Asiatic lions, floating cities, starving dolphins and an award for me

It's the Tuesday after Memorial Day which means it's more like Monday for most people which means it's time for my weekly Monday morning compendium of the prior week's articles. Except it's actually been two weeks since my last post so this is a double dose of articles.

Why two weeks? Well, last week was an amazing change of pace as I trekked out to Cape Cod, where the International Foundation for Animal Welfare honored me as one of this year's recipients of its Animal Action Awards for my work writing about endangered species, wildlife trafficking, climate change and related topics.

It was a great thrill to meet the folks from IFAW and the other honorees. I'm proud of the writing I do and I am glad it is making a difference. Thanks, IFAW. This award means a lot to me.

Okay, on to the articles from the last two weeks. Sticking with the endangered species theme, here are the last several Extinction Countdown articles for Scientific American:

Photo (c) Kishore Kotecha. Used with permission.

The Last 400 Asiatic Lions Need More Room to Grow–but Where Will They Go?

China Feeds Extra Fish to Finless Porpoises to Save Them from Starvation

California Condor Populations Hit Important Milestone, but Still Face Threats

Sanctuaries Established to Help Save Spectacular Kashmiri Goat


On a different note, here's my latest feature for IEEE's The Institute:

Online Magazine to Spark Engineering Interest in Teens


And finally, here's a big batch of environmentally-themed articles for Mother Nature Network:

Airlines see profits in shipping animals

Battle of the climate-change billboards rages on

PayPal co-founder funds floating city for entrepreneurs

Maine man to be buried in coffin made from the tree he protected for 52 years

Want the freshest fruit? New sensor improves upon the human nose

Scientists generate electricity from viruses


That's it for this time around. I already have several articles pending publication this week and next. Stay tuned for the latest updates!

Gorillas, Innovation, Aviation and Some Icky Stuff

Monday comes along but once a week, but I seem to have new articles appear just about every day. This week was particularly satisfying, as two long-gestating features appeared and my other articles did extremely well.


Let's start with this week's two Extinction Countdown articles for Scientific American:

Photo courtesy Wildlife Conservation Society

Amazing Video: First Camera Trap Footage of Critically Endangered Cross River Gorillas [This was my most popular Extinction Countdown article in the last year!]

New Polar Bear Counting Method Creates Confusion [Boy did this one get the climate skeptics in a huff.]


Next up, my latest feature for Today's Engineer:

Career Focus: Aerospace Engineering Careers Still Flying High 


And here's another new feature, for IEEE's The Institute:

Get Creative with Free E-book on Innovation


And let's finish the week with this batch of articles for Mother Nature Network -- two of which you'd better not read while eating:

Necrotizing fasciitis claims woman's leg after zip line accident

Houston doctors live-tweet patient's brain surgery

Rio de Janeiro beautifying famous beach by removing billboards 

It'll probably be two weeks before my next list, for reasons I can't disclose quite yet, but make sure to follow me over on Twitter for the latest links as they happen!

Rhino sex, horse racing, volunteering and climate change

Okay, so the more controversial or sensational the topic you write about, the more readers you attract. Got it.


Guess which one of this week's Extinction Countdown articles for Scientific American got about six times the normal number of readers:

The Most Eagerly Awaited Rhino Porn of All Time [Yup, it was this one.]

New Conservation Plan Will Protect Endangered Zebra Species


Meanwhile, this feature for Mother Nature Network was the most-read story on their site for a few days, during which time it generated a pretty good number of comments. It probably didn't hurt that CNN linked to this story from their home page:

Horse racing: An industry in crisis


Meanwhile, these other stories for MNN were fun to research and write:

Where do urban chickens go to retire? Portland

IKEA introduces disposable cardboard camera

Wind turbines contribute to global warming? Media outlets say they do

Oh, and an earlier MNN story was reprinted by the Huffington Post last week.


Finally this week, my latest feature for LION magazine appears in their May 2012 issue. I can't link directly to the article, but you can flip through the whole thing online here. My story --First Responders Since 1951 -- appears on page 38.


This week should see two new features, if not three, and a whole bunch more of the usual environmental reporting. Stay tuned for updates!