Trees Get Into Global Warming Act @3:50 PM
Great. Now even the trees are going to destroy the planet. A major bummer of an article in Nature explains that, due to global warming, trees are growing farther north than they have before. And how, because tree-tops are darker than barren land, they have less "albedo" (that's a cool word!) or "reflectiveness," and so the earth with absorb more heat from the sun. "When the vegetation moves in, there will be an amplification of the warming," says Inez Fung, an atmospheric physicist at the University of California, Berkeley. READ MORE 14
In the Weeds: The English Elm of Washington Heights, or, 'The Trees of Manhattan Island Are Gradually Following the Fate of the Red Men' @7:34 PM
Looking north from the intersection of St. Nicholas and Amsterdam Avenues toward 163rd Street in Washington Heights, you might notice what appears to be an exceedingly large tree. And as the August heat radiates off the surrounding pavement, you might say to yourself: WTF, is that a mirage? Because really, there's nothing about the neighborhood—replete with liquor stores, decaying apartment palaces, abandoned lots and vacant storefronts—that would seem to lend itself to hosting such a magnificent specimen. READ MORE 3
A Michael Jackson Is Best Measured When It Is Down @3:30 PM
A family in Stockton, CA, claims the image of Michael Jackson made itself manifest on their tree stump on the day of his death. "'Michael Jackson was an icon to us,' said one neighbor. 'To Stockton, Michael Jackson meant more to us than Jesus, to some people. I think they're both about even.'" MSNBC talking head/Awl photojournalism correspondent Ana Marie Cox, who was scheduled to appear on the tree prior to Jackson's passing, had no comment. 8
