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In May 2007 I began reporting for Current Science, the children's science magazine. The publication has
one million readers across the country and is aimed at middle school students.
The magazine's editor asked me to adapt my reporting on Specialist Jon Town and the personality disorder
scandal for his young readers. Since my piece on personality disorder, I've been reporting on science
and nature issues from global warming to wildfires.
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A Second War
Jon Town sits on the front porch of his suburban Ohio home, nursing a cigarette. With a tired voice and bloodshot eyes, the 27-year-old veteran describes the headache that's been gnawing at him for months.
Town used to be a vigorous, young soldier, a U.S. Army specialist honored a dozen times for his sharp mind and leadship skills. He dreamed of serving in the military the rest of his life.
That dream evaporated October 19, 2004, the day Town was knocked unconscious by a rocket in Iraq. 
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Meltdown
Don't let the name fool you. Greenland is hardly the lush oasis that its name implies. It looks more like the barren ice world of Hoth from Star Wars, with more than 1.7 million square kilometers (660,000 square miles) of Arctic ice covering almost all of its mainland.
At least, that's the way it's been for the last two million years. Today Greenland is changing. The largest island in the world is melting, as is much of the Arctic region. Recent studies show that at least 217 cubic kilometers (52 cubic miles) of Greenland's ice sheet are now melting every year.
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Big Bang
The small island of Sumbawa in the Indian Ocean is home to Mount Tambora, one of the largest volcanoes in the world. In April 1815, Tambora blew its top in the biggest volcanic eruption in recorded history. The blast was monumental—it was heard 2,575 kilometers (1,600 miles) away—and altered Earth's climate the following year.
Strangely enough, little is known about Tambora or its 1815 eruption. Chances are you've heard about the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens in Washington and the legendary 1883 explosion of Krakatau in Indonesia. But Tambora—who knew?
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Fire Fight
Steve Matthews knows the science of fire. He teaches thermodynamics—the relationship of heat to other forms of energy—at Merritt College in Oakland, Calif. And 17 years ago, he lost everything he owned in a wildfire.
When Matthews and his wife saw the fire coming, they grabbed a few photo albums and fled. Returning the next day, there wasn't much they could do but sift through ashes.
"The wheels on our new car were gone—the rims we just
puddles of aluminum," he told Current Science.
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