L.A. City Council OKs ban on plastic grocery and carryout bags

Los Angeles on Tuesday became the largest city in the nation to move toward a ban on plastic grocery bags, with the City Council barring them in supermarkets, convenience stores and any big retailer that sells groceries. 1371597264

Climate change a threat to migratory birds, wildlife group says

Climate change is altering and destroying important habitats that America’s migratory birds depend on, the National Wildlife Federation said Tuesday in a report. 1371598156

• Scarlet shorebird serves as harbinger of climate change between the poles
• Helping the Red Knot

Scarlet shorebird serves as harbinger of climate change between the poles

In years past, tens of thousands of red knots crowded the sandy beaches of Mispillion Harbor in Delaware Bay, gorging on fresh horseshoe crab eggs spawned in such abundance they turned the shoreline a gelatinous green. Smaller than a gull but larger than a robin, the shorebirds have one of the longest-distance migrations known in the animal kingdom. Each year, the ruddy-breasted birds fly to the Canadian Arctic from their winter home in Tierra del Fuego at the tip of South America. And each year, there are fewer and fewer. 1371598156

• Climate change a threat to migratory birds, wildlife group says
• Helping the Red Knot

Promiscuity helps honeybees mix up the gene pool

RALEIGH, N.C. - Queen bees who cavort with multiple mates are not behaving badly.

An unexpected lesson in Antarctic ice melt

It's called calving, and it occurs when enormous chunks of ice burst free from glaciers or floating ice shelves and drop into the sea with an explosive, heart-stopping crash.