Early Ohio turkey hunting numbers provide hopeful sign bird’s population has stabilized
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By Madeline Bartos
April 25, 2025 / 2:14 PM EDT / CBS Pittsburgh
The Pennsylvania Game Commission says 2024 was a big year for bear hunting — literally.
Of the 10 heaviest bears harvested last year, nine of them topped 600 pounds, with three of them over 700. Overall, the Game Commission says hunters harvested more than 2,600 bears last year, placing 2024’s harvest in the top 25 on record.
Bears were killed in 56 of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties, with the most coming from Tioga. Hunters harvested 174 bears in the Pittsburgh area.
“Pennsylvania is home to lots and lots of great bear-friendly habitat, areas with abundant and varied food sources and thick cover,” Brandon Snavely, the Game Commission’s black bear biologist, said in a press release. “That allows us not only to support lots of bears, but plenty of very, very big ones, too.”
According to the Pennsylvania Game Commission, these are the top 10 heaviest bears hunters got last year:
The chances of getting a bear are somewhat slim, but the Game Commission says that’s what makes it exciting. Last year, over 201,000 hunters bought bear licenses for the 2024 seasons, making it the sixth straight year sales topped 200,000.
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“Bear hunting combines so many of the elements that keep hunters coming back,” said Pennsylvania Game Commission Executive Director Steve Smith. “For some, there’s the camaraderie of going to camp or hunting with family and friends. Others might venture out alone. There’s an array of seasons. But no matter how you hunt, there’s always the anticipation of seeing a bear and making the most of your opportunity. And that opportunity, literally, might be extremely big.”
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The Weather Channel
Earth Is Approaching Dangerous, Irreversible Climate Tipping Points, Scientists WarnUnmute
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Our planet is headed toward several catastrophic climate tipping points, according to new research. This matters because once these “tipping points” are crossed, they can trigger dramatic environmental shifts that cannot be reversed.
A new study published in the European Geosciences Union paints a remarkably grim picture. It highlights threats such as the collapse of the Greenland Ice Sheet, dieback of rainforests and rapid thawing of permafrost. These changes would severely impact human well-being and global stability.![]()
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What’s most concerning about these tipping points is that once triggered, the changes often escalate on their own, without additional human input. This endless loop can amplify global warming and make it even more difficult to mitigate the effects of climate change.
Researchers calculated the probabilities of triggering 16 known climate tipping points. They factored in uncertainties like climate sensitivity to greenhouse gases and the exact temperature thresholds at which tipping points occur. The scientists concluded that there is a 62% chance of triggering at least one tipping point, and nine tipping elements have more than a 50% probability of being crossed. These include the Greenland Ice Sheet collapse, abrupt permafrost thaw and Amazon rainforest dieback.![]()
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Findings show that if we drastically cut emissions we can cut our chances of triggering a tipping point by roughly half. However, there’s growing concern that it might already be too late for some systems, as some tipping points could be triggered at as little as 1.8 degree Fahrenheit of warming, a threshold we have already reached.
Carbon cycle tipping points like permafrost collapse and Amazon rainforest dieback do increase warming, however, the warming effects are relatively small compared to human-driven emissions. In fact, the added warming from these tipping points are as much as ten times smaller on average than the warming from human-driven emissions. Still, these tipping points can’t be ignored.![]()
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A swift move to reduce greenhouse gas emissions could mitigate the risk of triggering these climate tipping points. The closer we get to these tipping points, the harder it will be to reverse their effects. While these carbon tipping points alone won’t cause runaway warming, they amplify our risks and shorten our window for action.
Jennifer Gray is a weather and climate writer for weather.com. She has been covering some of the world’s biggest weather and climate stories for the last two decades.