MNN - Mother Nature Network

PALIN AND WHALIN': The state of Alaska announced today it will sue to stop the federal government from listing beluga whales as a threatened species. Gov. Sarah Palin has previously explained that she's worried protecting the whales under the Endangered Species Act could hurt development projects in Alaska. (Source: AP)

 

GRAY AREA: The Bush administration will remove gray wolves from the federal endangered species list in the western Great Lakes and northern Rockies, the Interior Department announced today. But wolves in Wyoming will remain under federal jurisdiction because that state hasn't done enough to ensure their survival, the DOI said. (Source: AP)

 

SNOW JOKE: More than 600 million years ago, extreme global warming may have rescued the Earth from a planet-wide freeze, according to a Louisiana State University study. By examining oxygen trapped in ancient Arctic rocks, the scientists found evidence of atmospheric CO2 300 to 1,000 times higher than current levels. The Knight Science Journalism Tracker points out that the climate-change-skeptical Daily Telegraph fumbles the story, writing that the high levels of CO2 caused the "snowball Earth" effect. The U.K.'s Natural Environment Research Council criticizes the Telegraph story in a blog post. And while today's -40 degree temperatures may have felt like a snowball Earth, the planet should look something like this before global warming is a good thing. (Sources: National Geographic, Knight Science Journalism Tracker, The Daily Telegraph, NERC)

 

— Russell McLendon