2015 in Articles

Ah, New Year's Day. As always, I like to take a little bit of time on January 1st to look back at the year that was.

Now, there's a lot of stuff going on in my life that I could talk about but I don't want to keep you here until next January 1, so I'll keep this focus on the professional side of things.

It was a hell of a year. I wrote my little fingers to the bone while working for a long list of publications and covering a broad range of topics. As you might expect, the majority of the articles I wrote this past year were about endangered species and other wildlife, but I also covered climate change, technology careers, personality traits, new consumer devices and a whole lot more.

All told I published 248 articles in 2015. That's actually the smallest number that I have published in years -- heck, maybe ever -- although in the process I had my best freelance year ever, financially. Hey, I'll take it.

Some of my fellow journalists are pretty amazed that I can accomplish what I do. I chalk it up to a few major factors: I love what I do (which gets me out of bed in the morning), I'm well practiced at things (so I can work quickly), and I make my editors' jobs easy (so they keep coming back for more).

At this point I usually try to narrow things down to my favorite two or three articles for the year, but I don't think I can do that this time around. Here are links to quite a few of my favorites:

Poachers in Africa Have a New Enemy: Math

Damselfly in Distress: Water Shortages and Cannabis Threaten African Insect

Prehistoric `Lizard of Great Sleepiness' Nearly Extinct in Vietnam and China

Local Craigslist Ads Are Fueling the Slaughter of Elephants Worldwide

The Big Reason the Deepwater Horizon Disaster Is Not Over

Climate change will scramble polar bears' diets – and eggs aren’t the solution

China’s Wealthy Are Banking on Extinction

Even the Unicorns of the Sea Can’t Escape Climate Change

If Apes Go Extinct, So Could Entire Forests

Is That Wildlife Documentary Lying to You?

You Could Learn a Thing or Two About Living a Long Life From the World’s Oldest Orangutan 

The Newest Comic Book Superheroes: The World’s Endangered Tigers

Orangutan orphan named 'Lisa' in tribute to terminally ill veterinarian

Stowaway Snail Helps Save Species from Extinction

Orangutans Are Dying as Indonesia Burns

Nextinction: Ralph Steadman Goes Gonzo for Endangered Birds

An Introvert's Guide to Leadership

Killer Starfish Threaten Fish That Walks on Handlike Fins

Career Focus: The Three *New* Laws of Roboticists

The Sneeze That Could Wipe Out Hawaii’s Seals

High School Student Designs a ‘Wheelchair’ That Lets Users Stand Up

Wolves and Monkeys: Unusual Hunting Buddies

Wolf-Safe Beef: An Idea Whose Time Has (Almost) Come


You can find links to all of the rest of my articles from 2015 here, along with links to my three radio appearances, a couple of interviews with me, my Bicentennial comics blog, my webcomic (still sadly stagnant) and a whole lot more.


Well, that's it for 2015. Onward and upward for 2016. Thank you, as always, for reading. I couldn't do this without you.