Share this:This article is also available in audio format. Listen now, , or subscribe to “Hakai Magazine Audio Edition” through your favorite podcast app.Here, it seems, is where utopia will begin: in a dusty, oversized garage. The place has a distinct chemical odor, unmistakably synthetic. It holds a few scattered shelves and tables, and, laid on its side, one barrel of resin—the source of the stink. Otherwise, this room in northern Panama, separated from the sea by a dirt parking lot and thin band of jungle, is empty, awaiting Chad Elwartowski’s dreams.Elwartowski is dressed, per his...…Share this:This article is also available in audio format. Listen now, , or subscribe to “Hakai Magazine Audio Edition” through your favorite podcast app.Here, it seems, is where utopia will begin: in a dusty, oversized garage. The place has a distinct chemical odor, unmistakably synthetic. It holds a few scattered shelves and tables, and, laid on its side, one barrel of resin—the source of the stink. Otherwise, this room in northern Panama, separated from the sea by a dirt parking lot and thin band of jungle, is empty, awaiting Chad Elwartowski’s dreams.Elwartowski is dressed, per his...WW…

Resigella bilocularis is a single-celled foraminifera discovered in the Mariana Trench that contains magnetite, a material used by many species to sense magnetic fields. Photo by Andrew Gooday and Hiroshi KitazatoShare this:In 2018, Yang Hao was a graduate student looking for cosmic dust in seafloor sediments collected from the Mariana Trench. Scouring the deepest part of the ocean, he was hoping to learn more about the origin of life on Earth and the role interstellar material may have played in sparking it. While prodding a bit of seafloor sediment with a magnetic needle, part of hunting...…Resigella bilocularis is a single-celled foraminifera discovered in the Mariana Trench that contains magnetite, a material used by many species to sense magnetic fields. Photo by Andrew Gooday and Hiroshi KitazatoShare this:In 2018, Yang Hao was a graduate student looking for cosmic dust in seafloor sediments collected from the Mariana Trench. Scouring the deepest part of the ocean, he was hoping to learn more about the origin of life on Earth and the role interstellar material may have played in sparking it. While prodding a bit of seafloor sediment with a magnetic needle, part of hunting...WW…

Near the community of Selsey, England, saltwater marsh and other coastal ecosystems have been allowed to reclaim what was farmland and is now known as the Medmerry Nature Reserve. Photo by Gillian Pullinger/Alamy Stock PhotoShare this:As climate-fueled floods and droughts wreak havoc around the world, a hard truth is emerging: sooner or later, water always wins. But these devastating water extremes are not just due to climate change. They are made much worse by our poor development choices aimed at controlling water. The following excerpt is from the book Water Always Wins, in which Hakai...…Near the community of Selsey, England, saltwater marsh and other coastal ecosystems have been allowed to reclaim what was farmland and is now known as the Medmerry Nature Reserve. Photo by Gillian Pullinger/Alamy Stock PhotoShare this:As climate-fueled floods and droughts wreak havoc around the world, a hard truth is emerging: sooner or later, water always wins. But these devastating water extremes are not just due to climate change. They are made much worse by our poor development choices aimed at controlling water. The following excerpt is from the book Water Always Wins, in which Hakai...WW…

In the Mediterranean Sea, ship strikes are the leading cause of death for sperm whales. Photo by Hiroya Minakuchi/Minden PicturesShare this:In the Mediterranean Sea, a prototype whale detection system can use the clicks of a sperm whale to pinpoint its location in three-dimensional space with an accuracy of 30 to 40 meters—only a body length or two for these 16-meter-long whales. In tests using both artificial pings and the sounds emanating from real sperm whales, that the system can provide enough notice for a nearby ship to change direction or slow down when a whale is in its path.The...…In the Mediterranean Sea, ship strikes are the leading cause of death for sperm whales. Photo by Hiroya Minakuchi/Minden PicturesShare this:In the Mediterranean Sea, a prototype whale detection system can use the clicks of a sperm whale to pinpoint its location in three-dimensional space with an accuracy of 30 to 40 meters—only a body length or two for these 16-meter-long whales. In tests using both artificial pings and the sounds emanating from real sperm whales, that the system can provide enough notice for a nearby ship to change direction or slow down when a whale is in its path.The...WW…

The Ainu, the Indigenous people of Japan, have fought Japanese domination for centuries. As this century unfolds, their efforts are finally paying off. Photo by Chris Willson/Alamy Stock PhotoShare this:This article is also available in audio format. Listen now, , or subscribe to “Hakai Magazine Audio Edition” through your favorite podcast app.Itek eoirapnene. (You must not forget this story.)—Tekatte, Ainu grandmother, to her grandson Shigeru KayanoThe bear head is small. Cradled in Hirofumi Kato’s outstretched palm, its mouth a curving gap in bone, the little carving could be a child’s...…The Ainu, the Indigenous people of Japan, have fought Japanese domination for centuries. As this century unfolds, their efforts are finally paying off. Photo by Chris Willson/Alamy Stock PhotoShare this:This article is also available in audio format. Listen now, , or subscribe to “Hakai Magazine Audio Edition” through your favorite podcast app.Itek eoirapnene. (You must not forget this story.)—Tekatte, Ainu grandmother, to her grandson Shigeru KayanoThe bear head is small. Cradled in Hirofumi Kato’s outstretched palm, its mouth a curving gap in bone, the little carving could be a child’s...WW…

