Bootstrapping, parrot plague & taste aversion in wolves

Last week was a good week for words from my keyboard. Check 'em out...

As usual, we start with my two Extinction Countdown columns for Scientific American...

Mystery virus threatens an already critically endangered Australian parrot species

Can endangered Mexican wolves be conditioned to dislike the taste of sheep?

From endangered species to new species, here's my latest for Mother Nature Network:

Self-cloning, all-female lizard species discovered in Vietnam

A brief Green Tips blog for Green Hands USA:

Levi's Announces New Eco-Friendly Jeans

A profile of two wonderful scientists for IEEE's member newspaper, The Institute:

Married Couple Named IEEE Fellows

And finally, for that same publication, a feature that will help any small business learn how to grow until they hit the billionaires' club:

Bootstrap Your Startup to Success-Without Venture Capital

Gollum, Comix and Sssssnakess - This week's articles

Ah, Monday. Time to look back on the previous week and share with you the links to all of the fine Platt words that made their way into the universe.

There actually aren't that many of them this week, but that's okay, because I have approximately 27 articles in process right now, so there will be plenty more to share over the rest of this month.


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

Ssssuccessss: World's rarest snake is back from the brink

Precious: Gollum (the fish) risks extinction in New Zealand

Now, two "green tips" for Green Hands USA:

Breathe Less Pollution While Riding Your Bike

E-Waste Report Card: Does Your Gadget Maker Make the Grade?

And finally, a new book review for Graphic Novel Reporter:

Underground Classics: The Transformation of Comics into Comix

More next week!

Killer crocs & Sweet-hearted employers

Presented for you now: last week's articles + this week's commentary:

First up, this week's Extinction Countdown columns for Scientific American:

Extinction crisis revealed: One fifth of the world's mammals, birds and amphibians are threatened

20 die in air disaster after smuggled crocodile escapes on a plane [this got over 30,000 views on StumbleUpon, plus a few thousand Facebook shares]


Now, a few inspiring stories for Tonic.com:

Sweet Relief: Bakery Puts Developmentally Disabled to Work

Wonder Woman Day Raises $40,000 for Victims of Domestic Violence


Now we have some "Green Tips" blogs for Green Hands USA:

7 Inexpensive Ways to Stay Warm This Autumn [man it's cold this week!]

Voting Guide: Does Your Candidate Believe in Clean Energy? [just in time for election day!]

Now, a new science story for Mother Nature Network:

Study proves dogs recognize owners' faces

And finally, from a few weeks ago (oops), a tech career feature for The Ladders:

Electrical Engineers Lured by Systems Engineer Careers (you need to create a Ladders account to read this)

This week's articles: Dying coral, Wonder Woman, and Halloween candy

This week's articles cover a pretty wide range of topics. That's half the fun of being a freelancer -- you never know what cool stories are going to fall in your lap from week to week!

First off, as usual, here are this week's Extinction Countdown columns for Scientific American:

Rare New Zealand pigs to be killed for their semen

Asian coral die-off could be worst ever; Is climate change to blame?  [Of course, this got plenty of comments from global warming deniers!)

Now a few fun, cause-related stories for Tonic.com:

Fifth Annual Wonder Woman Day to Help Victims of Domestic Violence [This raised a huge amount of money, I'm excited to say!]

Help Team Superman Raise $10K to Battle Brain Tumors

And finally, here are the latest Green Tips blogs from the pages of Green Hands USA:

Do You Work in a 'Sick Building'?

How to Choose Eco-Friendly Halloween Candy

So far this week I've written about wildlife smuggling, wireless communications, facial recognition, and sustainable business practices. Stay tuned next week for more links!

Frogs, water & vampire power

This week's article links!

First up, my profile of last Friday's Blog Action Day for Tonic.com:

Speak Up for Safe Water on Blog Action Day

Next, two Green Tips blogs for GreenHandsUSA:

This $10 Device Can Protect You From Vampire Power

Build a Pond, Save a Frog (and maybe win a prize)

Finally, my latest two Extinction Countdown columns for Scientific American:

From chytrid to ranavirus: Another disease is devastating frog populations

New record size for a genome goes to rare plant 

Stay tuned for this week's articles, plus some more catching up from the archives!

Extinction, Using Social Media, Scary Books & More

I told you that last week would be a good week for my articles. Heck, I had six published last Thursday alone. (I'm pretty sure that's a personal record.)

Anyway, here are the latest and greatest additions to the Platt Library. First up, two new Extinction Countdown articles for Scientific American:

Survival denied: Birds, fish, plant, pygmy rabbits lose out on endangered species protection

Population crash in Kenya: Rare bird gets much, much rarer--but why?

Next up, an article for The Institute that should be good for any consultant, freelancer or small business:

Using Social Media to Attract New Business

Now we get to some engineering-related articles...

The Price Is Right: Free Design Standard Expected to Be Adopted Speedily

IEEE-USA 2010 Salary Survey Reveals Positive Changes Along with Reductions and Gaps

...and then a few pieces for the readers among you, an overview of upcoming horror novels for this month and reviews of two excellent graphic novels:

Six Scream-Worthy Reads for October

Diario de Oaxaco: A Sketchbook Journal of Two Years in Mexico

Cats Are Weird and More Observations

Finally, here are my latest Green Tips blogs for GreenHandsUSA:

7 Things to do with Shredded Paper

7 Ways to Green Your Laundry

Enjoy!

This week's articles

Five new article links for ya...

Only you can prevent firefly extinctions

Smelly kiwi needs deodorant to protect it from predators?

Should You Recycle That Plastic Bottle?

Pledge to Vote, Get Free Music

And an article on the Ig Nobel Awards.

By the way, there's a ton of new stuff pending publication, so next week's list and the week after that are going to be HUGE!