle

WASHINGTON – The circle of life is closing in on the king of the jungle. When Minnesota dentist Walter Palmer killed Cecil the lion, the Internet exploded with outrage. But scient...

DATE: Jul 31, 2015 | CATEGORY: Good Earth

Good Earth Briefs

Blue Moon Hike to use Dalla trails Durango Nature Studies will host a Blue Moon Hike from 8 to 10 p.m. Friday at the Birket Trailhead in Dalla Mountain trail system. Th...

DATE: Jul 29, 2015 | CATEGORY: Good Earth

County fair is not just for kids

Hundreds of adults compete annually

DATE: Jul 29, 2015 | CATEGORY: Good Earth

Court orders EPA to redo air-pollution limits in 13 states

WASHINGTON – A federal appeals court on Tuesday ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to relax some limits it set on smokestack emissions that cross state lines and taint downwind area...

DATE: Jul 28, 2015 | CATEGORY: Good Earth

Photos: Parade launches 2024 Connie Mack World Series in FarmingtonFans line street as players march on Main Damp, overcast weather cooled off the crowd lining Main Street on Friday morning for the 2024 Connie Mack World Series Parade. The hourlong parade began shortly after 10 a.m. in front of an enthusiastic crowd.

Fans line street as players march on Main

Photos: ‘Mini Takes the States’ tour stops in DurangoHundreds of Mini Cooper vehicles occupy Fort Lewis College on Sunday; Participants began the journey in Albuquerque and will finish in Seattle

Hundreds of Mini Cooper vehicles occupy Fort Lewis College on Sunday; Participants began the journey in Albuquerque and will finish in Seattle

Photos: Boxing returns to DurangoAnimus on the Animas: 1st Annual Durango Boxing Classic at the Durango Main Mall on Saturday

Animus on the Animas: 1st Annual Durango Boxing Classic at the Durango Main Mall on Saturday

Photos and video: Going for the gold by devouring piesContestants try their best to win the Oscar’s Pie Eating Contest on Friday in Durango

Contestants try their best to win the Oscar’s Pie Eating Contest on Friday in Durango

Photo: Fireworks light the sky in DurangoDurango celebrates Independence Day on Thursday night

Durango celebrates Independence Day on Thursday night

Photos: Working with woodLocal craftsman uses wood joinery, rather than nails or screws to construct homes and other structures

Local craftsman uses wood joinery, rather than nails or screws to construct homes and other structures

2024 Fourth of July Parade draws crowd Thursday in downtown Durango

Photos: Downtown Durango hosts Fourth of July ParadeDowntown sidewalks were full for Thursday’s celebration

Downtown sidewalks were full for Thursday’s celebration

Durango Rotary Club, Parks and Recreation department host Independence Day events

Law enforcement conducts active threat training at Park Elementary SchoolResidents may see and hear police activity Thursday and Friday

Law enforcement agencies across Southwest Colorado sent officers to participate in active threat training this week at Park Elementary School in Durango. Those in the neighborhood can expect police vehicles parked on the premises, officers in tactical gear conducting exercises inside and outside the school, and signs advising that training is in progress. The sounds of shouting, airsoft weapons and the popping of a starter pistol will also be audible near the school, said Karla Sluis, spokeswoman for Durango School District 9-R.Sluis said that members of the school district’s safety department have gone door-to-door with flyers notifying residents around Park Elementary School about the training.

Hosted by the Durango Police Department and the La Plata County Sheriff’s Office, this week’s voluntary training invited officers from law enforcement agencies across a five-county region of Southwest Colorado encompassing La Plata, Archuleta, San Juan, Montezuma and Dolores counties.

La Plata County Sheriff’s Office deputy Durango Police Department Deputy Mike Latham, lead instructor for this week's training, said Wednesday and the first half of Thursday were mostly preparatory, teaching officers the school’s layout and devising scenarios, whereas the latter half of Thursday and Friday residents should anticipate some noise as active threat scenarios play out.

Latham said active threat training teaches officers proper protocol during active threat scenarios, especially in densely populated areas where they have become increasingly common.Park Elementary School is not the only Durango School District facility law enforcement has conducted active threat training. Latham said schools lend themselves well to this sort of training because, “It gives us all kinds of doors to work on, different rooms, different scenarios we can run. We can pretend it’s a mall with nice big corridors, we can even pretend it’s an outdoor area in the gymnasium.”Latham has participated in active threat training multiple times in the past and described the drills as exhilarating and nerve-wracking. He said one of the training’s main goals is teaching officers how to manage stress and remain calm with lives on the line.

“I take a pulse oximeter in the morning and get a baseline on their heart rates,” Latham said. “And sometimes, just before they’re about to engage a threat, I say ‘Timeout.’ Put it (the oximeter) on there, and their heart rate’s skyrocketed to 140, 150, 160 just in training.”

Latham said throughout his career active threat training has evolved to become safer for officers and fall in line with increasingly professional police standards.“When I first started we were just running into halls and rooms hoping for the best,” Latham said. “Now the tactic is still to get there, still stop the taking of lives, but tactics are much better than they were 20 years ago.”

Residents may see and hear police activity Thursday and Friday

Lobster population is shifting north; ocean warming blamed

Air pollution killing 4,000 in China a day, U.S. study finds

Mushrooms planted to heal rooftop soil

Earth Briefs

U.S. carbon pollution from power plants hits 27-year low

Hiker safety reconsidered at this geological gem

Good Earth Briefs

Toxic algae blooming in warm water from California to Alaska

Hunting isn’t the biggest problem for the king of the jungle

Good Earth Briefs

County fair is not just for kids

Court orders EPA to redo air-pollution limits in 13 states

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