Brian Kahn, Author at Gizmodo

Photo of Koala and Firefighter Surrounded by Flames Perfectly Captures the Climate Emergency

It may have taken until the last week of the last month of 2019, but I think we’ve found the photo that most defines the year and quite possibly the decade. Eden Hills Country Fire Service, a volunteer fire department in South Australia, posted a photo on Sunday showing a firefighter confronting a wall of…

Climate Change Brian Kahn Dec 23 '19

Washington State Lawmaker Engaged in Domestic Environmental Terrorism, Report Finds

When domestic terrorists took over the Malheur Wildlife Refuge in early 2016, the face of the takeover was rancher Ammon Bundy. But it turns out a good chunk of the planning going on behind the scenes was done by someone with a little more power: Washington State Representative Matt Shea. A new report commissioned by…

Earther Brian Kahn Dec 20 '19

Courts Grant a Landmark Climate Victory That Could Reshape the World

We have a late entry for climate win of the year, and frankly, it just might be the biggest. On Friday, the Dutch Supreme Court ruled the Netherlands is obligated to reduce carbon pollution because it’s violating its citizens’ human rights. The precedent-setting case provides a huge bump to other court battles happening around the…

Climate Change Brian Kahn Dec 20 '19

It’s Official: ‘Freedom Gas’ Is the Worst Phrase of the Year

The Trump administration has plumbed the depths of the English language from the president’s recent large turd obsession to an advisor who compared the “demonization of carbon dioxide” to the Holocaust to Ryan Zinke telling a protestor, “I’d like to see your child fight for energy” (which weird flex but okay). Truly, these are all…

Climate Change Brian Kahn Dec 19 '19

Squallmagedon

I was sitting in a meeting around 3 p.m. when everyone’s phones began buzzing simultaneously. Alerts rang out all around G/O Media’s offices as the National Weather Service blasted out a snow squall warning. Now look, as Earther’s resident weather dude, I knew this warning had to mean business. Sending a push alert to millions…

Earth Science Brian Kahn Dec 18 '19

California Waters Are Acidifying Twice as Fast as the Rest of the Oceans

The California Current is home to one of the most productive ecosystems on Earth. It would stand to reason we wouldn’t want to mess it up. And yet. New research published in Nature Geosciences on Monday uses a novel technique to recreate a century of ocean acidification for waters off the California coast. It finds…

Climate Change Brian Kahn Dec 16 '19

Children Put Canada and Norway on Blast for Climate Failures

The teens are pissed. Perhaps you’ve heard. Young people have cranked up the pressure all year on world leaders in an attempt to get them to address climate change. In September, 16 teenagers filed a petition against five countries for violating their rights. The petition is in the process of wending its way through an…

Climate Change Brian Kahn Dec 13 '19

The Future Is Calling, and It Says Act Now or We’re All Fucked

On Wednesday, young climate activists rushed the main stage at the United Nations climate talks in Madrid in protest. The talks—dubbed COP25 in UN-speak—are the latest iteration of a 25-year exercise in futility, broken promises, and negligence. And young adults are sick of it. Carbon emissions have continued to rise to record highs almost every…

Environmental Justice Brian Kahn Dec 11 '19

Exxon Escapes

After a bit more than a year of legal wrangling, a landmark lawsuit against ExxonMobil has ended with the oil giant emerging unscathed. New York Supreme Court Judge Barry Ostrager ruled that the company didn’t engage in fraudulent behavior to mislead shareholders about how it accounted for climate change. It’s the second high-profile case against…

Climate Change Brian Kahn Dec 10 '19

Turns Out a Wild Geoengineering Plan to Refreeze Arctic Sea Ice Isn’t the Best Idea

As the world spins closer to climate catastrophe, fringe ideas are inching toward the mainstream. Geoengineering is among the topics that were once verboten but are now finding traction. And that includes some pretty out-there ideas, including ones focused on saving polar ice by pumping massive amounts of seawater onto the surface of ice, where…

Climate Change Brian Kahn Dec 6 '19

Don’t Say Nobody Warned Us

The second decade of the 21st century is one marked by scientific breakthroughs and a questionable number of movie reboots. But it will also be remembered as a decade of climate breakdown. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) released its annual compendium on the state of the climate, taking a 10-year view of things. And it’s…

Climate Change Brian Kahn Dec 3 '19

The Only Cyclone on Earth Right Now Is a Category 4 Monster Slamming the Philippines

The tropics are quiet except for one storm. And unfortunately, that storm is a ginormous typhoon. Typhoon Kammuri spun up a week ago and didn’t garner much attention as a run-of-the-mill typhoon in the west-central part of the Pacific Ocean. But it’s picked up serious steam over the past 24 hours right before making landfall…

Earth Science Brian Kahn Dec 2 '19

Meet Hector

Earth is the best planet, hands down. You should need no reminding of this, but on the off chance you do, allow me to introduce you to Hector. That’s him in the satellite imagery above. Though it make look like a volcanic eruption, Hector is actually a storm system that appears with such regularity that…

Earth Science Brian Kahn Nov 28 '19

A Bomb Cyclone and Powerful Winds Will Screw Thanksgiving Travel

There are many things to be thankful on Thanksgiving. This year, the weather for most of the U.S. is not one of them. Two sprawling storm systems will wreak havoc on both coasts. In Northern California, a rare-for-the-region bomb cyclone is sliding ashore on Wednesday while a series of high and low pressure systems will…

Earth Science Brian Kahn Nov 27 '19

The Closure of the West’s Largest Coal Plant Could Be a Test For the Green New Deal

