Latest Articles

The ocean’s tiniest, strangest creatures

The Tara Oceans is a 118-foot research ship that collects ocean zooplankton and phytoplankton — microscopic marine organisms that we often know nothing about. These tiny critters have a crucial place at the bottom of the food chain, but global warming is killing them off at a rate of 1 percent per year. The Tara […]

Black lung disease, once on the brink of extinction, is back. Thank the coal industry

A new report from NPR and the Center for Public Integrity finds that an affliction once nearly eradicated is back – and more dangerous than ever.

Apple withdraws its products from national environmental standard

Apple's new MacBook laptops are hard to take apart, and thus hard to recycle, so they fail to meet one key green standard.

If you promise not to panhandle, San Francisco will give you a puppy

San Francisco has an overabundance of dogs who need love and homes, and a large number of people who make their living by panhandling. This summer, the city’s starting a program that could benefit both groups. The program, called WOOF (which, in a textbook example of why coming up with the acronym first isn’t always […]

Chinese police save 3,600 endangered crocodiles from being eaten by humans

In southern China, police intercepted three foreigners trying to sneak over the border with precious cargo — more than 3,600 crocodiles. By the time police arrested the smugglers, 42 of the Siamese crocs (an endangered species) had died of dehydration and overheating. But if the police hadn’t intervened, the rest would have met an equally […]

Multinational food corporations thank you for buying ‘organic’

A report from the New York Times makes clear that the organic food industry is dominated by big-name players -- who are also actively working to shift the meaning of "organic."

MORE sex is better with energy efficiency

My first foray into this topic, “Sex is better with energy efficiency,” was warmly – aye, steamingly – received.  (We are a simple people, no?)  So let’s dive deeper… First, for the record:  Jimmy Carter is a great man, a courageous humanitarian, and a vastly underappreciated former President.  It’s not his fault.  But one of […]

June’s 3,282 heat records, in one handy chart

In the U.S., June heat broke 2,284 daily maximum temperature records and tied a further 998. Here's what that looked like for the lower 48 states.

Norway could halt all oil extraction tonight, probably only temporarily

Not that a fella can't dream.

Playing with their food: Kids discover the fun of farming at camp

Farm-based summer camps are growing in popularity as parents seek to reconnect their kids with the origins of their food.