Daily Roundup: January 28, 2011

Pyramids of Doubt: The turmoil in Egypt is spiking oil prices and fueling concerns about the Suez Canal, through which oil travels to get to the West from the Middle East. Wall Street Journal

In the Black: Chevron's 2010 earnings, $19 billion, almost doubled the oil giant's 2009 numbers. CEO John Watson called it "an outstanding year." Greenwire

Checkout Line: Among the most recent local governments to ban plastic bags are Santa Monica, California, and Maui, Hawaii. Plastics News and the EPA

Ratted Out: A large-scale extermination project has begun on the Galapagos Islands: Rats are an invasive species there that threaten the indigenous animals. The method being used: dropping poison from helicopters. Wisconsin State Journal

Polar Opposites: A new type of whale has been discovered; it appears to be the result of an Arctic whale mating with an Antarctic one. Scientists say the two were able to meet because of warming seas — one current that feeds the Arctic Sea is warmer than it's been in 2,000 years. National Geographic and Scientific American

--Avital Binshtock