Free Republic

In 1988, the Environmental Protection Agency called a meeting of atmospheric scientists. I remember well the meeting in a theater-like lecture room in the San Francisco Bay Area. I knew the atmospheric scientists from Lawrence Livermore Laboratory, Stanford Research Institute, and local colleges. A man in a suit walked up to the lectern. He told us: Global warming is a new national problem. Human CO2 emissions cause dangerous global warming. Future research funding will focus on predicting climate disasters.

A giant rhino that may have been the origin of the unicorn myth survived until at least 39,000 years ago - much longer than previously thought. Known as the Siberian unicorn, the animal had a long horn on its nose, and roamed the grasslands of Eurasia. New evidence shows the hefty beast may have eventually died out because it was such a picky eater. Scientists say knowing more about the animal's extinction could help save the remaining rhinos on the planet. Rhinos are in particular danger of extinction because they are very picky about their habitat, said Prof Adrian Lister...

As many as 145 whales have died after being found stranded on a remote beach in New Zealand, conservation officials said Monday. Two pods of pilot whales were discovered just over a mile apart on Mason Bay, Stewart Island, a sparsely populated island in the country's south. Authorities were first alerted to the mass stranding by a hiker Saturday evening. Half of the whales were already dead. The remaining animals were later euthanized, according to New Zealand's Department of Conservation (DOC). A Stewart Island operations manager for the DOC, Ren Leppens, said that the remote location and condition of the...

The humpback whale has one of the biggest mouths on the planet—and the appetite to match. The bus-size mammals can eat up to 2500 kilograms of fish a day, and a new study reveals one way they snag these huge numbers: They make the fish come to them. Humpbacks were already known to have a few hunting tricks up their sleeve. They blow bubbles in giant circles around herring to herd them into tightly grouped schools that can be swallowed whole. They also “power thrust” into dense balls of young herring, catching the fish by surprise. Now, biologists have added...

In my youth, I remember my dad dragging my brother and me out of bed in the middle of the night, tossing our tired bodies in the back of his hitched-up pickup truck, and having us fishing out on Lake Erie by the break of dawn. Come fall and winter, we found ourselves bundled up out in the middle of nowhere, hunting turkeys and deer with my dad. Although we lived in the city, my dad’s heart was in the country. Hunting and fishing are in our family’s blood.For many years, life separated me from such pursuits. When my oldest...

CHIPPEWA FALLS — After several years of tracking a prized deer, Joshua Gawrysiak shot the “buck of a lifetime” Nov. 10 in the northeast corner of Chippewa Falls. The 19-point buck will be mounted and put on display at Scheels in Eau Claire. “I’ll never shoot a deer like that again,” Gawrysiak said. Gawrysiak, 32, of Eau Claire, said he shot the animal on private property near the EOG Resources sand plant. He added that he and other hunters have permission to hunt on the grounds. “I’ve been hunting since I was 12 years old,” Gawrysiak said. “It’s been my...

We will rank five barnyard residents, starting at the bottom, and work our way to the top. You just cannot find a dumber barnyard creature than a sheep. Yes, they supply us with wool for clothing, but so does a cotton plant. Yes, some people do enjoy mutton, but steak, veal, ham, bacon, chicken, and turkey make for some really good eating. My wife and I watched sheep being herded by Border Collie dogs in New Zealand. Those sheep would just cower at the sight of a dog that was one-tenth its size. It is in their genetic makeup to...

BRUSSELS — For years, Dan Vandertie’s claim to fame were the 43 consecutive awards his Doorco Holsteins dairy farm received as Progressive Breeders’ Registry honorees. The Holstein Association USA’s longest-running award honors top registered Holstein homebred herds based on elite milk production and classification scores. Doorco Holsteins’ honors started when Dan’s parents owned the farm. Now, the 56-year-old Vandertie finds himself with a new claim to fame, and it doesn’t have anything to do with dairy farming. Vandertie, who along with his wife, Julie, owns Doorco Holsteins in the Door County town of Brussels, earned his place in Wisconsin lore...

This is an extension of my thread: https://freerepublic.com/focus/chat/3699808/posts Due to no availability of .38 ACP shotshell ammo, the discussion now moves to 9mm handguns. Please see that previous thread if you wish to see why 9mm is now the topic.

