Latest Articles

Chernobyl’s wildlife may be surprisingly healthy

We have found animals with ridiculously high levels of radiation in their bodies. But these animals still look…totally normal.

Lincoln’s inaugural menu had every type of meat imaginable on it

In 1865, the Bill of Fare for President Lincoln’s first Inaugural Ball included pretty much every type of meat you can think of. There were oysters and turtles, chicken, turkey grouse, beef four different ways, duck, quail ham, tongue, and venison. (OK, no horse meat — this was still America, after all.) Even the salads were […]

Ask Umbra: Should I sell my Exxon stock?

A reader wonders if it’s unethical to hang on to Big Oil stocks, and if shareholder activism does any good. Umbra offers some centsible advice.

Happy MLK Day! Now get off the couch and do the King proud

Today is the only national holiday that is not really a day "off," but a day "on."

In Detroit, automakers gear up to meet new fuel-efficiency standards

On display at the Detroit Auto Show is evidence of gas guzzlers adopting fuel-saving technology made famous by the Prius.

The problem wasn’t the green groups: What Skocpol gets wrong about the climate bill fight

Who's to blame for the failure of the climate bill in 2009 and 2010? Hint: the people who opposed it, ignored it, or undersold it.

There’s a hole in my plastic-bag law

In Alameda County, Calif., stores are getting around the new plastic-bag ban by calling plastic bags "reusable."

There’s too much garbage for just two garbage patches

Scientists have discovered a new floating garbage island off the coast of Chile.

Boeing’s efficient Dreamliner planes are especially efficient at battery fires

The 787 is designed to be a "super-efficient" airplane, but the batteries that make that efficiency possible have been causing big problems.

If you need any 70-year-old waterlogged lard, some just washed up on a beach

Baked goods taste better with real lard, and ocean-soaked baked goods from the 1940s taste better with ocean-soaked lard from the 1940s.