The sun has set on the Navajo Generating Station, which burned its last pile of coal earlier this month. Economics finally caught up with the West’s largest coal plant, forcing it to shutter as cheap natural gas and renewables made it irrelevant to the energy grid. The plant leaves behind a complicated legacy. The power…

Environmental Justice Brian Kahn Nov 27 '19

Billionaire Buys ‘Climate Change’ on Google

When you have Mike Bloomberg money, there is no shortage of ways to spend it. And running for president opens up a whole new world of blowing through cash. Bloomberg announced he was seeking the Democratic nomination for president earlier this week along with plans to spend up to $1 billion of his own fortune…

Climate Change Brian Kahn Nov 26 '19

Even Good News Comes With Bad News

We’re long past the era of having nice things, and that’s doubly true when it comes to the climate. So it’s fitting that even on a day when there’s a bit of good news about coal’s decline, we also learned that greenhouse gases in the atmosphere hit a new peak. The rollercoaster of emotions comes…

Climate Change Brian Kahn Nov 25 '19

The Cybertruck Is a Vision for a Dystopian Climate Future

Elon Musk’s Cybertruck is visionary. The “brutal, angular beast,” as our pals at Jalopnik called it, was a moment of genius for Tesla fanboys and Blade Runner-inspired-design aficionados. It’s alleged specs showed an electric car can bean aggressive speed demon that could body wimpy Priuses off the road. But look deeper and the real vision…

Climate Change Brian Kahn Nov 22 '19

Why Oxford Dictionary’s ‘Word of the Year’ Matters This Time

Climate change is rapidly bending everything, including our language. The new words we’re relying on are driven by humanity’s growing understanding we are in a bad, bad place. That shift was underscored by Oxford Dictionary’s choice for word of the year: “climate emergency.” It’s been a staggering rise for a phrase that was barely mentioned…

Climate Change Brian Kahn Nov 21 '19

People and Dogs Unite to Save Koalas From Australia’s Horrific Bush Fires

The past few weeks of bush fires have created a nightmare in Australia. Smoke has clogged the Sydney skyline, and state governments have issued terrifying warnings essentially urging residents to flee or risk death. The toll on wildlife has been equally heavy. Roughly 2.5 million acres of forest have burned, destroying crucial habitat and incinerating…

Climate Change Brian Kahn Nov 20 '19

Brian Kahn

Photo of Koala and Firefighter Surrounded by Flames Perfectly Captures the Climate Emergency

Washington State Lawmaker Engaged in Domestic Environmental Terrorism, Report Finds

Courts Grant a Landmark Climate Victory That Could Reshape the World

It’s Official: ‘Freedom Gas’ Is the Worst Phrase of the Year

Squallmagedon

California Waters Are Acidifying Twice as Fast as the Rest of the Oceans

Children Put Canada and Norway on Blast for Climate Failures

The Future Is Calling, and It Says Act Now or We’re All Fucked

Exxon Escapes

Turns Out a Wild Geoengineering Plan to Refreeze Arctic Sea Ice Isn’t the Best Idea

Don’t Say Nobody Warned Us

The Only Cyclone on Earth Right Now Is a Category 4 Monster Slamming the Philippines

Meet Hector

A Bomb Cyclone and Powerful Winds Will Screw Thanksgiving Travel

The Closure of the West’s Largest Coal Plant Could Be a Test For the Green New Deal

Billionaire Buys ‘Climate Change’ on Google

Even Good News Comes With Bad News

The Cybertruck Is a Vision for a Dystopian Climate Future

Why Oxford Dictionary’s ‘Word of the Year’ Matters This Time

People and Dogs Unite to Save Koalas From Australia’s Horrific Bush Fires

Apple M5 MacBook Air (16GB RAM, 1TB SSD) Just Got a Lot More Tempting, Now’s the Cheapest Time to Buy on Amazon

The Puppeteer Behind Rocky in ‘Project Hail Mary’ Is Oscar Eligible

Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Classic Drops to All-Time Low at Nearly 30% Off, Way Easier Than Buying a Rolex

Mint Mobile Is Giving Away the Samsung S26, Here’s How to Get One for $0

A Newspaper Is Allegedly Slapping Humans’ Names on AI Stories Without Their Permission

Scientists Figured Out Why These Monkeys Eat Dirt. The Key Is Tourists

A Ransomware Negotiator Pleads Guilty to Being a Double Agent

CyberGhost VPN Practically Became FREE: This $1.75/mo Deal Made All VPNs Absurd

Some Unknown Group Is Reportedly Using Claude Mythos Without Permission

SpaceX Obtains Option to Buy Cursor for $60 Billion

I’ve Tested a Lot of Bad Smart Glasses and These Are the Worst Yet

Roborock’s Qrevo Curv 2 Flow Is the Ultimate Robot Mop—If You Don’t Have Corners or Walls

Alienware’s $350 QD-OLED Gaming Monitor Nixes Everything for a Pretty Screen

Sony Inzone H6 Air Review: A Perfect Case for Open-Back Gaming Headsets

Anker’s EufyMake E1 Finally Brings Printers Out of the Dark Ages

The Soundboks Mix Is Going to Make You the Most Popular Guy at the Park

Asus Zenbook A16 Review: Start Considering Snapdragon on PC, for Real

Aqara Thermostat Hub W200 Review: Almost Better than My Ecobee

HP Omen Max 45L Review: 4K60 Gaming Has Never Been So Easy

Ecovacs Winbot W3 Omni Review: Window Cleaning Robots Have a Long Way to Go