EARTHQUAKES: Eastern Turkey was shaken by a magnitude-6.0 earthquake early Monday morning, the latest in a string of deadly quakes that have plagued the planet's surface in recent months. At least 41 people were killed and dozens more injured in the tremor, which struck about three miles underground near the town of Karakocan, and was followed by several large aftershocks. Meanwhile, Chile is also still suffering aftershocks from its magnitude-8.8 quake on Feb. 27, some of which have been nearly as large as the magnitude-7.0 quake that devastated Haiti on Jan. 12. Geologists say there's no evidence of any connection between all these earthquakes, which have occurred far enough apart that the pressure they released or created shouldn't affect the other fault zones. Still, the Washington Post reports that scientists are flocking to Chile in hopes of using it as a big seismic lab for studying how such faults work and how they affect the planet's overall seismology. Not only did the recent Chile quake shorten the length of a day on Earth by a millionth of a second, but it even moved the city of Concepcion, which was near the epicenter, about 10 feet to the west. "This is going to be incredibly well-measured," one geologist tells the Post. "This is going to be arguably the best-measured great earthquake." (Sources: Agence France-Presse, Washington Post)

 

SWEET DEAL: Florida Gov. Charlie Crist has been fighting for two years to save a chunk of the embattled Everglades, but as the March 31 closing of his deal approaches, it's beginning to look like he'll save a major sugar company instead. The New York Times takes a lengthy look today at the recent history of Florida's efforts to restore the degraded Everglades, and how Crist's plan may have been flawed even before the recession began whittling it down. The original idea for Florida to buy swaths of land from U.S. Sugar came at a convenient time for the privately held company, which was more than $500 million in debt by late 2007, and displaced other, possibly more effective restoration projects, such as a reservoir in Palm Beach County that had been in the works for years. Under Crist's plan, the state would buy 72,800 acres of former Everglades from U.S. Sugar for $536 million, virtually eliminating the once-struggling company's financial woes. While many conservationists say it's still likely the ecosystem's best hope, some critics doubt it will have much effect. "I won't lie to you — it's a damn good price for that land," a former senior executive with U.S. Sugar tells the Times. "But it's not as good a deal for the Everglades. ... It could be a disaster in the making." (Source: New York Times)

 

THE COVE: The Cove won an Oscar for Best Documentary on Sunday night, a victory that could help introduce it to the very audience its filmmakers wanted to reach most — people in Japan. The American-made film examines dolphin hunting in a Japanese fishing town that calls itself the "birthplace of Japan's commercial whaling," presenting a bloody portrait that its creators hope will draw more local attention to the practice. The Cove hasn't been shown at public theaters in Japan aside from a single viewing at last fall's Tokyo International Film Festival, and officials in the town of Taiji asked its Japanese distributor to drop the film, arguing it was shot without permission and amounted to libel. But Sunday's Oscar win will likely boost its momentum, the Wall Street Journal reports — at least one theater in Tokyo has already agreed to show it, and its Japanese distributor tells the WSJ it will begin showing it in May or June, regardless of whether officials in Taiji approve. In a statement addressing the academy, the mayor of Taiji chalks the controversy up to cultural differences. "Different countries and regions have different eating habits," he writes. "It is important to understand long-lasting traditions and realities in each other's food culture and have the spirit of mutual respect." (Source: Wall Street Journal)

 

CRYING WOLF? Wolves may or not be moving into Colorado, but a controversy about them already has. After a rancher in western Colorado reported his suspicions that gray wolves were hanging out on his land, other livestock owners began raising alarms that the prolific predators would soon invade the state and devour their sheep and cattle. Conservationists have been countering that wolf packs can co-exist with ranchers, advocating nonlethal management strategies, but state wildlife officials insist both sides may be howling mad for no good reason. Gray wolves were eliminated in Colorado by the 1940s — part of a nationwide eradication that obliterated the animal in every state but Alaska — and they have yet to show any definitive evidence of their return. While reintroduction efforts have helped them bounce back in several other states, even boosting populations so much that people have begun hunting wolves again in Montana and Idaho, experts in Colorado say it's too early to suggest wolves have made a comeback in that state. Still, reports the Los Angeles Times, even the possibility of wolves has demonstrated the extreme emotions they can elicit. (Source: Los Angeles Times)

 

A GROUSE DIVIDED: The sage grouse is an endangered species, the U.S. Interior Department acknowledged on Friday, but it won't be listed as one anytime soon. The split decision seems to be an attempt at diplomacy, as Interior Secretary Ken Salazar granted the ground-dwelling grassland bird an "endangered but precluded" distinction — essentially saying that, even though the sage grouse is in grave danger, there are too many bigger fish to fry right now to officially call it "endangered." The balancing act is meant to please energy companies as well as conservationists, since listing the grouse as endangered would make large tracts of Western lands off-limits to both oil and gas drilling as well as renewable-power projects like wind farms. The bird will be considered a "candidate" species for future listing, and while conservationists agree there are other species in more dire need of help, many have bemoaned that the sage grouse will still receive no federal protection for now. The bird's population has fallen by 90 percent in the past century as development fragmented its habitat, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reports that it could disappear within the next 30 to 100 years if current trends continue. "A listing would pose significant hurdles for energy development,'' one conservationist tells the Salt Lake Tribune. "Clearly, this is better for energy developers than it is for sage grouse." (Source: Salt Lake Tribune)

 

— Russell McLendon