An idle glance through world news items indicates that snails are getting a deal of attention. Todays feast of gastropodial news features the water snail, Hinea brasiliana, and its bioluminescent behavior; see the link for details:
It gives off flashes of fluorescent green light, that are amplified by its shell, when threatened by hungry denizens of the 'hood'. Now I know that many teenagers these days won’t eat anything that’s green in case it might turn out to be broccoli, but giving the green light to predators seems a little perverse. Apparently the shells don’t amplify red light so how are they going to flash out a welcome to amorous neighbors?
The image of the lonely polar bear on an ice float has had good use as a global warning awareness advertisement, but we need to think about the bear interface. City University of New York scientists have seen grizzly bears in polar bear habitat in northern Manitoba. The bear facts of life become interesting as one hybrid has already been shot. Both species are federally listed. Does the concern carry over to a Grolar; does it halve or does it double the federal concern? This is a question that should be sent to
for the lawyers to answer. It would seem to me to be of as much a matter of moment as whether Superman’s x-ray vision violates a person’s right to privacy when judged in the light of current modifications to airport security screening.
