Innovation

"Hygiene theater" generated tons of waste. Plastic Free July is our chance to fix it
Over the past 10 years, the Plastic Free Foundation has invited millions of people to take part in Plastic Free July. Started in Australia, this now-worldwide event challenges everyone to reduce their reliance on single-use plastics and re-think the…
By AJ Dellinger
3 Americans produce enough carbon emissions in their lifetimes to kill someone
By AJ Dellinger
There is a classic psychology thought experiment known as the trolley problem. The premise is this: there is a runaway train that is speeding toward five people down the track. On a different track is just one person. You have the ability to…
14,000 scientists warn of "untold suffering" if we fail to act on climate change
By AJ Dellinger
There are some phrases that should stop you in your tracks. The warning of a future that holds "untold suffering" is one of them. That is exactly what scientists from around the world are cautioning will happen if we don't take the threat of climate…
Just for the record, this lake in Patagonia is not supposed to be neon pink
By AJ Dellinger
The green in the eyes of greedy corporations dumping waste from their factories has environmentalists in Argentina seeing red, because one of their lakes has turned pink. The Corfo Lagoon, a body of water in the Patagonia region, recently took on a…
Wildfires are creating their own weather now, which is not great
By AJ Dellinger
Wildfires like the ones raging across the West coast of the United States can bring death, destruction, and degradation of the delicate balance of ecosystems. But these latest blazes are burning so intensely and growing so large that they are…
Amid daily reports of catastrophe, Americans are finally starting to realize climate change is bad
By AJ Dellinger
Maybe it's the entire decade straight of record-breaking temperatures, the sight of environmental devastation across the planet, or the multiple extreme weather events that are simultaneously plaguing different parts of the country, but Americans…
This is what it looks like when you've destroyed a planet
By AJ Dellinger
Remember the sudden heavy rain that caught New York City off guard and flooded the subway earlier this month? Something similar happened in Zhengzhou, China, on Wednesday, with absolutely devastating results. As rain poured from the sky and dams and…
Twitter quarantined Marjorie Taylor Greene for spreading a bunch of COVID misinformation
By AJ Dellinger
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, leader of the fictitious QAnon caucus and the somehow very real and weirdly fascistic America First Caucus, has turned her Twitter feed into a misinformation super-spreader site, so Twitter has quarantined her. On…
For a blessed 11 minutes, Jeff Bezos was not on Earth. Here's what he missed
By AJ Dellinger
On Tuesday morning, Amazon founder, world's richest man, and professional tax dodger Jeff Bezos went to space. Well, the edge of space, at least. Joined by his younger brother, the 18-year-old son of a private equity firm's CEO, and 82-year-old…
Much of the American West is on fire. Again
By Vanessa Taylor
This summer, the weather throughout the United States has been defined by extremes, as 30 cities started off with record high temperatures. But while hot weather is one thing, fire is another entirely. And currently, wildfires are blazing on the…
Heat waves are killing baby birds by forcing them to flee their nests before they can fly
By AJ Dellinger
In the early 1900s, coal miners would bring canaries with them into the mines to serve as warning signals: If the tiny birds perished, it was an indicator that toxic gases like carbon monoxide were leaking in the tunnels. A century later, we have a…
Conservative grifters are selling a cheap Chinese smartphone as a solution to Big Tech censorship
By AJ Dellinger
Apple and Google essentially have a duopoly over the smartphone market and use their dominance to their own benefit, stifling competition and milking money out of creators for the privilege of operating within their restrictive platforms. This is a…
"Hygiene theater" generated tons of waste. Plastic Free July is our chance to fix it
By AJ Dellinger
Over the past 10 years, the Plastic Free Foundation has invited millions of people to take part in Plastic Free July. Started in Australia, this now-worldwide event challenges everyone to reduce their reliance on single-use plastics and re-think the…
I watched Spike Lee's cryptocurrency ad so you don't have to
By AJ Dellinger
Good news: A new Spike Lee joint just dropped. Bad news: It's an advertisement for a Bitcoin ATM. For some seemingly inexplicable reason (probably a fat paycheck), the legendary director was tapped to try to recreate the magic that he was able to…
Mississippi has the lowest vaccination rate in the country, and Facebook isn't helping
By Vanessa Taylor
When the coronavirus vaccines first dropped, many people were hopeful that the pandemic would come to a quick end. But unfortunately, the misinformation that has run rampant since the pandemic began didn't just go away. As social media continues to…
Bernie has no time for the Senate's ridiculous rules, there's an Earth to save
By AJ Dellinger
The procedural rules of the United States Senate are often complicated and arcane. That's fine, sort of, under ideal circumstances, but we're in the middle of a climate crisis and Bernie Sanders simply doesn't have time for that shit. On Wednesday,…
New study confirms we're right on time for a complete societal collapse
By AJ Dellinger
In 1972, scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology made a bold prediction. By developing a scientific model that considered the way that humans and the planet interact with each other, the researchers determined that society was…
This goldfish is an absolute unit and we're all to blame
By AJ Dellinger
Goldfish are often (and unfortunately) given away as prizes at fairs and carnivals, but here's an instance of a goldfish serving as the reward for everybody's favorite challenge: "Play stupid games, win stupid prizes." The city of Burnsville,…
Your Most Embarrassing Googled Sex Questions, Finally Answered By Experts
By Kate Hakala
If there's one thing humans are confused about, it's sex. While we could discuss the topic with doctors, friends, teachers and  — most importantly — our partners, the truth is most of us don't. Instead, we leave our most intimate late-night musings…
Death Valley set a new record-high temperature. But the daily lows are more concerning
By AJ Dellinger
News flash: It is hot, and unprecedentedly so. Previous record high temperatures are getting broken nearly every single day across the country — particularly out West, where an ongoing heat wave is taking its toll. This is especially true in Death…
New York City's flooded subways are a preview of the hell to come
By AJ Dellinger
On Thursday, heavy rainfall hammered New York City in the lead up to the arrival of Tropical Storm Elsa. The skies opened up and dumped more than 2.25 inches of water on the city in a matter of hours, according to AccuWeather. While New York City is…