Brian Kahn, Author at Gizmodo

A Trove of Ancient Hunting Artifacts Has Melted Out of a Norwegian Ice Patch

Researchers have uncovered what they’re calling a “bonanza” of ancient arrows and other hunting equipment, as well as signs of prey, on a remote Norwegian ice patch. The cache is a striking example of the burgeoning field of ice patch archaeology, which is unfortunately growing as the planet melts down. Global warming is shaping the…

Earther Brian Kahn

Ivanka Boldly Highlights Trump Administration’s Big Pandemic Success

Finally, we are getting some FACTS out of the White House. Noted environmentalist and nepotistic grifter Ivanka Trump dropped some KNOWLEDGE on Twitter on Tuesday. The daughter of the president let it be known that greenhouse gas emissions have dropped 9.2% this year, mentioning the Environmental Protection Agency to give it some extra authority. That,…

Earther Brian Kahn

Personal Responsibility Alone Is Doom

Here are three crucial numbers from the past week: 2 million, 1.2 million, and 83,782. They represent, respectively, the number of people screened by TSA on Friday and Saturday, the number of new covid-19 cases last week, and the number of people currently in a hospital bed for the disease across the U.S. They all…

Earther Brian Kahn

That Time Donald Trump Tried to Be Captain Planet, as Told by Barack Obama

It’s Barack Obama book week. The former president’s new book, The Promised Land, dropped on Tuesday, and there’s a lot to pour over. Soon-to-be-former President Donald Trump is largely a specter in the book, not appearing until very near the end. While Trump’s most famous tie to Obama is using the false birther conspiracy theory…

Earther Brian Kahn

Cancel the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree for Good

The giant pine reflects the toxic relationship we have with the natural world, and the need to rapidly reverse course.

Conservation Brian Kahn

A Rise in Winter Drownings Is an Unexpected Consequence of Climate Change

Growing up in New England, I used to spend winter weekends skating on ponds and the occasional drainage ditch in the middle of a six-lane road (it was the suburbs, OK?). Millions of other people around the world have similar memories of skating, ice fishing, and other wintery outdoor activities. But the ice that undergirds…

Earther Brian Kahn

Greenland’s Most Threatened Glaciers Are in Even More Danger Than We Thought

Someday, I would like to write a happy story about ice. Today is not that day. Using historical photos and modern satellites, scientists have taken an unprecedented dive into understanding some of Greenland’s most imperiled glaciers. The findings show the at-risk ice has undergone a major retreat over the the past century-plus, indicating that our…

Earther Brian Kahn

Geoengineering Might Not Save Us From a Cloud Apocalypse

There’s a whole slew of reasons to not rely on blocking the sun to cool the planet. But a new paper puts up perhaps the best one yet: It might not work if we continue to let carbon emissions skyrocket. The findings, published on Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, build…

Earther Brian Kahn

Hurricane Iota Is in Terrifying, Unprecedented Territory as It Approaches Central America

For the second time in two weeks, Central America is facing down a ferocious storm. Hurricane Iota exploded over the weekend and is now a Category 5 monster, setting a record for the latest Category 5 storm on record. To make matters worse, it’s set to make landfall in almost the exact same location in…

Earther Brian Kahn

The Past Week Is Boot Camp for the Climate War Ahead

This week has felt like an eon, one that encompassed both dance-in-the-street euphoria and an out-of-control deadly pandemic raging amidst an attempt to subvert democracy. We won’t go back to some imagined normal after Joe Biden enters the White House in January. Instead, this past week has been a training ground for the next decade…

Earther Brian Kahn

How Trump Could Slow Down Biden’s Climate Agenda

Noted presidential-election loser Donald Trump is having a hard time coming to grips with reality. After losing bigly in both the Electoral College and the popular vote, Trump is refusing to concede, waging baseless lawsuits, sending bad tweets, and generally doing his best to corrode democracy. Trump’s regime has also followed suit, blocking President-elect Joe…

Earther Brian Kahn

It’s Way Too Hot in the Arctic Right Now

Svalbard, Norway, is home to the world’s doomsday seed vault because it’s so cold. But the climate crisis is changing that calculation. In the latest sign that the transformation of the Arctic continues full speed ahead, Svalbard hit a record high temperature for November on Wednesday. A station set on the mountain pass of Reindalspasset…

Earther Brian Kahn

Eta Is a Hurricane (Again) as It Threatens Florida (Again)

Last week, I kindly asked then-Tropical Storm Eta to go away because it was clearly drunk. It did not listen. The town drunk of the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico has since regained hurricane status, and its stumbling path now has it aimed squarely at Florida’s Gulf Coast. It will mark the storm’s fourth landfall…

