This week's article links

What the? Only three articles published last week? Shocking! But I have so many in the hopper coming up over the next few weeks that you should have plenty of reading to do all through August.

So what were the three? Well, two were my usual Extinction Countdown columns for Scientific American:

Want to Conserve Bats? There's an App for That

Whitebark Pine Turned Down for Endangered Species List

The third was a news piece for Mother Nature Network:

Dangerous drug 'bath salts' still legal in many states

Stay tuned for lots, lots more!

Consulting, Carmageddon, Talking Canines and Countdowns

I love my job. Where else could you write about Hitler and Justin Bieber in the same week?

Before we get to either of those people, here are my latest two Extinction Countdown columns for Scientific American:

Good News for 2 Rare Leopard Species

Deadly Rabbit Disease May Have Doomed Iberian Lynx

This careers article for IEEE's The Institute has already proven quite popular. I had a lot of fun interviewing these folks:

Everything You Wanted to Know About Consulting but Were Afraid to Ask

Finally, this week's batch of (mostly weird but also inspiring) articles for Mother Nature Network:

Google's altruism after Japanese earthquake was boon to company

Hitler tried to teach dogs to speak German?

As Carmageddon approaches, Justin Bieber says don't text and drive

Solar Sister uses the power of the sun to empower women in the developing world

7-Eleven wants to give you a free Slurpee today [oops, you missed it.]

That's it for this past week. Lots more links in seven days!

Dangerous plants, rare camels, a new editorial gig and the grossest story I ever wrote

Last week brought a bunch of new articles, an announcement or two, a contest win and other goodies.

First up, Scientific American launched their big new blog network, which Extinction Countdown will be a part of. Here are this week's two articles for them:

Enormous, Endangered, Epileptic Loggerhead Turtle Gets MRI Brain Scan [Definitely check out the video in this one. Very cool.]

Last Wild Camels in China Could be Saved with Embryonic Transfer Technique Perfected in U.A.E.

Next up, a new batch of articles for Mother Nature Network, where my editor recently joked that they should just go ahead and make their reporter for weird and odd stories. Hey, works for me.

Deadly Mexican drug cartels expanding into illegal logging

Hogweed: Blindness-causing plant spreading across New York

Mantria Corporation: The biggest green Ponzi scheme ever?

What's in your navel? Hundreds and hundreds of types of bacteria [I gotta tell you, I just about puked writing this story. Have fun reading it!]

This next bit isn't an article, but it's words, so it counts. Once again, I was the winner in cartoonist Eli Stein's cartoon caption contest. This was my fourth win, and possibly my favorite.

Finally this week, it was announced that I'll be a contributing editor, covering comics, to the new version of the Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, the first new volume of this massive tome in many years and the first to be done completely online. We launch next year. Should be fun.

Chimps, devils, duct tape and dirty beaches

I'm getting back into the swing of things after last month's move. Here are my six most recent new articles:

First up, two new Extinction Countdown blogs for Scientific American:

Emergency Action Plan Aims to Help the World's Most Endangered Chimpanzee

Good News for Tasmanian Devils, Puerto Rican Parrots & Southern Right Whales

And then, four new articles for Mother Nature Network:

Another use for duct tape: Reduce hospital infections

America's dirtiest beaches revealed

Malaysia Airlines bans babies from first class

Air conditioning for troops in Iraq and Afghanistan costs $20.2 billion a year

That's it for this update. More to come!

4 new Extinction Countdown columns

What have I been up to the last two weeks? Mostly it's been moving. Packing, driving back and forth, cleaning, waiting around for movers and other helpers, unpacking, etc. That didn't leave much time for writing.

But although I took these two weeks off from most of my freelance work (does this count as a vacation?), I did continue my Extinction Countdown column for Scientific American. Here are the four latest articles:

Farming Rats and Bees Could Solve Bushmeat Crisis in Africa, Experts Say

Arabian Oryx Makes History as First Species to Be Upgraded from "Extinct in the Wild" to "Vulnerable"

Platypus Threatened by Climate Change

Polly Wanna a Date? Rare Parrot Needs a Mate


There will be lots of new stuff this week. Make sure to follow me on Twitter for the links as they happen.

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.