Tarzan (John Clayton, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adventurer. Created by Edgar Rice Burroughs, Tarzan first appeared in the novel Tarzan of the Apes (magazine publication 1912, book publication 1914), and subsequently in 25 sequels, several authorized books by other authors, and innumerable works in other media, both authorized and unauthorized. The film version of Tarzan as the noble savage (“Me Tarzan, You Jane”), as acted by Johnny Weissmuller,...

ADAIRSVILLE, GA — A Georgia man has been charged with burglary and theft after he was found inside a business wearing a hoodie and underwear. Officers with the Adairsville Police Department on Monday, Nov. 19 were dispatched to a call of trespassing at Caliber Construction at 7171 Ga. 140. A sergeant and two officers arrived to find a man, later identified as Michael C. Abbott, standing on the carport of the business. Abbott was only wearing a gray Caliber Construction hoodie and a pair of black underwear, Adairsville police said. Abbott told police that he ran out of fuel on...

15 Second video of a really frustrated cat!...................

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- If a "community grid" is chosen to replace Interstate 81 in downtown Syracuse, what will happen to the land that's now under the aging viaduct's shadow? Whether it will be turned into green space or developed commercially is still an open question, according to city and state officials. A group of local architects is hoping to force the issue. The local chapter of the American Institute of Architects estimated in a recent paper that 18.6 acres of land will be made available if the 1.4-mile elevated highway is taken down. Taking the viaduct down and beefing up...

This is the entire show, 24+ minutes, not just the out take..........................ENJOY!..............

Police have named the man who died at a Hobart beach from a suspected stingray puncture wound, while an expert in the marine species has urged calm despite increased numbers of the animals in Tasmanian waters. Nicolas Ricketts, 42, died from cardiac arrest on Saturday shortly after he sustained the injury to his lower abdomen, believed to have been inflicted by a stingray, while swimming at Lauderdale, east of Hobart. Friends and family of Mr Ricketts, known widely as "Ned" who worked as a plumber and had served with the Australian Navy, gathered at the spot where he died yesterday....

Jessica Turnbow was on mile 16 of her 19-mile training run for her first 26.2 at the Las Vegas Rock ’n’ Roll Marathon when a bee buzzed by her ear along the canal path in Chandler, Arizona. The canal paths were one of her favorite running routes, and she ran there often, even passing that spot just five minutes prior before she turned around to finish her run. The bee was persistent. Because of that distraction, and someone cutting grass nearby, she wasn’t able to see the swarm of bees around her. “Before I could even think, I had a...

The National Weather Service in Sacramento has issued a * Flash Flood Watch for The Camp Fire wildfire in Butte County, the Carr, Delta and Hirz wildfires in Shasta County and the Mendocino Complex in Lake County burn areas in Northern California. * From Wednesday afternoon through Friday morning * Flash floods and debris flows will be a particular threat in the wildfire burn areas mentioned above. Heavy rainfall at times is possible over the burn areas.

Full title.......................'His house, his rules': Hilarious moment feline leaps out of his cat flap and pounces on an inquisitive raccoon to defend his porch............. This is the hilarious moment a raccoon tries to get through a cat flap but is pounced on and chased away by an angry cat. Footage captured on a home security camera shows the daring raccoon try to get into the house after looking curiously through the cat door in the Pacific North West, US. The raccoon can be seen walking tentatively up the stairs onto a garden porch before curiously looking at the cat flap....

We all know it’s irritating, unsightly and unhygienic, but one case of dog fouling has been logged by police as a racist hate crime. The incident is among numerous alleged hate crimes uncovered by The Mail on Sunday that critics say are so petty they are undeserving of police time and expense. Further examples in a list of more than 2,500 alleged ‘hate incidents’ logged by the Metropolitan Police in 2015 and 2016 include: An envelope that had been opened and resealed; An accident involving a car that bore a Remembrance poppy; A disputed line call in a tennis match;...

Very poignant video ad produced by the Tennessee Department of Tourism. Apparently TN has installed special viewfinders at various scenic overlooks that enable the colorblind to see the view in color. The reactions as they see the fall leaves in color for the first time are really moving. Enjoy!