A wildfire has devastated a vast swath of Bosnia's largest nature reserve and destroyed acres of migratory bird habitat in what authorities suspect was an act of arson. The fire scorched 80 percent of the Hutovo Blato park, which Bird Life International has listed as an Important Bird Area and is host to tens of thousands of species during migration season. "The fire killed many birds, as well as mammals and reptiles," said park manager Nikola Zovko. "The vegetation was destroyed totally and t... Read More
Environmental officials from Texas governor Rick Perry's presidential campaign doctored a report on rising sea levels in Galveston Bay to remove references to climate change, according to the researchers who wrote the paper. Scientists from the Houston Advanced Research Center said they refused to let the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality publish the edited version of the report. "This is simply antithetical to what a scientist does," said Jim Lester, HARC's CEO. "We can't be censored.... Read More
In an effort to dodge a $4 admission fee early this week, a Chinese woman scaled the 70-foot wall of Nanjing, China's historic Zhonghua Gate. Ma Jei, who said she grew up in the city of Nanjing and climbed the wall as a child, made the ascent in street clothes and without safety equipment. Her stunt inspired five copycats, though none were successful: two fell and broke their legs, and three others had to be rescued. Built in the 1300s, Zhonghau Castle is one of the largest and most complex ca... Read More
Photographer: Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com/Flickr
General Motors is pulling an advertisement aimed at college students that derided cycling and attracted widespread ire from the cycling community. "They will be taking the bicycle ad out of the rotation, " said GM spokesman Tom Henderson "We respect bikers and many of us here are cyclists." The ad featured a picture of a young woman in a car smiling at bike rider and was captioned "Stop Pedaling...Start Driving." The ad's headline read "Reality Sucks," and encouraged students to take advantage... Read More
The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating whether a couple who videotaped themselves having sex while skydiving in Southern California distracted the plane's pilot. Porn star Alex Torres, a part-time skydiving instructor, and the skydiving school's receptionist, Hope Howell, began began having sex in the jump seat of the plane before exiting and continuing in the air. Any behavior that might distract a pilot while flying would be in violation of federal regulations, said FAA spokesm... Read More
