Motorcycle Wrecks Spike

On 9/4/2010 5:04 PM, sean_q wrote:
don (Calgary) wrote:

Global warming my ass.

That's what the polar bear said as he was swimming an extra
hundred miles of open water to the Arctic shoreline
after the sea ice broke up early.

Hey, he's a polar bear. It's what they do.

Only the seals were happy.

SQ

On Sat, 04 Sep 2010 14:04:53 -0700, sean_q <no.spam@no.spam> wrote:

don (Calgary) wrote:

Global warming my ass.

That's what the polar bear said as he was swimming an extra
hundred miles of open water to the Arctic shoreline
after the sea ice broke up early. Only the seals were happy.

SQ

Well swimming must be good for them because according to the Nunavut
Environment Minister they are doing quite well.

CBC News May 28, 2010

The Nunavut government does not think the polar bear should be
classified as a species of special concern under the federal Species
at Risk Act, says territorial Environment Minister Daniel Shewchuk.

Shewchuk said there is no clear evidence to support assigning that
status to the polar bear despite recommendations to the contrary by
Environment Canada and a federal scientific panel.

"We live in polar bear country," Shewchuk told reporters in Iqaluit on
Friday afternoon. "We understand the polar bears, and we do actually
think our polar bear population is very very healthy, with the
exception of a couple of populations that we are taking action on."

Later in the same article:

Shewchuk said while the Nunavut government originally agreed with the
special-concern listing, it changed its position after consulting with
Inuit hunters and others on a recent community tour.

"Through direct consultation, they are unanimous in their belief that
polar bears have not declined," Shewchuk said.

Scientists on the committee have argued that although Canada's polar
bear population has improved over the last 50 years, the future of the
species could be threatened by climate change and receding sea ice.

"Certainly, we recognize that the Arctic may experience substantial
impacts from climate change," Shewchuk said. "But listing polar bears
now, based on predicted but unknown future impacts, is not reasonable.

"Based on hunter observations, polar bears are presently still healthy
and abundant across Nunavut — and for that reason, not a species of
special concern."

************

I have listened to several radio interviews with Daniel Shewchuk and
he seems to understand these animals and their habitat quite well.
After hearing him speak, I have found his opinions credible.

"BrianNZ" <brian@itnz.co.nz> wrote in message
news:4c81a2e9$1@news.orcon.net.nz...
don (Calgary) wrote:

Maybe there are more motorcycles on the road this year.? That 62% death
rate might just be the ones the helicopter attends, rather than all
motorcycle crashes.

That is very likely.

For example, I know that the national death rate for motorcycle/deer
collisions is about 1 in 8. But that is just the reported accidents,
probably involving EMS action. I know a guy who was complaining that his
leg hurt. I asked why. He said that a couple days ago he had to go
swerving around Bambi and just clipped it and dinged up his leg (bike didn't
go down and he didn't contact the deer with any part of his body except his
leg). That one wasn't reported to anyone ... just a guy with a sore leg for
several days. Unreported incidents would change the statistics if they were
reported.

By the time you have an air ambulance lifting off the helipad, a guy has
more than a little road rash ... in that case the 62% wouldn't surprise me.
I don't think they call for the turbine-powered hardware unless the medical
situation is dire.

But even when you have an ordinary wheeled ambulance rolling, a significant
mortality rate --- maybe 30% -- would not totally surprise me.

I wish I knew where one could get reliable stats on any of this ...

DF

On Sep 6, 7:250pm, "Datesfat Chicks" <datesfat.chi...@gmail.com>
wrote:

I wish I knew where one could get reliable stats on any of this ...

This is reeky. Just make them up.