Receding of the Aral Sea from 1960 to 2008 (Source: Wikipedia) The fishing towns that lined the borders of the Aral Sea were once a showpiece of the Soviet Union’s industrial might. The sea was so teeming with life that sailors could pull ashore 50,000 tons of fish a year, bringing resources and economic opportunity to [...]

I remember just a few years carrying around my CD collection in a zip-up case that I kept in my backpack. I still keep a stack of CDs in the glove compartment of my car on the off-chance that I leave my iPod behind, but the disks are probably dusty now from disuse. While electronics [...]

I find it impossible to look through images of Bubbletree’s pop-up tents and not think of a human-sized snowglobe. First designed by Pierre Stéphane, these sometimes completely transparent and sometimes slightly opaque bubble tents offer a very unique way to travel, providing a vision of the night sky as you lounge in your shelter.  They [...]

You can consider these the barebone notes on the history of hydraulic fracturing or fracking: The process of hydraulic fracturing for the stimulation of oil and natural gas wells was first developed in the 1940s, with experimentation occurring as early as 1903. It was first used commercially by Halliburton in 1949, and because of its [...]

The Amazon river basin is without a doubt the most biodiverse region on the planet. Researchers are continuing to discover new species every year. Recently, a group from Yale University discovered a fungus that appears to be quite content eating plastic in airless landfills, an environment too harsh for even the world’s most industrious bacteria. [...]

The statistical analysis and computer modeling used by climate scientists could easily be applied to economics and business management. Instead of trying to calculate the role that clouds play in regulating global temperatures and instead of drilling ice cores in search of trapped pockets of prehistoric air, these individuals could be spending their time predicting market trends [...]

I was reading about ancient methods of water management and I came across the step wells of India. They are pretty cool examples of ancient engineering, built long before the discovery of electricity, and I thought I would share some pictures of the wells in the great subcontinent. Most common in western India, these structures serve(d) [...]

This tiny little camper is designed and built to allow the user to remain self-sufficient while roaming the country. Know as the Golden Gate, this electric camper was built by San Francisco artist Jay Nelson (the elegance and aesthetic of the vehicle should give away that it was an artist’s work). Constructed from a couple [...]

Environmental researchers around the globe are finding that glaciers are melting faster than previously expected. While this melting will have little impact on the global stage (Garry Clarke, professor emeritus of glaciology at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, estimates, that if all of western Canada’s glaciers were to melt away, the oceans [...]

Created by designer Jan Gunneweg, this sleek bicycle is made from solid maple wood (only the handlebars, adjustable seat mount, spokes, pedals, and chain are metal and though the wheels are brown, they are still rubber). I never could have imagined a wooden bicycle looking as elegant and well-crafted as this. The smooth frame and [...]