Thundersnow!: In Kansas City, they’re already calling it “The Big Snow.” A winter storm that felt more like a midsummer squall -- there was thunder, lightning, 30 mph wind gusts, and snow falling at a rate of 3 inches an hour -- blanketed a large swath of the Midwest yesterday, shutting down roads, schools, and airports and prompting officials to warn residents to stay indoors and off the roads. Still, it didn’t bring nearly enough precipitation to alleviate the region’s long-term drought problem (which, by the way, is so bad that the Great Lakes have fallen to record-low levels and the Chicago River is threatening to run in reverse). Kansas City Star
She snowblinded me with science: And in case you were wondering: “less snow, more blizzards” is not a contradiction in our whacky warming world. It’s physics! Associated Press
Something’s fishy: Considering all the studies lately showing that seafood is routinely mislabeled and sold under the wrong name, perhaps it’s time to just admit that we have no clue what we’re getting at the seafood counter or the sushi restaurant. Case in point: new genetic testing by the nonprofit group Oceana finds that 59 percent of the fish labeled “tuna” sold in the U.S. is not tuna. Do we even know what tuna tastes like anymore? Quartz
The line ain't getting any shorter: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has fallen way behind on evaluating whether certain varieties of fish and fowl (and other creatures) need Endangered Species Act protection. Prodded by lawsuits, the agency still hasn’t completed the job, but it just released a “work plan” for catching up. Oh boy! What’s on it? Wolverines, for one (see our recent piece on why these seemingly fierce hellions need our help), along with caribou, jaguars, prairie chickens, and lots of other species, many of whom are seeing their habitat shrunk by oil and gas drilling and climate change. High Country News
F’ing mosquitoes: Meanwhile, the things we want to kill (skeeters in this case, because they carry deadly diseases) might as well get top billing over Bruce Willis in the next “Die Hard” sequel. It only takes three hours, a new study shows, for mosquitoes to develop immunity to the insecticide DEET, which is found in just about everything we slather and spray on ourselves during the summer in an ineffective attempt to keep the nasty buggers at bay. Speaking for sweet-skinned skeeter targets everywhere, allow me to say what we’re all thinking here: Why … won’t … you … just … die? Smithsonian
Hot off the presses: Hey, look! It’s our magazine’s exciting new spring issue, now online for your reading pleasure. To quote editor-at-large Ted Genoways, who penned our cover story on orcas: “Thrilled to be in the same issue of OnEarth with (Matthew Power), David Gessner, and Elizabeth Royte. What a lineup!” We couldn’t agree more. OnEarth
Photo Credit: TheGiantVermin via Compfight cc
