Climate Change Causing Birds to Shrink (Links)
Navy To Conduct Warfare Training Near Right Whale Calving Grounds The training range will be constructed near the only known calving grounds for the North Atlantic right whale, a species whose total population is thought to be around 300 individuals. On the Prowl For Water-Use Scofflaws Since June, nearly 700 citations have been issued to L.A. residents caught violating the city’s tightened water laws. San Diego Company Fined $600,000 for Groundwater Contamination Regional water pollution cops fined an industrial company $600,000 and threatened to nearly double the penalty if it doesn’t meet deadlines leading up to treatment of a contaminated groundwater plume in El Cajon. Alaska’s Kensington Gold Mine Gets Go-Ahead The Army Corps of Engineers has green-lighted a controversial plan to dump millions of tons of waste into Lower Slate Lake. U.S. Military Says to Act Now or ‘Pay Later’ For Climate Change U.S. military intelligence studies have concluded that over the next 20 to 30 years, the world’s vulnerable regions will food and water shortages, and catastrophic flooding, which could demand costly American humanitarian relief or military response. Climate Change Causing Birds to Shrink Global warming is making birds smaller. Exxon Mobil vs. New York City New York City claims that Exxon Mobil knew that a certain additive used in their gasoline would contaminate groundwater, but used it anyway. ExxonMobil Pleads Guilty to Killing Protected Birds The company will pay $600,000 in fines and fees, and most of the 85 birds that died were exposed to industrial pollution. Russian Oil Rigs Just 45 Miles From Florida? Cuba will allow Russia to look for oil and gas in its territorial waters. Biologists Demystify Elusive War Zone Bacterium The bacterium Acinetobacter baumannii causes mortality rates as high as 75 percent in the Middle East. Houshold Spices Provide Eco-friendly Pesticides for Organics Well-known spices such as rosemary, thyme, clove, and mint are becoming organic agriculture’s key weapons against insect pests as the industry tries to satisfy increased demands for organic produce. How Does College Major Affect Religious Faith? College students who major in the social sciences and humanities are likely to become less religious, while those who in education are likely to become more religious. I Say Spend. You Say No. We’re in Love. When it comes to money, opposites do attract: “spendthrifts” and “tightwads” tend to marry.
Pastor Urges His Flock to Bring Guns to Church (Links)
An Incoherent Truth On health care, the conservative Democrats can’t extract major concessions on the shape of health care reform without dooming the whole project. What’s Cost Got to Do With It? Costs have skewed the debate on health care much like they have the debate on climate change—as if business-as-usual on either of them will be magically cost-free. Bush Officials: Where Are They Now? A guide to who’s cashing in. A Day of Reckoning for Bush’s ‘Torture’ Lawyers Eric Holder must decide whether to pursue Bush administration lawyers and one sitting federal judge who set the legal stage for officially sanctioned torture and other degrading practices that violated fundamental principles of international law. Barack Obama is More Likely Than Bush to Get Things Right We have a fox in the Oval Office, and he has replaced a hedgehog. U.S. Guns Fuel Canada And Mexico Crimes, UK Gun Crime Remains Rare Guns smuggled from the US arm criminals in Canada and Mexico, contributing to a higher murder rate in Canada and more intense drug crime conflict near the Mexican border, according to a study. Gun Flow South is a Crisis for Two Nations A report says the U.S. failure to curb smuggling has strengthened drug cartels. Pastor Urges His Flock to Bring Guns to Church In Louisville, Kentucky, Ken Pagano’s congregation is a sign that American gun culture is thriving despite, or perhaps because of, President Obama. Winning the Ultimate Battle: How Humans Could End War Optimists called the first world war “the war to end all wars.” She Broke the G.O.P. and Now She Owns It As the Republicans’ lone charismatic performer, Sarah Palin has come to represent a dwindling white nonurban America that is aflame with grievances. Robert McNamara in Context Should the Vietnam-era secretary of defense be remembered as a public servant, hawk, technocrat, hero, or all of the above? Assassination: A Brief History Governments can bomb faceless troops of enemy conscripts with impunity, but are questioned closely about bombing photographable individuals. Numbers numb; identity humanizes. That’s the general rule. Does Religion Have a Monopoly on ‘Enchantment’? Weber linked rationalisation with ‘the disenchantment of the world,’ but is it fair to equate the lack of religion to an absence of magic and mystery? The Bachmann Comic So how is the new comic book about our favorite House GOP backbencher, Michele Bachmann (R-MN)?
An Overrun Florida Looks to Python Bounty Hunters (Links)
Tyranny for the Commons Man Six billion people are now sharing one planet, one water supply, and limited energy resources with a grab-first-ask-questions-later mentality. 10 People Guiding Science for Humanity Ten researchers, politicians, executives, and philanthropists who are working to assure that the benefits of new technologies and knowledge will accrue to humanity. Competitive Altruism: Being Green in Public What if environmentalism didn’t really involve sacrifice? California Beaches Face a Rising Ride of Pollution Ten percent of water samples at California beaches last year contained more human fecal bacteria than the state allows. Joshua Trees Vanishing The Joshua Tree is expected to vanish entirely from the southern half of California within a century. An Inconvenient Talk A guide to the end of the fossil fuel age. Exxon Owes $500 Million Interest for Valdez Spill Exxon Mobil Corp. must pay victims of the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill $480 million more in interest on their delayed punitive damages awards, a U.S. appeals court has ruled. Arctic Tundra Undergoing Major Changes As it Warms, Studies Show Several recent studies show that the rapid warming of Arctic tundra is leading to a host of sweeping changes, including more extensive fires, the growth of larger vegetation, more absorption of solar energy, melting permafrost, and substantially larger releases of greenhouse gases. Hunters Depleting Lion and Cougar Populations Sport hunters are depleting lion and cougar populations as managers respond to demands to control predators that threaten livestock and humans. An Overrun Florida Looks to Python Bounty Hunters Of all the ideas floated to get a grip on pythons and other exotic imports creeping and crawling through America’s undergrowth, only one stands out to Florida snake experts as having a real impact: bounty hunters. Sustainability: Solution to Fermi’s Paradox? If civilizations can’t grow exponentially, that might explain why we don’t see any signs of ET. Environmentalism and Religion Jonathan Zasloff, an environmental law professor at UCLA, is skeptical of the idea that religion can add much to environmental policy debates. Couples Who Cohabit Before Engagement are More Likely to Struggle Couples who live together before they are engaged have a higher chance of getting divorced than those who wait until they are married to live together, or at least wait until they are engaged.
