A midwinter night's nightmare: Much of the Southeast and East Coast is reeling from a storm that brought rare winter tornados to at least eight states. The storm knocked out power, flooded coastal areas, and killed at least two people. Apparently, this month's record amount of precipitation (which, y'know, might have something to do with warming trends...) set the stage for the deadly tempests. Weather.com, Wunderblog
Cause and effect: That pollution in Beijing? It’s getting worse, despite the Chinese government's efforts to shutter factories and pull cars off the road. The main culprit (no surprise here) is coal. And in totally unrelated news, China now consumes nearly as much coal as the rest of the world combined. U.S. News and World Report, BBC
Harsh working environment: Just how bad is Beijing's smog? So bad that companies like Apple and Toyota are handing out face masks to employees and plugging in air purifiers. And in a scene straight out of "Spaceballs," some cheeky Chinese millionaire has even started hawking canned air. Reuters, Bloomberg
Stag steroids: Bambi is behind the newest performance-enhancing drug scandal to rock professional sports. Deer antler velvet, which is that soft fuzz on the antlers of male deer (ok, so an adult Bambi), is causing a tizzy in the interminable build-up to the Super Bowl. The Ray Lewises of the world (and what was that guy's name ... Vance? Larry? Lance?) can now ingest the drug -- which supposedly heals cartilage and tendons more quickly -- through a convenient nasal spray. Warning: Do not attempt to huff bucks in the wild. National Geographic
Snip and save: Just in case you haven't gotten the message yet (whether from Tweety and Sylvester or numerous Today OnEarth updates): Cats eat birds. Kitties that are allowed to roam the outdoors and/or populate entire feral cat colonies kill lots of birds, billions more than say ... wind farms. Here's a handy chart to put it all in perspective. (Sorry, cat fanciers. The truth hurts. Maybe it's time to look to the wisdom of the revered Bob Barker: Spay and neuter your pets, folks!) Climate Desk, New York Times
Lake of fire: In climate discussions, you’ll sometimes hear of the “methane bomb,” a vast reserve of potent greenhouse gas trapped within Arctic ice but poised to wreak havoc on the atmosphere as the north thaws. Check out this video of one scientist taking methane bombs to a whole new level -- by creating flaming geysers that shoot from frozen Canadian lakes. Warning: Do not attempt this in the wild (or anywhere, really). NPR- Krulwich Wonders
Wee-winged migration: Butterflies apparently can’t take the heat. As the climate the warm, the insects are fluttering north in droves, as revealed by the thorough records of citizen scientists at the Massachusetts Butterfly Club. Which, by the way, sounds like a pretty awesome club. Mother Jones
Tips: @OnEarthMag (tag it #greenreads)
Image: Spaceballs, The Movie
