Crows + Marijuana + Einstein

Welcome to a new week! Here's another batch of articles for your Monday morning eyeballs.

Source: Nobrow Press

Let's start with two positive conservation-themed stories, the first for Audubon, the second for Scientific American:

The Hawaiian Crow Is Ready to Make Its Big Comeback

Great News for Rhinos, Pangolins, Parrots, Sharks and Chambered Nautilus


Next up, an interesting news story for TakePart:

The Marijuana Boom Is Contributing to the Climate Crisis


And finally this week, an interview with a graphic novelist for From the Grapevine:

Einstein gets graphic in new biography


More next Monday -- or follow along on Twitter for headlines as they go live.

Who Says Endangered Species Can't Be Funny?

If you're read this blog before, you know that I have two great passions: endangered species and cartooning. Those two topics collided in this article for Scientific American:

Nextinction: Ralph Steadman Goes Gonzo for Endangered Birds


I wrote one other SciAm article this week, but it was slightly less fun:

Frog Mass Extinction on the Horizon


Speaking of less fun, yeah, here are three more downers for TakePart:

When Butterflies Shouldn't Fly Free

China’s Obsession With Pet Turtles Threatens a Rare Philippine Species With Extinction

A Rare Chance to Save an Entire Nation’s Frogs From Extinction


Yes, there were some negative articles this week, but take a closer look -- almost all of them mention the things people are doing (or can do) to turn things around. That's why I do this. There are heroes out there, and there are solutions.

More next week. As always, if you can't wait until then you can also follow me on Twitter, where I'll post headlines as they go live. Some of them may even be fun!

From the Archives: 'Ziggy' Artist Draws Fight Against Cancer

(Originally published October 12, 2009, on Tonic.com)


There are two ways to look at the comic-strip character Ziggy: either as a perpetual loser, or as someone who maintains a positive attitude no matter what life throws his way.

Cartoonist Tom Wilson, Jr., definitely embodies the second viewpoint. Even in the face of terrible tragedy, he is working hard to create positive change in the world.

Wilson's wife, Susan, died nine years ago from breast cancer at the young age of 44. Earlier this year, Wilson recounted the experience in the book Zig-Zagging: Loving Madly, Losing Badly…How Ziggy Saved My Life, a memoir about dealing with his wife's untimely death, her strength and courage in the face of her own cancer, and how the comic strip character created by his father helped to keep him going.

Now, a new chapter has been added: Wilson has announced an ambitious plan to raise up to $1 million to fight cancer through sales of his book. It's a legacy to his wife's memory, and to his attitude toward life.

"You go through the worst possible things in your life and you carry them around with you," says Wilson. "But you have to ask, how can you make something good of this? The book was like that for me. It's a chance to make something positive out of a negative."

Even though he has published close to 75 books of 'Ziggy' cartoons, Wilson didn't set out to create a book about his grief. He started writing a journal in the months after his wife's passing, and "it turned into a book on its own," says Wilson.

"It came from an unexpected place. It was a long process, and the book was the end result. It was cathartic to me, just going through the process."

Shortly after Zig-Zagging's publication, Wilson got a surprise call from Doug Ulman, president of Lance Armstrong's LIVESTRONG foundation.

"He had read the book and invited me to come down to Austin to talk to their leadership at their offices. Of course, I had to do that, because I've always admired them and what they do."

Wilson traveled to the LIVESTRONG offices this fall, and then threw out an idea: "I've got this book. Is there anything I can do? I want to do more."

The result: Wilson pledged to donate 100% of his Zig-Zagging royalties between November 18, 2009 -- the anniversary of Susan's death -- through January 19, 2010 -- her birthday. "My fondest wish is that we'll raise $1 million for LIVESTRONG," says Wilson.

"One of the things I love about how this has taken place is because I didn't plan it at all," says Wilson. "It's like cartooning: You do your work and send it out there, and you don't know whose life has been touched. It's part of the mystique. You don't know where it will land."

Wilson says he is glad that Zig-Zagging has already touch a number of people's lives. "Readers have sent letters telling me they found something in the book they weren't able to get anywhere else. I'm glad it turned out to be a friend to a lot of people."

