Brian Kahn, Author at Gizmodo

Some of the EPA’s Climate Change Pages Came Back, But They’re Missing Something

It’s been nearly six months since the Environmental Protection Agency unceremoniously axed its climate change webpages under the auspices of updating the site to reflect the Trump administration’s priorities. Given that the administration has proposed backing out of the Paris Agreement and has rolled back a slew of Obama-era climate regulations, you’d be forgiven for…

Earther Brian Kahn

The World’s First Floating Wind Farm Just Started Producing Electricity

Installing wind turbines on the high seas is the holy grail for generating renewable energy. It’s there that powerful winds blow strong enough to potentially power the whole world without an iota of carbon pollution. And while we haven’t attained it quite yet, a brand new floating wind farm in Scotland could be a big…

Energy Brian Kahn

Wildfires Have Burned More Than 5 Percent of Portugal in One of the Most Severe Fire Years on Record

We’re still a few months from finally closing the books on a year wracked by natural disasters, but it seems safe to say 2017 will go down as the year of hellfire on Earth. Wildfires have lit up seemingly everywhere from California to British Columbia to Greenland (!). And then there’s Portugal. The country already…

Earther Brian Kahn

Back-to-Back Atmospheric Rivers Are About to Dump Huge Amounts of Rain and Snow On the West

It’s been a few days without a major weather event, which in 2017, feels like forever. But it appears that the next week will make up for lost time. A series of so-called ‘atmospheric rivers’ currently stretch across the Pacific and will bring major rain, snow and winds the Northwest for the latter half of…

Earther Brian Kahn

This Is What Half a Year For One of Greenland’s Most Imperiled Glaciers Looks Like

Satellites have changed how we see the world. That includes being able to watch climate change overrun everything beautiful in agonizing detail. Behold, the Petermann Glacier, a wending trail of ice that descends from Greenland’s ice sheet down to an icy tongue sticking out over a fjord on the island’s northwest edge. The animation above,…

Earther Brian Kahn

Scientists Are Planning a Cruise Into the Breach Left by the Larsen C Iceberg

The Larsen C iceberg may have broken away from Antarctica in July, but the sciencing is just commencing. So far, scientists have been limited to checking in on what’s happened to the ice shelf and the 2,240-square-mile iceberg it calved by satellite. Those images have been instructive (and often spectacular), but nothing compares to getting…

Earther Brian Kahn

The Latest Wildfires in a Destructive Season Are Ravaging Northern California [Updating]

A night of wildfire-induced terror in Napa has given way to a morning hellscape. Unchecked fires raged through five northern California counties overnight on Sunday, incinerating an as yet uncounted number of structures, forcing harrowing hospital evacuations and burning tens of thousands of acres. Napa and Sonoma counties were the hardest hit, according to SF…

Earth Science Brian Kahn

Need a Reminder That All the Glaciers Are Melting? There’s a Twitter Bot for That

Climate change and ice, they do not mix. I know it. You know it. And now there’s a Twitter bot here to continually remind you of the existential crisis that rising temperatures pose to glaciers. Conceived by Aslak Grinsted, a climate scientist at the Niels Bohr Institute’s Center for Ice and Climate, Daily Glacier Bot…

Earther Brian Kahn

House Republicans and the Trump Administration Are Waging a War on Wildlife

The war on wildlife is fast becoming a thing. This week, the U.S. government unleashed a flurry of activity that puts furry friends along with plants, fish, insects and a host of other species at risk. House Republicans introduced a bill this week that would weaken the Endangered Species Act’s conservation priorities. They also passed…

Conservation Brian Kahn

Elon Musk Wants to Help Puerto Rico Rebuild Its Grid Using Tesla Batteries [Updated]

Elon Musk, your friendly neighborhood billionaire, has said Tesla has the ability to remake Puerto Rico’s grid if the government is interested. And, well, it sounds like they’re very interested. Hurricane Maria destroyed Puerto Rico’s electric grid more than two weeks ago, leaving the U.S. territory’s 3.4 million residents without power. Work to restore a…

Earther Brian Kahn

The World Keeps Installing Renewable Energy at Record Rates

The Trump administration may be doing everything in its power quell the tide of renewable energy, but the world is ready to ride the wave. According to a new report from the International Energy Agency (IEA), a combination of falling prices, rising investments and stronger government support outside the U.S. have sent solar and wind…

Earther Brian Kahn

Puerto Rico Has a Once In a Lifetime Opportunity to Rethink How It Gets Electricity

Alina Saenz’s house on the outskirts of San Juan glows warmly in the pitch black nights that have plagued Puerto Rico in the two weeks since Category 4 Hurricane Maria devastated the island. The imperceptible hum of the refrigerator, fans to circulate the humid tropical air and nightly news on the television were all afterthoughts…

Earther Brian Kahn

Two Looming Volcanic Eruptions Could Slow Climate Change, But They Aren’t Going to Stop It

Following a pattern of everything being terrible in 2017, two volcanoes are primed to erupt along the western edge of the Ring of Fire. Mt. Agung in Bali, Indonesia has forced 144,000 into shelters beyond the 7.5 mile exclusion zone, while the volcano on Ambae Island in Vanuatu has forced all 11,000 residents to evacuate,…

Earther Brian Kahn

Brian Kahn

Some of the EPA’s Climate Change Pages Came Back, But They’re Missing Something

The World’s First Floating Wind Farm Just Started Producing Electricity

Wildfires Have Burned More Than 5 Percent of Portugal in One of the Most Severe Fire Years on Record

Back-to-Back Atmospheric Rivers Are About to Dump Huge Amounts of Rain and Snow On the West

This Is What Half a Year For One of Greenland’s Most Imperiled Glaciers Looks Like

Scientists Are Planning a Cruise Into the Breach Left by the Larsen C Iceberg

The Latest Wildfires in a Destructive Season Are Ravaging Northern California [Updating]

Need a Reminder That All the Glaciers Are Melting? There’s a Twitter Bot for That

House Republicans and the Trump Administration Are Waging a War on Wildlife

Elon Musk Wants to Help Puerto Rico Rebuild Its Grid Using Tesla Batteries [Updated]

The World Keeps Installing Renewable Energy at Record Rates

Puerto Rico Has a Once In a Lifetime Opportunity to Rethink How It Gets Electricity

Two Looming Volcanic Eruptions Could Slow Climate Change, But They Aren’t Going to Stop It

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