12 whales, 1 hole in the ice: A dozen killer whales are trapped in the ice near Inukjuak, a village in Quebec. With only one small hole left through which they can breath, the family of orcas is taking turns using it. Unfortunately, the Canadian government says its icebreakers are too far away to help. So...yeah, we have nothing cheery to end this blurb with, unless someone else with an icebreaker takes action soon? Anybody? ABC News

Shaking with fear: Scientists have long thought it impossible for a gigantic earthquake to spread from southern to northern California along the San Andreas faultline. Turns out, they were wrong. A new study says a massive quake could, in fact, move from San Diego on up to San Francisco. Yikes. Los Angeles Times

Hunger shames: A new study found that half of the food that the world produces every year ends up as waste -- before or after hitting the plate. Some of these numbers are so depressing you wish people just wouldn't do the math (or throw-away good food). The Guardian

A man modified: As a leader of anti-GMO forces, British environmentalist Mark Lynas used to break into farms and tear up genetically modified crops. Now, he's apologizing for having anything to do with the anti-GMO movement. The New Yorker

Slow riders: A group of European countries that includes Austria, Finland, Germany, and Spain are advocating for 30 km/h speed limits -- that's just around 18 or 19 mph -- in all urban areas. To move forward, the effort needs a million signatures. Drivers should want to sign on, too, and not just for the better air quality that would result. In places that already have slower speed limits, cars actually move faster. How? There tend to be fewer traffic jams to slow them down. El Pais

Biofuel can make you sick: If you're going to make biofuel, one good source is fast-growing trees that can be harvested and replenished quickly. But those trees also amp up ozone concentrations on the ground, where the gas is harmful to people's lungs and can damage other plants. Mother Jones

Hush little baby: Bamboo sharks embryos try to evade predators even when they're still developing in their egg cases. These casings are left to develop away from the mothers, and when the babies inside sense danger, they stay very, very, very still. BBC

Serpentine stowaway: There was a snake on a plane during a Qantas flight to Papua New Guinea today. Seriously. The 10-foot scrub python was actually on the plane -- on the wing to be precise -- instead of in the plane, terrorizing passengers and Samuel L. Jackson. We're pretty sure it was the snake that was most frightened in this situation, and amazingly, the reptile, despite the high wind speed and frigid temperatures, was still alive during the descent. Sydney Morning Herald

Science and fiction: The giant peach in Roald Dahl's James and the Giant Peach could have floated in the ocean -- it was hollow inside! -- but it would have needed a lot more seagulls to pick it up out of the water. James had 501. According to a new paper witten by physics students, he would have needed 2,425,907. BoingBoing

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