Odd days: We'd love to stop writing about the aftermath of Sandy, but with New York gas rationing starting today (though it's not exactly being enforced everywhere) and with more than 250,000 homes and businesses still without power in New Jersey, the Sandy news cycle soldiers on. USA TODAY, New York Times, The Star-Ledger
Notes from the Underground: The stories of MTA workers who monitored New York City's subways through the hurricane are pretty amazing. Even more impressive? How the MTA got the subways up and running (more or less) so quickly after the storm. "Some of what they're doing borders on the edge of magic," said one transit advocate. New York Times
Cloudy future: A new climate study tried to pin down just how much hotter the planet's going to get by looking at cloud formation. The results are gloomy: The models that best matched up with real-world observations predicted a temperature increase of 8 degrees Fahrenheit before 2100. National Geographic
Unhappy endings: Well, another couple degrees F never hurt anybody, right? Oh wait, is has. Climate change may have had a part in the collapse of Mayan civilization. A new study shows that prolonged droughts occurred at just about the time the Mayan's entire political structure began falling apart. Bloomberg News
Undeader: You may have heard that there's a breed of ant that's controlled -- zombie-like -- by a parasitic fungus. Well, turns out that the parasitic fungus may have its own parasitic fungus. Nature's got wheels within wheels within wheels. Scientific American
LED the way: Should you buy LEDs yet? One bulb enthusiast says: Wait until next year (when LEDs will produce a nicer glow). But doesn't it seem a little unfair to dismiss the energy-efficient bulb because it is "one notch short of perfect?" If LEDs can get dinged for light that's "slightly too white," it seems like energy-gobbling incandescents should get points off from perfection, too. Bulb snobbery should go both ways! Slate
Ghosts and gangsters: It's not just environmentalists who are concerned by wildlife poaching. The CIA is worried, too. The same crime networks that smuggle rhino horns and tiger parts over borders could be bringing drugs and weapons along, too. The Guardian
New Jersey, listen up!: At Maker Faire Lagos in Nigeria, four teenage girls presented a generator that they created ... that runs on pee. With one liter of urine, the generator can run for six whole hours. Maker Faire
Tips: @OnEarthMag (tag it #greenreads)
Image: Flickr/Jerry Pierce
