Turtle Week

Well here's a rarity: a week with just three new Platt publications. That feels strange, since I think I worked on about 587 other articles throughout the week, including stuff that will see print next week, next month, and probably next year.

Anyway, here are the links to those three articles, two of which have to do with turtles (and the third of which is just cool). The first one was for TakePart while the next two were for Scientific American:

Stopping Louisiana's Turtle Apocalypse

Seeds of Hope after Disease Wipes Out 90 Percent of Rare Turtle Species

What's in the Box? A Long-Lost Species

More next week -- and beyond! Follow me on Twitter for headlines as they happen.

Elephant Feet, Snow Leopards and Elevator Speeches

Another week, another six publications. That's a bit more than usual, but it includes a couple of pieces that were in work for a long time and have now finally seen print.

Speaking of print, this week's list starts with my article from the November print issue of Scientific American, which is an adaptation and expansion of an article I did for them online two months ago:

Elephant Footprints Teem with Life


Sticking with SciAm, here are my two latest "Extinction Countdown" articles (including my second snow leopard article for the month):

The Mangrove Finch: An Extinction in Slow Motion

Snow Leopards Could Lose Two-Thirds of Their Habitat due to Climate Change


Next up, a new wildlife article and a green-tech piece for TakePart:

Forest Conservation Has a New Poster Child: The Gopher Tortoise

Renewable Energy Is About to Get Supersized


Finally, sticking with tech, here's my latest careers article for IEEE-USA InSight. This is technically geared toward engineers, but I think anyone can get something out of it. I know I learned a lot while writing it:

How to Craft a Winning Elevator Speech


That's it for this week. Come on back next Monday for another list!

Shrinking Leopards, Twilight Coral and Two Extinctions

Credit DWNP, Panthera, and Rimba

I love my job -- yes, even though I cover some pretty bleak topics, like the ones you'll find in three out of this week's four articles. I may find myself writing bad news more often than not, but it's an amazing opportunity for me to speak to the people who are doing good in this world to help us understand the threats that we face -- and maybe to turn them around.

That said, let's start with this week's bleakest articles, my latest for PBS's Nature:

Indochinese Leopard’s Range Has Shrunk by more than 94 Percent


And here are two pieces for TakePart, one good and one bad, both important:

Hawaii’s Newly Discovered Deep-Sea Reefs Thrive in a ‘Twilight Zone’

The West Coast’s Largest Estuary Is Being Starved of Water


Finally this week, here's my latest for Scientific American, which combines terrible news with slightly less bad news:

1 Endangered Beetle Species Gets Protected, 2 More Go Extinct


That's it for this time around, but hang on to your hats (or glasses, as the case may be). I have at least six articles already in the queue with my editors pending publication and you should start seeing them as early as today. That's in addition to the brand-new stuff that I will actually start writing today. It's going to be a busy week! I'll post the headlines as they happen on Twitter, so follow along there or come on back here next Monday for another list. Maybe they won't all be quite so bleak!

Crows + Marijuana + Einstein

Welcome to a new week! Here's another batch of articles for your Monday morning eyeballs.

Source: Nobrow Press

Let's start with two positive conservation-themed stories, the first for Audubon, the second for Scientific American:

The Hawaiian Crow Is Ready to Make Its Big Comeback

Great News for Rhinos, Pangolins, Parrots, Sharks and Chambered Nautilus


Next up, an interesting news story for TakePart:

The Marijuana Boom Is Contributing to the Climate Crisis


And finally this week, an interview with a graphic novelist for From the Grapevine:

Einstein gets graphic in new biography


More next Monday -- or follow along on Twitter for headlines as they go live.

Snow Leopards, Biomimicry and a Frog Extinction

Say good-bye, little froggie.

Wow, last week was busy! Five new article publications, plus work on half a dozen more. But let me tell you, the effort was worth it, not just for the chance to tell good, important stories but also for the incredible reaction from all of my readers.

Nothing personified that more than my latest for PBS's Nature, a positive conservation article that went totally viral:

Snow Leopard Conservation Gets Boost from New Tech


This week's articles for Scientific American were far less positive, but they had to be told. I've been following these stories for a while and neither is a happy tale:

The Rabbs' Tree Frog Just Went Extinct

Two Years to Ploughshare Tortoise Extinction?


But let's get happy again with this week's articles for TakePart. The first one might seem like a tough bit of news, but the people working to save the California Condor are doing great work. The second article in this batch is my latest green-tech piece.

The Tiny Threat That’s Killing North America’s Largest Bird

Mimicking Nature to Fight Climate Change


That's it for this time around. Come on by next Monday for another list, or follow me on Twitter for links as they go live.