OT -- BBC on wolverines and climate change (great pic!)
A story on the BBC website: Climate change causes wolverine decline across Canada
The wolverine, a predator renowned for its strength and tenacious character, ... lives in boreal forest across Scandinavia, northern Russia, northern China, Mongolia and North America, where it ranges mostly across six provinces or territories of western Canada. This largest member of the weasel family eats carrion and food it hunts itself, including hares, marmots, smaller rodents and young or weakened ungulates. It has evolved for life on the snowpack, having thick fur and outsized feet that help it move across and hunt on snow.That list of prey is missing a few additional tasty items in its diet...
February 4th, 2010 at 8:56 AM ^
I'd show that to my son, but he's in the stage where he wants a pet. I would have trouble explaining to my wife why the garage is off limits and our grocery bill has doubled. It would keep the buckeye fans off the lawn... Then again, I wouldn't be able to get pizza delivered or my garbage picked up.
February 4th, 2010 at 9:02 AM ^
Don't believe the history books and the media. Xerxes had nothing to do with defeating the 300 Spartans. It was one particularly hungry wolverine.
February 4th, 2010 at 9:08 AM ^
Maybe there should be an unofficial "Xerxes award" for whoever plays the best against MSU.
February 4th, 2010 at 9:13 AM ^
They pick the most alarmist headline possible ("Climate change causes wolverine decline across Canada"), only to hedge later on:
"Dr Brodie cannot be sure why wolverine numbers are falling, but he has his suspicions."
February 4th, 2010 at 9:44 AM ^
First of all, it is generally not the journalists who pick the headline so the fault is not necessarily in the actual journalism - it's on the business end. Yes, alarmist headlines get more pageviews - that's nothing new.
Second, the headline is not that egregious. Brodie is talking about how there is a strong correlation between two observable phenomena, so strong that it's fairly certain there is a causal relationship.
Essentially, you have a headline using a layman's term which does not match up with its scientific equivalent. Imagine a headline like this:
"Strong correlation between climate change and declining wolverine population"
Apologies, I just don't understand this whole blowback against the "mainstream media" sometimes. Would you prefer the world to operate like the bleacher report?
February 4th, 2010 at 9:14 AM ^
So does this mean global warming is responsible for our 7-16 record against I-AA opponents under Rodriguez? I'm as desperate as anyone to find an explanation.
February 4th, 2010 at 10:18 AM ^
If only climate change would kill off those damn buckeye trees...