Abstract Earth and our Moon intercept tiny fractions of the high–quality power generated by the Sun. Earth’s oceans and atmosphere, modified by the life of the growing biosphere, moderate the day–night swings of temperature to an average global temperature of 15°C (59°F). Our moderating biosphere enabled humans to evolve to where our industries now consume increasing parts of the ancient (i.e., fossil fuels, high–grade minerals, and others) and modern biosphere (i.e., atmospheric oxygen, clean water, and others) and are significantly degrading the modern atmosphere, oceans, and biosphere to provide us with thermal and electric power and other goods and services. Our ancient terrestrial resources cannot provide us sustainable economic growth and security. Natural sunlight on Earth cannot enable a growing economy. At Earth’s surface, sunlight is unpredictably irregular and requires massive power collection, electric distribution, and power storage to provide somewhat reliable commercial electric power. In contrast, sunlight falls reliably onto the Moon, unimpeded by atmospheric clouds, rain, fog, and dust or life. Very low–mass solar–power collectors constructed on the Moon from lunar soils can convert the collected sunlight into beams of microwave photons that can be directed to receivers on Earth. These receivers can efficiently output low–cost commercial electric power. The beams dependably pass through all atmospheric conditions and can be provided night and day. Electric energy costs can decrease by a factor of 10 or more. This massless electric power enables a growing global economy that is sustainable and clean.

Abstract U.S. military installations increasingly have become de facto bioreserves as the result of legacy and current land uses, urbanization, and historical siting of installations. The relative value of military lands as bioreserves compared to land holdings of other federal agencies is not proportional to total land area. Ironically, a significant reason that U.S. military installations have become important bioreserves is that they were not established with the purpose of conserving or extracting natural resources. This historical factor has resulted in a broad representation of U.S. ecoregions on military lands and largely has shielded those lands from the habitat loss and degradation that has occurred in surrounding regions due to urbanization, agricultural development, and other non-military land uses. Fort Hood, Texas, is used as a case study to illustrate the characteristics of military installations that fit the model for bioreserves as areas for conservation of biological resources and processes in the context of human use of the environment. A major current challenge for management of natural resources on military lands is that the value of U.S. military lands as bioreserves is increasing as surrounding habitats and natural communities continue to be degraded.

Abstract Unsurfaced roads, common throughout both private and public sectors, are the source of engineering, economic, and ecological concerns. The U.S. Army currently maintains a large number of unsurfaced roads on its training and testing installations. These road networks must be maintained in a safe and serviceable condition to sustain training and testing requirements. Fort Leonard Wood’s (FLW) road network was examined to identify present problems and future engineer training requirements so that a proper maintenance plan could be recommended. Standard U.S. Army methods were used. A road management system was developed using a dynamic digital database of road conditions linked to the FLW Geographic Information System (GIS). The field data, the extent of road distresses and severity level measurements, were used to determine the unsurfaced road condition index (URCI). A repair budget was estimated for road segments with a URCI value below an established threshold. GIS analyses correlated URCI values to physical and operational conditions. Well-graded soils with a low plastic index were correlated to high URCI values. Operations data were examined to identify types of use, requested maintenance, and the resulting road condition. URCI values were higher for frequently traveled and maintained roads. Continuation of current reductions in maintenance will result in higher repair costs and possible road closures. Road rehabilitation to accommodate future traffic volume and increased vehicle loads will require proper selection of geometric design parameters, aggregate type, gradation, and layer thickness.