You heard right, a tree octopus. While you are at it, have a look at a fish that lives in trees as well (one is real and one is not, have a look at its Wiki entry for more info).

Save The Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus
The Pacific Northwest tree octopus (Octopus paxarbolis) can be found in the temperate rainforests of the Olympic Peninsula on the west coast of North America. Their habitat lies on the Eastern side of the Olympic mountain range, adjacent to Hood Canal. These solitary cephalopods reach an average size (measured from arm-tip to mantle-tip,) of 30-33 cm. Unlike most other cephalopods, tree octopuses are amphibious, spending only their early life and the period of their mating season in their ancestral aquatic environment. Because of the moistness of the rainforests and specialized skin adaptations, they are able to keep from becoming desiccated for prolonged periods of time, but given the chance they would prefer resting in pooled water.

Wow…thats all I have to say about that.

Sometimes both heaven and Earth erupt. In Iceland in 1991, the volcano Hekla erupted at the same time that auroras were visible overhead. Hekla, one of the most famous volcanoes in the world, has erupted at least 20 times over the past millennium, sometimes causing great destruction. The last eruption occurred only six years ago but caused only minor damage. The green auroral band occurred fortuitously about 100 kilometers above the erupting lava. Is Earth the Solar System’s only planet with both auroras and volcanos?

Top tips for the lazy environmentalist
I see these lists everywhere and I thinks its time to post one. Mainly because I am feeling guilty, especially given my education background.

Don’t know your carbon sinks from your kitchen sink? Bamboozled by discussions concerning the relative merits of local cows milk versus South American soya milk, or if reusable nappies are really better than disposables? Well fear not, because saving the planet doesn’t have to be confusing, or hard work.

“I spent the day in Chernobyl. One of my Kiev game dev friends hooked me up with a private tour, so I decided to go for the day to check it out. Every woman in my life told me this was a bad idea. Every man said it sounded awesome.It was awesome, although I really usually fair better when I listen to the women…”

The blog has some great photography and although I can go both ways on the HDR styling he is using, it is a good first person look into a regular day at Chernobyl.

NASA - Solar Storm Warning
This week researchers announced that a storm is coming–the most intense solar maximum in fifty years. The prediction comes from a team led by Mausumi Dikpati of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). “The next sunspot cycle will be 30% to 50% stronger than the previous one,” she says. If correct, the years ahead could produce a burst of solar activity second only to the historic Solar Max of 1958.