The shrew’s a drunk. The Malaysian pen-tailed tree shrew could drink the most annoying drunken fratboys under the table. A new study found that the tiny animal subsists on a diet roughly equivalent to 100 percent beer, drinking up the fermented nectar of the flower buds of the bertam palm plant. What a life. — Live Science

EU takes on airline emissions. In a move which has predictably angered the airline industry, the European Union has overwhelmingly passed legislation which will include airlines in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme from 2012. Under the rule, airlines will have to cut CO2 emission by 3% in the first year, and by 5% from 2013. All airlines flying in and out of the EU will have to meet the reduction numbers. — Treehugger

Why we never need to build another polluting power plant. Coal? Natural gas? Nuke? We can wipe them all off the drawing board by using current energy more efficiently. Are you listening, Washington? — Salon

National Geographic versus the BBC. More-or-less the same story – but what a different presentation. It’s a wholly different style, calculated very much for education rather than entertainment. Now, as it happens, both BBC and National Geographic clips are highly educational and entertaining, but it’s instructive to see how they place their emphasis. — The Rangers Blog