From: punditster@gmail.com   
      
   On 2/2/2026 2:12 PM, Noah Sombrero wrote:   
   > On Mon, 2 Feb 2026 13:31:37 -0800, Dude  wrote:   
   >   
   >> On 2/2/2026 10:05 AM, Noah Sombrero wrote:   
   >>> On Mon, 2 Feb 2026 09:33:48 -0800, Dude  wrote:   
   >>>   
   >>>> On 2/2/2026 8:56 AM, Noah Sombrero wrote:   
   >>>>> On Mon, 2 Feb 2026 14:25:30 +0000, Julian    
   >>>>> wrote:   
   >>>>>   
   >>>>>>   
   >>>>>> Polar bears are getting fatter in the fastest-warming place on Earth   
   >>>>>> Shrinking sea ice has made life harder for polar bears in many parts of   
   >>>>>> the Arctic, but the population in Svalbard seems to be thriving   
   >>>>>>   
   >>>>>> Polar bears have been getting fatter even as sea ice disappears in   
   >>>>>> Norway’s Svalbard archipelago, the fastest-warming place on Earth –   
   but   
   >>>>>> scientists don’t expect the good times to last.   
   >>>>>>   
   >>>>>> The northern Barents Sea, which stretches between Svalbard and   
   Russia’s   
   >>>>>> Novaya Zemlya in the Arctic Ocean, has been heating up seven times   
   >>>>>> faster than the globe as a whole. The sea ice around Svalbard lasts two   
   >>>>>> months less in winter and spring than it did two decades ago. Bears now   
   >>>>>> have to swim 200 to 300 kilometres between hunting grounds on the ice   
   >>>>>> and snow dens on the islands where they give birth.   
   >>>>>>   
   >>>>>> But the average size and weight of the Svalbard bears have increased   
   >>>>>> since 2000, a finding that surprised Jon Aars at the Norwegian Polar   
   >>>>>> Institute, who led the study.   
   >>>>>>   
   >>>>>> “We should think about this as good news for Svalbard,” he says.   
   “But if   
   >>>>>> you want bad news, you can just go and look somewhere else where you   
   >>>>>> have very, very firm evidence that climate change is impacting polar   
   >>>>>> bears negatively.”   
   >>>>>>   
   >>>>>> This wide-ranging, solitary predator is split into 20 populations across   
   >>>>>> the far north, where it is extremely difficult to count. While its   
   >>>>>> numbers are declining in parts of Alaska, Canada and Greenland, they   
   >>>>>> appear to be stable or increasing in other places. For nine of the   
   >>>>>> populations, data is too sparse to say.   
   >>>>>>   
   >>>>>> The Barents Sea population, which was estimated at 1900 to 3600 bears   
   >>>>>> two decades ago, is thought to be stable or perhaps even growing.   
   >>>>>> Starting in 1995, Aars and his colleagues tranquilised 770 bears with   
   >>>>>> dart guns from helicopters. They hopped out onto the snow or ice to   
   >>>>>> measure their length and, to estimate weight, their girth at the chest.   
   >>>>>>   
   >>>>>> Trend analysis showed this body condition decreased until 2000, then   
   >>>>>> increased until the end of observations in 2019.   
   >>>>>>   
   >>>>>> In the spring, when ringed seals give birth to pups on the sea ice,   
   >>>>>> polar bears hunt them to build up stores of fat for the ice-free months.   
   >>>>>> Aars and his colleagues believe the shrinking ice area may be making   
   >>>>>> these seals easier to find.   
   >>>>>>   
   >>>>>> The bears are also exploiting new food sources. The approximately 250   
   >>>>>> individuals that remain on the islands when the ice recedes may be   
   >>>>>> hunting more bearded seals along the coast, as well as harbour seals,   
   >>>>>> which are spreading to Svalbard as the climate warms.   
   >>>>>>   
   >>>>>> These “local bears” are increasingly ransacking duck and geese   
   colonies   
   >>>>>> for eggs, and they have been seen chasing down reindeer from a growing   
   >>>>>> cervid population. The carcasses of walruses, another species that is   
   >>>>>> increasing there, can provide weeks of feasting.   
   >>>>>>   
   >>>>>>   
   >>>>>> Alec Luhn / New Scientist   
   >>>>>   
   >>>>> So it appears that the warming can no longer be dismissed as a hoax.   
   >>>>>   
   >>>> Thank you for reminding us of that!   
   >>>>   
   >>>> Not sure this is still an issue these days. Almost everyone wants   
   >>>> cleaner air, with less smog from vehicles and factories.   
   >>>>>   
   >>>>> Perhaps soon, people will realize that whether or not the change is   
   >>>>> man made,   
   >>>>>   
   >>>> The hoax was the belief that humans can change the weather, one way or   
   >>>> the another. Global warming could be the result of sun flares.   
   >>>   
   >>> Like your idea that maybe there is no real answer to whether a person   
   >>> knows the difference between right or wrong.  But the fact is that   
   >>> there is a yes/no answer and that is what the judge and jury will need   
   >>> to hear.   
   >>>   
   >>> But for you, as long as it suits what you want to believe.   
   >>>   
   >>> Yes, there are somethings that can be done, and we know what that is.   
   >>> But guys like you cripple our ability to do those things.   
   >>>   
   >>>> there is something people can do to lessen the effect.   
   >>>>> Perhaps, maybe.   
   >>>>>   
   >>>> The real issue, is the moral flag waving. Almost everyone exhales and   
   >>>> eats beef. Some of your best friends probably drive ice cars and buy   
   >>>> imported dolls.   
   >>>   
   >>> None of which has anything to do with what can be done.   
   >>>   
   >> Admit it. You eat beef and drive an ice car. Wheres Nick?   
   >>>   
   >>   
   >>>> If this is such an important issue, why are some countries still   
   >>>> powering energy from coal, instead of clean energy from nuclear?   
   >>>   
   >>> Many were headed that way until himbo came along.  And no nuclear   
   >>> energy is also not clean.  But it is a different kind of dirty.   
   >>>   
   >> Trump has nothing to do with your use, or not, of pollution producing   
   >> agents like gasoline or coal produced electricity. Just turn your light   
   >> off and stay home. You are on your own, how far you want to go. Recycle   
   >> your plastic, if you wan to.   
   >   
   > The problem arises when most of us start doing the same thing.  My   
   > participation in that or not has zero effect on the problem.  But it   
   > does make you good to feel excused from attempts to actually make a   
   > difference.   
   >   
   You could start by eliminating coal burning as a source for producing   
   energy. It's your choice.   
      
   “We have a credibility problem, all of us: We’re talking and we’re   
   starting to act, but we’re not doing enough.” - Al Gore   
    >   
      
   >>>>> I'll start acting like it's a crises, when people like   
   >>>> Noah start acting like it's a crises!   
   >>>   
   >>> You don't fool me, you have no such intention.  Otherwise, you would   
   >>> not be worried about whether I agree or not, you would simply do the   
   >>> right thing.   
   >>>   
   >> While thermal coal (for electricity) is being phased out in Canada,   
   >> metallurgical coal remains essential for steel production.   
   >>   
   >> Oh! Great! Now you want to kill the Canadian steel industry. Good work!   
   >>>   
   >>   
   >>>> Chinese industry heavily relies on coal for energy, with coal still   
   >>>> accounting for roughly 60% of the country's total energy supply and over   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)