5-milion years ago instead of 600,000 or 130,000 years ago-
Recent interest in the relationship between polar bears and brown (grizzly) bears from which they emerged has been fueled by the observation of increasing numbers of polar bear – brown bear hybrids. Our recent article on this produced a number of comments, […]
Continue Reading →Though polar bears did not originate in Ireland, all may have a maternal line to one ancestral female brown bear in Ireland-
Today’s sophisticated genetic analysis keeps finding the most interesting bits of biological history.
DNA hints at polar bears’ Irish ancestry. By Susan Miliu. Science News.
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Continue Reading →Last ditch location of polar bears is predicted-
As arctic ice continues to melt, scientists have predicted where last few polar bears will make their last stand.
Where Polar Bears Might Go If Climate Change Doesn’t Slow. By Pete Spotts. Christian Science Monitor/ABC News
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Continue Reading →187,157 square miles of Alaskan land and (mostly) ocean to be for the bears-
U.S. Firms Up ‘Critical Habitat’ for Polar Bears. By Felicity Barringer. The Green Blog in the New York Times. Here is the web page […]
Continue Reading →Polar bears are a geologically very new species-
This is quite relevant because we have been discussing how grizzly bears are displacing polar bears in the Arctic. We already knew brown bears were polar bears’ ancestors.
Ancient DNA from Rare Fossil Reveals That Polar Bears Evolved Recently and Adapted Quickly. Science Daily.
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Continue Reading →Palin is not a typical Alaskan-
Salon Magazine has a report on Palin as one kind of Alaskan — the kind that came north during the oil boom and changed the state’s culture for the worse (in the opinion of the Alaskan author of the piece). She is far from being “Jane, six pack;” and […]
Continue Reading →A view of Palin’s views on the environment from a major U.K. newspaper.
Sarah Palin, the Republican party’s vice-president nominee, governs an oil-rich area that has seen some of the most dramatic effects of climate change. So what’s her record on environmental concerns?
By Britt Collins. The Guardian. Sarah Palin: Ice queen of the […]
Continue Reading →The Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF) sent a 60-day Notice of Intent to sue the Department of Interior over its decision to list Polar Bears under the Endangered Species Act. From PLF’s News Release:
The PLF letter is filed on behalf of ranching and forestry interests that, along with employers nationwide and the economy […]
Continue Reading →As suggested in an earlier post (or two), the Bush Administration’s Fish & Wildlife Service is doing its best to take its decision to list polar bears and extend federal protections to oil companies with it :
Oil Companies Get OK To Annoy Bears – AP
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Continue Reading →Earlier we noted Secretary of Interior, Dirk Kempthorne’s decision to list the Polar Bear as a threatened species. Kempthorne was spreading around the idea that the ESA was not intended to regulate greenhouse gases, the principle threat affecting polar bear habitat.
Now, we learn of the “4(d) rule”, a waiver of protections normally afforded […]
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