Insect astronomers: The lowly dung beetle seemed to have been a dealt tough, mundane life, filled with nothing but crawling on the ground and eating poo. But scientists have shown that these insects are the first known animals to navigate by the Milky Way. That’s right, the beetles are each a miniature, crap-eating Copernicus, consulting the heavens on which direction to roll their balls of dung for safe-keeping. On cloudy nights, the researchers noticed the beetles’ normally straight paths went haywire. Then a simulation in the lab confirmed that it is truly the Milky Way, not a lone star, guiding the insects that, let's admit it, we've been underestimating. Sorry, Mr. Dung Beetle. It was just the poop thing, honest. Los Angeles Times

Lovely lake effect: If you’re a Midwesterner or East Coaster, chances are you’ve noticed this week's frigid temperatures, perhaps when you stepped outside and your hair and snot froze, or when you stayed inside reading your Facebook feed and its non-stop coverage of the obvious: It's cold. But check out these aerial photos that show how all that cold air has created an awesome phenomenon, nicknamed “cloud streets,” over the Great Lakes. And for all your it's-cold-thus-no-global-warming friends (we've all got 'em), the reason the lake effect is so strong right now is because the lake water is warmer than usual, thanks to y'know, the hottest year on record ever. Slate

Sandy returns: The blows associated with frankenstorm Sandy just keep on coming. The newest one is in the form of tax dollars that localities affected by the storm will miss out on. With property damages affecting home prices, many areas in Long Island and New Jersey will have to restructure their budgets to reflect the lower revenues coming in. New York Times

Save the John Does!: The bad news is that many scientists believe most species will go extinct before we even discover them. The slightly better news is a new paper suggesting that if scientists try hard enough, we could succeed in naming most of them. Oh, the riveting debates amongst taxonomists! For the low price of between $500 million and $1 billion, all species could have their Latin binomials (Johnum doelicus? Janeus doedes?) by 2060. Since the world’s biodiversity could be cut in half over the next 150 years, we better get on it. At least the graves will be marked? New York Times

Are you ready boots? Start walking!: Thousands of crocodiles are on the loose from a South African croc farm, escaping a fate that ends in a ladies footwear -- at least temporarily. A storm surge flooded the Limpopo River killing 10 people and forcing thousands of others from their homes. During the flood, the croc farm had to open its gates or risk severe damages, adding many a toothy worry to the area's recovery process. Last night, as the crocodiles' eyes glowed in headlight and flashlight beams, the "rescue" team captured less than half of the 15,000 escapees. Guardian

You're hired!: A suspicious temp job cropped up on Craiglist. No news there, right? There's more: An ambiguous company named Ovation says it will pay volunteers $20 to participate in a rally protesting wind energy in the United Kingdom, held at the British Consulate in Midtown Manhattan. Job candidates don't even have to hate wind energy, they just have to provide enough warm bodies behind the speakers to make it seem like people hate this technology that could help reduce carbon emissions. The ad has now been pulled, but not before Philip Bump got to suggest that Donald Trump -- a long-time hater of a UK wind project that would ruin the view from his golf course -- might be behind the scam. Grist

Stepping up to plate: New York Yankee Derek Jeter spoke up about climate change at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland this week. “Something has to be causing it,” he said of the uptick in natural disasters. Hopefully he’ll soon get his environmental lingo up to the speed of his double plays. The Columbus Dispatch

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