Quotes & Philosophy

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Warmer Arctic spells colder winters. 'Unicorn' whales do scientists favor by taking Arctic temp
It's no secret that the proverbial canary in the climate change mine is the Arctic. As National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) administrator Jane Lubchenco noted when her organization launched its annual Arctic Report Card last week,“To quote one of my NOAA colleagues, ‘whatever is going to happen in the rest of the world happens first, and to the greatest extent, in the Arctic.’”

But, even as the Arctic warms, seemingly irrevocably, it is still a formidable environment in which to operate, particularly in the winter. The coasts of Greenland, in particular, act as pathways for ice from the Arctic Ocean, as a result of which winter research expeditions can require icebreaking vessels that cost millions of dollars to charter.

Consequently, in some areas, such as Baffin Bay, a large area between northeast Canada and southwest Greenland, winter data have been scarce -- or, in the words of Mike Steele of the University of Washington, "there was this gigantic, embarrassing hole."

Narwhal_satellite That hole is now being filled - thanks to narwhals, medium-size whales, endemic to the Arctic, known as unicorns of the seas because of the single, spiralling tusk found in males.  read more »

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Valles Garcia, who is the mother of a baby boy, said she took the job to change her community. "We're all afraid in Mexico now. We can't let fear beat us," she said after being sworn in. The district has 9,148 inhabitants, and a police force of nineteen. Valles Garcia says she intends to hire more women, and focus on community outreach and prevention. In the near city of Juarez, she's called by locals "La Adelita", a suitable nickname since it was the iconic figure of courageous women in times of the 1910 Mexican Revolution.

CNN: 20-year-old woman becomes top cop in violent Mexican municipality. Valles Garcia, a criminology student, became the police chief this week of Praxedis G. Guerrero, one of the most violent municipalities in the border state of Chihuahua. She was the only person who accepted the top job in a police force whose officers have been abducted and even killed.

"Yes, there is fear," Valles Garcia said Wednesday in an interview with CNN en Español. "It's like all human beings. There will always be fear, but what we want to achieve in our municipality is tranquility and security."

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The oldest man in the world has celebrated his 114th birthday with a slice of cake and few pearls of wisdom.
Walter Breuning gave a short speech telling the guests at a small gathering on Tuesday what they all wanted to know - the secret of living a long life.

But for anybody who thinks you can have such a good innings without effort, they are in for a surprise.

Hard work, according to Mr Breuning, is the key to living a long time, and he should know. The pensioner held down a management job until he was 99, meaning he has spent longer working than some people have lived their whole lives.

His other advice was to watch what you eat, which has caused him to cut down to two meals a day.

He also tells those younger than him to be kind to others. ‘When you help someone else, you're actually helping yourself even more,’ he said.

Mr Breuning was born on September 21, 1896 in the rural town of Melrose in Minnesota. He moved to Great Falls, Montana in 1918, where he has stayed ever since. He worked for more than 50 years for the Great Northern Railway, saw some 20 U.S. Presidents come and go, lived in three centuries and survived two World Wars - although he served in neither because he not called up or was considered too old to fight, one of his few regrets.

World's oldest man marks 114th birthday in U.S.
Walter Breuning urged people to rely on their faith in a speech he delivered in Great Falls on his 114th birthday Tuesday. Breuning is verified by two groups as the world's oldest man.  read more »