Quo Vadis

The most serious existential crises that our species has ever faced, issues we have known for decades we’d have to deal with eventually, are now at our doorstep, yet still we fail to respond. Chris Nelder, SmartPlanet.

Has the Link been Broken? Michael Hudson.

NASA ISS time lapse fly over. Vimeo. The Earth is on fire.

Richard Muller, a physicist at the University of California, Berkeley, who has been a harsh critic of advocates for prompt cuts in greenhouse gases, has finished an independent analysis of 200 years of temperature data and confirms existing studies showing substantial warming of the continents since 1950 -- a trend challenged by many critics of climate science.

The Atlantic.

What happens in an overcrowded utopia? Cabinet.

In recent years scientists specializing in the mind have begun to unravel religion's "DNA." Science and religion, latimes.com.

We used to think agriculture gave rise to cities and later to writing, art, and religion. Now the world’s oldest temple suggests the urge to worship sparked civilization. National Geographic.

Conservative values explained by Kevin Libin in Full Comment at the National Post.

Thomas Friedman, NYTimes.com

A young man's account of sadistic torture in a Syrian secret prison, and how a girl's note helped him through his pain. Al Jazeera English.

thestar.com

Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper is our version of George W Bush, minus the warmth and intellect. Heather Mallick. The Guardian.

Fecal transplants could be a cheap and effective treatment for certain infections. Emily P. Walker - Slate Magazine.

One giant container ship can emit almost the same amount of cancer and asthma-causing chemicals as 50m cars, study finds .guardian.co.uk

As we began to shy away from eating primarily fruit, leaves and nuts and began eating meat, our brains grew. NPR.

A lonely island in the middle of the South Atlantic conceals Charles Darwin's best-kept secret. BBC News.

Seismic cultural shifts about 10,000 years ago rendered the true story of human sexuality so subversive and threatening that for centuries, it has been silenced by religious authorities, pathologized by physicians, studiously ignored by scientists and covered up by moralizing therapists. CNN.com.

Gleick et al. Science.

Web-only special rich-media presentation of the feature, "12 Events That Will Change Everything," which appears in the June 2010 issue of Scientific American.