New Year's Fireworks in Las Vegas

Watching fireworks shot from rooftops at multiple casinos and hotels is an annual tradition of celebrating New Year in Las Vegas. However, during 2008 and 2009, fireworks were banned from rooftops because of a rooftop fire caused by a welding accident at the Monte Carlo on January 25, 2008. As a result, 2009 New Year's Fireworks were set off at ground level on January 1, 2009. After poor reviews from visitors, fireworks returned to rooftops on January 1, 2010 with increased safety precautions.

Postcard US-2133896 to Germany shows the 2013 fireworks at Stratosphere on New Year's Day. This morning I was at Mirage where fireworks from Treasure Island and The Venetian could be seen at the same time. I will see whether I got some good pictures to make postcards.

Over the Rainbow in Las Vegas

Rainbow over the Mirage

It seldom rains in Las Vegas. Measured at the Las Vegas McCarran International Airport between 1981 and 2010, the average annual precipitation is about 4.19 inch or 106.4 mm. In average, there are 26.5 raining days per year; even during the wettest month in February, it has only 4 days of precipitation. It is the driest month in June when the average monthly precipitation is 0.07 inch or 1.78 mm with 0.6 raining days. (Interestingly, in English, plural "days" is used with zero or a decimal version of less than one instead of singular "day"). I used to live in West Palm Beach, Florida. In comparison, the average annual precipitation during the same period there is 62.31 inch or 1,582.67 mm with 136 raining days per year.

As a result, we rarely see rainbows in Las Vegas. Therefore, when it does occur, it's beautiful and magnificent. The postcard US-2276095 is currently traveling to Moldova featuring a rainbow over the Mirage Hotel and Casino.

On Youtube, you can watch "Over the Rainbow" from the 1939 movie "the Wizard of Oz", sung by actress Judy Garland.

Here are a few more postcards with rainbows over Las Vegas: US-2236311 with New York-New York Hotel and Casino to Ukraine and US-2205397 with Wynn Las Vegas to California, USA.

New York - New York Hotel and Casino

Wynn Las Vegas

International Day for Biological Diversity

Water and Biodiversity

My postcard US-1889056 sent to Sweden can be a perfect remembrance of the International Day for Biological Diversity, or World Biodiversity Day. currently held on May 22. It is sanctioned by United Nations to increase awareness of biodiversity issues. It was first held on December 29 from 1993 to 2000 to mark the day when the Convention on Biological Diversity went into effect in 1993. However, the date was shifted in 2000 to commemorate the adoption of the Convention at the Rio Earth Summit on May 22, 1992 . The theme for 2013 is Water and Biodiversity.

The picture on the card was taken at Mirage's indoor fountain area on September 22, 2012. Water use by casinos in Las Vegas has long been a topic for study and debate as lavish and ambitious water features in the middle of the desert often give the impression of water waste. A 2003 UNLV thesis "Consumptive Water Use at the Mirage Hotel and the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada" by Johann A. Feller indicated that consumptive water use at the Mirage Hotel and the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino is much less than previously estimated. Sara Tabatabaie, a doctoral student at the University of Colorado Boulder also discussed the water use myth in her blog in 2012. However, researchers from the Pacific Institute argued in their report Hidden Oasis that much more could be done in improving water conservation and efficiency in Las Vegas.

There are many places in Las Vegas where you can appreciate biodiversity. You can visit Springs Preserve, Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, Valley of Fire State Park, Spring Mountain Ranch State Park, Mount Charleston or Lake Mead National Recreation Area where you can observe native animals and plants. In particular, I found this site birdandhike.com very informational on bird watching and hiking around Las Vegas. They even have a section for dragonflies, (and AIRCRAFTS). 

For tourist attractions, Siegfried & Roy's Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat at the Mirage, Wildlife Habitat at the Flamingo, Bellagio Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, and Shark Reef Aquarium at Mandalay Bay are a few places where you can see exotic plants and animals.