New articles: Rarest of the rare, dogs, sex symbols and graphic novels

I have about 187 new articles to write this coming week, so let's get right to last week's links:

First up, two Extinction Countdown articles for Scientific American, both about species on the razor's edge of extinction (one of which might already be gone):

Have You Seen This 'Extinct' Snake? Snapping a Photo of It Alive Could Be Worth $500

Illegal Deforestation Threatens the Last 23 Hainan Gibbons


Mother Nature Network kinda put me on the dog beat last week, with two good stories about dogs. I also got to write about actress Hedy Lamarr and her hidden history of invention. (CNN linked to that article and gave it a great push).

Military dogs suffer from PTSD

You can thank 1940s sex symbol Hedy Lamarr for today's Wi-Fi and Bluetooth devices

Bulldogs face health problems from reckless breeding


Finally, here are two new book reviews for Graphic Novel Reporter.

I Will Bite You! And Other Stories

Uncle Scrooge: Like a Hurricane

Next week's list will be about twice as long. Keep an eye on my Twitter feed for the links as they happen!

Bat Week, Lions helping Lions, Cancer and more

Monday was Halloween, my favorite holiday, and I kept the spirit of the season going all week long by writing about bats over at Scientific American:

Could an Artificial Cave Help Protect Bats from Deadly Fungus?

England Tries Wire and Mesh ‘Bat Bridges’ to Save Endangered Species

(You can read all of my recent articles about bats here.)

My latest book review is up at Graphic Novel Reporter, an excellent graphic novel by a son about his father's cancer:

Seeds by Ross Mackintosh

Sadly, cancer also came up in one of this week's stories for Mother Nature Network:

'Survivor' winner and activist Ethan Zohn announces his cancer has returned

Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill loses 50 pounds with help from Twitter

Finally, my feature article on how Lions Club members helped to conserve critically endangered Asiatic (Gir) lions appears on page 40 of the November 2011 issue of Lion magazine, which you can flip through here.

I have several great stories already in the works for this week. Make sure to follow me on Twitter for links as they go live.

Captive Wildlife Laws, Shark Fin Alternatives, Preventing Pesticide Poisoning and a Poem

This week's two Extinction Countdown articles for Scientific American were incredibly popular, in no small part because they touched upon some very important and timely topics:

Ohio Animals Tragedy Calls Attention to Loopholes in U.S. Captive Wildlife Laws

Could Farming Sustainable Tilapia Help Cut the Demand for Shark Fin Soup?

My "green living" blog posts for Green Hands USA were also more popular than usual, for which I am grateful:

An Organic Apple a Day Keeps the Pesticides at Bay

Protect Rivers and Lakes by Disposing of Drugs Properly

Rerun article: How Walkable Is Your Neighborhood?

Finally, these new book reviews for Graphic Novel Reporter also garnered lots of traffic. I'm glad, because they're both good books (although for totally different reasons):

Time Bomb

Teen Angels and New Mutants [This is my vote for best comics-related book of the year, BTW.]

On a completely different note, I received my contributors copies of Space and Time Magazine # 115, containing my poem "Necropsy." The issue should be available soon. Check it out!

I'm finishing up two new features this week (and starting a third) while also working on my next half-dozen Extinction Countdown columns, a corporate newsletter, and various other pieces. I'm also pitching some potential new publishers with some ideas I'm dying to write. Stay tuned for more!

Hellbenders, innovators, a relaunch, and a graphic novel

It's Columbus Day, but most of the freelancers I know work holidays, and I'm no exception. I'm working on a ton of new stuff this week, which you'll hear about on this blog next week. Until then, here are all of last week's new articles.

This week's two Extinction Countdown posts for Scientific American were quite popular, and I was quite happy to be able to write about one of my favorite species for the first time in four years:

Hellbender Salamander Gets Endangered Species Designation, but No Habitat Protection -- and That May Be a Good Thing [my 2007 article about the hellbender can be found here.]

Poachers Wiping Out Rare Monkey in Tanzania

I love writing for Mother Nature Network, especially when they let me cover technology news. Here are two cool new articles:

Manta ray inspires Princeton researcher to create 'magic carpet'

Popular Mechanics names James Cameron most innovative leader of 2011

After a brief hiatus, Green Hands USA returned last week, with one new article and one revision to an older piece:

Try Blackle, the Search Engine that Saves Energy

How to Choose Eco-Friendly Halloween Candy

And finally this week, here's a new book review for Graphic Novel Reporter:

Approximate Continuum Comics

Last week's planned launch of the Encyclopedia of Science Fiction was delayed. We're expecting it this week. So look for a link next week. Or follow me on Twitter for links as they happen.

