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Top 10 states ravaged by extreme weather in 2011

Memphis flood. Photo: Chris WielandBy many measures, 2011 was the most extreme weather year for the United States since reliable record-keeping began in the 19th century — and the costs have been enormous. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 2011 set a record for the most billion-dollar disasters in a single year. […]

The city, stripped down: How ruin porn can help rebuild the Rust Belt

Photo: BB and HHThis essay originally appeared in Rustwire. Living in the Rust Belt, one becomes accustomed to things that many people would find shocking. Examples: Not long ago, I saw the façade of an abandoned building fall out of itself on fire and into the street. Firemen and neighbors gathered around to look. Nobody […]

Gingrich thinks Palin would be a darned fine energy secretary

Newt Gingrich told conservative activists on Wednesday that Sarah “Drill Baby Drill” Palin would be an ideal candidate for secretary of energy. “I can’t imagine anybody who would do a better job of driving us to an energy solution than Gov. Palin, for example,” Gingrich said during a conference call hosted by Ralph Reed’s Faith […]

Doe, a deer, a sustainable protein source to last all winter

I am not a hunter. I don’t (and will not) own a gun and, though I’ve toyed with the idea of bow hunting in the past, my aim really stinks. Even so, the deer population where I live does need to be thinned, since we’ve taken their natural predators away. And I sure do appreciate […]

Sinners, repent! How our natural self-bias got us into this mess

This interview originally appeared in the Last Word on Nothing. Dearest readers, we hope you had a gluttonous, slothful, greedy, and lustful holiday, with only the tiniest touches of wrath. My compatriots and I at the Last Word on Nothing are celebrating the season with a series of posts on the Seven Deadly Sins. I […]

‘Micro-lofts’ are luxury shantytowns for hipsters

Vancouver has come up with a unique solution to the outrageous cost of housing in the city: Murphy everything. A local construction company is building a block of tiny apartments, each the size of a one-car garage, and making them livable by turning their walls into the domestic equivalents of pop-up books. The “micro-lofts” are […]

Slum residents get a giant escalator for Christmas

If you had $7 million to use on behalf of the residents of your poorest slums, how would you distribute it? For Medellin, Colombia, that’s a no-brainer: Blow the whole wad on a MONSTER ESCALATOR. Wait, wait! It’s actually a good idea. The giant escalator helps slum residents get to their hillside homes from the […]

Panda caught eating meat on camera for first time ever

Pandas: Not vegetarians after all. Sure, they subsist mostly on bamboo, but these are BEARS, people. They may seem cuddly in the zoo, but in the wild, when they don’t think anyone is looking, super-secret cameras caught one feasting on the dead carcass of a gnu. Watch this video for the grisly evidence. Next time […]

Will the Butterball raid yield any real results?

If turkey were beer, Butterball would have the brand power of Budweiser, Miller, and Coors combined. From six plants, the company produces 1 billion pounds of turkey each year and exports the meat to over 50 countries. Given this dominance, the Butterball brand has been a priceless asset to the company — until Thursday morning. […]

2011 sets all-time record for tornadoes: 199 in one day

Extreme weather is like debt, obesity, and prescriptions for anti-depressants: Every year, there's more of it. 2011 was no exception, and scientists have just added another distinction to its record-breaking trophy case of awfulness: Nearly 200 tornadoes in a single day. The three-day storm that birthed that record killed 346 people. Whether or not this […]