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• The Fall of the Wild - The interactive edition of National Geographic Magazine's May 2006 issue features a splendid package of materials on Alaska's North Slope. You can read about the struggle to preserve this vibrant Alaskan wilderness from industrialization, and see for yourself, on an interactive map, the overlap between important wildlife areas and the grounds open for leasing to oil and gas companies. The annotated photo gallery poignantly illustrates what's at risk, but if you're left with even the slightest question about how important this landscape is to America, a gorgeous video narrated by photographer Joel Sartore captures the essence of this wild place. Also, don't miss out on a chance to learn about how biologists tag caribou. Hint: It ain't easy.
  
  
• The Interstate Traveler Company - It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a solar hydrogen-powered maglev public transportation/utility system! Entrepreneur Justin Sutton's vision of a secure energy future involves a revolution in public infrastructure. He's dreamed up a self-sustaining system that combines a maglev railway with an additional rail, a conduit to deliver utilities such as fiber optic cables, water, hydrogen and waste. The site is a little techie and certainly aimed at potential investors, but it's fun to see people thinking big.
  
  
• Twenty Years After Chernobyl - Last week was the 20th anniversary of the worst nuclear accident in the history of the world. In this multimedia documentary, photographer Paul Fusco recounts the almost unimaginable human suffering in the aftermath of the explosion. That suffering is not a thing of the past -- the nuclear industry continues to affect people in Eastern Europe today, as documented by photographer Robert Knoth and reporter Annette de Jong in Nuclear Nightmare. Please note before you click -- the images in both these sites are hard to look at.
  
  
• Tree Grower's Diary - More than just a resource for arboreal enthusiasts, this blog is a breezy, delightful read for anyone who's ever had a kind thought about a tree. By our count, Julie Walton Shaver has about 16 trees in her New Jersey yard, including a purple leaf plum that's a "pain in the neck," six varieties of red maple and a newly purchased columnar purple beech for which she has no room in her yard, but has elicited cries of joy from her readers. "You know I love columnars," writes Todd from Georgia. Shaver photographs her trees as they grow, including juicy close-ups of foliage and a time-lapse movie of an opening bud on her Aristocrat pear. The growth of her two young sons also figures largely in her writing.

• Driving Ethanol - Informative and practical, this site dispels any irrational fears of ethanol (come on, even Indy race cars are using it), clearing the way for you to save money at the pump right now. Every car on the road today can take E10, a blend of 10 percent ethanol and 90 percent gasoline, and many cars are equipped to use E85, a fuel containing 85 percent ethanol. Check your gas cap to find out if you're driving one of these flex-fuel vehicles. One caveat about the site, though - it focuses entirely on corn-based ethanol, and neglects to mention the development of other biofuels, which can be made with less of an environmental impact. (See NRDC's biofuels page for more information on how plant-based fuels can help break our oil addiction.)
  
  
• Certified Organic Clothing: What Does It Mean? - Sustainable fashion is a fuzzy arena. Unlike like organic food, there are no global or U.S. standards for organic textiles - so a t-shirt made from 100% organic cotton could still contain harmful dyes or chemical finishes. This blog post by the founders of LotusOrganics, an organic clothing company, attempts to unravel the mysteries of organic clothing standards currently under development. So far, it looks like your yoga pants don't have to made out of 100% jute.
  
  
• Red List 2006 - May 11 is Endangered Species Day here in the United States, but for a global look at the state of the world's wildlife, check out the latest edition of the World Conservation Union (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, released last week. Find out which animals are doing better (Abbot's booby) or worse (polar bears) than in the 2004 assessment, and see their faces in a colorful photogallery. The Redlist database is searchable by criteria such as species, country or threat. (Turns out polar bears aren't the only species threatened by global warming.) You can learn more about America's endangered wildlife in NRDC's Wildlife on the Brink feature.
  
  
• Green Vehicle Guide - This handy guide from The Weather Channel (who knew?) has a lot of practical information about the impacts of vehicles on the environment. Select your car's year, make and model number from a pull-down list, and the guide calculates annual fuel cost, mileage, greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution emissions. If you're not happy with how your car measures up, the guide also tells you what you can do to minimize your car's impact on the environment. And if you're ready to get rid of the old gas-guzzler, you'll also find a list of the most fuel-efficient cars of 2006 as well as a helpful primer on hybrid vehicles. There's more on what makes hybrids so cool from NRDC here.
  
