The California shark fin ban will become law on January first. Existing supplies of shark fins may be sold in the state until July first, twenty-thirteen.
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BARBARA KLEIN: Thousands of big brown bodies with bright teeth spread across the Alaskan coastline this past summer. Some reports say there were as many as twenty thousand of them. No, we are not talking about holiday travelers enjoying a visit to Alaska. These were walruses! And they were looking for a place to rest, as well as something to eat.
BOB DOUGHTY: Falling ice levels in the Arctic Ocean are a threat to Pacific walruses. Earlier this year, American officials considered listing the walruses under the Endangered Species Act. The animals spend as much as two thirds of their time at sea searching for food. When not looking for food, they like to rest on large pieces of floating ice. Female walruses also take to the ice to give birth, and to care for their young.
But low summer ice levels in the Arctic forced Pacific walruses from their homes in the Chukchi Sea. The animals often search for food over the continental shelf of the Chukchi Sea. Low water levels make it easy for them to search the ocean floor. The Sea also has a large amount of ice, where walruses and polar bears can rest. At least, that has been the case in the past. But recent years have seen a great decrease in ice levels.
BARBARA KLEIN: Two months ago, America’s National Snow and Ice Data Center released a report about Arctic sea ice. It said ice levels this past summer measured a little more than four and one third million square kilometers. This was the second lowest level since scientists began keeping records in nineteen seventy-nine.
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2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25