Short Week, Big Impact

Welcome to the Monday after Thanksgiving. Freelancers don't often have short work weeks, so I embraced this one and finally managed to take a few days off. I still had a few articles come out, though, and they were doozies. Here they are, one for Scientific American and two for TakePart:

25 Possible New Extinctions: Hawaiian Plants, Madagascar Orchids, Chilean Water Frog

Pangolins in Peril: Wildlife Traffickers Target the World’s Most Profitable Prey

Thanks to Climate Change, Foxes Are Now Threatening a Rare Seal


Look for more this coming week. Follow me on Twitter for headlines as they go live or come on back here next Monday for yet another list.

Solar Careers, Soaring Squirrels and Sinking Forests

These days I am mostly known for my work writing about endangered species, but I love writing career articles -- especially articles about green careers. Here's my latest for IEEE-USA InSight:

Power Up: Sustainable Energy Brings Sustainable Careers

Back on the endangered species beat, here are three new articles for Scientific American. One is good news, while the other two are pretty awful news:

Squirrel! Conservationists Cheer as Giant Squirrel Recovers, Leaves Endangered Species List

Amazon Trees Face Extinction Crisis, but There's Hope 

Northern White Rhino Dies, Leaving Just Three on the Planet


And finally this week, here are three new articles for TakePart, covering wildlife trafficking and climate change:

Criminal Syndicates Are Driving Wildlife Crime Around the Globe

Washington Judge Rules Government Has Legal Duty to Fight Global Warming

The Great Antarctic Melt May Benefit These Penguins 


More next Monday! Or follow me on Twitter for headlines as they happen.

Albatross! (and other stuff)

"Albatross!" .... is a line that does not occur in my article.

Like a lot of journalists, I usually end my interviews about a specific topic by asking "what else should we be talking about?" That doesn't always lead very far, but once in a while I strike gold. That happened recently, and it turned into this article for Motherboard:

A Gigapixel Camera Turned This Island into an Albatross 'Truman Show'


On a more normal, timely note, here are two awful news-oriented stories for TakePart. (No, the topics are awful! The stories are fine.)

Poachers Are Hunting Down the World’s Last Wild Sumatran Rhinos

The Dutch Ban Fur Farms That Kill 6 Million Mink a Year


Finally this week, here are two fun new science stories for (you guessed it) Scientific American:

Another New Tool for Seal Conservation: Snow Shovels

"Living Dead" Weevil Gets Another Shot at Surviving


That's it for this week's headlines. More in the days, weeks and months to come!

Snail Week! (and other stuff, too)

This week's articles brought an unexpected theme: snails! I've actually written about snails and other mollusks quite a few times, but never twice in one week. They're both pretty cool stories. Here they are, one for Scientific American and another for TakePart:

Stowaway Snail Helps Save Species from Extinction

World’s Tiniest Snails Discovered on Borneo


Here's another SciAm article, the latest chapter in a saga I've been following since 2010:

70 Percent of the World's Saiga Antelopes Mysteriously Wiped Out


And here are two more TakePart articles, the second of which is my latest tie-in to a TV show called "The Operatives":

California’s Illegal Pot Farms Are Killing Rare Animals

Take a Look Inside the Lives of Captive Dolphins


Finally, here's my latest careers article for IEEE's The Institute:

IEEE Communications Society Rolls Out Four New Courses


That's it for now. Will another theme emerge next week? Stay turned to find out!

Lions, Leopards and Logs - A Week of Wildlife Crime

Hey folks, welcome to another Monday link list. This week definitely has a theme: Wildlife and other environmental crimes.

We'll start the list with two new articles for Scientific American:

Lions in Peril: Big Cats Face 50 Percent Decline in Next 20 Years

Clouded Leopards Threatened by Sudden Increase in Poaching and Live Trade


(And here's one other short, holiday-timely SciAm post linking to some older stories:)

Ghosts, Devils and Graveyards: An Extinction Countdown Halloween


Back to crime time, here are three new articles for TakePart (okay, the third one is just about endangered species):

The ‘Devil’ Gets His Due: Elephant Poaching Kingpin Arrested

Demand for Expensive Furniture Is Fueling Illegal Logging in Indonesia

Native Americans Fight to Keep the Grizzly Bear on the Endangered Species List


That's it for this week! More next Monday. I'll have more endangered species articles all week long, and some of my technology careers articles should be working their way toward publication. Make sure to follow me on Twitter for headlines as they happen.

Orangutan Week (plus more)

I try to write about orangutans at least once a year. This week I wrote about my favorite species twice, and they're both powerful, important articles. Here they are, one for TakePart and another for Scientific American:

Orangutans Are Dying as Indonesia Burns

Another Challenge for Orangutan Conservation: Food


Beyond the red apes, here are two more articles for TakePart:

Smile, Tiger Poachers: You’re on Hidden Camera

Wisconsin’s ‘Right to Hunt’ Law Could Mean Jail for Animal Activists


I've got lots more in the works for a wide range of publications. Stay tuned for headlines as the happen!

Who Says Endangered Species Can't Be Funny?

If you're read this blog before, you know that I have two great passions: endangered species and cartooning. Those two topics collided in this article for Scientific American:

Nextinction: Ralph Steadman Goes Gonzo for Endangered Birds


I wrote one other SciAm article this week, but it was slightly less fun:

Frog Mass Extinction on the Horizon


Speaking of less fun, yeah, here are three more downers for TakePart:

When Butterflies Shouldn't Fly Free

China’s Obsession With Pet Turtles Threatens a Rare Philippine Species With Extinction

A Rare Chance to Save an Entire Nation’s Frogs From Extinction


Yes, there were some negative articles this week, but take a closer look -- almost all of them mention the things people are doing (or can do) to turn things around. That's why I do this. There are heroes out there, and there are solutions.

More next week. As always, if you can't wait until then you can also follow me on Twitter, where I'll post headlines as they go live. Some of them may even be fun!