The summer is in full swing and things are pretty quiet around the blog. But don’t worry, we’re working on some big things behind the scenes. In lieu of actual content, please accept this list of interesting, inspiring, and depressing reading material.

On the overwhelmingly gloomy front, the IUCN recently released a working group report on the state of the world’s oceans. It’s a seriously dark piece of science which is worth a read. The .pdf can be found here. More on this document coming.

Speaking of Dark Science, check out this comic over at Dresden Codak. The whole series will fill up a lazy afternoon, but I’ve linked to my favorite here. You are a weather balloon.

And because it wouldn’t be a blog if we weren’t linking to our own stuff, here’s some of my recent favorite posts:

• Environmental History Lessons
• Guest Post on the Sharks and Shark Fisheries of India
• The Global Extinction Crisis – species area relationships, habitat loss, and population dynamics
• Chronicle of a Death Forestalled: the Gulf of Mexico oil spill that didn’t happen
• Nothing to plunder – the evolution of Somalia’s pirate nation