An article over at The Register (here) caught my eye a couple of days ago. It relates to some investigations carried out on logbooks from ships in the 1730s, and mentions the fact that there is “consistent language” and “European shore-based records” that indicate that global warming was taking place then.

So Autoblog, and sister site AutoblogGreen, are reporting 2 new ways for the production of oil that don’t involve dead creatures from millions of years ago. The first (reported on Autoblog here) involves the use of livestock feed, and some genetically altered bacteria, primarily a genetically altered strain of E. coli.

The bacteria have been added to a 1,000 litre vat of the animal feed, and can turn out 40 gallons of crude oil (almost good enough to pour straight into your car) in a week. Very impressive. As long as they don’t escape. Or mutate. Or both of course!

Once again it seems that one of the most iconic birds of prey to live in the UK is under increased threat. In a report titled The Golden Eagle Framework, Scottish Natural Heritage notes that the continued persecution of the golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) in Scotland is effectively threatening their continued existence in the UK. Only 440 pairs are known to be breeding in the UK, all in Scotland. An even sadder statistic is the fact that the UK population is just 1 male bird. And whilst the persecution continues in Scotland, the population cannot be effectively re-introduced to England.

I was absolutely fascinated by this story which appeared on The Register recently. If you haven’t read then go and read it. Nothing unusual in there you might think. Except that one of the quotes caught my attention… “This year’s ozone hole was less centred on the South Pole as in other years, which allowed it to mix with warmer air, reducing the growth of the hole because ozone is depleted at temperatures less than -78 degrees Celsius,”. Now I didn’t appreciate this fact. I assumed that ozone disappeared under all conditions. However, from the quote in the story it appears that ozone disappears faster when conditions are cold. Mix the cold air under the hole with slightly warmer air and the disappearance of ozone happens at a slower rate.