Koalas, geniuses and monkey assassins

What a delightfully odd mix of articles this week...

First up, my two Extinction Countdown columns for Scientific American:

Tunnels and Bridges Could Help Save Koalas from Extinction

Natural Gas Company Fined $500,000 for Damaging Endangered Species Habitat

Next, two news items for Mother Nature Network (the second of which is a rework of an article from a few months ago now that the event it's talking about is "live"):

MacArthur Foundation honors 22 new 'geniuses'

The art of hand washing

(And as long as we're talking MacArthur geniuses, here is my interview with two of last year's honorees, from IEEE's The Institute.)

Finally, two new reviews for Graphic Novel Reporter: Hit Monkey and Photo Booth.

That's it for now! More soon!

Big week: Species debates, bare bums, book reviews and getting into management

Monday brings my weekly round-up of the previous week's articles and publications, and this week there were a bunch of them.

First up, my usual two Extinction Countdown articles for Scientific American:

Should Captive-Bred Chimpanzees Have Full Endangered Species Act Protection?

Last-of-Its-Kind Plant Could Get Federal Protection

Next, this week's news article for Mother Nature Network (which was a hoot and a half to write):

San Francisco considers protecting its benches from public nudity and bare bottoms

MNN also published my latest book review for them:

'Elixir: A History of Water and Humankind'

Speaking of book reviews, here are two new ones for Graphic Novel Reporter:

Astronaut Academy: Zero Gravity

Avengers and the Infinity Gauntlet

And last but not least, my latest career focus feature for Today's Engineer. This was incredibly fun to pull together. I conducted about a dozen interviews with people around the country. The resulting article should be a crowd-pleaser:

Career Focus: Engineering Management

More next week!

From the Archives: Wes Craven's New Nightmare

[Continuing my excavation of old articles and reviews written in the days before email. I think I drove a horse and buggy when I wrote this!]

WES CRAVEN'S NEW NIGHTMARE
A Novel by David Bergantino
Tor, Pb, $4.99
ISBN 0-812-55166-4

(Originally published in The New Jersey Graveline, December 1994)

Okay, first things first. Run out and go buy yourself a copy of this novel. I'll wait.

All right, now that you've fought off the holiday shopping crowds and made it back alive, let me tell you why you just bought this book. David Bergantino's adaptation of the movie "Wes Craven's New Nightmare" is done the way novelizations should be done. In fact, it goes even further than that, and manages to become something unique.

By now you are probably aware of the plot of the "New Nightmare" movie -- while preparing to film a new "Nightmare on Elm Street" movie, the cast and crew are stalked by a suddenly very real Freddy Krueger, who is intent on keeping his story and his character alive -- but knowing that won't quite prepare you for this novel.

Bergantino does much more than just adapt the movie - he adds to it. Scattered throughout his novelization of Wes Craven's script are excerpts from Bergantino's own journal, written over the course of the two months in which he wrote the novel. These journal entries depict Bergantino himself dealing with troubling dreams that echo the situations in the script he is adapting. Also included with the journal entries are newspaper clippings detailing events the occurred in the previous year -- real events that found their way into Craven's script -- as well as letters from someone trying to contact Bergantino regarding his book, and a "matter of life and death."

These extras are what make the book worth reading. As Bergantino's journal depicts his growing paranoia, and as the newspaper clippings show us that the deaths of several characters in the script actually happened in real life, the book takes on an almost surreal quality. It becomes harder and harder to distinguish the reality from the fiction, and the book becomes scarier and scarier as it progresses, because the reader just doesn't know what to believe!

Based on Bergantino's journal entries, WES CRAVEN'S NEW NIGHTMARE is his first book, and I really feel it could be a career maker. As a novelization of a (relatively) hot movie, the book will undoubtedly sell better than most first horror novels, and that should show publishers that his later books might sell.

On the other hand, this could be the work of an established novelist, written under a pen name, as many novelizations are, but I'd rather assume that it isn't.

Take a long look at this novel. Not only is it very good, it just might give you an idea of how to write a novelization someday yourself. After you do that, start getting your name out there. Let editors know that you are available and that you are cheap and fast, and someday it could be you writing that novelization. And maybe that will lead to something else for you, too...


