Critically endangered North Atlantic right whales, which usually arrive in late March or early April to graze on shrimplike plankton in New England, began arriving before Christmas, as water temperatures hovered several degrees above normal, dispersing only recently. [Washington Post]

Scientific studies are misrepresented all the time. But now and again the distortions get particularly bad. That was the case Monday, when Fox News ran the headline, “New Research Shows Wind Farms Cause Global Warming.” A number of other media outlets did the same thing. And it’s… not true at all. [WashPost]

Opinion: “As a conservative Republican who very much understands the need to reduce and control our spending, it may seem strange that I understand and accept that climate change is impacting my home, state and country.” [Press Citizen]

In the clammy depths of a southern Illinois coal mine lies the largest fossil forest ever discovered, at least 50 times as extensive as the previous contender. [New York Times]

Over the weekend, baseball announcer Tim McCarver became the source of ridicule when he blamed global warming as a reason for the increase in home run totals in recent years. But it was the criticism of McCarver rather than McCarver’s comment that was over the top. [Washington Post Weather Gang]

While polls show the economy as the top concern of voters, a review of political attack ads suggests a different issue dominates: energy. [Bloomberg]

BP is planning to start three new oil drilling rigs in the Gulf of Mexico this year. The launch of the new rigs will bring the number of BP rigs in the Gulf to eight – more than the oil giant had before the devastating Deepwater Horizon disaster three years ago