Molly Taft, Author at Gizmodo

Abandoned Oil Pipelines Are a Disaster Waiting to Happen in the Gulf of Mexico

Seems like no one is keeping an eye on what polluters are doing in the Gulf of Mexico. For decades, the federal government has allowed the oil and gas industry to abandon almost all ocean pipeline infrastructure it no longer uses without further cleanup—and barely monitors the safety of active pipelines still in use today,…

Energy Molly Taft

The Future of Western Water Restrictions Is Here

The West is dry and getting drier. Federal officials said this week that a major source of water for the Southwest could face some of its first official water restrictions later this year if water levels keep dropping. New projections issued by the Bureau of Reclamation predict that the water levels in Lake Powell and…

Climate Change Molly Taft

A Just Transition In Appalachia May Start With Plugging Old Oil Wells

A new report from the regional think tank Ohio River Valley Institute finds that just four states in Central Appalachia are home to one-fifth of the country’s abandoned and orphaned oil and gas wells. And putting people to work cleaning up these wells in the region, the report finds, could generate thousands of jobs. While…

Environmental Justice Molly Taft

Photos Capture the Unfolding Volcano Crisis in St. Vincent

Thousands of people in St. Vincent and the Grenadines have fled their homes as the La Soufrière volcano, located in the northwest of the island of St. Vincent, continues to erupt this week. The volcano, which had been dormant since 1979, shot up a column of ash 20,000 feet into the air on Friday, following…

Earther Molly Taft

Researchers Created the Whitest White Paint Ever

If you’ve ever redone a room in your house and gone to the hardware store to pick out some fresh paint, you know that there’s a lot of different shades of white on the market. Turns out, there’s a new shade of white in town—and this one may have some pretty cool (literally) climate implications.…

Climate Change Molly Taft

The U.S. Can Get to All Electric Vehicles by 2035

If all cars and trucks sold in the United States are electric by 2035, it could save consumers in the United States some $2.7 trillion over the course of the next 30 years, working out to roughly $1,000 in savings per household per year, a new analysis finds. And if you’re itching to start seeing…

Earther Molly Taft

Freak ‘Wake Low’ Storm Capsizes Vessel, Stirs Up Hurricane-Force Winds

At least a dozen people are still missing off the coast of Louisiana after a commercial boat capsized in rough weather on Tuesday afternoon. Authorities have rescued six of the at least 18 passengers aboard the Seacor Power, a 129-foot (39.3-meter) workboat for the oil industry, after it capsized in the Gulf of Mexico off…

Earth Science Molly Taft

Biden Is Following in Trump’s Footsteps When It Comes to Climate Lawsuits

Since taking office, President Biden has positioned himself as the antidote to Trump on climate, passing sweeping executive orders reversing the previous administration’s actions and launching aggressive infrastructure projects meant to bring the country into a low-carbon future. But moves made by the administration in two high-profile legal cases last week are more in line…

Climate Change Molly Taft

Japan’s New Fukushima Plan: Dumping Radioactive Wastewater Into the Sea

The Japanese government said Tuesday that it would start releasing contaminated water from the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster into the Pacific Ocean, outlining a long-expected plan that is, understandably, upsetting a whole lot of people. Around 1.25 million tons of water accumulated at a nuclear site in Fukushima Prefecture in the wake of the 2011…

Energy Molly Taft

Texas Wind Energy Set a Record—But Republicans Are Still Trying to Squash It

Despite recent baseless attacks on wind power as unreliable and unneeded from Texas politicians, wind was the number one source of electricity on the state’s grid last month. Awkward! Wind energy generated 39% of power on the Texas grid in March, federal data shows, beating out other sources like coal (15%), natural gas (30%), and…

Energy Molly Taft

An Alaskan Glacier Has Started Moving Really, Really Fast

If you’re visiting Alaska this year, you may get to experience a once-in-a-lifetime geologic event. A glacier in Denali National Park has started moving between 50 to 100 times faster than normal. Last month, a pilot flying over Denali—a park home to the tallest mountain in the U.S.—spotted unusual topography around Muldrow Glacier and took…

Climate Change Molly Taft

Big Oil Fed State Educators Stats Used to Push Back on Biden’s Climate Goals

For years, Big Oil has cozied up to American public schools—and now they seem to be cashing in their chips. New emails appear to show that some elected officials in charge of public schools may have been helped in attacking the Biden administration’s recent decision to pause oil and gas leasing on federal land by…

