Slow-boiled: Something wicked weird's going on with the lobstahs up they-uh in Maine. Lobstermen are pulling in soft-shelled crucstaceans far earlier than normal. Lobsters generally shed (or molt) their hard shells in order to grow, but this year it's happening about 4-6 weeks early. Many are blaming warmer-than-normal waters. NPR Weekend Edition
The glowing green plate special: Radioactive tuna are bearing down on the West Coast! Seriously. Scientists testing bluefin tuna in the Pacific are finding "troublingly high levels of radiation" in the migratory fish, and leaked radiation from the Fukushima nuclear plant is to blame. Supposedly, the fish still tests within a safe range for human consumption. Comforting! Treehugger
Microclimates: Climate modeling is about to get a lot more detailed. A new breed of supercomputer allows scientists to map and model climate change impacts down to the hyperlocal level. Existing models can't account for local geography, like complex coastlines or mountain ranges, but this new supercharged machine can zoom right down to your city's or town's unique landscape. Washington Post
In-flight safety: Hoping to prevent bird and bat fatalities, some California wind-power companies are experimenting with radar-sensor technology that would alert operators when migrating flocks are approaching. In theory, that'd give the companies time to switch off the spinning turbine blades before the birds and bats get chopped. Los Angeles Times
FLOTUS flowers: First Lady Michelle Obama has written a book about her experiences as Backyard Gardener-in-Chief. American Grown, complete with confessions of how she only harvested five pumpkins in three years and how her husband worried about the proximity of the beehives to his basketball court, hits shelves today. New York Times
Wacky weather: Summer weather mayhem is getting an early start this year. Over the holiday weekend that's supposed to signal the very start of the season, wildfires raged in five states and the Southeast was soggied by Tropical Storm Beryl. Chicago Tribune, Guardian
Paradise plugged: A sleepy South Florida island -- called, paradoxically, No Name Key -- is embroiled in a heated power struggle: not for public office, but for the power itself. The 43 households on the tiny key are bitterly divided over whether to connect their island to a public electric grid. No Name Key has been forever off-grid, but could be plugged in as soon as August. New York Times
Souls sold for coal: Unable to find "real" activists, the coal industry paid a bunch of poor twenty-somethings $50 to sport pro-coal t-shirts during an EPA hearing on carbon standards in Chicago. So how'd they get caught? They posted their astroturfing recruitment ad on Craigslist! Think Progress
Tips: @OnEarthMag (tag it #greenreads)
Image: Dana Moos/Flickr
