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Climate change driving species out of habitats much faster than expected

Once heard only rarely outside the north Kent marshes, the loud voice of the Cetti's warbler is now delighting a whole new set of listeners, from the isle of Anglesey to the banks of the Humber. The bird has moved 150 kilometres further north within the UK in the last 40 years, in response to the changing climate.

Chris Thomas, professor of conservation biology at York University and leader of the project, said: "These changes are equivalent to animals and plants shifting away from the equator at around 20 centimetres per hour, for every hour of the day, for every day of the year.

Sarah Palin of Alaska will make an appearance Friday at the Iowa State Fair, a popular venue for presidential candidates.

Palin, who captures intense media attention wherever she goes, has been accused of spotlight-grabbing before. She slipped into New Hampshire the day Mitt Romney was there to announce his second presidential run. She visited Iowa in June for a movie screening the day President Barack Obama was in the state. Palin sent an email via her political action committee, SarahPAC, just before 4 p.m. Wednesday, saying she’s relaunching a tour of historic sites around the country. “The heartland is perfect territory for more of the One Nation Tour as we put forth efforts to revitalize the fundamental restoration of America by highlighting our nation’s heart, history, and founding principles,” she wrote. “We accept with gratefulness an invitation to meet folks at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines this week. … I’m also excited to try some of that famous fried butter-on-a-stick, fried cheesecake-on-a-stick, fried Twinkies, etc. I’ll enjoy them in honor of those who’d rather make us just ‘eat our peas’!” A State Fair spokeswoman said no one from Palin’s staff has contacted the fair. Palin, a former governor and 2008 vice presidential nominee, had not been expected to appear in Iowa before Labor Day weekend, when she’s scheduled to address a tea party gathering in Waukee. She has been flirting for months with a presidential bid, but has said only that she will make her decision in early fall.

“I think it will be a very interesting week for those who thought it was getting a little stale around here,” he added. Rogers said Organize4 Palin, a grass-roots group unaffiliated with Palin, also been doing screenings of the two-hour documentary about Palin, “The Undefeated,” around Iowa in the last three weeks. Palin made her first visit to Iowa in seven months on June 28 for the premiere of “The Undefeated” at an opera house in Pella. That visit fell a day after GOP presidential candidate Michele Bachmann announced her campaign in Waterloo. On that visit, Palin invited Beach, a GOP fundraiser, to lunch. Over a meal at a Panera Bread in Urbandale, Beach described the fair. “She’s gotten to be a very good friend of mine, and I’m really excited she’s coming,” Beach said.