Americans generally like to hear good news. They like to believe that a new president will right old wrongs, that clean energy will replace dirty oil and that fresh thinking will set the economy straight. American pundits tend to restrain their pessimism and hope for the best. But is anyone prepared for the worst?
Meet Michael Ruppert, a different kind of American. A former Los Angeles police officer turned independent reporter, he predicted the current financial crisis in his self-published newsletter, [...]

The planning for this picture started in the summer, when Fergus collected sheaves of oats from a local farmer specifically as winter food for the yellowhammers. One evening in February, hearing that snow was forecast for the next morning, Fergus set up his hide in the garden, hung out feeders and carefully positioned a sheaf of oats. ‘I woke early and got into the hide to wait. After a few hours, the garden was full of birds. At one point [...]

Scientists who have produced the first robust proof that cloud seeding can increase long-term rainfall are urging developing countries considering the technology to be cautious.
Cloud seeding involves injecting clouds with chemicals that encourage water vapour to form ice crystals heavy enough to fall, melting on their way to produce rain. Chemicals can be injected into clouds using aircraft or by launching rockets.
The researchers — led by Steven Siems, an associate professor from Monash University, Australia — examined more than [...]

For more than twenty years, Charles Vandergaw has been living with wild bears in the Alaskan wilderness. He has developed a unique, but controversial, relationship with the black and grizzly bears that live near his isolated cabin. Now, for the first time, Charlie has allowed cameras to capture an entire season at “Bear Haven.” But even as filmmaker Richard Terry finds himself drawn into this extraordinary world, the Alaskan authorities are clamping down on what may prove to [...]

Narrated by Academy Award Nominee Joaquin Phoenix and featuring music by the critically acclaimed platinum artist Moby, EARTHLINGS is a documentary film about humankind’s complete economic dependence on animals raised for pets, food, clothing, entertainment and scientific research. Using hidden cameras and never-before-seen footage, EARTHLINGS chronicles the day-to-day practices of the largest industries in the world, all of which rely entirely on animals for profit. Powerful, informative, controversial and thought-provoking, EARTHLINGS is by far the most comprehensive documentary ever produced [...]