Climate Change Molly Taft

California Could Require Uber and Lyft to Go Electric by 2030

If you live in California, chances are you could be taking many more Uber and Lyft trips in electric vehicles in the coming years. The state’s clean air agency is poised to mandate that nearly all vehicles used by drivers working for ridesharing companies be electric by 2030. The proposal from the California Air Resources…

Climate Change Molly Taft

Bolsonaro Oversaw a Connecticut-Sized Chunk of Deforestation in the Amazon Last Year

Last year was a bad one around the world—but especially, it seems, in the Amazon rainforest. Deforestation in the Amazon rocketed up 17% last year, due in large part to increased logging, agriculture, mining, and wildfires, new data published Wednesday shows. The data, put together by the Monitoring of the Andean Amazon Project, or MAAP,…

Climate Change Molly Taft

Methane Has Never Risen This Fast in the Atmosphere

There’s more methane in the atmosphere than any other time since record keeping began—and levels really spiked last year, despite the fact that we were all inside for most of the time. On Wednesday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency said that global atmospheric methane rose to 1,892.3 parts per billion. Methane shattering records is one…

Climate Change Molly Taft

Eagles Are Filled With Rat Poison

Eagles are majestic, beautiful, and full of toxins that we’ve pumped into the environment. A new study finds that 82% of dead eagles examined between 2014 and 2018 had detectable levels of rat poison in their systems. The study, published on Wednesday in PLOS One, was, happily, made possible by the fact that eagle populations…

Conservation Molly Taft

The Climate Deniers Regulating Texas Oil and Gas Have Somehow Avoided Blackout Scrutiny

Texas’ blackouts were, experts agree, the result of multiple failures in the energy system, including failures of oil and gas infrastructure. Yet in late March, one of Texas’s most powerful oil and gas regulators, Christi Craddick, told the Texas legislature that oil and gas operators “were not the problem.” In fact, Craddick said, “the oil…

Energy Molly Taft

How to Ensure Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Is Accessible to Everyone

As the Biden administration puts the federal government’s muscle behind widespread electrification, one fact has becoming increasingly clear: The electric vehicle revolution is coming. But states have a lot of catching up to do if they want to make sure everyone is included, a new report shows. The report, released Wednesday by the American Council…

Energy Molly Taft

More U.S. Coal Power Retired Under Trump Than in Obama’s Second Term

Remember all of Donald Trump’s promises to put coal miners back to work? Turns out, his repeated attacks on the environment to try and bail out dirty fuels were all for naught. More coal-fired power was taken off the grid under Trump’s presidency than under former President Barack Obama’s second term, a new analysis from…

Energy Molly Taft

How Big Meat Is Funding Climate Denial and Polluting the Planet

Move over, Big Oil, and make some room for Big Meat at the climate shame table. A new study shows agribusiness is a major source climate misinformation as well as carbon emissions. The analysis, published last month in Climatic Change, looks at the PR moves behind some of the world’s largest producers of meat and dairy,…

Climate Change Molly Taft

Molly Taft

Abandoned Oil Pipelines Are a Disaster Waiting to Happen in the Gulf of Mexico

The Future of Western Water Restrictions Is Here

A Just Transition In Appalachia May Start With Plugging Old Oil Wells

Photos Capture the Unfolding Volcano Crisis in St. Vincent

Researchers Created the Whitest White Paint Ever

The U.S. Can Get to All Electric Vehicles by 2035

Freak ‘Wake Low’ Storm Capsizes Vessel, Stirs Up Hurricane-Force Winds

Biden Is Following in Trump’s Footsteps When It Comes to Climate Lawsuits

Japan’s New Fukushima Plan: Dumping Radioactive Wastewater Into the Sea

Texas Wind Energy Set a Record—But Republicans Are Still Trying to Squash It

An Alaskan Glacier Has Started Moving Really, Really Fast

Big Oil Fed State Educators Stats Used to Push Back on Biden’s Climate Goals

California Could Require Uber and Lyft to Go Electric by 2030

Bolsonaro Oversaw a Connecticut-Sized Chunk of Deforestation in the Amazon Last Year

Methane Has Never Risen This Fast in the Atmosphere

Eagles Are Filled With Rat Poison

The Climate Deniers Regulating Texas Oil and Gas Have Somehow Avoided Blackout Scrutiny

How to Ensure Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Is Accessible to Everyone

More U.S. Coal Power Retired Under Trump Than in Obama’s Second Term

How Big Meat Is Funding Climate Denial and Polluting the Planet

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

Sun’s Latest Outburst Complicates Planned Launch of Artemis 2

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