Slain wolves, electric bees, fireballs and extinct species

Howdy folks. I'm wrist-deep in the writing of several new features that are due before the end of the month (damn you, four-week February!), but I wanted to take a few moments to share last week's stories, which were fun, sad, interesting and inspiring.

First up, my two Extinction Countdown articles for Scientific American. I took a different approach than usual with the first one and it paid off in terms of both readership and number of comments. I plan on mixing a few things up with this blog in the coming weeks, so stay tuned for some really good upcoming articles:

4 Extinct Species That People Still Hope to Rediscover

$2,500 Reward Offered after Critically Endangered Red Wolf Killed in North Carolina


Next up, a big batch of stories for Mother Nature Network, which doesn't even include the three or four stories I already have queued up to publish at some point this week:

Bees get a buzz out of electricity from flowers

Bette Midler's New York Restoration Project aims to plant one million new trees by 2017

Be a disease detective: Solve outbreaks with new CDC iPad app

More meteors create fireballs over Cuba, Florida and California

Supreme Court to hear soybean farmer's case against Monsanto


This coming week should bring a whole bunch of new stories, including (maybe) some tales that have been pending publication for some time now. Make sure to follow me on Twitter for the latest links as they go live, or stop back here next Monday for the full list.

Oh, before you go, here's an article I didn't write, but it's about me and my work writing about endangered species. Check it out.

Bigfoot. Nuff said.

What was my most-read article of the week? I'll give you one guess:

Bigfoot evidence 'conclusive,' says scientifically dubious study

That was just one of this week's articles for Mother Nature Network. Here are the rest:

Texas and California battle over jobs, carbon dioxide emissions

Another Heart Attack Grill spokesperson dies ... of a heart attack

Bill Gates discusses polio, climate change and Steve Jobs during Reddit AMA


My other articles this week were for my Extinction Countdown blog over at Scientific American:

Whale Sharks in the News: Citizen Science, Migration Revelations and High Fashion

Giant Pandas at Risk from New Chinese Forestry Policies


There's lots, lots, lots more in the queue, including at least ten features that are pending publication. But alas, none of them are about Bigfoot. I may need to remedy that situation.

More next week!

Pygmy elephants, extinct moths, software careers and fracking

Hey there, my Monday morning readers! Did you survive the blizzard named Nemo? I'm putting this in the queue on Saturday morning, just in case I don't make it through the storm. Hey, with this country's infrastructure, it pays to be prepared.

Anyway, let's get to this week's article links! It was a pretty good week, with some interesting news items and the publication of two long-in-the-works features. I'll start, as I usually do, with this week's two Extinction Countdown articles for Scientific American:

Was Palm Oil to Blame for the Poisoning of 14 Pygmy Elephants?

3 British Moths Extinct; Most Other Species in Decline


Next up, my latest technology careers article for IEEE-USA's Today's Engineer. I really enjoyed working on this one and interviewed some incredibly cool folks:

Software Engineering Careers Continue to Boom


Sticking with technology, here's another feature for another IEEE publication, The Institute, about inspirational museums:

IEEE Launches Exhibits Program for Science Museums

And finally, here are this week's eco/tech news items for Mother Nature Network:

Fracking waste: Is it safe to ship by barge?

Poll reveals more Americans believe in climate change

Earthworms may play a role in climate change

Copper computer keyboards could reduce hospital infections


In other news, I have happily joined founding editors Rod Heather and Sean O'Leary as the third editor on Lore, a twice-annual anthology of "weird fiction." It's going to be a blast.

That's it for this time around. I've got about a dozen more features on my plate right now, and lots of other new stuff pending. Follow me on Twitter for links as they happen or come back here next Monday for another link list!

Beer, Penguins and Climate

The last week of January brought fewer articles than the week before, but that's okay: I'm already working on at least 10 new articles.

Let's start the link list with my two Extinction Countdown articles for Scientific American, including my most popular article of the week:

New Zealand Farmer Helps Save Rare Penguins from Extinction

Yaks Are Returning to Tibet, but Does Climate Change Pose Further Risks?

In addition, my older articles got a boost from an unexpected source: Cracked.com. That was worth a smile or two.

 Next up, a few new articles for Mother Nature Network, including one article that horrified everyone who read it:

Fracking vs. beer: Does natural gas exploration threaten America's breweries?

RinkWatch: How backyard skaters are monitoring climate change

Bill Gates calls on Europe to fight hunger, despite economic crisis


This coming week should bring two new Extinction Countdown articles, several pieces for MNN, and, if we're lucky, a couple of new technology features. Follow me on Twitter for the latest links as they happen.