Polar bears drown as ice shelf melts
Article from Times Uk (Click here for full article)
SCIENTISTS have for the first time found evidence that polar bears are drowning because climate change is melting the Arctic ice shelf.
Polar bears live on ice all year round and use it as a platform from which to hunt food and rear their young. They hunt near the edge, where the ice is thinnest, catching seals when they make holes in the ice to breath. They typically eat one seal every four or five days and a single bear can consume 100lb of blubber at one sitting.
As the ice pack retreats north in the summer between June and October, the bears must travel between ice floes to continue hunting in areas such as the shallow water of the continental shelf off the Alaskan coast — one of the most food-rich areas in the Arctic.
However, last summer the ice cap receded about 200 miles further north than the average of two decades ago, forcing the bears to undertake far longer voyages between floes.
“We know short swims up to 15 miles are no problem, and we know that one or two may have swum up to 100 miles. But that is the extent of their ability, and if they are trying to make such a long swim and they encounter rough seas they could get into trouble,” said Steven Amstrup, a research wildlife biologist with the USGS.
The new study, carried out in part of the Beaufort Sea, shows that between 1986 and 2005 just 4% of the bears spotted off the north coast of Alaska were swimming in open waters. Not a single drowning had been documented in the area.
However, last September, when the ice cap had retreated a record 160 miles north of Alaska, 51 bears were spotted, of which 20% were seen in the open sea, swimming as far as 60 miles off shore.
The researchers returned to the vicinity a few days later after a fierce storm and found four dead bears floating in the water. “We estimate that of the order of 40 bears may have been swimming and that many of those probably drowned as a result of rough seas caused by high winds,” said the report.
In their search for food, polar bears are also having to roam further south, rummaging in the dustbins of Canadian homes. Sir Ranulph Fiennes, the explorer who has been to the North Pole seven times, said he had noticed a deterioration in the bears’ ice habitat since his first expedition in 1975.
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Arctic ice shelf breaks away
A huge 19 square mile (55 square km) ice shelf in Canada's northern Arctic broke away last month and the remaining shelves have shrunk at a "massive and disturbing" rate, the latest sign of accelerating climate change in the remote region, scientists said on Tuesday.
They said the Markham Ice Shelf, one of just five remaining ice shelves in the Canadian Arctic, split away from Ellesmere Island in early August. They also said two large chunks totaling 47 square miles (76 square km) had broken off the nearby Serson Ice Shelf, reducing it in size by 60%.
"The changes ... were massive and disturbing," said Warwick Vincent, director of the Centre for Northern Studies at Laval University in Quebec.
Temperatures in large parts of the Arctic have risen far faster than the global average in recent decades, a development that experts say is linked to global warming.
"These substantial calving events underscore the rapidity of changes taking place in the Arctic," said Derek Mueller, an Arctic ice shelf specialist at Trent University in Ontario.
"These changes are irreversible under the present climate and indicate that the environmental conditions that have kept these ice shelves in balance for thousands of years are no longer present," he said in an e-mailed statement from the research team sent late on Tuesday.
Mueller said the total amount of ice lost from the shelves along Ellesmere Island this summer totaled 83 square miles (134 square km) - more than three times the area of Manhattan island.
The figure is more than 10 times the amount of ice shelf cover that scientists estimated on July 30 would vanish from around the island this summer.
"Reduced sea ice conditions and unusually high air temperatures have facilitated the ice shelf losses," said Luke Copland of the University of Ottawa.
Bleak future
"Extensive new cracks across remaining parts of the largest remaining ice shelf, the Ward Hunt, mean that it will continue to disintegrate in the coming years," he said.
The first sign of serious recent erosion in the five shelves came in late July, when sheets of ice totaling almost eight square miles (13 square km) broke off the Ward Hunt shelf. Since then that shelf has lost another 8.5 square miles (14 square km).
Ellesmere Island was once home to a single enormous ice shelf totaling around 3,500 square miles (5,633 square km). All that is left of that shelf today are the four much smaller shelves that together cover little more than 300 square miles (483 square km).
Scientists say the ice shelves, which contain unique ecosystems that had yet to be studied, will not be replaced because they took so long to form.
The rapid melting of ice in the Canadian Arctic archipelago worries Ottawa, which fears foreign ships might try to sail through the waters without seeking permission first.
Last week Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Canada would toughen reporting requirements for ships entering its waters in the Far North, where some of those territorial claims are disputed by the United States and other countries.
FURTHER READING: How Polar Bears are being affected by melting ice shelfs
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Port supermarket checks out
Ian Steward - Canterbury | Wednesday, 20 August 2008
Lyttelton's supermarket has been closed, with receivers moving in and changing the locks, leaving the port town without a grocery.
The sudden closure of the Lyttelton SuperValue in London Street on Monday follows the demise of the town's only petrol station in mid-2006.
The supermarket's owner, Peter Jackson, was unable to be reached for comment yesterday, but signs on the door from SuperValue supplier Wholesale Distributors said the store had been "in decline for some time".
"This decline has been exacerbated by the recent economic downturn, fewer ships sailing into Lyttelton, ongoing parking problems in the area and high rent," it said.
