Louisiana is in a desperate battle to save what remains of its coastal wetlands, which are disappearing at the rate of a football field--size area every 38 minutes. Most people are unaware of the devastating transformation of this remote region, though the effects are detrimental for the entire country economically, culturally, and environmentally. Hoping that art will inspire concern where statistics have not, and focusing on the marshlands' beauty rather than their destruction, nature photographer C. C. Lockwood and painter Rhea Gary have joined together in Marsh Mission to show that a picture is worth at least a thousand words. Their rapturous thirty photographs and thirty paintings may well leave one speechless. For an entire year, C.C. immersed himself in the wetlands, living on a houseboat -- the Wetland Wanderer -- with his wife, Sue, a schoolteacher, who created an interactive classroom from the boat via the Internet. They covered more than 5,000 miles, taking the pulse of their environs and documenting everything from oil rigs to egrets and vivid setting suns. Rhea sometimes joined the Lockwoods and other times ventured out in her own bateau, designed to hold an easel for making oil-on-paper sketches. She produced the final oil paintings on canvas in her studio. In his photographs, C.C. captures the quiet, hidden activity of the wetlands in all their paradisaical aspects. Breathtaking detail -- the reward of day-in and day-out vigilance. Rhea conveys her emotional response to the light, color, and mood of the landscape with bold impressionistic strokes in raspberry, tangerine, lime, fuchsia, azure, and yellow. Hot -- like the culture and the climate of south Louisiana. Together, the two impart an aesthetic experience that explains better than any map or scientific data the irreplaceable treasure being lost. A narrative by each artist enhances their visual testimony and gives a rare glimpse into the creative process. Formed by silt deposits from the Mississippi River, Louisiana's coastal region constitutes 40 percent of all U.S. marshlands, but it is sinking at an alarming rate because the river's leveed banks -- while essential for flood control and ship navigation -- obstruct silt replenishment. With Marsh Mission, C. C. Lockwood and Rhea Gary offer a visionary tribute to this endangered, national natural resource. Their images should arouse awareness, appreciation, and, especially, action.

A series of clues in Spanish lead four real kids down California's famous Old Mission Trail in search of a solution to a mystery of history and hilarity! LOOK what's in this mystery - people, places, history, and more! Definition of missions, and their functions in the past and present Š Mission architecture and design Š Missions and the California Gold Rush Š Why missions were founded, and the hardships involved Š IndiansŠ reactions to the missions, and the effects of the missions on the Indians Š Father Junipero Serra's work with the missions and his burial Š Important facts about each mission the group visits, including information on architecture, present-day status of the mission, the bells in each mission, circumstances surrounding the missionsŠ foundings, and other distinctive trivia Š foundings, and other distinctive trivia Š Secularization Š El Camino Real Š Ojo de Dios craft Š Mission La PurŠsima Š Concepci-n, Lompoc Š Mission Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara Š Mission Santa Solvang Š Mission Snaventura, San Buenaventura Š Mission San Juan Capistrano, San Juan Capistrano Š Mission San Gabriel Arcangel, San Gabriel Š Mission San Fernando Rey de Espa-a, Mission Hills Š Mission San Antonio de Padua, Jolon Š Mission Nuestra Se-ora de la Soledad, Soledad Š Mission San Francisco de As's (or Mission Dolores), San Francisco. This book was nominated for the prestigious 2004 Beatty Award! Like all of Carole Marsh Mysteries, this mystery incorporates history, geography, culture and cliffhanger chapters that will keep kids begging for more! This mystery includes SAT words, educational facts, fun and humor, built-in book club and activities. Below is the Reading Levels Guide for this book: Grade Levels: 3-6 Accelerated Reader Reading Level: 5.7 Accelerated Reader Points: 3 Accelerated Reader Quiz Number: 74565 Lexile Measure: 870 Fountas & Pinnell Guided Reading Level: Q Developmental Assessment Level: 40

