From: tsm@fastmail.ca   
      
   On Feb 3, 2026 at 10:45:31 AM EST, "Noah Sombrero"  wrote:   
      
   > On Tue, 3 Feb 2026 15:14:54 -0000 (UTC), Tara  wrote:   
   >   
   >> dart200  wrote:   
   >>> On 2/2/26 10:20 PM, Tara wrote:   
   >>>> Noah Sombrero  wrote:   
   >>>>> On Mon, 2 Feb 2026 17:42:05 -0800, Dude  wrote:   
   >>>>>   
   >>>>>> On 2/2/2026 4:42 PM, Noah Sombrero wrote:   
   >>>>>>> On Mon, 2 Feb 2026 15:51:53 -0800, Dude  wrote:   
   >>>>>>>   
   >>>>>>>> On 2/2/2026 3:33 PM, Noah Sombrero wrote:   
   >>>>>>>>> On Mon, 2 Feb 2026 15:00:44 -0800, Dude  wrote:   
   >>>>>>>>>   
   >>>>>>>>>> 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   
      
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