Climate change

California Is Burning: 20,000-Acre Fire Rages On Uncontained, Forcing Thousands to Evacuate

In case we needed another reminded that climate change is burning up the planet, California officials reported this weekend that a fire in Cherry Valley has burned through 20,516 acres of land and is currently not contained. The Apple Fire, located in Riverside County, about 75 miles east of Los Angeles, began on Friday and…

Earther Jody Serrano Aug 2

Vertical Farms Could Grow All the Wheat We Need—But at a Cost

For years, vertical farming has captured headlines, including on this very website. A new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on Monday shows the practice could revolutionize the world’s ability to grow wheat. The global population eats a lot of wheat. It’s the most widely grown crop in the world, and…

Earther Dharna Noor Jul 27

A 14,000-Year-Old Human Poop and the Best Human Brain Alternative: Best Gizmodo Stories of the Week

Sometimes, the world is just so unbelievable that it’s hard to find words to describe it. In those situations, since I have no words, I look for the next best thing: something to make me laugh. And I don’t know if it’s because I communicate very well with my inner child or what, but there…

Tech News Jody Serrano Jul 20

To Really Cut Carbon Emissions, Stop Building New Roads

The UK has big plans for electric vehicles. It aims to phase out of sales of all fossil fuel-run cars by 2035 in an effort to lower carbon pollution. But there’s another source of emissions that could wipe out most of the gains: new roads. Earlier this year, researchers found that the shift to all-electric…

Climate Change Dharna Noor Jul 10

Volcanic Eruption in Alaska May Have Sparked Political Turmoil in Ancient Rome

An unusually powerful volcanic eruption in 43 BCE has been linked to political upheaval on the other side of the globe, including the fall of the Roman Republic and the Ptolemaic Kingdom. Julius Caesar was assassinated by a group of rebellious senators in 44 BCE, triggering a chain of events that led to the demise…

Human History George Dvorsky Jun 24

A Record Number of Bees Died Last Summer

It’s been a bad year for bees. According to the preliminary results of the University of Maryland’s annual survey, U.S. beekeepers lost 43.7% of their honey bees from April 2019 to April 2020. That’s the second highest rate of decline the researchers’ have observed since they started the survey in 2006. Striking summertime losses drove…

Conservation Dharna Noor Jun 22

It Was 100 Degrees in Siberia Today. Yes, That Siberia

A freak heatwave has been scorching most of the Arctic for weeks now, but it broke records Saturday when the temperature hit 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit in a town in Siberia, one of Russia’s northernmost regions. It’s likely the hottest temperature ever recorded north of the Arctic Circle, CBS meteorologist Jeff Berardelli wrote on Twitter, though…

Earther Alyse Stanley Jun 20

Siberian Officials Say Huge Diesel Spill Has Reached a Sensitive Arctic Lake

A major diesel spill from a power plant in Siberia has reached a fragile freshwater lake that leads to the Arctic Ocean, according to regional officials. That could create an ecological catastrophe. Speaking to reporters earlier this week, Krasnoyarsk Territory Governor Alexander Uss said the spilled fuel has reached Lake Pyasino. “This is a beautiful…

Earther George Dvorsky Jun 10

These Weird-Ass Sea Creatures Live In ‘Snot Palaces’ That Capture Carbon

Imagine the grossest home you’ve ever been to. Your beer-can littered college dorm room? The apartment of an ex-boyfriend who slept on a smelly, stained mattress on the floor? No matter what you’re thinking of, giant larvaceans’ homes probably top it. These transparent marine invertebrates are related to plankton and look like giant tadpoles, with…

Earther Dharna Noor Jun 8

Your Phone’s Hidden Data, the Dangers of Tear Gas, and Cowboy Bebop: Best Gizmodo Stories of the Week

I don’t know about y’all, but there’s been a lot going on in recent days. While my brain is intent on learning about the battles of 2020, including the ones against coronavirus and for racial justice, sometimes it just needs a break from the news. During those times, I binge on TV for a while.…

Tech News Jody Serrano Jun 7

Alberta Energy Minister Says the Pandemic Is a ‘Great Time’ to Build Pipeline Due to Limits on Protests

The energy minister of the Canadian province of Alberta, Sonya Savage, told listeners to an oil trade association podcast that the coronavirus pandemic was the perfect time to move forward with the construction of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion due to bans on large protests, the Canadian Press reported. Savage also commented that the pandemic…

Earther Tom McKay May 26

Migratory Birds Are Failing to Adapt to Climate Change

New research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on Tuesday shows that the climate crisis may be seriously messing with North American birds’ migration patterns, and the consequences could be dire. The researchers examined monitoring data from the North American Breeding Bird Survey, which biologists started in the 1960s in response…

Climate Change Dharna Noor May 26

Snowpiercer‘s Showrunner Hopes the Show Will Provide Timely Insight Into Modern Traumas

Snowpiercer, like a lot of stories about ecological disaster and social stratification in the face of disaster, feels increasingly relevant as time goes on. The newest iteration of the story, in the form of TNT’s upcoming TV show, feels particularly well timed. And its showrunner hopes that timing turns out to be valuable. In an…

io9 Julie Muncy May 16

Researchers Accidentally Got High on Laughing Gas From Penguin Poop

When studying penguins, there’s a surprise you’ve gotta watch out for: the laughing gas produced by their poop. Researchers based in Denmark and China were studying the effects of retreating glaciers and the accompanying surge in penguins on greenhouse gas levels on South Georgia Island. It turns out that climate change is kicking off a…

