The pilot who survived last month's Virgin SpaceShipTwo crash has told investigators that his parachute deployed automatically, which is probably a great help when you find yourself going 600 miles an hour 50,000 feet up with no plane.
How Do You Survive a Disintegrating Rocket Plane at 50,000 Feet?

Last week, the Virgin Galactic rocket plane SpaceShipTwo broke apart at more than 50,000 feet and crashed in the Mojave desert. One pilot died. But the other pilot lived. Now the question is: how the fuck did he do that?
Kill the Oil Companies Before They Kill Us
There is a new U.N. report on climate change. Its warnings are very, very dire. It is time that the public comes to terms with the choice we face: keep fossil fuels in the ground, or face doom. Oil companies, like it or not, must be forced to change or be killed.
Don't Donate to the Red Cross
Donating to charity, especially in a time of crisis, can be intimidating. There are so many options. How do you know the organization you choose will use the money effectively? You might pick one with a history, a pedigree, a name you can trust. You might pick the American Red Cross. Fuck that.
What Happens When There's No Insurance for Your Beach House?
Climate change is causing rising oceans and more extreme weather. Even as beachfront development continues, beachfront living is growing ever more perilous. What happens when all the insurance companies decide to stop insuring anything by a beach?
Here you will find an argument that the city of Miami, which is slowly being slowly eaten by the sea, should encourage more development, so it will have the tax base necessary to pay for the construction of defenses to save those developments from the rising seas. That's that Florida logic.
A Replay of the 1989 San Francisco Earthquake Is Probably Coming
San Francisco has become America's foremost symbol of gentrification, lack of affordable housing, and twentysomethings who inexplicably make ten times more than you ever will. Scientists say the earthquake that will wipe it all away is now "locked and loaded."
California's Brick Buildings Are Destined to Become Piles of Rubble
Hello. Do you live in an earthquake-prone part of Southern California? Look at the building in which you live and/ or work. Is it made of brick? Goodbye, my friend.
L.A. May or May Not Be Destroyed by Earthquake Very Soon
Two more little earthquakes hit the Los Angeles area this morning. Imagine me saying that in the most ennui-laden voice possible, since it happens all the time now. Does this portend L.A.'s final doom? Maybe.
Co-Owner of Philadelphia Inquirer Among 7 Dead in Mass. Plane Crash
Seven people are dead after a plane crashed at Hanscom Field in Massachusetts last night as the flight was en route for Atlantic City, NJ. Among the dead is 72-year-old Lewis Katz, the recent co-owner of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Officials: 6 Climbers Dead at Washington's Mount Rainier
The six climbers on Mount Rainier who had not returned on Friday and were reported missing on Saturday are being reported dead by officials, the Seattle Times has shared. This is considered the worst disaster at the mountain in thirty years.
A Carbon Tax Is Our Only Hope
Carbon emissions are causing global warming. Global warming is a slow motion disaster. The consensus is that we must make drastic changes soon. How? We need a carbon tax. A carbon tax is our only hope. Time for a carbon tax now.
54 Bodies Found, Potentially 100 Missing In Bangladesh Ferry Sinking
A storm in central Bangladesh caused a loaded ferry to sink in the River Meghna near Munshiganj on Thursday after the ferry's captain reportedly didn't heed passengers' warnings to steer closer to shore. The bodies of 54 passengers have been found, while police fear over 100 bodies are still unaccounted for.
Hurricanes Are Moving North
A new study published in Nature finds that for the past three decades, hurricanes and tropical cyclones have been gradually moving away from the equator and towards the poles. Hmm. *Checks current location* Fuck.
Miners are helped by rescue workers and friends from a coal mine on Wednesday in Soma, Turkey, more than 19 hours after an explosion and fire killed at least 238 miners and trapped hundreds more. Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said 787 workers had been in the mine when the blast occurred. Image via Ozgu Ozdemir/Getty.
Sinking Ferries
Unlike the situation aboard, say, a lost plane, the death rate on a sinking ferry varies considerably from disaster to disaster.