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Global warming effect sea levels and weather conditions, but there is an additional threat that few people are aware of-melting glaciers will release ancient microbes and bacteria that have not roamed the earth for 20 million years, since before human beings were even on the planet. Our immune systems will not be prepared for the onslaught.

Buried under thousands of feet of ice in the Antarctic are a series of fresh water lakes that could possibly hold a thriving community of microbes. Researchers have located at least 76 lakes there, including one that is about 5,400 square miles, the size of Lake Ontario, and another, Lake Vostok, that is 3,000 feet deep.
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An article in the latest issue ofAncient American Magazine makes a compelling case that Greek mariners reached the Americas as long ago as the fifth century B.C., possibly traveling as far west as Newfoundland.

Rather than relying on maps or archaeological remains whose authenticity cannot be confirmed, the author, Alban Wall, looks to the writings of the ancient Greek author Plutarch for his evidence. In volume 5 of his Morals, according to the author, “Plutarch set down astonishingly accurate sailing directions so precise that they provide, in and of themselves, absolute proof that ancient mariners knew full well how to get to these western shores.”
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Millions of honey bees in France are suffering from “Mad Bee Disease,” becoming too disoriented to find the way back to their hives. If they can’t get home again, they die within hours.

Environmentalists say the problem can be traced to the pesticide Gaucho, sprayed on sunflowers. The French government ordered a two-year extension of a ban on spraying the chemical on sunflower seeds, to allow more study of its impact on the nervous systems of bees.

The National Union of French Beekeepers says that the amount of honey produced has fallen drastically since the pesticide was introduced in 1994. Gaucho is also used on wheat, barley and sugar beets.
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The chance that Russia’s decrepit space station Mir will crash into the Earth, instead of the Pacific ocean, is as high as one in 33, according to a Russian space control official. Space experts warn that if anything goes wrong during the operation, the sections that do not burn up in the atmosphere could end up on land.

“Any technical equipment can fail at any time,” Vladimir Solovyev said. “We put the risk at 2 to 3 percent.” But he adds that, “Right now, everything is fine on board the station.”
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