The L.A. Times has an interesting gallery of photos of unusual travel destinations. It's worth a look but be forewarned, the site will resize your browser window.

Wildland fires are becoming so very prevalent as more people move to the fringes of urban areas, called exurbs. This creates a wildland/urban interface that makes property destruction all the more likely. Read Amanda's latest article on wildland fires and consider the problem. Should zoning prohibit such development or should something else be done? Share your thoughts by commenting...

The G8 begins a meeting today in L'Aquila, Italy, which was the site of a magnitude 6.3 earthquake last April. Due to safety concerns to protect the world's top leaders, an earthquake evacuation plan has been developed to helicopter out Prime Minister Stephen Harper, President Nicolas Sarkozy, Chancellor Angela Merkel, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, Prime Minister Taro Aso, President Dmitry Medvedev, Prime Minister Gordon Brown, and President Barack Obama in the event of another earthquake.

Take a look at this photo essay from The New York Times that records the situation in America's cities where major construction projects have been stopped suddenly due to the economic situation.