News | Energy & Sustainability Apocalypse Soon: Has Civilization Passed the Environmental Point of No Return? Although there is an urban legend that the world will end this year based on a misinterpretation of the Mayan calendar, some researchers think a 40-year-old computer program that predicts a collapse of socioeconomic order and massive drop in human population in this century may be on target By Madhusree Mukerjee | May 23, 2012 | 18 Image: flickr/Alexey Kudenko Remember how Wile E. Coyote, in his obsessive pursuit of the Road Runner, would fall off a cliff? The hapless predator ran straight out off the edge, stopped in midair as only an animated character could, looked beneath him in an eye-popping moment of truth, and plummeted straight down ... Continue reading →
The rough-skinned newt might look innocuous. But the newt's red underbelly means poison, and a frog is about to find out the hard way... by eating it. Continue reading →
(This post was prepared in collaboration with Dan Drinkard) Congress now speaks at almost a full grade level lower than it did just seven years ago, with the most conservative members of Congress speaking on average at the lowest grade level, according to a new Sunlight Foundation analysis of the Congressional Record using Capitol Words. Of course, what some might interpret as a dumbing down of Congress, others will see as more effective communications. And lawmakers of both parties still speak over the heads of the average American, who reads at between at 8th and 9th grade level. Today’s Congress collectively speaks at a 10.6 grade level, down from 11.5 in 2005. By comparison, the U.S. Constitution is written at a 17.8 grade level and ... Continue reading →
Here at Mashable we sometimes get a brain itch that can only be scratched by watching copious amounts of hilarious animal GIFs. If you suffer from the same ailment, let us point you in the direction of Animals Being Dicks, a place on the Internet where it’s okay to laugh at our furry friends. The premise is simple: Animals are perfectly capable of cretinous behavior, and celebrating their wretchedness is a truly funny pastime. We asked creator and curator John Williams why he thought his Tumblr blog hit the nail on the humor head. “People like to imagine human traits in animals, and I think this idea that animals have the capacity to be petty assholes on purpose is hilarious,” he says. “That’s why most ... Continue reading →
France's President-elect Francois Hollande is pictured at his campaign headquarters in Paris. STORY HIGHLIGHTS NEW: François Hollande arrives at the Elysee Palace to be sworn in He becomes the first Socialist president since François Mitterrand Hollande's presidency begins amid fresh debt worries for the euro zone He will visit Angela Merkel in Berlin shortly after his inauguration Tuesday (CNN) -- François Hollande arrived at the Elysee Palace in Paris on Tuesday to take the oath of office as the new president of France, assuming the role amid a period of financial turmoil across Europe. Hollande becomes France's first Socialist president since François Mitterrand left office in 1995. He secured election victory earlier this month over the incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy, one of the most U.S.-friendly French ... Continue reading →
HIGH-VOLTAGE LABORATORY TEST simulates lightning, allowing engineers to assess aircraft safety. Image: COURTESY OF EDWARD J. RUPKE Edward J. Rupke, senior engineer at Lightning Technologies, Inc., (LTI) in Pittsfield, Mass., provides the following explanation: It is estimated that on average, each airplane in the U.S. commercial fleet is struck lightly by lightning more than once each year. In fact, aircraft often trigger lightning when flying through a heavily charged region of a cloud. In these instances, the lightning flash originates at the airplane and extends away in opposite directions. Although record keeping is poor, smaller business and private airplanes are thought to be struck less frequently because of their small size and because they often can avoid weather that is conducive to lightning strikes. The ... Continue reading →