[Whatever happened to David Bergantino? He wrote a few YA horror novels after this, then disappeared. Or at least his byline did. A shame.]


Update 8/17/2013: I just got an email from David Bergantino, two years after I posted this old review and nearly 20 years after I first read his New Nightmare novel. He's not only a real person, he has written several other novels and worked on a long list of video games. How nice to have this "mystery" solved after all these years!

From the Archives: The Sister

[JP note: I just uncovered a treasure trove: my old copies of The New Jersey Graveline, the newsletter of the Garden State Horror Writers. I wrote a few hundred articles for this newsletter over the years, and editing it helped fast-track me to the life of professional editing and writing. Scanning the old issues is a bear (the electronic files are long-since gone), but not impossible, so I'll be posting select articles and reviews from time to time. Here's the first.]

THE SISTER
by Elleston Trevor
Tor/Forge, HC, $20.95
ISBN 0-312-85555-9

Originally published in The New Jersey Graveline, April 1994

I wanted to like THE SISTER. Really, I did. Elleston Trevor has a gift for description that, at its best, could place him near the top of a very short list of talented suspense authors.

Unfortunately, the plot, setting and characters in THE SISTER are so bad that, ultimately, the book is almost unreadable.

THE SISTER concerns Debra and Madlen Felker, two sisters who flee uncaring parents and a dangerous school system and enter a convent, the Sisters of the Sacred Light. Once there, however, it becomes evident that Madlen, who professes to love her younger -- adopted -- sister, is actually trying to kill her.

Now, since Debra and Madlen are the central characters of THE SISTER, it is a tragedy that they are as poorly drawn as they are. Their personalities change chapter by chapter, their actions (especially Madlen's) are impossible to believe, and their dialogue is wooden and forced. In fact, when we are first introduced to the sisters at the beginning of the book, Trevor's use of the characters is so uneven, they seem to be anywhere from ten years old to eighteen, depending on what paragraph you are reading.

It is this earliest part of the book -- the first 50 pages -- that are the weakest in THE SISTER. Trevor's portrait of the Felker family is unbelievable, and the parents lack any sense of being fully-drawn characters. And when we see the high school the girls attend, it seems as if Trevor has not set foot in a high school, let alone talked to a teenager, in several decades. Since we are expected to believe that Debra and Madlen want to become nuns to escape from the violence in their school and the anger of their parents, Trevor's failure to make that world believable makes the sisters' actions forced and unreal.

The book doesn't stay this bad, though -- although throughout THE SISTER the book is flawed by serious logic problems and poor dialogue. At some points, Trevor's skill at description comes close to actually saving the book. Look at this paragraph, from the end of chapter 4, as Debra and Madlen leave the outside world and enter the convent:

"The only sound now was their footsteps, and Debra felt the urge to turn and run back into the warmth of the sunshine out there while she had the chance, but the great doors slammed shut suddenly, sending echoes thudding along the walls, and the bell in the tower Slopped ringing at last, and a deep silence fell."

That's great stuff, very evocative and moody. There's bits and pieces of that scattered throughout THE SISTER, and there is one great three-chapter section where Debra is trapped in the darkness of secret passageways underneath the convent, but it just isn't enough.

Unfortunately, the only way to recommend THE SISTER is as an example of a book that failed, but has a few moments of brilliance struggling to shine through.

Dugongs, Dr Pepper and Cyber Security

A couple of long-gestating articles finally saw print this week! There's lots more in the hopper, and new articles always in the works, so the next few weeks should be equally interesting.

First up, my usual two Extinction Countdown columns for Scientific American:

Dugong Deaths Way up Down Under

Baby Mountain Gorilla Rescued from Poachers

Next, a couple of articles for Mother Nature Network:

Dr Pepper feud brewing in Texas

Book review: 'The New Normal: An Agenda for Responsible Living'

Should Nik Wallenda be allowed to cross Niagara Falls on a tightrope?

And finally, my latest career profile article for Today's Engineer:

Career Focus: Cyber Security — A Growing Threat, a Growing Career

Keep watch on my Twitter feed for the latest and greatest as they are published!

Extinctions, a tree crisis, and graphic novels

This week brought three published environmental articles and two graphic novel reviews.

