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A physics graduate from the University of Queensland who majored in solar physics in his postgraduate honours year, Cook launched the Skeptical Science website in 2007 after becoming frustrated at lies and half-truths surrounding global warming. The site provides a scientifically accurate database of climate information and is the engine room of Cook's campaign to use the web, smartphone apps and social media tools to disseminate climate information.

Having received international acclaim within the science world, the Skeptical Science website receives more than 500,000 visits per month, while the iPhone app has been downloaded more than 72,000 times. (source)

Cook's work was recognized this year with the 2011 Eureka Prize for the Advancement of Climate Change Knowledge from the Australian Museum. The Eureka Prizes are the most prestigious awards in Australian science.

I bring this all up because just a few days ago Skeptical Science updated its Climate Big Picture, which provides a broad overview of what we know. You should follow that link and read the whole thing, but here's a quick summary:

• The earth is warming.
• Global warming continues.
• Humans are increasing atmospheric greenhouse gases.
• Human greenhouse gases are causing global warming.
• The warming will continue.
• The net result will be bad.
• Arguments to the contrary are superficial.
• There are legitimate unresolved questions.
• Smart risk management means taking action.
• We can solve the problem.

GoodGuide is in business to provide authoritative information about the health, environmental and social performance of products and companies. Our mission is to help consumers make purchasing decisions that reflect their preferences and values. We believe that better information can transform the marketplace: as more consumers buy better products, retailers and manufacturers face compelling incentives to make products that are safe, environmentally sustainable and produced using ethical sourcing of raw materials and labor. (source)

We reached the old wolf in time to watch a fierce green fire dying in her eyes. I realized then, and have known ever since, that there was something new to me in those eyes - something known only to her and to the mountain. I was young then, and full of trigger-itch; I thought that because fewer wolves meant more deer, that no wolves would mean hunters' paradise. But after seeing the green fire die, I sensed that neither the wolf nor the mountain agreed with such a view.

Mahima Mehra, a Delhi-based paper merchant, turned to elephant dung as the raw material [for her paper]. Ms Mehra sells her paper, produced by her business partner Vijayendra Shekhawat, under the name Haathi Chaap, Hindi for "Elephant Mark". They stumbled on the idea during their visit to Amer fort in Jaipur. They observed that the clumps of roughage left behind by elephants ferrying tourists up to the fort bore a striking similarity to the raw fibre used in paper-making. ("Frugal innovation: wholly shit", The Economist, 14 September 2011)

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That's partially because Irene's central core took an unexpected turn between the Bahamas and North Carolina. Under the right conditions, a ring of thunderstorms can form around the central eye of the storm. This outer ring can choke off the inner eye wall and then contract, providing a surge of faster winds.