Blast off with Christina and Grant as they try to solve a mystery bigger than the state of Texas! On a trip with Mimi and Papa to Space Center Houston, the kids learn that a valuable moon rock has been stolen! Houston, we have a problem. Could a cowboy or an astronaut (or both) be involved? Kids will learn about the history of the space program, famous astronauts, different spacecraft, zero gravity, moon rocks, and even how astronauts go to the bathroom (very carefully!) This cliff-hanging adventure by award-winning author Carole Marsh, explores the Space Center Houston, TX, the Walking W. Ranch in Austin, TX, Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, FL and more. Buckle your seat belts - this mystery is out of the world! LOOK what's in this mystery - people, places, history, and more! Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas Š Blast Off Theater at Space Center Houston Š Simulation Ride Take-off of the Space Shuttle Š Moon Rock display Š Astronaut Gallery Š Gallery of Planets Š Kids Space Place Š Zero G Diner Š Mission Control Room Š Shuttle Flight Control Room Š Rocket Park Š Neutral Buoyancy Lab Š Walking W Ranch in Austin, Texas Š Cape Canaveral Space Center, Florida Š Neil Armstrong Š Buzz Aldrin Š Alan Shepard Š Freedom 7 Š Gordon Cooper Š Faith 7 Š John Glenn Š Apollo 11 Š Gemini Mission Š Edward White Š Mercury Š Ham, the first Chimpanzee in space Š Early Space capsules Š NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration Š Moon Rocks Š Zero Gravity Š Saturn V rocket Š Planets - Jupiter, Saturn Š Astroturf Š Tumbleweeds Š Oil Discovery Š Houston History Š General Sam Houston Š The space race between Russian and the United States (Gemini Mission; Mercury; Apollo) Š Space food and water Š Everyday living on the space station Š Tiles on the space shuttle Š Items improved because of the space program (tennis shoes; cordless tools) Š Astronaut lingo Š Texas history Like all of Carole Marsh Mysteries, this mystery incorporates history, geography, culture and cliffhanger chapters that will keep kids begging for more! This mystery includes SAT words, educational facts, fun and humor, built-in book club and activities. Below is the Reading Levels Guide for this book: Grade Levels: 3-6 Accelerated Reader Reading Level: 4.7 Accelerated Reader Points: 2 Accelerated Reader Quiz Number: 133199 Lexile Measure: 720 Fountas & Pinnell Guided Reading Level: Q Developmental Assessment Level: 40

In 1968 when I forsook horticulture and plant physiology to try, with the help of Sea Grant funds, wetland ecology, it didn’t take long to discover a slim volume published in 1959 by the University of Georgia and edited by R. A. Ragotzkie, L. R. Pomeroy, J. M. Teal, and D. C. Scott, entitled “Proceedings of the Salt Marsh Conference” held in 1958 at the Marine Institute, Sapelo Island, Ga. Now forty years later, the Sapelo Island conference has been the major intellectual impetus, and another Sea Grant Program the major backer, of another symposium, the “International Symposium: Concepts and Controversies in Tidal Marsh Ecology”. This one re-examines the ideas of that first conference, ideas that stimulated four decades of research and led to major legislation in the United States to conserve coastal wetlands. It is dedicated, appropriately, to two then young scientists – Eugene P. Odum and John M. Teal – whose inspiration has been the starting place for a generation of coastal wetland and estuarine research. I do not mean to suggest that wetland research started at Sapelo Island. In 1899 H. C. Cowles described successional processes in Lake Michigan freshwater marsh ponds. There is a large and valuable early literature about northern bogs, most of it from Europe and the former USSR, although Eville Gorham and R. L. Lindeman made significant contributions to the American literature before 1960. V. J.

Nominated as one of America’s best-loved novels by PBS’s The Great American Read Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars. Now, he's sure he'll be the first person to die there. After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive—and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive. Chances are, though, he won't have time to starve to death. The damaged machinery, unforgiving environment, or plain-old "human error" are much more likely to kill him first. But Mark isn't ready to give up yet. Drawing on his ingenuity, his engineering skills—and a relentless, dogged refusal to quit—he steadfastly confronts one seemingly insurmountable obstacle after the next. Will his resourcefulness be enough to overcome the impossible odds against him?