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Imagine Christmas without reindeer: We might someday have to do just that. But there’s good news on the extinction front as well: Polar bears were added to the threatened species list nearly three years ago as their icy habitat showed steady, precipitous decline because of a warming climate. But it appears the Arctic icons aren’t necessarily doomed after all. Conservation scientist Jeff Wells warns that caribou (that’s reindeer) thrive in cold climates. They are tough, adaptable creatures that can survive in winter by eating only lichens. But when the health of their habitats are threatened, so too is the health of the herd.
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Pollution is everywhere these days–it’s even part of your next holiday dinner! Scientists have documented what they think is the worst US case of food contamination with polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) flame retardants. The incident also marks the first time food contamination has been thought to result from PBDEs in a food’s packaging. One of ten samples of butter purchased at five Dallas grocery stores contained high concentrations of deca-BDE, a PBDE compound widely used in electronics as well as in textiles, wire and cable insulation, and automobile and airplane components.read more

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It’s been a COLD winter in the UK. Climate change experts are warning that if humans don’t moderate our use of fossil fuels, there is a real possibility that we will face the environmental, societal and economic consequences of climate change faster than we can adapt to them. At the same time, the UK (which is on an extreme Northern latitude but is warmed by the Gulf Stream) is experiencing what they have long dreaded: one of the harshest winters on record. Will England soon have the same weather as Siberia? Authorities there fear that the death toll from the winter storms could be as many as 35,000 people.
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