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Africa, Texas-Style

Texans used to talk about the thunder of buffalo. Now it's the rumble of rhino. Rhinoceros specialists have released two male and three female black rhino onto private ranch land in Texas, hoping to establish a substantial breeding herd. The black rhino is threatened with extinction in Africa, where it suffers from poaching, drought, and reduced habitat ... while attempts to mate the shy mammal in captivity have not been very successful. The specialists are hoping the rhino will feel a little more at home on the Texas range.

No More Rivers to Damn?

After decades of dredging, channelizing, and damming southeastern rivers, the Tennessee Valley Authority has apparently decided it has done all it can. Originally created to improve economic conditions in a severely depressed area of the Southeast, TVA became the object of pork barrel politics and the source of questionable policies that produced limited economic benefits and submerged thousands of acres of valuable forests and farmland. TVA's new policy is to let the rivers run where they will, "except where significant public benefits are clearly established and environmental damage can be avoided." If only the new policy could be made retroactive ...

Scientists Seesaw on Sea Rise

Coastal inhabitants can unload the moving van ... maybe. The possible rise in sea level that could result from the increased C0 2 in the atmosphere is now being questioned by a number of experts. Early reports from the Environmental Protection Agency indicated that a C0 2 induced warming trend might break up the polar ice cans. causing a significant rise in sea level. But a number of scientists argue, on the basis of new evidence, that the ice caps would remain stable through a warming period and, as a result of increased snowfall, might even expand. In short, no one can say with much certainty exactly what will be happening to the world's oceans in two or three decades. (See the W.O. Roberts interview in issue 86 for more information)

Bear-Fat Barometer

Since meteorologists cannot seem to agree on the precise effects of increased CO 2 in the atmosphere, perhaps they should consult Gordon "Bear Fat" Wimsatt. Mr. Wimsatt, a resident of New Mexico's Sacramento Mountains, has been forecasting the weather in those parts for 50 years-by examining bear fat in glass bottles. Mr. Wimsatt collects his "meteorological mercury" from hunters and then makes his predictions on the basis of patterns in the grease, a technique he learned from an Apache friend. Local residents swear by his forecasts, and Wimsatt says he is at least as accurate as his hightech competition on TV and radio.

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