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We’ve written before that Alaska is the canary in the coal mine, because the effects of global warming are showing up there first. Now we?ve learned that over ten thousand Alaskan lakes have shrunk or dried up in the last half century.

Most of this is due to evaporation caused by global warming. In LiveScience.com, Sara Goudarzi quotes researcher David Verbyla as saying, “Alaska is important in terms of waterfowl production, and if you have a lowering of the water table, that could have a potentially huge impact on waterfowl production.” Alaska’s economy depends on fishing as well.

Will lakes in the rest of the country be next? The government’s neglect about the subject of climate change is so extreme that it almost seems like some sort of conspiracy.
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Scientists have been studying this question for over 70 years, but they still don’t know the answer. They do know it makes them healthier, and makes their mothers healthier as well, since it protects against breast cancer.
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Everyone wants to learn about their roots, which is why so many African-Americans are having their DNA tested. But we don’t just inherit our looks and perhaps our personalities?our susceptibility to disease is also inherited, and if we can find out what genes we have, we can deal with these problems before they get too serious.

University of Wisconsin researchers say that you will be able to receive information about your family’s genetic history within three years for less than $100. In the Indepdendent, Jane Feinmann quotes US Surgeon General Dr. Richard Carmona as advising us to use family reunions, such as Thanksgiving dinner, as an chance “to trace illnesses suffered by parents and other blood relatives.” There?s even a web site to help you do this.
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We recently wrote about how a low level of sunspot activity may give us a reprieve when it comes to global warming, and now the oceans are cooling off as well. We now have a chance (if we take it) to do something about greenhouse gas emissions before it’s too late.

Despite the fact that temperatures around the world are rising, the oceans are getting cooler, which suggests that in climate change, the progression is not steady, but can take occasional dips. This is another chance for governments to do something about problem, although there has been very little action on this in industrialized countries and nothing at all has been done in the US.
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