A journal of science, thought, and action.

Feb

2019

Love Is In The Air

Natural reminders for Valentine's Day.

Feb

2019

Opportunity Signs Off

A voyage of exploration concludes.

Perfect Gifts

Our marketplace offers Hi-Res prints on either polished metal or museum-quality paper.
Browse images of travel, adventure, and nature from elite photographers and visual media creators.

Archive Highlights

High School chemistry & biology

Some parts of climate change science and the consequences of increased CO2 in the atmosphere are explained with high school textbooks.

23 Feb 2015

Video Highlights

An Odd Future. Hope we See It.

What does the sky look like? No – let me start over. Are you there?

3777

'Before & After' Rocks

Mars is full of surprises. A photograph taken twelve days apart shows a new rock had appeared where it hadn't been before.

3424

Economics Explained: The Impossible Hamster

Economics is often called the 'dismal science'. A hamster shows the consequences.

3703

Convergences

Mountain tops and remote islands are perfect environments to see convergent evolution expressed. The results are often strikingly odd and sometimes very beautiful.

10351

When Galaxies Collide

In a couple of billion years or so, the Milky Way and the Andromeda galaxies will collide.

4322

Attacking the Drones

The FAA is putting up a stink about drones, saying these drones are not allowed. Why? Is the stuff they come back with too pretty? Too cool?

3653

Migrating Mangroves

Mangroves are on the move. They are telling a climate change story as they march north and south.

4041

Squids, Silent Assassins of the Sea

Squids. More badass than most action stars.

7395

Water Saving Idea: Shower with a Friend

Save the Colorado suggest a unique way to conserve water---shower with a friend!

4376

Polar Deserts & Plants

The islands of the 'high arctic' are polar deserts but they still support some plant life.

7686

Pebble Mine Would Wreck Wetlands

The Earth is made of metal and not metal. Metal mining has always been fraught, due to the slight tendency of metal mining to wreck the non-metal parts of the planet.

3019

What a Difference a Year Makes

California is in a major drought. Much of the state's water supply is generated in the mountains as snow which is largely absent this year.

3292

The Origins of Skiing?

In the Atlay Mountains in China, you might be able to get a glimpse of the first people to invent skiing. But don't look for these guys in the Olympics.

3292

The Biggest Climber Ever

Alex Honnold hangs, literally, between life and death, to a degree no climber ever has. Watching Honnold climb is seeing a baby in a bassinet balanced on top of a pole.

3264

Rustlers, Robbers, and other Thieves

Reports of wildlife poaching typically focus on killing of elephants for their tusks being exported to Asia for carved trinkets or rhinos for their horns used as knife handles and phony aphrodisiacs. We rarely hear about the illegal trade in plants.

9786

Coal in the Ground, People on the Land

The American west, like so many other parts of this country and this world, is dividing into two distinct parts -- haves and have-nots, red and blue, powerful and not. Out here, the line is between the Old West and the New West.

3171

A Pale Blue Dot...animated

We are great admirers of the astronomer Carl Sagan who coined the term 'a pale blue dot' to describe the Earth as seen from deep space. A tribute animation illustrates Sagan's words well.

10919

Some of the Best Photos of the Year

Wired reposts its most-loved photo galleries of the year.

2815

You Light Up My Life

If you want to be knowing
Why fishies be glowing
Way down in the deep o' the sea,
Read a sterling new study
About life where it's muddy ...
Or else you can listen to me.

2916

Your Brain Can Move a Rat's Tail

A computer can read your thoughts and use that intention to move a rat's tail.

2965

Restoration: to repair, return, or recover something to its original condition

In the 1970's, restoration ecology hadn't been defined as a separate area of study or application. Diverse projects are now underway worldwide and all are worthy of following.

8469

Bringing the Sun to Themselves

This town in Norway doesn't get much sun. So they brought the sun to them. Other, less hardy people would have brought United Van Lines and moved.

2874

Same Crater, Different Views

The Opportunity rover landed on Mars in January 2004. Its expected life-time was 3 months but it is still rolling around taking measurements and snapping cool photos.

6669

NASA Robot Looks Like a Spider

A new idea from NASA is a robot tha A new idea from NASA is a robot that looks so much like a spider, its eerie. This robot could "crawl" across the surfaces of distant planets.

2830

Pricey Fish

The Asian carp is a horror story. They were introduced to clean pond scum from fish farms and escaped into the Mississippi River system to become a 'poster-child' for invasive species.