Wholesale Distributors general manager Fred Hawthorne said the company would help staff find other jobs. The supermarket's building is owned by Lyttelton Properties and Investments, which is 40 per cent-owned by the Peter Jackson Family Trust.
The town's boutique stores, delicatessens, cafes and bars are flourishing, but with a mobile population, many of whom commute to Christchurch, it has become hard for supermarkets to compete.
Lyttelton resident John Fitzgerald said, "I was in there buying a jar of marmalade and I saw these six dudes come in in suits looking like cops."
Fitzgerald said everyone was asked to leave, and a locksmith fitted new locks to the doors while notices of receivership were fixed to the door.
Lyttelton resident and radio personality Gary McCormick was "devastated and appalled" by the closure, calling the supermarket the "centre of Lyttelton community life".
SuperValue is a franchise chain supplied by supermarket operator Progressive Enterprises.
Steve Anderson, the South Island chief executive of the opposition retail chain, Foodstuffs, said the economic climate for small retailers was tough, with costs, particularly staffing and delivery, on the rise. Anderson said Foodstuffs would "look at the Lyttelton catchment".
How do you think this will affect the Lyttelton community?
What were the supermarket's reasons for closing down?
How do you think this closure will affect the Lyttelton community?
Does this closure affect you and your family? If so, how?
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Colin the lost baby whale to be put down
SORRY TALE: Colin the baby humpback whale, seen here in Sydney's Pittwater where he had been seen nuzzling ship hulls apparently searching for his mother, will be put down.
The baby humpback whale stranded in a Sydney waterway will be euthanased some time tonight, wildlife authorities say.
The decision was made at a meeting of NSW Parks and Wildlife Service workers, scientists and representatives of other agencies early tonight.
Rescuers have opted against making another attempt to shepherd the starving 4.5 metre whale calf into open water.
Affectionately named Colin, the calf is believed to be about two or three weeks old.
It was first spotted on Sunday, nuzzling up to a yacht in the northern Sydney waterway, apparently searching for its mother.
A veterinary report late this afternoon found the animal was in a very poor condition and would probably not live through tonight.
The mammal is suffering from previous shark inflicted injuries, is experiencing breathing difficulties and its flukes are hanging down.
- AAP
What do you think about putting down animals?
Do you think they should try harder to save the baby whale?
What do you think different points of view might be?
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Child singing star was a fake
By MARY-ANNE TOY and SANGHEE LIU in Beijing - SMH | Wednesday, 13 August 2008 
The little girl who shot to fame after singing at the Olympic opening ceremony was miming and only put on stage because the real singer was considered ugly, the show's musical director said.
Lin Miaoke, 9, the little Chinese girl in the red dress who captured the world's hearts when she sang solo as the Chinese national flag entered the Bird's Nest Stadium during the Olympic Opening Ceremony, is the hottest child star on the planet right now.
But it turns out that the voice the world heard singing so sweetly "I Sing for My Motherland" was not Lin's - but a pre-recording of another child, Yang Peiyi, who was dropped from the opening ceremony at the last minute in the ''national interest".
The General Music Designer of the opening ceremony, Chen Qigang, revealed the switch in an interview on Beijing Radio Sunday night.
Mr Chen said he owed the nation an explanation and wanted to ensure that Yang Peiyi's contribution was also recognised.
Mr Chen said their original choice for the lead was a 10-year-old girl, who was used throughout the rehearsals for Friday's blockbuster opening extravaganza. But she was dumped after director Zhang Yimou deemed her "a little too old".
They then shortlisted a group of younger girls including Lin Maoke and Yang Peiyi, 7. After recording them Mr Chen's team unanimously decided that Yang Peiyi's voice was "flawless" and she would sing the lead.
But at the final rehearsals a member of China's ruling nine-man Politburo made his dissatisfaction with Yang Peiyi clear. There were rumours at the time of the rehearsals that unspecified, last minute changes had been ordered by the senior leadership.
"This was last minute, a choice we had to make. We had been through several inspections; they were all very strict. When we rehearsed at the spot, there were spectators from various divisions, especially a leader from the Politburo, who gave us his opinion: It must change,'' Mr Chen said.
"The reason was for the national interest. The child on camera should be flawless in image, internal feelings, and expression.
Lin Miaoke is excellent in those aspects. But in the aspect of voice, Yang Peiyi is flawless, in each member of our team's view.
Mr Chen said Lin Miaoke may not have realised she was not singing as her voice was similar to Yang Peiyi.
Lin's father, a photojournalist for the Beijing's Legal Evening News Lin Hui, told local media he only found out his daughter would be singing the lead 15 minutes before Friday's opening ceremony began.
The China Daily english-language newspaper quoted the "9-year-old songbird" as saying she (Lin) was thrilled mostly "because I felt so beautiful in my red dress".
Lin, who will be returning to school shortly according to her parents, appeared in a television ad with reigning Olympic champion hurdler Liu Xiang last year and earlier this year featured in an advertisement for the Beijing Olympics.
After her captivating performance Friday, the New York Times ran her picture on its front page and she has been inundated with offers within China.
In an interview with the national broadcaster, CCTV, the little girl whose appearance was rejected but not her voice, Yang Peiyi stoically said she had no regrets. "I am satisfied that my voice appeared in the opening ceremony,'' she said.
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