From the arctic descending, manifested in both weather and white, yellow-eyed owls, to recent discoveries and new ways of thinking on extinction, there’s a lot to read, watch, and listen to out there. Here are some recent gems that I’ve come across.
Jonathan Rosen’s New Yorker essay on how the passenger pigeon became extinct (which also serves as a review of Joel Greenberg’s newest, A Feathered River Across the Sky: The Passenger Pigeon’s Flight to Extinction), is brilliant. The New Yorker published two fantastic (and deeply troubling) articles on extinction last month; the first on extinction’s history, the second on its present and future. Rosen’s piece, is in a similar vein, but in microcosm. All three articles are important, moving works which emphasize the need to be more creative and thoughtful in the ways by which we attempt to “save” the species with whom we share our earthly habitats.
WNPR produced a wonderful story on searching for snowy owls. The byline: “From Harry Potter’s Hedwig to the owl of Athena, there’s something magical about owls.” Irresistible. You can read and listen (as well as view some wonderful owl images) here.
The weather on January 8, 2014. Source.
I’ve been finding some pretty awesome articles & websites on Twitter lately. (No, I don’t just tweet about Downton Abbey.) This, from @rahmstorf, head of Earth System Analysis at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, is The Climate Reanalyzer. Go to this website and see in real-time color how the climate is changing before our eyes.
- What the weather is on average on January 8th. Source.
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Spokes & Petals 