Not enough pic-i-nic baskets to go around: As the extensive U.S. drought drives up human food prices, it’s also making it harder for bears, elk, deer, and other animals to feed themselves. What’s a starving critter to do? Invade campsites, kitchens, and even candy stores in search of sustenance. “My God, they’re everywhere,” says one sheriff in the Colorado mountains. Wildlife officials expect huge die-offs this winter among animals that aren’t able to build enough food stores to sustain themselves through the cold months. They’re also killing more animals to protect people from the ravenous foragers that keep coming back to town. New York Times
Global warming will eat your brain: So let’s run through the list. Potential impacts of climate change showing up across the U.S. this summer: Drought? Check. Wildfires? Check. Starving animals? Check. Brain-eating amoebas? Check. … Wait, what? Mother Jones
Summer of extremes: Bill McKibben on “how the earth works now,” thanks to climate change. Hint: not so well, at least for those of us living on it (see previous item). Yale Environment 360
Touchdown?: Is the effort by pro sports teams to go green scoring with their fans? Time
Yep, it’s BP’s fault … again: The tarballs currently washing up on Gulf Coast beaches after Hurricane Isaac? Yeah, no surprise, but tests confirm they came from the 2010 BP spill. So now we know what happened to some of that so-called “missing oil” -- it’s still out there, waiting to be stirred up. In very-much-related news, the U.S. Justice Department is accusing BP in court filings of gross negligence that contributed to the Deepwater Horizon disaster. No surprise there, either. Associated Press, Nola.com
Business sense: Congress might not care about reducing global warming pollution, but big corporations do. Why? Simple. It's good for business. InsideClimateNews
Apps for apes: Seems even orangutans like the iPad. If Steve Jobs were still with us, we expect he’d be working on a whole new product line right about now. Reuters
Tips: @OnEarthMag (tag it #greenreads)
Image: ld_germain/Flickr
