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Last Saturday, more than six million people held their breath as Alex Honnold took his first step up Taipei 101. The Free Solo climber, who went on to ascend Taiwans tallest building without the safety of a rope and harness, drew crowds all around the building, as well as on Netflix, where the ascent was live-streamed as part of a show called Skyscraper Live. Some of these people had likely already watched Honnold scale the 3,000-foot rock wall of Yosemites El Capitan. But for many, the climber’s ascent up a man-made structure was likely an introduction to an altogether different kind of climbing: not on the face of a cliff, but the side of a building. This type of sport is called buildering (from bouldering, to climb boulders) and it has been happening for more than a century. Taipei 101 [Photo: Eagan Hsu/Unsplash] From rock to concrete For decades, the ultimate challenge for climbers was nature itself. Modern rock climbing took shape in the late 19th century, when alpinists ventured beyond traditional mountaineering and onto steeper, more technical cliffs. By the mid-20th century, climbers embraced free climbing, meaning they relied on their hands and feet to move upward while using ropes only as a safety backup in case of a fall. Then, in the ’70s and ’80s, free-soloists like John Bachar pushed the sport to its extreme, stripping away the rope entirely and turning every move into a high-stakes commitment. Now, buildings are the next challenge, says 70-year-old American climber Dan Goodwin, who has climbed a dozen buildings, including the North Tower of the World Trade Center in Manhattan, and Millenium Tower in San Francisco. Today, more than half of the worlds population lives in cities, and the majority of climbers train in gyms. They get out of the gym and what are they looking at? High rises, says Goodwin. But climbing a building isnt the same as climbing the face of a mountain. With rock climbing, every move is different, but climbing a building calls for repetition, which Goodwin says attacks the muscle. Hips cramp, shoulders start to burn: It gets real quick, and I want to start educating people about how dangerous it is. Dan Goodwin climbs Simon Bolivar Tower in Caracas, Venezuela, before a large crowd for television company Venevision. February, 1982. [Photo: Private Collection] A brief history of buildering The thought of scaling the face of a building may send the average person into a tizzy, but people have been climbing buildings for almost as long as there have been buildings to climb. The earliest documented example dates back to 1901, when British alpinist Geoffrey Winthrop-Young anonymously published The Roof-Climbers Guide to Trinity College, mapping the architecture of the campus as a series of climbing routes. Some decades later, human flies like George Polley and Harry Gardiner scaled buildings in cities like New York City and Boston. Dan Goodwin climbing the CN Tower in Toronto, 1986. [Photo: David Cooper/Toronto Star/ Getty Images] By the 1980s and 90s, buildering had entered mainstream with televised (not live) ascents by SpiderDan Goodwin, and French climber Alain Robert, who went on to scale the Empire State Building, with no rope, and the Burj Khalifa with a safety rope and harness. (While Roberts was the first to ascend Taipei 101, Honnold was the first to do it rope-free.) Over the course of those years, buildings have changed drastically. According to Youngs original guide, buildings with good holds featured recessed window frames, narrow chimneys, and continuous parapetsarchitectural quirks that made climbing easier. With the advent of steel and concrete construction, many of these features disappeared in favor of sleek glass curtain walls, and climbing buildings became so much harder that some climbers have resorted to aids like suction cups and sky hookssmall devices that help climbers hang off tiny edgesto scale smooth facades. Goodwin was one of those climbers. In 1981, he climbed Chicagos Sears Tower (now known as the Willis Tower) using suction cups and sky hooks. As climbers, we would prefer relying on our physical strength than on a suction cup, he told me. I almost died because of my suction cups. But architecture dictates everything, as Goodwin put it, and the tower had no suitable hand or foot holds. Plus, the climber had recently been issued a challenge he had to rise to. In 1980, a fire engulfed the MGM Grand fire in Las Vegas and killed 85 people after smoke spread rapidly through the building. Goodwin was deeply affected by the fire, and as he watched firefighters struggle to reach people trapped on upper floors, he argued that climbers could be trained to scale skyscrapers during emergencies. When a local fire marshal dismissed the idea and challenged him to climb a building himself, Goodwin took it literallyand went on to climb the Sears Tower, then the tallest building in the world. That conversation changed my life, he says. Goodwin, whose memoir, Untethered, is set to come out in the spring, went on to climb over a dozen buildings around the world, including the CN Tower in Toronto, which he climbed in 1986twice in the same dayusing only his hands and feet. The hardest climbs, he said, were those with slick glass that called for suction cups. The easiest were buildings with clearly defined features. Taipei 101, with its stacked, bamboo-like segments and decorative dragon heads, fits into the latter category. So many beautiful handhold features, he says. Alex Honnold on top of Taipei 101. January, 2026. The next era of buildering Perhaps these complications are the reason why, after more than 100 years of existence, the sport today remains dominated by just a few big namesfrom legacy figures like Robert and Goodwin, to younger climbers like the 26-year-old George King, who famously climbed The Shard in 2019 before base jumping off the top, and Honnold, whose career focused on rock climbing before he took on Taipei 101. British skyscraper climber George King as he leaves HM Prison Pentonville in north London on January, 2020, on his release from imprisonment after free-climbing the London skyscraper, The Shard. [Photo: Daniel Leal/AFP/Getty Images] Today, the buildering community remains small. In fact, according to Andy Day, a climber and photographer who wrote a paper on buildering in 2017, to call it a community would be generous. Its a more niche, sub-cultural level of interest, he says, noting interest has largely ebbed and flowed over the years. The discipline required to do what someone like Alain Roberts or Alex Honnold do is just so unique that its not going to happen very often, he told me, adding, with a laugh, that there are enough well-equipped gyms serving hot coffee to keep climbers satisfied. But “SpiderDan” believes Honnolds live-streamed climb might usher in a new era for urban climbers. I know every climber is going to be walking through cities now and looking at what buildings they could climb, he says. Honnoldwho kicked off his ascent with a casual nod to the camera and ended it 91 minutes later with a low-key sick!made his climb look like a walk in the park. But Goodwin knows urban climbers need the same regulations as rock climbers, so he is now working on a separate book in the hopes of making urban climbing safer. We need to come up with standards, and ethics, and rules that govern future generations, he says, because you think youre the only ones right now, but I know other people climbing buildings, and in the next year or two, I wouldnt be surprised if we see fifty to 100 ascents.
