From: punditster@gmail.com   
      
   On 2/3/2026 5:51 AM, Noah Sombrero wrote:   
   > On Tue, 3 Feb 2026 06:20:25 -0000 (UTC), 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   
   >>>>>>>>>>>> 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.   
   >>>>>>>>>>>   
      
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