Biology Ryan F. Mandelbaum May 15

Looming Landslide in Alaska Could Trigger Enormous Tsunami at Any Moment, Scientists Warn

The collapse of an unstable mountain slope in Alaska could trigger a catastrophic tsunami in Harriman Fjord. A retreating glacier is producing this precarious situation, highlighting yet another type of hazard caused by climate change. An open letter signed by 14 experts in landslides, tsunamis, and climate change describes an unstable mountain slope above the…

Earther George Dvorsky May 15

Cold War Nuclear Testing May Have Caused Extra Rain Around the World

A new study has found that nuclear radiation during Cold War-era weapons testing could have induced significant short-term changes in the amount of rainfall far across the globe.. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Weather is just an extremely complex physics experiment, with tons of variables that are hard of keep track…

Physics & Chemistry Ryan F. Mandelbaum May 13

TNT’s Snowpiercer Is Like an Apocalyptic Law & Order Spin-Off Set on a Train

TNT’s adaptation ofSnowpiercer chugs along similar narrative tracks as both Bong Joon-ho’s film of the same name and Jacques Lob and Jean-Marc Rochette’s graphic novel Le Transperceneige, which inspired both live-action stories. Within moments of the TV series’ premiere episode, though, you can see that it’s a train speeding in its own distinct direction in order…

Television Charles Pulliam-Moore May 11

Plan Your Escape to Another Dimension With May’s New Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books

May is traditionally a pretty robust month for book releases, but as you can probably guess, 2020’s selection is a little slimmer than usual. Several titles that were due this month have shifted to later dates, for obvious reasons—but despite everything, we still have tons of new sci-fi and fantasy to share. Dig in! Aurora…

Books & Comics Cheryl Eddy Apr 30

Melting Ice Exposes Mountain Pass Used by Vikings, Including Ancient Dog and Leash

Archaeologists in central Norway have uncovered evidence of a heavily traveled mountain passageway that was used during the Viking Age. Hundreds of beautifully preserved items were found atop a melting glacier, in a discovery that was, sadly, made possible by global warming. New research published today in Antiquity describes a forgotten mountain pass at Lendbreen,…

Human History George Dvorsky Apr 15

This Is What the Chernobyl Wildfires Look Like From Space

Chernobyl is still on fire. Satellite images captured Thursday by Planet Labs show wildfires inching closer to the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine. The fires first started Saturday inside the 1,000-square mile exclusion zone centered around the plant, which suffered a massive explosion in 1986. Radiation levels spiked to 16 times higher than normal…

Conservation Yessenia Funes Apr 10

California Is Burning: 20,000-Acre Fire Rages On Uncontained, Forcing Thousands to Evacuate

Vertical Farms Could Grow All the Wheat We Need—But at a Cost

A 14,000-Year-Old Human Poop and the Best Human Brain Alternative: Best Gizmodo Stories of the Week

To Really Cut Carbon Emissions, Stop Building New Roads

Volcanic Eruption in Alaska May Have Sparked Political Turmoil in Ancient Rome

A Record Number of Bees Died Last Summer

It Was 100 Degrees in Siberia Today. Yes, That Siberia

Siberian Officials Say Huge Diesel Spill Has Reached a Sensitive Arctic Lake

These Weird-Ass Sea Creatures Live In ‘Snot Palaces’ That Capture Carbon

Your Phone’s Hidden Data, the Dangers of Tear Gas, and Cowboy Bebop: Best Gizmodo Stories of the Week

Alberta Energy Minister Says the Pandemic Is a ‘Great Time’ to Build Pipeline Due to Limits on Protests

Migratory Birds Are Failing to Adapt to Climate Change

Snowpiercer‘s Showrunner Hopes the Show Will Provide Timely Insight Into Modern Traumas

Researchers Accidentally Got High on Laughing Gas From Penguin Poop

Looming Landslide in Alaska Could Trigger Enormous Tsunami at Any Moment, Scientists Warn

Cold War Nuclear Testing May Have Caused Extra Rain Around the World

TNT’s Snowpiercer Is Like an Apocalyptic Law & Order Spin-Off Set on a Train

Plan Your Escape to Another Dimension With May’s New Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books

Melting Ice Exposes Mountain Pass Used by Vikings, Including Ancient Dog and Leash

This Is What the Chernobyl Wildfires Look Like From Space

FCC Exempts Netgear from Foreign-Made Router Ban for Some Reason

Jamie Dornan Is Your New Aragorn in ‘The Hunt for Gollum’

Trump’s Fed Pick Is Knee Deep in Tech and Crypto Investments

The First Trailer for ‘Godzilla Minus Zero’ Takes Terror Stateside

The Trump Phone Still Looks Like Total Trash

‘Masters of the Universe’ Really, Really Wants to Be the Next ‘Barbie’

Samsung’s Micro RGB TVs Provide So Much Color It May Be Too Much

The Crypto Bros Want to Get Their Hands on Anthropic’s ‘Super Dangerous’ Model

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

AirPods Max 2 vs. Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen): Which ANC Headphones Win?

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