Political conventions, using the tongue to see and polar bears with herpes

What an epic week! Not only did I write a whole bunch of new articles, but several pieces I have been working on over the past few weeks (or months) all ended up online as well.

Let's get to the linkage. First up, my Extinction Countdown articles for Scientific American:

Recently Discovered Lizard Species Down to 3 Remaining Females

How Did Zebras Give 2 Polar Bears Herpes?

In addition to these two new articles, Salon reprinted my recent Elephant birth control article.


Next up, two new features for IEEE's The Institute, a great publication for people working in advanced technologies:

Romanian Teen Wins IEEE Presidents' Scholarship - this cool kid developed a system to help blind people see with their tongues!

Teacher In-Service Program Celebrates 10th Year


Mother Nature Network sure has been keeping me busy lately. Here's the latest batch, including one that's super-relevant this week:

How eco-friendly are political conventions?

Study: Cleaner cars have reduced some Los Angeles air pollution levels by 98%

Creation of 11,000-acre Hackmatack National Wildlife Refuge approved

Six Flags to close the gates on drive-through Wild Safari [this one includes two of my photos -- from 1990!)

Amelia Earhart's plane reportedly found (well, pieces of it)

How does a holiday become a holiday?


And finally, rather than something by me, here's something about me: a nice profile of me on the Society of Environmental Journalists website.

Conservation heroes, canoes for a cause, Google discoveries and more

What a week...heck, what a month! I have been lucky to interview some truly inspiring people lately, and now you get the benefit of reading some of the articles that have resulted from those conversations.

First up, this week's two Extinction Countdown articles for Scientific American. If you only read one of my articles this week, make sure it's the first of these:

Okapi Conservation Center Recovering after Deadly Militia Attack

South Africa Invests in Elephant Birth Control [Video]


Next up, four new articles for Mother Nature Network:

Canoes for a Cause brings awareness to the troubled state of the Midwest's rivers

Artificial retina could restore vision in the blind

Lost Egyptian pyramids found ... by Google? [This was the #1 story on MNN for several days]

Poisoned trees in Alabama receive major pruning, thumbs up for football celebrations [The latest in a story I've been covering for a year and a half!]


I should have two more features online this week, along with another batch of the usual goodness. Keep an eye on my Twitter feed for links as they happen!

Singing Penguins, Giant Butterflies and Green Engineering

As Monday morning's sun rises over coastal Maine, I'm already hunkered down in front of the PC working on -- let me see here -- one, two, three...seven new articles. About half of those will see "print" this coming week, while the rest won't appear for a month or more, but let me give you a little tease: you're going to want to read them all. I have interviewed some truly incredible, inspirational people in the past week and I can't wait to share what they had to say.

But for now, let's take a look at last week's articles, which should also serve to entertain and illuminate you.

First up, my two Extinction Countdown articles for Scientific American:

World's Largest Butterfly Threatened by Shrinking Habitat and Deforestation

Fishing Nets, Climate Change Threaten Yellow-Eyed Penguins in New Zealand

Mother Jones also reprinted the above penguin story under their slightly more click-worthy headline: VIDEO: Adorable Singing Penguin Threatened by Climate Change, Nets


Next up, my latest career feature for IEEE-USA's Today's Engineer. I enjoyed putting this one together and I think you'll learn something from it no matter what profession you are in:

Every Engineer is a Green Engineer

And now, the usual wide range of stories for Mother Nature Network, only one of which was specifically eco-themed:

Oyster industry struggles to adapt to climate change

Study: Weight training may reduce diabetes risk in men

Google Street View lets you tour the Kennedy Space Center 


That's it for now. Follow me on Twitter for more links as they happen!

Milestone week

Things sure do add up over time. Last week I wrote my 400th Extinction Countdown article for Scientific American, and in the next few months I expect to write my 1,000th article about endangered species. People often ask me, "doesn't writing about endangered species depress you?" Sure, it can be a burden at time. But it's a burden I'm willing to carry for a long time to come.

Anyway, last week brought that milestone article (the first one in the link list below) as well as two more Extinction Countdown articles and two pieces for Mother Nature Network. Check 'em out:

Rare Success: Critically Endangered Gharial Crocodiles Have Record Hatching Year

DNA Test Could Help Save Scottish Wildcat from Extinction—If It Still Exists

O'Reilly Animals Enlists Technology Community to Help Save Endangered Species from Extinction

NFL linebacker Will Witherspoon speaks to Congress about livestock and antibiotics

Israel has enough natural gas to last 150 years, but getting it will be costly

Oh yeah, and my article on how horses got to the Olympics was reprinted by the Huffington Post. 

I'll have at least one new feature online by the end of the week, maybe two, along with other new articles for SciAm and MNN. Keep an eye on my Twitter feed for the links as they go live or come back here in seven days for the latest list of links.