First up, my two Extinction Countdown columns for Scientific American:

Kenyans Reportedly Chewing "Potency" Herb into Extinction

How Eating Frog Legs Is Causing Frog Extinctions


Only one article for Mother Nature Network this week, but it's an interesting one:

Atlanta's tree crisis: Heavy storms, drought and invasive species take their toll


And after taking some time off to move, I'm back at Graphic Novel Reporter. Here are two new book reviews for them:

Japan as Viewed by 17 Creators

Phoenix Without Ashes


I've been working on several new features, which should be popping up this week and next. I can't wait to see what gets published when!

Back to the keyboard...

Shocking news about solar, a rhino eulogy, and a Roling Stone

Another week has gone by, bringing with it a bounty of new articles. First up, my latest feature for Today's Engineer, which offers shocking perspective for those of us waiting for sustainable energy like solar and wind power:

Career Focus: Power Engineering

Next up, my two weekly Extinction Countdown columns for Scientific American, including one of the most difficult pieces I have ever had to write:

China's Yangtze Finless Porpoise Faces 80 Percent Decrease in 30 Years

Rare Northern White Rhino Dies of Old Age—and Then There Were 7...

Finally, here are a few new articles for Mother Nature Network, including an interview with MNN co-founder and Rolling Stones keyboardist Chuck Leavell:

Book by farmer and rocker Chuck Leavell advocates smart, green growth

Visit the Tree That Owns Itself

Follow a truck full of pet food as it makes deliveries to animal shelters across the U.S.

There won't be as many articles this week or next as we pack up our house and move (to a much bigger house), but stay tuned, because there's plenty more in the hopper.

Two weeks of article links!

Boy, holiday weekends complicate things! We take time off to relax and celebrate and the work week falls to pieces. (Actually, I'm not so sure that's a bad thing.)

But anyway, now that last week's post-Memorial Day four-day week is over, here are a bunch of links to my articles from the last 14 days:

First up, a batch of endangered species news for my Extinction Countdown column over at Scientific American:

Algal Neurotoxins Found in Endangered Hawaiian Monk Seals

Hundreds of Rare Saiga Antelopes Die in Kazakhstan (Again)

Citizen Scientists and Social Media Aim to Help Prevent Frog Extinctions

Rare All-White Kiwi Born in New Zealand Breeding Program


Next up, a variety of eco-flavored news for Mother Nature Network:

State legislatures cracking down on hookah smoking

Facebook challenge grant aims to donate 100 service dogs to vets with PTSD

Would you hunt wild boar with a handmade spear?


Next, my final (for now) batch of stories for Green Hands USA. They're restructuring. I expect to be creating new stories for them in a month or two:

5 Ways to Green Your Memorial Day

iPad App Teaches Kids to Save the Rainforest

Which American Cities Have the Cleanest Air?

Would You Pay Extra for a Stamp that Helps Endangered Species?


And last but not least, here's a graphic novel review for Graphic Novel Reporter:

Ivy by Sarah Oleksyk

Some new features will hit your screens this week. Stay tuned to my Twitter feed for the latest links.

G-Week: Ghost Cats, Geniuses, Green Ideas, Gorillas and Graphic Novels

Gosh-a-mighty, did this week see a lot of new articles, including several long-gestating features that finally saw print.

Let's start off with those, beginning with this feature for Today's Engineer:

Career Focus: Software Engineering

Next up we have my interviews with two MacArthur genius winners for IEEE's The Institute:

IEEE Members Earn "Genius" Awards

As usual, I wrote two Extinction Countdown columns for Scientific American:

Giving up on the "ghost cat": Eastern cougar subspecies declared extinct


Rare Costa Rican birds captured, tagged for study for the first time

...and a bunch of "green tips" blogs for Green Hands USA:

How Green Is Your Paper?


GreenShipping Helps You Offset Mail's Carbon Emissions


The Greenest Way to Get an iPad: Buy Refurbished


Want to be Facebook Friends with a Gorilla?


Write a Poem or Draw a Picture to Help Save Frogs


Save Ink (and Money) with Ecofont

Of course, there were also a few new articles for Mother Nature Network, where I'll have several new features coming up in the next week or two:

Could taking this bucolic image land you in jail? [this headline works better if you can see the image.]

The art of hand washing

New iPad app tells the story behind National Geographic's greatest photos

And finally, here's a new book review for Graphic Novel Reporter.

Moon Lake

That's it for this week (as if you need more). Keep reading, and I'll keep writing!

