Brian Kahn, Author at Gizmodo

How to Fix Crypto Art NFTs’ Carbon Pollution Problem

The “crypto-” carbon crisis is evolving. And after years of low-key use, art and collectibles tied to what are known as non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have exploded into the global discourse as the Next Big Thing. Embedded with it, though, is an existential tension. Crypto-art buying is built on the same blockchain technology currently frying the…

Earther Brian Kahn

The Oil and Gas Money Behind the Republicans Who Will Help Decide Deb Haaland’s Fate

Rep. Deb Haaland just finished a historic confirmation hearing to run the Department of Interior. If her nomination is pushed through committee, she will in all likelihood be confirmed as the first Indigenous person to ever serve on a presidential cabinet. If confirmed, Haaland would be in charge of more than 500 million acres of…

Earther Brian Kahn

Texans Could Be Paying Off Their Obscene Energy Bills for Decades

The costs of the Texas blackouts is still mounting, but it’s becoming increasingly clear that Texans could be saddled with energy bills they’ll be paying for decades absent government intervention. A new Bloomberg NEF analysis found that the cost of energy sold across the state from Monday to Friday last week totaled $50.6 billion as…

Earther Brian Kahn

Russian Gas Tanker Shows Arctic Is Navigable Year-Round Now

Every day, the Arctic slips further into an unstable state. The latest sign: A Russian icebreaker and liquid natural gas ship have traversed the Northern Sea Route in February for the first time due to exceptionally low and weak sea ice cover. The new Arctic is untethered from the past, and the ship’s trip is…

Earther Brian Kahn

Billionaires’ Favorite Climate Solution Is a Dangerous Distraction

An Elon Musk tweet can do everything from moving the stock market to convincing people to invest in a joke cryptocurrency. So when the richest man on Earth tweeted in late January about kicking $100 million to whoever could come up with the best technology to capture carbon from the air, the world took notice.…

Earther Brian Kahn

Viral Image Claiming to Show a Helicopter De-Icing Texas Wind Turbines Is From Winter 2014 in Sweden

In the midst of a record cold snap where Texas’ grid has failed to meet demand, misinformation is running rampant. Among the most pernicious memes propagating online are that Texas’ wind turbines have frozen and that that has led to the blackout. Conservatives have zoomed in on a particular idea that helicopters are being dispatched…

Earther Brian Kahn

Why the ‘Global Vaccine Apartheid’ Is a Dire Warning for the Future

The covid-19 vaccination effort is finally achieving liftoff in the U.S. In the days since we highlighted the case for optimism about the pandemic ending, data collected by Bloomberg shows 2 million more Americans have received a shot. The U.S. is outpacing most European countries in terms of doses given per 100 people. Looking at…

Earther Brian Kahn

The Future of Republican Politics Is Shitposting

Last week, the House voted to strip Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of her committee assignments in large part because of what the new Georgia congresswoman posted on social media. While she was well-known as a QAnon conspiracy theorist before coming to Congress, in recent weeks, we’ve learned Taylor Greene trafficked in an outlandish and anti-Semitic…

Politics Brian Kahn

Why Setting a Clean Energy Standard Should Be Democrats’ Next Move

Prior to last month, the last time Democrats controlled both houses of Congress and the White House was the early Obama years. And one of the signature failures of that period was a 2009 bill that would’ve created a national cap and trade program but ultimately never came to a vote in the Senate (it…

Climate Change Brian Kahn

The Empire State Building Runs on the Wind

One of the most iconic buildings in the world is running on clean electricity. On Wednesday, the company that owns the Empire State Building announced it had inked a deal to meet the electricity needs of not just that building but its entire portfolio with wind power. The Washington Post broke the story that the…

Climate Change Brian Kahn

Heckin’ Cute Puppers Just Absolutely Loving the Snow. Wow Doggos, Would Pet 13/10

Folks, it’s time to add a double dose of floof to your week. The Northeast got a monster layer of floof from a heckin huge snowstorm, and the dogs—excuse me, the floofs—they just love it. Really, we all love to see floofs in the floof. Just heckin pupfect energy to start the week! And since…

Earther Brian Kahn

Exxon and Chevron Reportedly Considered Becoming an Oil-Stained Voltron

Oil companies have had a rough go since the pandemic sent their main product into a tailspin. In an effort to maintain dominance in a rapidly changing world, Exxon and Chevron, the two biggest oil companies in the U.S., apparently weighed a blockbuster merger. The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday night that Darren Woods…

Climate Change Brian Kahn

A Major Nor’easter Could Drop Nearly Two Feet of Snow to Start the Week

After last year’s winter without a winter, New York is making up for it. A major nor’easter is crawling up the coast, the second big storm of the season to hit the city. It could bring nearly two feet of snow to New York and wreak havoc up and down the Eastern Seaboard. New Yorkers…

Earth Science Brian Kahn

Big Oil’s Lies Are Finally Getting the Public Scrutiny They Deserve on Social Media

After the Capitol was overrun by insurrectionists, Chevron sent out a tweet calling for a “peaceful transition of the U.S. government.” Brand tweets are always fraught, particularly as democracy stood on a knife’s edge. Doubly so if you’re a brand that, say, funded the members of Congress that incited an attempt to overthrow the government.…

Earther Brian Kahn

Central Park’s Rare Snowy Owl Visitor Shows Why We Must Conserve Land Everywhere

Central Park is prime bird real estate, and on Wednesday, a prime bird showed up. Birders flocked to the park to check out a snowy owl, the first recorded sighting of the bird in more than a century in the park. There’s something wildly incongruous about a stark-white owl on a baseball diamond in the heart…

