New tracking approach to help protect polar bears

September 23rd, 2009 SRIHARIKOTA - India successfully launched its 16th remote-sensing satellite Oceansat-2 and six small Europeans satellites on board a rocket that blasted off from here at 11.51 a.m. Wednesday. The 44.4-metre tall, 230-tonne Indian rocket Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) freed itself from the launch pad at the spaceport and lifted itself up, lugging the 960-kg Oceansat-2 and the six nano satellites all together weighing 20 kg.

September 21st, 2009 Opponents ask Salazar to halt offshore drillingWASHINGTON — Opponents of offshore drilling — including some dressed as salmon and a polar bear — delivered more than 250,000 postcards and letters to the Interior Department Monday on a proposal to open vast waters off the Pacific and Atlantic coasts to oil and gas drilling. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar invited public comments on a sweeping blueprint for expanded offshore drilling that was initially proposed in the final days of the Bush administration.

September 20th, 2009 White bear takes center stage in climate dramaTUKTOYAKTUK, Northwest Territories — Henry Jr. slept in the arms of his father the unhappy hunter, who pondered the future of the boy born last Arctic winter, in the depths of a polar bear season he'd rather forget.

September 16th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Scientists from the Tucson-based Planetary Science Institute have created the first detailed maps that show the amount of dry ice (solid carbon dioxide) deposited in the polar regions of Mars. The maps reveal how the ice thickness varies with the seasons.

September 11th, 2009 LONDON - A new research has warned that polar bears face extinction in less than 70 years because of global warming. "Recent projections suggest polar bears could be extinct within 70 years," Eric Post, associate professor of biology at Penn State University, who led the latest study, told the Telegraph.

September 11th, 2009 WASHINGTON - If a new research is anything to go by, then the Arctic as we know it may soon be a thing of the past, with global warming causing dramatic biological responses in the region. The research was led by Eric Post, associate professor of biology at Penn State University, along with a large, international team that carried out ecosystem-wide studies of the biological response to Arctic warming during the fourth International Polar Year, which ended in 2008.

September 10th, 2009 LONDON - If engineers have their way, Earth's polar regions would soon have watchmen, in the form of 'sailing' spacecrafts poised above the planet, relaying vital data on polar climate change or solar storms. "Solar sailing" has long been a dream for space engineers, who have envisaged craft exploring the depths of the solar system, propelled only by light.

August 26th, 2009 LONDON - A new research has indicated that environmental stresses could be causing physical changes in the bears, making them shrink over the last century. According to a report by BBC News, the conclusion was arrived at by scientists after comparing bear skulls from the early 20th Century with those from the latter half of the century.

July 17th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Alaska Governor Sarah Palin tweeted a tribute to mama grizzly bears after her visit with wildlife biologists in Alaska on Wednesday. Palin has been criticised for relating herself with a mother grizzly bear when describing her defence of her children.

June 10th, 2009 Russia presses claim to Arctic energy richesMOSCOW — Russia will rebuild its Soviet-era network of polar stations and use its icebreaker fleet to help support its claim to the vast resources of the Arctic, the man who led a mission to plant a Russian flag on the Arctic seabed said Wednesday. Artur Chilingarov, a famed polar scientist who was recently appointed the Kremlin's point man for Arctic issues, said Russia will gather data and resubmit its claim to the United Nations that an underwater mountain range crossing the polar region is part of Russia's continental shelf.

June 10th, 2009 Kremlin envoy: Russia will press claim to ArcticMOSCOW — Russia will rebuild its Soviet-era network of polar stations and use its icebreaker fleet to help support its claim to the vast resources of the Arctic, the man who led a mission to plant a Russian flag on the Arctic seabed said Wednesday. Artur Chilingarov, a famed polar scientist who was recently appointed the Kremlin's point man for Arctic issues, said Russia will gather data and resubmit its claim to the United Nations that an underwater mountain range crossing the polar region is part of Russia's continental shelf.

June 4th, 2009 Environmentalists plan suit to protect ice sealsANCHORAGE, Alaska — An environmental group plans to sue the federal government to force a decision on additional protections for Arctic seals. The Center for Biological Diversity said in a notice of intent to sue sent this week to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that it missed a deadline required by law for an endangered species listing decision on ringed, bearded and spotted seals.

May 26th, 2009 WASHINGTON - In a new research, scientists have strengthened the forecasts of polar bear populations and their likely responses to climate change, by refuting criticisms of the scientific basis for listing the polar bear under the Endangered Species Act. The research, by a team of scientists from the U.S.

April 26th, 2009 Bears trade 2nd-round pick to SeattleLAKE FOREST, Ill. — The Chicago Bears traded away their second-round pick in the NFL draft, leaving them without a selection on Saturday.

March 14th, 2009 WASHINGTON - University of Arizona scientists have found that there are some caterpillars that munch on drug-laced leaves to get rid of crippling parasites. Lead author Elizabeth Bernays says that this finding is the first clear demonstration of self-medication among insects.