Earth ChangesS


Binoculars

Rare polar bear sighting on Iceland

Reykjavik -- A polar bear has been discovered on Iceland, which is hundreds of kilometres from the threatened species' natural habitat, a local photographer said Tuesday.

"The bear is in the north of Iceland near the town of Saudarkrokkur," Rax Axelsson, a photographer with Iceland's newspaper of reference, Morgunbladid, told AFP.

Polar Bear
©Unknown

"The bear is living off of eggs and birds" and does not appear to be hungry, he added.

The bear was discovered by 12-year-old Karen Heljateynsdottir not far from her farm as she was out walking her dog on Monday.

"She saw something white and thought it was a plastic bag, and then she realised it was a polar bear. She ran home and she said she has never run so fast in her life," Axelsson said.

Target

Earthquake with preliminary magnitude 5.7 strikes Greece; no injuries reported

The Athens Geodynamic Institute says an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.7 struck near the Greek capital before dawn Wednesday.

No injuries or damage were reported.

Bizarro Earth

Panda habitat damaged by China quake

BEIJING - At least 80 percent of the habitat for giant pandas in China's earthquake-hit province was destroyed or damaged, a forestry official said Tuesday.

Pandas
©AP Photo/Alexander F. Yuan
Two pandas play at China Conservative and Research Center for the Giant Panda in Wolong, China's southwest Sichuan province, Tuesday, June 10, 2008. The nine-year-old Mao Mao was finally found Monday and dug out Tuesday, almost a month after the May 12 devastating earthquake, crushed by a wall of her enclosure as the river nearby swelled with landslide debris.

Alarm Clock

Flashback Eight Reasons Why 'Global Warming' Is a Scam

When Al Gore lost his bid to become the country's first "Environment President," many of us thought the "global warming" scare would finally come to a well-deserved end. That hasn't happened, despite eight good reasons this scam should finally be put to rest.

Bizarro Earth

US: Mississippi River breaks through Illinois levee

Rising waters burst through an overtaxed levee on the Mississippi River Tuesday, sending gushing torrents into an Illinois town as the sodden US midwest reels from days of epic flooding.

levee break Mississippi
©AFP
Missouri Army National Guard Staff Sergeant Matthew Crounse and Sergeant Darrell Rankin patrol the top of the levee next to the flooding Mississippi River June 17, 2008 in Clarksville, Missouri. Communities along the Mississippi River continue preparing for flooding as the river continues to rise.

The levee break left Highway 34 at Gulfport, on the Illinois side of the Mississippi River, under water prompting officials to close a bridge to the neighboring town of Burlington and creating havoc for commuters.

News reports said a flash flood warning was in effect Tuesday in Henderson County, Illinois as a result of surging waters from the levee break.

Eye 2

Monsoon hits India early for first time in more than a century, killing 23

India's annual monsoon rains have swept across the country about two weeks ahead of schedule, causing deadly floods.

Butterfly

Bee Species Outnumber Mammals And Birds Combined

Scientists have discovered that there are more bee species than previously thought. In the first global accounting of bee species in over a hundred years, John S. Ascher, a research scientist in the Division of Invertebrate Zoology at the American Museum of Natural History, compiled online species pages and distribution maps for more than 19,200 described bee species, showcasing the diversity of these essential pollinators. This new species inventory documents 2,000 more described, valid species than estimated by Charles Michener in the first edition of his definitive The Bees of the World published eight years ago.

bee
©iStockphoto/Nathan McClunie
A new inventory documents 2,000 more described, valid bee species than estimated before.

"The bee taxonomic community came together and completed the first global checklist of bee names since 1896," says Ascher. "Most people know of honey bees and a few bumble bees, but we have documented that there are actually more species of bees than of birds and mammals put together."


Bug

Australia: Honey bees 'crucial to food security'

A federal parliamentary committee is warning that Australia's food security could be compromised if the future of the honey bee and pollination industry is not supported.

Bandaid

Feds: 26 levees could overflow if sandbags fail

WASHINGTON - The federal government predicts that 27 levees could potentially overflow along the Mississippi River if the weather forecast is on the mark and a massive sandbagging effort fails to raise the level of the levees, according to a map obtained Monday by The Associated Press.

Alarm Clock

Iowa flood victims worry: What's in the water?

OAKVILLE - The floodwaters that deluged much of Iowa have done more than knock out drinking water and destroy homes. They have also spread a noxious brew of sewage, farm chemicals and fuel that could sicken anyone who wades in.