Earther Brian Kahn

QAnon Congresswoman Also Believes a Space Laser Sparked California’s Deadliest Wildfire

It appears no conspiracy is too outlandish for Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene to peddle. There’s QAnon, false flag conspiracies about the Parkland shooting, and the whole election fraud lie. Now we can add a new one: That the deadly 2018 Camp Fire was ignited, intentionally, by a space laser so California could build a high…

Earther Brian Kahn

This Is How Joe Biden Wins the Climate Messaging War

When President Joe Biden revoked the Keystone XL pipeline permit, Republicans responded by over-inflating job loss numbers and generally making stuff up. On Wednesday, though, the administration showed it won’t cede ground to the lies. The White House announced a slew of executive orders on its “climate day.” (For me, personally, that’s every day, but…

Earther Brian Kahn

Alberta Inquiry Pays $28,000 for Washed-Up Climate Denial Talking Points Written by a School Teacher

Consulting is a lucrative business if you can get it. Doubly so if you can traffic in conspiracy theories with no public accountability. Case-in-point: a homeschooling teacher was paid a cool $27,840 to author a climate denial report for an Alberta government-backed commission. Featuring a mix of wild-eyed conspiracies about science and a cabal of…

Earther Brian Kahn

California’s Fire Season From Hell Followed by Rainy Season From Hell

The new normal for California is no normal. After enduring the worst wildfire season in history that extended into the start of the wet season, the state is about to get absolutely hosed with wind, rain, and up to multiple feet of snow as an atmospheric river roars across the Pacific. The scars left behind…

Earther Brian Kahn

Scientists Have Discovered a New Case of Rogue Pollution

A group of scientists have worked as a veritable atmospheric detective agency and dug into a new mystery of more ozone-damaging substances. Two years ago, they identified rogue sources of ozone-depleting chemicals. In a new study out Monday they found sources of new potentially damaging chemicals while highlighting just how crucial vigilance and early detection…

Earther Brian Kahn

Brian Kahn

How to Fix Crypto Art NFTs’ Carbon Pollution Problem

The Oil and Gas Money Behind the Republicans Who Will Help Decide Deb Haaland’s Fate

Texans Could Be Paying Off Their Obscene Energy Bills for Decades

Russian Gas Tanker Shows Arctic Is Navigable Year-Round Now

Billionaires’ Favorite Climate Solution Is a Dangerous Distraction

Viral Image Claiming to Show a Helicopter De-Icing Texas Wind Turbines Is From Winter 2014 in Sweden

Why the ‘Global Vaccine Apartheid’ Is a Dire Warning for the Future

The Future of Republican Politics Is Shitposting

Why Setting a Clean Energy Standard Should Be Democrats’ Next Move

The Empire State Building Runs on the Wind

Heckin’ Cute Puppers Just Absolutely Loving the Snow. Wow Doggos, Would Pet 13/10

Exxon and Chevron Reportedly Considered Becoming an Oil-Stained Voltron

A Major Nor’easter Could Drop Nearly Two Feet of Snow to Start the Week

Big Oil’s Lies Are Finally Getting the Public Scrutiny They Deserve on Social Media

Central Park’s Rare Snowy Owl Visitor Shows Why We Must Conserve Land Everywhere

QAnon Congresswoman Also Believes a Space Laser Sparked California’s Deadliest Wildfire

This Is How Joe Biden Wins the Climate Messaging War

Alberta Inquiry Pays $28,000 for Washed-Up Climate Denial Talking Points Written by a School Teacher

California’s Fire Season From Hell Followed by Rainy Season From Hell

Scientists Have Discovered a New Case of Rogue Pollution

Sun’s Latest Outburst Complicates Planned Launch of Artemis 2

Instagram Will Finally Let You Lurk to Your Heart’s Content—for a Price

Popular Sweetener Found in Protein Bars Tied to Stroke, Blood Clot Risk

HBO’s Boss Has Yet to Be Approached About Partnering on ‘Doctor Who’

AI Agent Runs the ‘I’m Being Censored’ Playbook After Getting Banned from Wikipedia

‘Scream 7’ Comes Home With Deleted Scenes We Hope Will Improve the Movie

A QR Code Too Small to See Hints at a New, Non-Annoying Use for the Format

Andy Weir Apologizes After ‘Star Trek’ Comment Backlash

Scientists Discover Hidden Behavior in Water That Helps Explain Why Ice Floats

The ‘Paradise’ Season 2 Finale Paved the Way for a Wildly Sci-Fi Season 3

Aqara Smart Lock U400 Review: Hands-free Unlocking at Its Best

MSI Prestige 14 Flip AI+ Review: A Solid 2-in-1 Laptop With Some Glaring Flaws

Sonos Play Review: Call It a Comeback

Sonos Era 100 SL Review: The Cheapest Way Into Wired Sonos Sound

Asus ROG’s Massive Swift OLED Gaming Monitor Epitomizes Excess in the Best Way

The Ikea Varmblixt Smart Lamp Fills a Donut Hole in My Life

Nothing Headphone A vs. Headphone 1: Which Pair of ANC Wireless Headphones Wins?

Asus ROG’s Cetra Open Wireless Gaming Earbuds Might Be Better Than Wearing a Headset

Nintendo’s Talking Flower Is Annoying as Hell. I Love It

Level Lock Pro Review: As Good as a Secret Smart Lock Gets