An owl conundrum, saving water and... Kazakhstan?

This week, I had opportunities to interview several really cool people for a few upcoming features. But I also worked on a bunch of shorter stories, too. That's one of the great things about freelancing: you're free to work on as many different topics at a time as you want.

Speaking of different topics, this week's articles are pretty broadly themed. 

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

Should barred owls be shot to save endangered spotted owls?

Vulture restaurants are helping to save critically endangered birds of prey

Next, a wide variety of news items for Mother Nature Network:

Kazakhstan presidential candidate wants to legalize polygamy

Auburn University trees poisoned by angry Alabama football fan

3rd eye blind: NYU professor removes his back-of-the-head camera

From waste to fuel: Invention turns plastic bags back into oil

And finally, this week's big batch of articles for Green Hands USA. (Most of these are reruns or revisions of earlier articles from when the site was in quiet mode. Now that it's officially relaunched, they're being updated for new eyeballs.)

How to Recycle Your Old CDs and DVDs

The Top 10 Things to Ask When Buying 'Green' Electronics

Three Simple Ways to Save Water

15 Ways to Cut Your Energy Use

How Healthy Are the Nation's Birds? Help Find Out This Weekend 

How to Choose Cleaning Products without Dangerous Fragrances

Lots more next week. Until then, have fun reading!