Earth Science Brian Kahn

The Climate Test That Will Tell the World If Biden Is Serious About Change

President Donald Trump has been a boon to world leaders looking to tout their climate bonafides. A simple “hey, at least we’re not that guy” has helped other countries launder some watered-down climate goals. Now that Joe Biden is president-elect, it changes the equation. It’s not that Biden is a huge progressive climate champion (yet).…

Earther Brian Kahn

2020 Just Broke a 170-Year Hurricane Season Record

It’s officially the busiest Atlantic hurricane season in 170 years of record keeping. Subtropical Storm Theta formed late on Monday, taking us further into the Greek alphabet. The storm itself isn’t a particularly formidable sight to behold or even that interesting. It’s subtropical, meaning it has characteristics of both tropical storms and those that form…

Earther Brian Kahn

The Green New Deal Didn’t Sink Democrats

The dust hasn’t even settled on the 2020 election (stares intently at Georgia’s two Senate runoffs), but the sniping has already begun. Establishment House Democrats who have either spent decades in Congress or ran as conservative Democrats spent the end of last week blaming progressives for the party running behind President-elect Joe Biden. But it’s…

Earther Brian Kahn

Now the Real Work Begins

The past four years have felt like screaming underwater. The results of the election are a tentative gasp of fresh air, sharp and somewhat bitter on the back of the throat. Former Vice President Joe Biden has won the White House according to multiple outlets, after flipping enough states in Upper Midwest and Sun Belt…

Earther Brian Kahn

Photo: NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center

Let’s Take a Break and Check Out Some Chill Satellite Images From This Week Instead

We’ve had a week, haven’t we, friends? I don’t need to recount what we’ve been through, you can feel it coursing through your veins. It’s been a long one, the weekend will prove to be longer, and the nearly three months to inauguration will be longer still. So let me offer you what we in…

Earther Brian Kahn

Go Away, Eta, You’re Drunk

Record-setting Hurricane Eta has cleared Central America after leaving a trail of destruction. The cyclone is a much-weakened tropical depression, but it’s set to strengthen in the coming days and take a wending, circuitous path through the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico. It could make landfall in the U.S. early next week. Before we get…

Earther Brian Kahn

The First Human Composting Company Is Nearly Ready to Lay You to Rest in Washington

The Evergreen state has become even more, uh, evergreen. Washington passed a law in 2019 allowing people to turn themselves into compost after death. This month, the first officially licensed human composting company has opened its doors to help citizens meet their maker in a more environmentally friendly manner. Recompose, whose founder helped drive the…

Conservation Brian Kahn

Brian Kahn

A Trove of Ancient Hunting Artifacts Has Melted Out of a Norwegian Ice Patch

Ivanka Boldly Highlights Trump Administration’s Big Pandemic Success

Personal Responsibility Alone Is Doom

That Time Donald Trump Tried to Be Captain Planet, as Told by Barack Obama

Cancel the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree for Good

A Rise in Winter Drownings Is an Unexpected Consequence of Climate Change

Greenland’s Most Threatened Glaciers Are in Even More Danger Than We Thought

Geoengineering Might Not Save Us From a Cloud Apocalypse

Hurricane Iota Is in Terrifying, Unprecedented Territory as It Approaches Central America

The Past Week Is Boot Camp for the Climate War Ahead

How Trump Could Slow Down Biden’s Climate Agenda

It’s Way Too Hot in the Arctic Right Now

Eta Is a Hurricane (Again) as It Threatens Florida (Again)

The Climate Test That Will Tell the World If Biden Is Serious About Change

2020 Just Broke a 170-Year Hurricane Season Record

The Green New Deal Didn’t Sink Democrats

Now the Real Work Begins

Let’s Take a Break and Check Out Some Chill Satellite Images From This Week Instead

Go Away, Eta, You’re Drunk

The First Human Composting Company Is Nearly Ready to Lay You to Rest in Washington

National Film and Sound Archive of Australia Adds ‘Succulent Chinese Meal’ Guy

Feds Sniffing Around Polymarket After Suspicious Bets

DJI Osmo 360 Review: The Best 360 Camera for the DJI-Pilled

Don’t Get Too Attached to Any AI App

‘Paradise’ Writer Teases What’s Coming in Season 3 After That Huge Twist

Trump’s New White House App Is Mildly Concerning and Weird for a Lot of Reasons

Bloodsucking Ticks Can Survive Inside Your Home Longer Than You Might Think

The Best New Toys of March 2026

Judge Denies Liking LinkedIn Post Critical of Elon Musk But Reassigns His Cases Anyway

Amazon Slashes 50% Off Keurig K-Cup Pod Coffee Maker, Now a Budget Alternative to Breville and Nespresso Espresso Machines

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