Brian Kahn, Author at Gizmodo

Cape Town’s Reservoirs Are Getting Terrifyingly Low

“Day Zero” sounds like something out of a dystopian science fiction novel, but it’s a reality that Cape Town, South Africa, could face in a few short months. A historic stretch of drought years has turned the city’s reservoirs into deserts. As a result, water managers in the second largest city in South Africa predict…

Earth Science Brian Kahn

Oil Giant Sues Other Oil Giant Over Climate Change Because This Is Our World Now

Last fall, the cities of Oakland and San Francisco sued oil behemoth Chevron for billions of dollars because of its role in causing climate change. Chevron is, of course, fighting the case, but if it loses, it wants to take down another oil company with it. In a complaint filed in December and highlighted by…

Environmental Justice Brian Kahn

It’s Time to Worry About California’s Snowpack

Hope everyone enjoyed California’s drought-free year because dry conditions are back in a big, bad way. The second snow survey of the year revealed a dearth of snow in the Sierra Nevada on Thursday. On the same day, the U.S. Drought Monitor updated its estimate to show nearly 44 percent of the state was in…

Climate Change Brian Kahn

Donald Trump Supports ANWR Drilling Because His Friend Told Him To

America’s treasures are up for sale and the only thing you need to get them is the president’s phone number. According to Donald Trump himself, he ensured that opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to drilling stayed in the Republican tax bill because a friend of his “in that business” of fossil fuels told…

Conservation Brian Kahn

Satellite Images Show Mount Mayon’s Wild Eruption in Exquisite Detail

The eruption at Mount Mayon in the Philippines looks like that volcano you drew as a kid. The perfect symmetrical cone has sent lava flying more than a quarter of a mile into the sky before dribbling down the volcano’s flanks. Ash clouds have climbed even higher, reaching nearly two miles above the cone. On…

Earth Science Brian Kahn

More Evidence That West Antarctica’s Glaciers Are in Terrible Shape

West Antarctica’s glaciers are the weakest link in the icy armor that surrounds the massive southern ice sheet. A study published in the Annals of Glaciology last month adds to the pile of crap news about how these glaciers, which extend out over water that’s being warmed by climate change, are susceptible to melting that could…

Climate Change Brian Kahn

Scott Pruitt’s First Senate Oversight Hearing Was a Total Sham

The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) website states that its mission is “to protect human health and the environment.” You would think this would be clear to EPA head Scott Pruitt, and yet at a Senate oversight hearing on Tuesday—Pruitt’s first as administrator—he seemed far more interested in talking jobs and the economy. In fact, Pruitt…

Climate Change Brian Kahn

Renewables Just Outdid Coal in Europe for the First Time (But There’s a Caveat)

Coal is dying. Long live renewables. That’s the message from a new report by U.K. climate nonprofit Sandbag and and German think tank Agora Energiewende. It shows that 2017 was the first year in history that renewables overtook coal as a source of electricity generation in the European Union. It also shows that wind installation…

Energy Brian Kahn

The Midwest Is About to Freeze Its Ass Off While the Southwest Roasts

Just in time for Super Bowl Sunday, Arctic air will descend on the central U.S. as a trail of sub-zero temperatures marches down the the Canadian Rockies and parks over the Midwest. It will be short-lived and not quite as severe as the early January cold snap, but it also arrives at an inopportune time…

Earth Science Brian Kahn

It’s Time to Stop Analyzing Donald Trump’s Climate Change Beliefs

On Sunday night, the president talked with Piers Morgan about his climate change views and the Paris Agreement. The widely–reported results were not good. They were also wholly unsurprising and we need to stop pretending like they are. In fact, we need to stop asking the president what he thinks about climate change. https://gizmodo.com/piers-morgan-interviewing-donald-trump-on-climate-chang-1822497121 I…

Earther Brian Kahn

The 2017 Hurricane Season Officially Rewrote the Record Books

Even before they made landfall, 2017’s major hurricanes—Harvey, Maria and Irma—were already causing billions in damage. A new update from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) makes clear just how costly this trio of terrors will end up being, estimating that all three storms clock in among the top 5 most expensive hurricanes to…

Earth Science Brian Kahn

Norway’s Melting Ice Patches Offer a New Glimpse Into History

As planetary ice recedes, it’s revealing secrets about human history. The latest example of that is in Norway, where a group of researchers has reconstructed 6,000 years of history based on more than 2,000 artifacts that have melted out of ice patches. The new timeline, published this week in Royal Society Open Science, provides insights…