  

• Pump 'Em Up - "You can save like four million gallons of gas a day by like properly inflating your tires," 13-year-old Savannah Walters recently told CNN. Appalled by proposals to drill in the Arctic Refuge -- she's loved the Arctic ever since studying it in second grade -- Walters started Pump 'Em Up at age 9, handing out tire gauges to drivers with her Brownie troop. Today, she's spreading the word about this simple fuel conservation method by testifying before Congress and launching this website to help kids across the country start their own Pump 'Em Up chapters.
  
  
• Wondrous Cold: An Antarctic Journey - Photographer Joan Myers spent four months exploring Antarctica, the loneliest continent on Earth. Myers' photographs capture the bleak beauty of the ice as well as the rambunctious warmth of wildlife. Penguin fans will not be disappointed by the photos on her website -- we particularly like this shot of penguin feet. You can also read Myers' journal entries from her trip, or, if you live in Washington, D.C., hear her speak at the National Museum of Natural History on May 19, where her exhibit runs until July 23.
  
  
• Bathroom Design from an Environmental Perspective - Environmental design doesn't have to be all about big-ticket items like solar panels and green roofs. If you're ready for a little green home improvement task, this simple article tells you how to make your bathroom more environmentally friendly through water-conserving fixtures. Bathroom sinks, toilets and showers account for about 75 percent of the water used in American homes, so improving their efficiency will take a chunk out of your water bill, too.

• The Politics of Climate Change - This independent media site is hosting one of the smartest, most eclectic conversations about global warming around -- and you can join in. Fifty leading scientists, policy experts and writers (Ian McEwan wrote the introduction) weighed in on topics ranging from global justice, climate change in the arts, the Kyoto protocol and scientific uncertainty. Join to post a comment in the forum, or click to email an article -- as the editors put it, "to a friend (or foe!)."
  
  
• Americas' Bird Trek - On May 25, take a virtual field trip from the Amazon Basin in Ecuador to Canada's boreal forest. (Unlike migratory songbirds, you can do the trip in a day.) You'll need a webcam and a microphone for the complete experience, or you can just listen in, starting at 12:45 EST, as bird experts from four countries take classrooms from all over the world through their nature centers, and answer questions live. If you miss the trip, don't miss the website. You can download podcasts, upload your own bird pictures and movies, and read a blog by boreal bird expert Dr. Jeff Wells, who's very excited about getting his "first Veery of the year."
  
  
• SEJournal, Spring 2006 - Great inside scoop from the current journal of the Society of Environmental Journalists. Check out a candid interview with New York Times environmental reporter Andy Revkin on the difficulties of covering climate change; and editor Paul Thacker's investigation into journalistic "balance" gone too far at the Wall Street Journal.

• An Inconvenient Truth - Al Gore's global warming movie opened in New York and Los Angeles last week, and will probably be coming soon, as they say, to a theater near you. Check out the website to find out where and when this headline-grabbing documentary will be showing. Should you believe the hype? We were lucky enough to see Gore's Power Point presentation, and even that was riveting. Tune in to what bloggers are saying about the film, watch the trailer, and find loads of ways to take action to stop global warming. Gore and Paramount Classics have also started a MySpace community for the film and plan to give away free movie tickets to community members.
  
  
• Radio Ecoshock News - This environmental news show from Canada works indie music and clever audio clips (like the sound of beetles munching on pine trees in a piece called "The Music of Dying Forests") into its environmental reporting. You can tune in to audiostream, or download featured podcasts, including interviews with luminaries such as E.O. Wilson and David Suzuki.
  
  
• Virtual World: The Deep Sea - Dive deep into the ocean on the back of a sperm whale in this latest addition to National Geographic's virtual critter-cam series. You'll see what the whale sees, as squid, sharks, rays and other deep sea life float by, to a soundtrack of whale clicks and deep, oceanic gurgles. If you do some of your own clicking, you can learn more about the whale's neighbors as they drift by.

Looking for links on a specific subject? Find our complete list, organized by topic, on the Reference/Links page.