Tracking the Extinctions and Adaptations Around Us
The last great extinction occurred sixty five million years ago. You can visit the exact point on earth where it started, on the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico. The Chicxulub crater, more than 110 miles in diameter, was formed by the enormous impact of a meteor the size of San Francisco hitting the earth. Life on earth changed radically from that moment of impact.
 

Vast Ice ‘Island’ Breaks Free of Greenland Glacier
An enormous iceberg, about four times the size of Manhattan, broke away from Greenland’s Petermann Glacier on Aug. 5. Greenland has for years been shedding ice faster than the rate at which accumulating snow adds to the overall bulk of its ice sheet. The calving of an enormous ice “island” from the Petermann Glacier several days ago created a photogenic “moment” in a long-term process.

Gulf Oil Relief Well: 100 Feet To Go
NEW ORLEANS -- (AP) One man guides a drill more than two miles beneath the sea floor and three miles from the surface, trying to hit a target less than half the size of a dartboard. The drill is about as wide as a grapefruit.
 

4,500 Animals Killed in BP Spill ... And Counting
As BP moves to permanently seal the blown-out well  that unleashed 5 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, the focus is turning to the toll of the disaster. It should be said that the true and total toll will not be known for some time, until scientists have had a chance to properly investigate the extent of the damage above and below the sea. But there are some things we can start looking at now: Like the direct number of casualties among the Gulf's wildlife the spill has claimed so far. Thousands of animals -- birds, sea turtles, dolphins, and reptiles -- have been killed so far.

India Oil Spill: Coast Guard Tries To Contain Leak From Ship Collision
MUMBAI, India (AP) -- Indian coast guard vessels and helicopters worked Monday to contain oil spilling from a stricken container ship that collided with another vessel in the Arabian Sea, India's defense ministry said.
 

Wild Tiger Population Dropped by 96.8% in 20 Years
According to the latest estimates, there are only about 3,200 tigers left in the wild on the entire planet. That's a catastrophically sharp decline from the 100,000 tigers that were estimated to be in the wild in 1990. The WWF experts warn that "The big cat, which is native to southern and eastern Asia, could soon become extinct unless urgent action is taken to prevent hunting and loss of habitat."