SCIENCE IN THE NEWS WEEKLY
Environment: Climate, Bears and Bugs
At the Indigenous Uranium Forum in Acoma, N.M., attendees opposed renewed uranium mining for nuclear energy. They recalled health problems that mining caused to their communities in the past and objected to mining on sacred land. Meanwhile, on the East Coast, two tribes are opposing Cape Wind, an offshore wind farm proposed for Nantucket Sound. Desecrating the site with wind turbines would be detrimental to the tribes' spiritual well-being, they say.
For climate activists attending a wave of more than 4,300 coordinated demonstrations around the globe, the atmosphere—not the energy source—was the bottom line. Their message centered on the number 350, a target "safe" atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide (in parts per million). The New York Times looked at their message and why some scientists say 350 was a bad choice.
Others say that carbon dioxide concentration alone isn't enough to go on, and the Christian Science Monitor featured efforts to create a global climate index. Like the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the index would distill multiple measures of climate change into a easy-to-understand figure.
The Associated Press, meanwhile, debunked a myth—fueled by recent cooler weather—that the climate isn't even warming. Four independent statisticians analyzed the temperature data and didn't find a cooling trend.
Climate aside, it was a big week for bear news. The San Francisco Chronicle reported that black bears in Yosemite National Park target minivans over other vehicles because they're easy to open and reliably full of food. Or at least crumbs. And the BBC profiled bear biologist Lynn Rogers, who has studied black bear behavior for 43 years. He gains the bears' trust and walks the woods with them to get a closer look at their lifestyle.
Finally, in insect news, researchers in California have found a way to induce war among invasive Argentine ants. And male bed bugs try to mate with other males—until the unwilling target releases a chemical that says "bug off."
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