Latest Articles

Are vegetarians more fun in the sack?

Apparently vegetarians do eat meat. Data from the online dating site OKCupid indicate that vegetarians enjoy giving oral sex more — or anyway, they say they do. There are all sorts of causation and correlation-based theories we could attempt here, but we'll just let your imaginations run wild. We'll simply note that, inevitable confounding factors […]

Irene's damage not 'overrated' for farmers

From apple orchards in New York to sweet corn fields in Massachusetts, we take a look at how farmers are faring after the storm.

Climate convert says deniers are dumb

In a beautifully written post on Climate Crocks, former skeptic D.R. Tucker illuminates the way that far-right climate change denialism encourages and feeds off of science-phobia. Tucker is clearly far from stupid, but he wonders if stupidity is a required characteristic for climate change denial -- not because there's really an IQ requirement, but because denialists glorify ignorance and roll their eyes at complexity. That's appealing to dumb people, surely. But it's also appealing to people who lack for good science education or who think they're dumb at science, and who feel disadvantaged and judged because of it. Climate deniers like Rush Limbaugh make them feel like that's an asset, not a flaw.

Which side are you on, Obama? Live from the tar-sands protests [VIDEO]

Over 700 people have been arrested since action began two weeks ago, but Obama has stayed silent.

Don Cheadle's Captain Planet is not taking any crap from you

Yeah, whatever it is Captain Planet does is cool and all. (What does he do? Recycle really hard?) But certified badass Don Cheadle has a better idea, one that will save the Earth FOREVER. 

Conservative pundits grapple with 'anti-science' charge, flail

Conservatives are trying to defend their movement against the charge that Republicans are "anti-science." They started off badly and are getting worse.

Musical GPS lets you steer your bike without looking at a screen

It's hard enough to look at your GPS and at the road while you're driving, but on a bike that split second of inattention could easily lead to injury. So Dutch researchers, who know from biking, have developed a music-based navigation system called "Oh Music, Where Art Thou?" It's a smartphone app that lets you navigate by following a strain of music through the streets. If the sound seems to come from the right, you go right; if it comes from the left, you go left. (Hopefully there's a needle-scratch feature for missing your turn.)

The last Keystone pipeline had a record number of leaks

The Huffington Post has posted one of those giant infographics on the subject of Keystone I, the last TransCanada pipeline in the U.S. and progenitor to the proposed Keystone XL tar-sands pipeline. It's crazy big, beacuse apparently infographics these days are more like abridged children's books, but here's the take-home message: Keystone I had more […]

Why the hell does Michele Bachmann want to drill for oil in the Everglades?

Michele Bachman wants to drill for oil "whether that is in the Everglades or whether that is in the Eastern Gulf region or whether that is in North Dakota." Even Republicans think this is kind of nuts, because even Republicans are willing to agree that the Everglades has some nice stuff that it'd be darn shame to ruin forever. But for Bachmann, it's a "wonderful treasure trove of energy that God has given us in this country."

If you're thinking, oil in the Gulf … ok; oil in North Dakota … sure, I read that New Yorker article; but … is there even oil the Everglades?? … well, we're with you. A federally employed geologist told a local Florida TV station that "there is no known evidence that there is a significant hydrocarbon deposit beneath the Everglades." 

But the Associated Press reports that there is one tract of privately owned land where oil was found in 1943. 

Peak coal in China means the country's desperate for renewables

China's economic miracle is under severe threat from up to 30 GW in power shortages -- that's more than twice the output of the Three Gorges Dam. Coal plants are shutting down as the cost of fuel outpaces the government-controlled price of electricity. Domestic shortages have driven the price of fuel up 75 percent since 2007, but the Chinese government limits electricity price increases to only 15 percent.