Algae-dyed polar bears puzzle Japan zoo visitors. Green-coloured polar bears are drawing questions from puzzled visitors at a Japanese zoo. Three normally white polar bears at Higashiyama Zoo and Botanical Gardens in central Japan changed their color in July after swimming in a pond with an overgrowth of algae. The sight of green polar bears has prompted many questions from visitors concerned about whether the animals are sick or carrying mold, said zoo official Masami Kurobe. — Breitbart

New cow diet reduces methane emissions. While farmers in the US are trying to save money by feeding their cows junk food, the London Times reported today that scientists have found a diet that just might cut down on the belching coming from cows. By feeding cows chopped hay and straw, only 6-7cm in length, farmers can cut down on emissions by 20%. While cows don’t really prefer the straw/hay combo, they will learn to eat it by adding silage, wheat, maize, soya or sugar beet. — Treehugger

Riders on the storm: Stopping and restarting offshore oil and gas. It has been five days since Hurricane Gustav blew through town, and industry is still working to restore the flow of oil and gas from offshore production platforms in the Gulf of Mexico. Meanwhile, about 47 percent of more than 700 stationary offshore platforms in the Gulf of Mexico remained evacuated Friday, according to the Minerals Management Service in New Orleans. The agency also said that 34 of 121 oil rigs remained unmanned. — Oil Drum

Unexplored Arctic region to be mapped. A scientific expedition this fall will map the unexplored Arctic seafloor where the U.S. and Canada may have sovereign rights over natural resources such as oil and gas and control over activities such as mining. Both countries will use the resulting data to establish the outer limits of the continental shelf, according to the criteria set out in the Convention on the Law of the Sea. — Science Daily