Where the West Burns
Major forest fires are tramping their way across thousands of acres of Western land. The U.S. Forest Service reports that…
Happy Birthday Fidel, Part II
Nothing says happy birthday like a well-crafted card; especially if it’s a rhapsodizing, poetic missive from a fellow…
All the Cigarettes in the World
Click to enlarge H.L. Mencken’s American Mercury once called cigarettes “the most democratic commodity in common use.” While…
Why Writers Run
New Yorker editor Nicholas Thompson and staff writer Malcolm Gladwell have been bantering about running and the Olympics. In…
How Fast Is Usain Bolt?
Yesterday Usain Bolt won the Men’s 100-meter final in 9.63 seconds. He is faster than an elephant (but…
Pacific Rim Trade: a Great Blue Highway Out There
The staggering, often surprising, scope of stuff being bought and sold across the Pacific.
Cleaning Clean Energy: Robots to Keep Solar Panels Spotless
To soak up the sun as efficiently as possible, solar panels need to be kept near spotless. But…
Future Ocean Habitats Built on Plastics?
In the last 40 years there has been a 100-fold increase of plastics in the North Pacific Subtropical…