Climate Change Brian Kahn

The Weather Channel Homepage Is Out Here Reminding Everyone Climate Change is Real

The Weather Channel is no stranger to talking climate change or dunking on climate deniers (RIP Breitbart). But on Thursday, the only thing on their homepage is how climate change affects every American (along with your local forecast, of course). The site publicized a series of stories that’ve been in the works for more than…

Climate Change Brian Kahn

Doomsday Has Never Been Closer

If you’re the type that looks forward to the day this lil’ experiment called human civilization comes to an end, then I have some good news for you. The soothsayers at the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists have bumped the doomsday clock 30 second closer to midnight. We’re now two minutes from the end of…

Climate Change Brian Kahn

The Sky in Antarctica Looks Like Something Out of Science Fiction

The image above may look like the illustration for a vintage science fiction movie, an astronaut transfixed by an alien sun on a desolate planet. But no, it’s just another day on Earth. Frankly, it sometimes feels like we don’t deserve this world and its myriad wonders. Photojournalist Christopher Michel’s took the cinematic picture on…

Earth Science Brian Kahn

Rick Perry to Davos: Freedom Tastes Like American Fracked Gas

Let’s check in with notable glasses-wearer and likely Burning Man attendee Rick Perry. The Energy Secretary is in Davos for the World Economic Forum this week along a host of other Trump administration officials to rub elbows with the richest people on the planet because populism. On Wednesday, he shared his message to the global…

Energy Brian Kahn

Bros Can Be Environmentalists, Too

If there’s one thing all humans should give a shit about, it’s taking care of the planet we live on. Without it, we’re all dead (unless Elon Musk comes through on that whole Mars thing). And yet not everyone is pulling their weight to keep this place habitable. It brings me no pleasure to report…

Environmental Justice Brian Kahn

Trump’s Solar Tariff Could Kill the Fastest-Growing Job in the US

Donald Trump wyd? That’s been the collective response to the Trump administration’s new tariff on imported solar panels and equipment. Only U.S. solar manufacturers, who asked that the tariffs be put in place, seem to be happy (though they wanted higher tariffs). But overall, the solar industry is not stoked for the simple reason that…

Energy Brian Kahn

What Are Carbon Markets and Can They Save the Planet?

Everyone with half a brain knows we need to address climate change by cutting carbon emissions. One of the policy options you may have heard a lot about is cap and trade. But what exactly is that, and does it really work? A cap and trade system, or carbon market, is essentially a way for…

Environmental Justice Brian Kahn

Once We Start Geoengineering, We Won’t Be Able To Stop

With each passing year that the world fails to get a grip on its carbon emissions, the threat of climate change increases. For some, that makes geoengineering—a technique to artificially cool the planet—an increasingly enticing opportunity. But while scientists have shown that blasting tiny particles into the stratosphere could reflect enough sunlight back into space…

Climate Change Brian Kahn

Brian Kahn

Cape Town’s Reservoirs Are Getting Terrifyingly Low

Oil Giant Sues Other Oil Giant Over Climate Change Because This Is Our World Now

It’s Time to Worry About California’s Snowpack

Donald Trump Supports ANWR Drilling Because His Friend Told Him To

Satellite Images Show Mount Mayon’s Wild Eruption in Exquisite Detail

More Evidence That West Antarctica’s Glaciers Are in Terrible Shape

Scott Pruitt’s First Senate Oversight Hearing Was a Total Sham

Renewables Just Outdid Coal in Europe for the First Time (But There’s a Caveat)

The Midwest Is About to Freeze Its Ass Off While the Southwest Roasts

It’s Time to Stop Analyzing Donald Trump’s Climate Change Beliefs

The 2017 Hurricane Season Officially Rewrote the Record Books

Norway’s Melting Ice Patches Offer a New Glimpse Into History

The Weather Channel Homepage Is Out Here Reminding Everyone Climate Change is Real

Doomsday Has Never Been Closer

The Sky in Antarctica Looks Like Something Out of Science Fiction

Rick Perry to Davos: Freedom Tastes Like American Fracked Gas

Bros Can Be Environmentalists, Too

Trump’s Solar Tariff Could Kill the Fastest-Growing Job in the US

What Are Carbon Markets and Can They Save the Planet?

Once We Start Geoengineering, We Won’t Be Able To Stop

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

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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

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