Last articles of 2012

As 2012 draws to a close, all of my editors appear to be on vacation or on holiday, so the final four articles below should be my last published pieces for this calendar year. This brings my total for 2012 to 402 published articles, up slightly from 378 in 2011 (the only other year for which I kept a running count).

Although I doubt anything else will be published today, I do have quite a few articles (mostly magazine features) already written and pending publication in 2013.  And I already have about a dozen things on my plate to start writing as soon as the New Year's holiday is behind us. So yeah, I'm keeping busy.

Anyway, here are the links for you to click and and read over your celebratory glass of champagne.

Amazing Photos of Florida Panther and Cubs Bring a Bright Spot to a Deadly Year (Scientific American)

Los Angeles Considers Ban on Circus Elephants (Mother Nature Network)

Dystextia: Pregnant Woman's Garbled Text Messages were a Sign of a Stroke  (MNN)

Solved: The Mystery of the Biofuel-filled Train that Kept Crossing the Border  (MNN)

That's it for now. See you in the New Year!

Otters, climate skeptics, Tanzanian toads and the five senses

It's the day before Christmas and my present to you is this long list of links to 10 new articles I wrote just for you!


First up, two really interesting stories for my Extinction Countdown blog over at +Scientific American.

Once Extinct in the Wild, Kihansi Spray Toad Returns to Tanzania (by Way of the Bronx and Toledo)

Logging Could Doom Tiny Australian Possum to Extinction, but One Zoo Offers Hope


Next, a whole bunch of articles for +Mother Nature, covering all kinds of environmental topics:

Getting back to nature inspires creativity, new study shows

Upcoming IPCC climate change report leaked by skeptics

A legal victory for sea otters: 'No-Otter Zone' finally lifted in California

IBM predicts computers that will smell, taste, see, hear and touch

Coal plant's carbon capture project passes first 100,000-ton milestone

EPA announces new rules limiting soot pollution

Is public transportation really greener than driving?

Obamadon: Ancient, extinct lizard named after President Obama

That's it for this time. I'll be back a week from now with the final list of articles for 2012.

Nuclear engineering, toxic primates and inspiring kids

Hey, it's Monday and I'm glad to be here. Did you have a good weekend? Or are you not into small talk right now?

Last week had a few fewer publications than usual, but that doesn't mean I was slacking. I have at least three articles already queued up for publication this coming week -- heck, maybe all of them today -- and I'm working on several new features that won't appear for weeks if not months. I'm nothing if not busy.

Anyway, as we usually do here, let's start off the list of links with last week's Extinction Countdown articles for Scientific American:

Three New Slow Loris Species Discovered in Borneo; Rare Venomous Primates Threatened by Illegal Pet Trade

Newly Discovered Cave Weta Species Endangered by Coal Mining

By the way, I missed a milestone recently. Extinction Countdown passed the 1,000 article mark about two weeks ago. That's a lot of endangered species. Sadly, I could write about 10,000 more and not come close to running out of material.

Anyway, next up, my monthly career focus article for IEEE-USA's Today's Engineer:

Career Focus: Nuclear Engineering

And finally this week, here are two new articles for Mother Nature Network:

OMG letter-writing campaign seeks to save rhinos from extinction [This was also reprinted by the Huffington Post.]

Porcupine quills inspire new medical needles and adhesives  


That's it for this time around. More next week -- probably a lot more!

Pygmy sloths, athletic angels, and PR mistakes

This week brought not just seven new articles by me, but also one kind of about me.

First up, this week's two Extinction Countdown articles for Scientific American. I'm really proud of these two. The first set the record straight on a story that most media outlets got wrong; the second is just a darn good story that embodies both the dangers that endangered species face but also the hope that they have for the future:

DNA Reveals the Last 20 Ethiopian Lions Are Genetically Distinct

Survey of Critically Endangered Pygmy Sloths Finds Just 79 Animals Remain


Next up, a big batch of stories for Mother Nature Network. The first two features were a lot of fun to pull together.

An athletic angel: Christian Jensen helps disabled people run marathons

Why are video games addictive?

Solar-powered plane can fly all day -- and all night

Is fracking making livestock sick?

A new holiday trend: Renting Christmas trees


And finally, here's that thing in which I am the focus. The PR-related organization Help a Reporter Out asked me to let them know my PR pet peeves and pointers when it comes to pitching. I also filled them in on my perceptions of the state of journalism today. Give it a read.


There's lots more coming up this week. Follow me on Twitter for links as they happen.

Lions and Turbines and Blogs, Oh My!

Ah, November -- it is so good to have you behind us! What a month, huh?

Much of last week was spent A) being pretty sick, and B) finishing three magazine features that were all due on the same day. Silly me, not double-checking my calendar before accepting those deadlines.

Oh well, I still managed to write several new articles, and others that I finished the week before turned up online. Here's the list, starting with my two Extinction Countdown articles for Scientific American and then segueing into a nice batch of articles for Mother Nature Network:

African Lions Move Closer to US Endangered Species Act Protection [This was also reprinted by Mother Jones.]

Cane Toads, Blue Whales, Red Wolves and Other Updates from the Brink 

Marijuana legalization: Is it really legal?

Cape Wind gets OK for power purchase contract with NSTAR

Melting ice could release old viruses

Cyberslacking actually boosts workplace productivity

eFarmony: Connecting landowners with farmers


There's a whole lot more on the horizon. You keep reading 'em, I'll keep writing 'em!

Climate change, two kinds of bears, and even more

I think I must possess some sort of innate and unnatural immunity to tryptophan, because even with way too much turkey in my belly I still managed to get an awful lot of writing done this week.

Without further ado, here are links to all of my articles that went live last week while you were preparing and/or eating Thanksgiving dinner:

Was Lonesome George Not Really the Last of his Species?

Last 22 Gobi Bears Endangered by Climate Change in Mongolia

SeaWorld Orlando unveils upcoming Antarctica ride

Greenhouse gas emissions hit record levels in 2011

What do polar bears eat and how is their food threatened?

World Bank report warns of 'devastating' effects of climate change

Those were all for Scientific American and Mother Nature Network. I also spent the weekend (between eating leftovers) working on five new features for MNN and other magazines that are all due before the end of the month. As in Friday, tick, tock.

I already have several articles in the publication queue for this week, so make sure to follow me on the Tweeter for the links as they happen.

Now if you'll excuse me, there's one last slice of pumpkin pie waiting for me in the fridge. I need to fuel up before today's writing sessions, after all...

Clones, gay penguins, climate doubters and going off the grid

What a week! First, several of my long-in-the-works features finally appeared. Second, I got to write about some fantastic current news items.

I'll start this week's list with my two Extinction Countdown blogs for Scientific American, the second of which is a great follow-up on a story I originally did just over a year ago:

Brazil Plans to Clone Its Endangered Species

Controversial Toronto Zoo Penguins Not Gay after All?


Next up, a whole bunch of stories for Mother Nature Network, including two of those features I mentioned:

Going off the grid: Why more people are choosing to live life unplugged [This was probably my most popular article of the week]

What if climate-change doubters held a debate and nobody came? [This one earned me some nice hate mail.]

Undercover video depicts abuse at Butterball turkey farms

Galapagos to poison 180 million rats

Smartphone app could help save Australian Aboriginal language from extinction

Can you trust online product reviews and ratings?


And finally, here's this month's feature for Today's Engineer. I'll follow this up next month with a look at nuclear engineering careers outside of the power industry:

Career Focus: Careers in Nuclear Energy


That should give you enough to read for your next few lunch hours. More next week!