Polar bears against Palin. Polar bears have it tough – the polar ice caps are melting; the fish we eat are disappearing. Now Sarah Palin is on the verge of becoming the VP of the USA. Well, screw that! Stand up, polar bears! Stand up and fight! Say ‘no’ to Sarah Palin. Say ‘yes’ to ice! Check out the polar bear rebuttal of Sarah Palin’s policy on bears here.   — Polar bears against Palin

France throws out ‘picnic tax’. France has backed down on plans to introduce a so-called “picnic tax”, which had been going to increase taxes on throwaway plates, cups and cutlery to encourage people to buy recyclable products. Opposition politicians dubbed it the “picnic tax” and said the government should be hiking levies on rich people rather than penalizing ordinary people enjoying a day out. — Reuters

China taps emergency water for “grim” Beijing. China’s capital has started pumping “emergency” water from its long-parched neighboring province, with officials speaking of a “grim” shortfall weeks after the Olympics when they said the city had enough water. Hebei, which surrounds Beijing, will pump 300 million cubic meters of water to the capital from three dams which usually supply nearby farms, towns and cities. — Environmental News Network

Estrogen ‘Flooding Our Rivers,’ Montreal Study Finds. The Montreal water treatment plant dumps 90 times the critical amount of certain estrogen products into the river. It only takes one nanogram (ng) of steroids per liter of water to disrupt the endocrinal system of fish and decrease their fertility. — Science Daily