Turtles, tuna, missing frogs, comic books, tree-killers & green tips - 16 new article links

It was a busy week at the keyboard, so we have an astounding 16 articles here to inform and entertain you.

First up, we have three articles for Scientific American. There are normally two of these, but one got help up over the weekend, so this week you get three:

Turtles in trouble: New report identifies the 25 most endangered turtle species

Large ocean fish could be gone by 2050, study says  [This was the most popular story on their site for a day or two]

Nationwide search leads to rediscovery of five frog species in India


Next up, a fun and inspiring feature for Tonic.com, my first for them in about two months.

Comic Strip Fans Team Up to Fight Parkinson's Disease

This brings us to several news stories for Mother Nature Network, half of which continue the story of the university tree murders from last week.

Take a cruise to the North Pacific garbage patch

Auburn tree-killing suspect living in car, bathing in creek

MillerCoors donates $80,000 to benefit local river organizations

Auburn University students rally, raise money for poisoned trees

Oh, and one of my previous stories for MNN was picked up The Miami Herald this week.

Green Hands USA keeps on chugging along. Here are six new / newly edited articles from this past week:

Earn Money by Recycling Your Empty Inkjet Cartridges 

Five Energy Vampires in Your Home

Five Green Devices Every Home Should Have

Challenge Your Neighbors to an Energy Bill Reduction Contest

Travel Greener: Stay at an Energy Star Hotel

How Green Is Your Commute? Find Out Now


And finally this week, here's a new book review for Graphic Novel Reporter:

X-9: Secret Agent Corrigan, Vol. One: 1967–1969

Tasmanian Devils, Superstorms, and the new Green Hands USA

What a cool week. My story on Tasmanian devils (see below) got picked up everywhere, and for a while, the animals were the #9 search topic on Google. Meanwhile, I started writing a lot more for Mother Nature Network, Green Hands USA finally completed its relaunch, and I conducted several fantastic interviews for upcoming features.

So let's sum up the week that was with the latest batch of Platt article links:

First, the big Extinction Countdown articles for Scientific American:

Has an infectious cancer doomed Tasmanian devils to extinction?

70 percent of Turkey's birds are headed toward extinction

Next, we have a variety of great stories for Mother Nature Network:

Life at high altitudes linked to higher risk of suicide

Book review: "Sustainable Excellence: The Future of Business in a Fast-Changing World"

Solar-powered roads could make snow disappear

'Superstorm' could strike California, scientists warn

Celiac disease: New saliva test could help diagnose children

And finally, the first story on the re-launched Green Hands USA. (The next couple of weeks will see a lot of repeat stories from GHU as they rebuild their audience, and a lot of my old stories for them might no longer appear at the links in my old entries. I'll probably archive some of the older ones on this blog eventually.)

Greenpeace: Asus Makes the Greenest Electronics

Okay, that's it for this week! I'm off to write more. See you again soon!

Gordon Ramsay + rhinos + innovation + Swamp Thing

This week's Platt articles covered business, endangered species, wildlife crime, comics, and more!

First up, as is usually the case, my Extinction Countdown blogs for Scientific American:

Rhino poaching hit an all-time high in 2010

Shark-finning gangsters assault celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay

Next, we have my latest feature for Today's Engineer, a cool story about where innovation can be found in the United States economy:

First Study of Its Kind Examines Innovation by U.S. Businesses

From one kind of innovation to another, here's a new book review for Graphic Novel Reporter:

Saga of the Swamp Thing, Book Three

I write a few corporate or non-profit newsletters that I don't tend to link to here, but this article got pulled out for a client's blog and I like it:

The Ten Commandments of Effective Standards

No Green Hands USA links this week. The site is about to go through a major (and quite exciting) relaunch, and I'm not sure if the links will all change or stay the same. Hopefully we'll have some new green goodness for you to read next week.

Extinctions, dead bears, and heroic beasts

A light week for new Platt publications, but you'll find some good links below.

First up, my weekly two Extinction Countdown columns for Scientific American:

Six Australian birds declared extinct, although some could have been saved

Lack of food drives human-grizzly conflicts -- and human-grizzly fatalities


Next, a question many of us have been asking:

Are E-books Greener Than Paper Books? 

And finally, two book reviews, one for Graphic Novel Reporter:

Beasts of Burden: Animal Rites 


...and another for Mother Nature Network:

'Zapped: Why Your Cell Phone Shouldn't Be Your Alarm Clock'