Earth

THE PRESIDENTIAL debates had no questions about the environment. I did hear about the future of our families, but Earth is shaping up with no future. Drilling for oil was a pretty big discussion in one debate, but only more drilling. Bacteria and virus are thriving, droughts are becoming more severe, temperatures are rising at an alarming rate, yet no candidate wants to discuss these issues. Studying to become an environmental scientist in college, I know my job outlook is good, but for all the wrong reasons.

ROSWELL, N.M. - Extreme athlete Felix Baumgartner landed gracefully on Earth after a 24-mile jump Sunday from the stratosphere in a daring, dramatic feat that officials said made him the first skydiver to fall faster than the speed of sound. Baumgartner came down safely in the eastern New Mexico desert about nine minutes after jumping from his capsule 128,100 feet, roughly 24 miles, above Earth. Brian Utley, a jump observer from the International Federation of Sports Aviation, said figures show Baumgartner reached a maximum speed of 833.9 mph - Mach 1.24, which is faster than the speed of sound.

THE TAMPA BAY RAYS made Felix Hernandez's perfect game look even more impressive by roughing up the visiting Los Angeles Angels during an impressive four-game series sweep. Matt Moore (10-7) shrugged off home runs by Mike Trout and Albert Pujols on Sunday to win his fourth straight decision, and the Rays beat the fading Angels, 8-3. Tampa Bay tagged Zack Greinke (1-2) and outscored the Angels 37-14 in the series - setting a franchise record for runs in a four-game set. "I really believe that's a testament to our players and the way they are able to put things in the trash can immediately afterwards if something bad happens," manager Joe Maddon said.

NASA has dubbed the Mars landing planned for early Monday morning the "seven minutes of terror" because that's how long the craft has to slow from 13,000 miles an hour to zero. The entry starts with a parachute, then rockets, and, finally, a novel "sky crane" with a cable that will lower a rover the size of a car gently onto the planet's surface. Though previous craft have landed on relatively gentle terrain, this is the first aimed at a precise spot close to more hazardous topography.

LOS ANGELES - SpaceX's Dragon space capsule, which last week became the world's first privately built and operated spacecraft to dock with the International Space Station, is scheduled to return to Earth on Thursday morning. The unmanned capsule is set to splash down at 11:44 a.m. Philadelphia time in the Pacific Ocean hundreds of miles west of Southern California. It will be the culmination of a historic mission carried out by the Hawthorne, Calif.-based company, officially known as Space Exploration Technologies Corp.

Don't look to the heavens for signs of apocalyptic prophecies coming true. But over the next month, the skies will offer several interesting sights, including a solar eclipse and a rare view of Venus crossing the sun. Only one sight, though, will be easy to view here. ( Weather-permitting , of course.) That's Saturday night's so-called "super moon," which will rise shortly before 8 p.m. While it's near the horizon will be the ideal time for viewing, says Franklin Institute astronomer Derrick Pitts.

FUNNY THING about the lists of "helpful planet-saving tips" that show up as Earth Day (Sunday) approaches: They rarely include, much less spotlight, the daily action that could have the most impact: cutting down your meat and dairy consumption. The United Nations has repeatedly stated that we must drastically change our eating patterns, given that somewhere from 18 percent (if you credit the U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization 2006 estimate) to 51 percent (Worldwatch Institute's estimate, 2009)

Celebrate Earth Day on Sunday at the National Constitution Center and learn how you can go green. From noon to 5 p.m., guests can learn how to become active citizens working for a better environment. You can take the "It Is Easy Being Green" quiz and see how much you know about living an eco-friendly life, and learn about environmental trailblazers such as Lady Bird Johnson. At 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., guests can do the math by calculating the founding fathers' carbon footprint to see how environmentally friendly Philadelphia was during Revolutionary times.

Would you live in a house made of dirt? The answer, I'm guessing, is no. As a building material, dirt has an image problem. Mud dwellings are practically synonymous with third-world poverty. At best, an earth structure is something you expect to encounter in an old hippie compound. Yet some of the world's most magnificent structures are made of little more than dirt and water, from New Mexico's pueblos to the great Djinguereber mosque in Timbuktu. Now, thanks to the effort of several committed architects, dirt is making a comeback, this time as the material of choice for modern buildings, including multistory ones.

SYDNEY - Sydney's iconic Harbor Bridge and Opera House went dark on Saturday as Australians switched off lights around the country for an hour as part of a global effort to shine a spotlight on climate change. Hundreds of landmarks around the world including Washington's National Cathedral, London's Clock Tower, the Great Wall of China, and Berlin's Brandenburg Gate were being dimmed at 8:30 p.m. local time. The central Sydney icons have been taking part in the annual event since Earth Hour began as a Sydney-only event in 2007.