Grizzlies in coastal areas are swimming to islands in search of new habitat. Photo by Eric Baccega/NPL/Minden PicturesShare this:This article is also available in audio format. Listen now, , or subscribe to “Hakai Magazine Audio Edition” through your favorite podcast app.A bear emerges from dense vegetation and pauses on the shore. It’s early spring, and the young grizzly has only recently roused from hibernation, ravenous and driven. He lifts his head and gazes out across the falling tide to the opposite shore, where forested slopes are close enough to make out individual trees. The bear...…Grizzlies in coastal areas are swimming to islands in search of new habitat. Photo by Eric Baccega/NPL/Minden PicturesShare this:This article is also available in audio format. Listen now, , or subscribe to “Hakai Magazine Audio Edition” through your favorite podcast app.A bear emerges from dense vegetation and pauses on the shore. It’s early spring, and the young grizzly has only recently roused from hibernation, ravenous and driven. He lifts his head and gazes out across the falling tide to the opposite shore, where forested slopes are close enough to make out individual trees. The bear...WW…

In early 2020, fish hatcheries in California started noticing abnormal behavior and high mortality in their salmon fry, leading to concerns that a disruption in the marine ecosystem may be affecting the transmission of thiamine, a critical nutrient, from females to their eggs (shown hatching here) and subsequently to juvenile fish. Photo by Randall Benton/Sacramento Bee/Zuma Press/Alamy Stock PhotoShare this:Disoriented little fish caught the attention of staff members at the Coleman National Fish Hatchery in Red Bluff, California, in early January 2020. Looking down into the outdoor tanks,...…In early 2020, fish hatcheries in California started noticing abnormal behavior and high mortality in their salmon fry, leading to concerns that a disruption in the marine ecosystem may be affecting the transmission of thiamine, a critical nutrient, from females to their eggs (shown hatching here) and subsequently to juvenile fish. Photo by Randall Benton/Sacramento Bee/Zuma Press/Alamy Stock PhotoShare this:Disoriented little fish caught the attention of staff members at the Coleman National Fish Hatchery in Red Bluff, California, in early January 2020. Looking down into the outdoor tanks,...WW…

Common bottlenose dolphins can form close bonds that last for decades. Photo by Blue Planet Archive/Doug PerrineShare this:Dolphins are among the most social creatures in the animal kingdom, with relationships so complex that they’re often compared to those of primates. But a certain primate—humans—can disrupt dolphin bonds.According to , a dolphin that’s been injured by a boat or fishing gear faces social consequences—in the most striking cases, the injured dolphin is cut off from some of its closest peers.For 50 years, scientists with the Sarasota Dolphin Research Program (SDRP) have been...…Common bottlenose dolphins can form close bonds that last for decades. Photo by Blue Planet Archive/Doug PerrineShare this:Dolphins are among the most social creatures in the animal kingdom, with relationships so complex that they’re often compared to those of primates. But a certain primate—humans—can disrupt dolphin bonds.According to , a dolphin that’s been injured by a boat or fishing gear faces social consequences—in the most striking cases, the injured dolphin is cut off from some of its closest peers.For 50 years, scientists with the Sarasota Dolphin Research Program (SDRP) have been...WW…

Commercial fishing is physically demanding, and, at times, dangerous. But challenges in the industry—resulting from injury, trauma, economic uncertainty, and more—also impact fishermen’s mental health. Photo by Jeff Rotman/Alamy Stock PhotoShare this:This article is also available in audio format. Listen now, , or subscribe to “Hakai Magazine Audio Edition” through your favorite podcast app.Watch the recording of our webinar “” for more on this topic.In 2005, Randy Cushman spent two days trolling through the Gulf of Maine, searching for Gary Thorbjornson’s body. Thorbjornson was family—not...…Commercial fishing is physically demanding, and, at times, dangerous. But challenges in the industry—resulting from injury, trauma, economic uncertainty, and more—also impact fishermen’s mental health. Photo by Jeff Rotman/Alamy Stock PhotoShare this:This article is also available in audio format. Listen now, , or subscribe to “Hakai Magazine Audio Edition” through your favorite podcast app.Watch the recording of our webinar “” for more on this topic.In 2005, Randy Cushman spent two days trolling through the Gulf of Maine, searching for Gary Thorbjornson’s body. Thorbjornson was family—not...WW…