photo: Kevin Walsh via flickr. You've probably heard the stat that extinction rates are currently somewhere between 100-1000 times historic levels, which is bad enough, but now the Guardian reports the head of the Species Survival Commission for the International Union for the Conservation of Nature says that we've "almost certainly" crossed the thresho...Read the full story on TreeHugger

Photo via Guardian The conventional wisdom says that the prospects for a clean energy bill are dim this year. John Kerry says not to listen to any such conventional wisdom. He says a bipartisan group of senators is still indeed at work on bill that will stimulate clean energy growth and price carbon emissions--and that such a compromise bill is on the way, Reuters reports....Read the full story on TreeHugger

Image from the Guardian Maybe everyone is getting sick of looking at snow, but these vintage photographs of snowflakes will be gone soon so better look now... Taken by a self-educated Vermont farmer, Wilson A. Bentley at the end of the 1800's, they are the first photos of snow ever taken. Ten of them are up for auction but in fact the photographer was a little obsessive and took thousands (as in 5,000) of the images. And no two were ever alike. He began by trying to draw them but the snow melted before he could finish. So his parents got him a cam...Read the full story on TreeHugger

Photo via Guardian Senator Evan Bayh (D-IN) is the latest Democrat to announce that he's jumping ship--he won't be running for reelection this year. While this certainly comes as a blow to the Democratic party--Bayh is popular in his home state, and was 20 points ahead of his Republican opponent in the polls--it also could be a blow to the green movement, as Bayh had a solid...Read the full story on TreeHugger

A few days ago the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building, was closed "indefinitely" due to " electrical problems." May thought that it was more than just that, and the speculation was rampant that the Dubai meltdown had affected even this iconic building. The owners didn't help the situation; as the Guardian puts it: "Despite repeated requests, a spokeswoman for Emaar was unable to provide further details or rule out the possibility of foul play. Greg Sang, Emaar's director of projects and the man charged with coordinating the tower's con...Read the full story on TreeHugger