backyardnature.com is   backyard nature,  backyard wildlife,   and green business for consumers
backyard lawn and garden plants including mushrooms in forestry and urban natural areas
Homepage

HOME & GARDEN
Animals: Pets & Wildlife
Home Improvement
Natural Housing
Gardening
Lawncare
Conservation Tips

Green & Sustainable
Urban Agriculture & Farming
Organic Food
Energy Efficiency
Transportation
Community
Nature Tips
Health
TRAVEL to SoCal
Eco & Nature Travel
California Nature
California Beach Communities
Hiking & Camping
Events Calendar
California Green Solutions
KIDS EYE VIEW
Squirrels
Birds
Bird Profiles
Buddy's Diner
Insects & Weird Critters
Plants & Green Stuff
Other Fun Stuff
Nature Education Center
Naturalists
INSPIRATION ETC.
Scrapbook
California Scrapbook
Japan Scrapbook
Naturalists & Heroes
Backyard Blessings
Nature Education
Nature Art & Illustration
Nature Films & Video



"Every child should have mud pies, grasshoppers, waterbugs, tadpoles, frogs & turtles, elderberries, wild strawberries, acorns, hickory nuts, trees to climb, animals to pet, hayfields, pine cones, rocks to roll, sand, snakes, huckleberries and hornets – and any child who has been deprived of these has been deprived of the best part of his education." -Luther Burbank 1849 - 1926
ABOUT US
Published by
Solutions For Green We also publish California Green Solutions and a series of blogs about healthy living solutions.

PRIVACY POLICY
We don't share your information with anyone else. We ask that parents subscribe to the newsletter. We respect our community's children. We believe we are part of "our village" and need to care for one another.

california native plants are poppies for wildflowers and native plant ecosystem

For more sustainable business information, visit CaliforniaGreenSolutions.com for Sustainable Workplace and Green Products, www.SunshineByDesign.com and ~ Movie Industry Marketing for Indie Filmmaking Tips Arkansas Pet Services ~ BLTNetwork.com for Lifestyles ~ Home and Garden Habitat, Organics and Sustainability
organic foods, organic landscaping, organic farming and organic products for babies, kids and adults.

Natural Air Isn't Always a Spring Breeze

The force of flying debris is the greatest threat for injuries during a tornado. Now, based upon field observations in Oklahoma, Texas Tech University researchers are confident an in-residence shelter of the type designed at Texas Tech can survive an F4 or F5 class storm.

Texas Tech wind researchers traveled to the Oklahoma City area to survey damage and find additional ways to save lives. In Del City, Okla., they located an in-residence shelter that survived the storm and withstood the devastating winds of Monday's deadly tornado. It protected and saved the lives of Del City residents Beth Bartlett and her mother, Norma Bartlett, and their pets. The Bartletts' shelter was built in a walk-in closet in a bedroom.

"The shelter was wonderful. It saved my life. I will have one when I rebuild my new house," said Beth Bartlett.

To the naked eye, it looks like any other room in the house. What is not seen however, is the reinforced concrete or other impact resistant material with which the safe room is constructed. It is the type of shelter that professors from Texas Tech have designed after nearly 30 years of research on the effects of winds, such as those from tornadoes and hurricanes.

"The classic picture that really inspired the concept of the above ground shelter was a bathroom that was standing and it was the only thing standing for some distance around. We design for what we consider is about the worst case tornado of 250 miles per hour, that cover more than 99 percent of all the tornadoes that have occurred in the U.S.," said Ernst Kiesling, Ph.D., professor of civil engineering at Texas Tech.

Kiesling said that the in-residence shelter offers peace of mind. "When you consider that, regardless of the weather, you can go about your normal living patterns and feel that the safest place for you to be is at home, that's a tremendous advantage," said Kiesling.

Larry J. Tanner, a Texas Tech research associate, professional engineer and registered architect, surveyed Bartlett's shelter. "It's awesome. There is not a crack or a tear in it. It was perfectly safe," said Tanner.

Texas Tech researchers are constantly working on improving storm safety by performing damage investigations following tornadoes and hurricanes. Three field teams are in Oklahoma, and more teams will travel to severe storm sites, as the 1999 tornado season continues.

If you are interested in obtaining design plans for an in-residence shelter, Texas Tech and the Federal Emergency Management Agency have released a booklet called "Taking Shelter From the Storm." A free copy can be received by calling FEMA at 1-888-565-3896.

More information also is available on the internet at Wind.ttu.edu.

For more articles about NATURE EXPLORATION

Leaves of 3 Leave them be
Think Global - Act Local!
Certify Your Backyard Wildlife Habitat
Last Child in the Woods: Saving our children from nature-deficit disorder
Favorite Quotes about Nature
Bio-Diesel solving energy shortages