Global warning: Global carbon dioxide emissions hit an all-time high in 2011, but the record won’t last long. Scientists are reporting that a similar jump is expected for 2012. (No big shock there.) The international community set a goal three years ago of limiting global warming to 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit, but ... we've dropped the ball on that. New York Times
Small but deadly: We bring you another reason to watch what you eat this holiday season (or any season, really): the FDA is failing miserably at doing it for you. Hey FDA! Y'know we'd do this ourselves, but those E. coli, Listeria monocytogenes, and salmonella are just so tiny to see. OnEarth
Hot dish: The solar industry is serving up a new marketing strategy that 1950s homemakers might find familiar: the Tupperware party. Companies are encouraging homeowners who love their solar panels to spread the word to their neighbors -- and receive a referral reward in return. New York Times
Feeling sluggish?: Pesticides harm native wildlife and introduce a bunch of sketchy chemicals into the environment. But they’re also bad for your brain. Scientists report that organophosphates, the chemicals in pesticides, can reduce memory and your ability to process information quickly, and they are dangerous even in small amounts. The Telegraph
Bear necessities: The Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline project aims to carry tar sands oil to Canada's western coast by way of British Columbian rainforests, which are home to the mysterious spirit bear (see "Canadian Democracy: Death by Pipeline"). New research warns that the pipeline could prove catastrophic to Gribbell Island, a critical stronghold for these rare bears that are revered by local peoples. Spirit bears are actually ordinary black bears with a genetic mutation that makes their fur white -- except, of course, when they are covered in oil. The Vancouver Sun
Log roll: Already the world leader in illegal ivory imports, China can now add illegal timber to their resume of eco-crimes. More than half of the world’s timber shipments are headed for China, many of which are illegally logged from endangered tropical forests. Yale Environment 360
Hakuna Matata: Scientists have discovered a new population of genetically distinct lions -- in a zoo in Ethiopia. The cats in an Addis Adaba zoo are smaller than their wild relatives, with a distinctive dark brown mane. DNA analysis confirms that they are genetically different from traditional African lions. The Addis Adaba cats once belonged to former emperor Haile Selassie, but no one knows where they came from, or if their dark-maned relatives still persist in the wild. Unfortunately, this discovery comes too late to add any plot twists to Disney’s Lion King. National Geographic
My Little Phony: North Korean archeologists have discovered a unicorn lair. You read that right. The Korean Central News Agency reports that the lair of a one-horned horse lies approximately 200 meters from the Yongmyong Temple in Pyongyang City. Unfortunately, they do not report an actual unicorn being present. (There wouldn't be any bones, silly. Unicorns are immortal!) So how do the archaeologists know that the area is, in fact, a unicorn lair? Because the words “unicorn lair” are carved on the rocks nearby, obviously. NPR
Tips: @OnEarthMag (tag it #greenreads)
Image: Wikimedia
