Latest Articles
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Cool map shows density at a glance
The pixels on Fathom Information Design's Dencity map get smaller the more people they represent — meaning that sparsely-populated areas are low-resolution, and densely-populated ones are sharp and bright. It illustrates both the positive and negative aspects of density: Each pixel gets less space the more pixels there are, but that means that denser areas […]
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Eating horses is legal now, and PETA loves it
Hey, you can finally defrost that horse steak you've had in the freezer! The spending bill that Obama just signed included a provision lifting the ban on federal inspection of horses that are raised for food, a ban that has made it effectively illegal to slaughter horses for the last five years. And weirdly, PETA […]
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Fukushima nuclear reactor meltdown more terrifying than we thought
In a new report, Tokyo Electric Power company has revealed that the Fukushima meltdown probably did more damage and was more dangerous than anyone realized at the time. The report's based on a simulation, but that simulation indicated that the entire ration of fuel inside one reactor could have turned into a pile of molten […]
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Adorable video defends public transportation
Here's a sweet 30-second plea for the improvement of the public transportation used by 35 million Americans every day. Because there should be many tens or hundreds of millions more of them, but at the rate we’re going now, that’s not looking likely. Eighty-four percent of transit systems have raised rates or cut service. Is […]
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Airport to increase safety by gassing birds
Last year, a Royal Air Maroc plane made an emergency landing at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport after it was hit by a flock of geese. They've been trying everything to get rid of the birds, they say, including "luring them away" (presumably with irresistible offers from Groupon). Incidents like these have been increasing at the airport, […]
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Critical List: A small fracking victory; fracking still sucks
In New York, government officials are extending the public comment period on fracking rules. In Pennsylvania, a judge gave Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. permission to stop supplying fresh water to families whose well water was tainted by fracking operations. And the Chesapeake Bay Foundation used infrared video to document emissions pouring out of natural […]
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Stop crying: Environmental tales don’t have to be ‘The Lorax’
Cross-posted from the Last Word on Nothing. I’ve spent a lot of time this past year thinking and writing about extinction, which means I’ve also spent a lot of time drinking thinking about the tragic narrative in environmental journalism. There’s a lot of genuine tragedy on the environmental beat, and it doesn’t take a partisan to see […]
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Good cop, bad cop: How the police became a public enemy
Police subdue a protester at an Occupy Wall Street rally in New York City.Photo: Audrey Pilato Over the past couple of weeks, the fight between “the 99%” and the powerful Wall Street and Washington elite has devolved into a street battle between protesters and the police. Black-suited cops have pepper sprayed peaceful protesters, bloodied kids […]
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Pesticides on trial [VIDEO]
On Dec. 3, the 27th anniversary of the Bhopal disaster, anti-pesticide advocates are bringing the six largest pesticide companies to trial. Or rather, to something called The Permanent People’s Tribunal, an international body that “officially facilitates the trial, lacking any set of binding national laws.” According to a recent press release from the North American […]
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The wrong way to recycle your fluorescent bulbs: Eating them
This video is bananas. But fluorescent bulbs are not bananas. So don't eat them, like these guys do, and also don't do any of the other things in this video. Criminey. If you do have mercury-containing fluorescent bulbs that need to be disposed of, the EPA has a guide to what you need to do […]
