I totally crashed

when I got home from Kroger after work. I worked 9 1/2 hours today, trying to make up some time for the half-day yesterday. For once it wasn't that my blood sugar was through the roof, I just had a busy day. With the exception of a few things that needed to go into the refrigerator, I just left everything on the couch and went straight to bed, ostensibly for a short time (I even changed my alarm tone, and it did wake me up after a half hour, but I went back to sleep). Now, three hours later, I feel better in general, although my joints are really bothering me, no doubt because of the rain (we're having a thunderstorm now--I think thunder is what actually woke me up.) I had packed my bag for the Y today just in case I felt like going, but what I really needed was the pool, and the pool here wasn't an option due to the weather and there is no open swim at the High Street YMCA on Wednesdays, so no pool today. Again, trying to manage without ibuprofen due to the blood drive tomorrow, despite arthritis pain. Hey, I'm pretty good at chronic pain and grinning and bearing it, despite the whining I do here sometimes. It's acute pain that I'm a real weenie about.

The rain is coming down pretty hard now. Maybe it will make it to the window boxes. :)

Tomorrow I'm going to try to work another long shift, and Friday as well. I don't feel as bad about coming down and crashing as I could have because my class has been extended for last submissions by the 19th, as opposed to Friday. That doesn't mean I can wait till the last moment, as I have two assignments to do, but it's a relief, anyway. If it's not raining in the morning, I'm going to try my best to do a few things around the house that include taking out the recyclables. I never got around to them earlier.

So the question becomes what to do with the remaining evening. I could watch 'Big Bang Theory' or 'Downton Abbey', or I could work on the notes, but the sound of the rain is actually quite soothing. I'm halfway tempted to head back to bed and just start my day tomorrow super early. It would be the best in terms of my joint pain, and I'm still tired. Not just sleepy like usual, but actually tired. It was a busy day, with a lot of catch-up to do. We did have our employee appreciation day, with a catered picnic (inside, due to the muggy weather that threatened to pour) and we got some movie tickets like we usually do each year. Yay.

There are quite a few stories I really meant to blog about tonight. I'm a bit behind. But there is one that really broke my heart, and so I'm including it here. The rest will have to wait, I'm afraid. And instead of including the teaser text for the story this time, I'm including the picture, which really is worth a thousand words. This is what we have to look forward to on a larger scale over the coming years, and it's very sad. The picture is by Ashley Cooper/Global Warming Images. I'm not sure we can avert their fate at this point, but I hope so. I hope this picture becomes a rallying point for raising awareness of what we are doing to the environment, to other creatures, and ultimately, to ourselves.

A victim of climate change? Polar bear found starved to death looked 'like a rug'

:(

Polar bear cubs die as ice melts, swims get longer: 5 of 11 moms that swam long distances lost cubs, study finds

Polar bear cubs forced to swim long distances with their mothers as their icy Arctic habitat melts appear to have a higher mortality rate than cubs that didn't have to swim as far, a new study reports.

Polar bears hunt, feed and give birth on ice or on land, and are not naturally aquatic creatures. Previous reports have noted individual animals swimming hundreds of miles to reach ice platforms or land, but this is one of the first to show these swims pose a greater risk to polar bear young.

Free to good home?

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Isn't she adorable? I'm glad they found her. Surely there is a zoo or rehabilitation centre somewhere that can take her.

Preliminary results say

Berlin zoo: Brain problems led to Knut's death

Brain problems apparently caused the shockingly early death of Knut, Germany's four-year-old celebrity polar bear, the Berlin Zoo said Tuesday.

Initial findings from a necropsy performed Monday by an institute in the German capital showed "significant changes to the brain, which can be viewed as a reason for the polar bear's sudden death," the zoo said in a statement.

The zoo didn't elaborate on the changes to the animal's brain, and officials could not immediately be reached for further comment.

Pathologists found no changes to any other organs, the zoo said, adding that it will take several days to produce a final result. Further planned tests include bacteriological and histological, or tissue, examinations.

Sad

via JediLibrarian:

Polar Bears Resort to Cannibalism as Arctic Ice Shrinks

Don't believe in global warming? The polar bear's habitat is shrinking so quickly that the bears are starving and attacking each other to survive. But you know the scariest thing about this article?

'Some scientists believe that in just five years, the Arctic may be ice-free during the summer.'

The Arctic without ice? Some people are excited, because new shipping lanes will open up. But at what price? The polar bear is just one piece of the puzzle. As our climate changes, how will it affect the Earth, and of course, us?

People tend to forget that the Earth will survive climatic change, asteroid impacts, nuclear war, etc., although changed. But we won't necessarily, and if we don't do everything we can do to survive, then I guess that's evolution. But I hate the idea of taking other species with us.

It must be the hats, then

From Friends of the Earth's green video competition; two polar bears debate the true causes of global warming. You can vote for this or one of the many other entries on their website.

No more polar bears in Alaska, and precious few anywhere by 2050

Warming Is Seen as Wiping Out Most Polar Bears