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Snow has returned to the Philadelphia region, and along with it, the white residues on streets and sidewalks that result from the overapplication of deicers such as sodium chloride, or rock salt, as well as more modern salt alternatives. As an environmental scientist who studies water pollution, I know that much of the excess salt flows into storm drains and ultimately into area streams and rivers. For example, a citizen science stream monitoring campaign led by the Stroud Water Research Center in Chester County (about 40 miles west of Philadelphia) found that chloride concentrations in southeastern Pennsylvania streams remained higher than levels recommended by the Environmental Protection Agency not only after winter snowfalls but also in many cases during some summer monthsshowing salt persists in watersheds year-round. Once there, it can have a profound impact on fish and other aquatic life. This includes a decrease in the abundance of macroinvertebrates, which are small organisms that form the base of many freshwater food webs, and reductions in growth and reproduction in fish. Increased salt concentrations can also degrade and pollute the local water supply. Working with other researchers at Villanova University, I have measured spikes in sodium levels in Philadelphia region tap water during and immediately after snow melts. These spikes can pose a health risk to people on low-sodium diets. What local governments can do In recent years, many state and local governments nationwide have adopted best management practicessuch as roadway brining, more efficient salt spreaders, and improved storm forecastingto limit damage from salt to infrastructure, including roads and bridges. Roadway brining works by applying a salt solution, or brine, that contains about 23% sodium chloride by weight prior to a storm. Unlike road salt, brines adhere to all pavement and can prevent ice from sticking to the roadway during the storm. This potentially reduces the need for subsequent road salt applications. The environmental benefits of these best practices, when properly administered, are promising. The Maryland State Highway Administration reduced its total salt usage on roadways by almost 50% by using multiple best practices. The extent to which these strategies will continue to reduce the salt burden on roads and, by extension, improve the water quality of streams elsewhere will largely depend on political will and corresponding economic investments. Yet, roads are not the only source of salt to our streams. Recent studies have suggested that the cumulative amount of salt applied to other impervious surfaces in a watershed, such as parking lots, driveways, and sidewalks, can exceed that applied to roads. For example, one survey of private contractors suggests their application rate can be up to 10 times higher than that of transportation departments. I do not know of any studies that have been able to determine a household application rate. How to salt at home To better understand how individuals or households deice their properties, and what they know about the environmental impacts of deicing, I collaborated with a team of environmental scientists and psychologists at Villanova University and the local conservation-focused nonprofit Lower Merion Conservancy. In winter 2024-2025, the Lower Merion Conservancy disseminated a survey in a social media campaign that received more than 300 responses from residents in southeastern Pennsylvania. We are completing the analysis to determine a household application rate, but some of our initial findings provide a starting point for engaging households on how to limit the environmental impact of deicers. One key finding is that only 7% of respondents reported being aware of municipal ordinances regarding deicer use on residential sidewalks. Of those who applied deicers to their property, 55% indicated they were unsure whether they used them in a way that would reduce environmental harm. About 80% of all respondents indicated interest in learning more about the environmental impacts of road salt. Based on these survey results, here are several actionable steps that homeowners can take to reduce their deicer use. 1. Check your local municipal ordinance. Most municipalities in the greater Philadelphia area do not require deicer use but instead require clearing a walkable pathin most cases, 3 feet widefree of snow and ice within a certain time frame after a storm event ends. For example, the city of Philadelphia requires this to be done within six hours, the borough of Narberth within 12 hours and Lower Merion and Haverford townships within 24 hours. Narberth and Lower Merion specify which abrasivessuch as sand, ashes, and sawdustor deicers, like rock salt, can be used if ice persists. 2. Use rock salt and other deicers judiciously. The recommended amount from conservation organizations is one 12-ounce coffee mug of deicer for every 10 sidewalk squares. Keep in mind that pet-friendly deicers are not necessarily environmentally friendly. Many of these deicers contain magnesium chloride, which is harmful to plants and aquatic life. Deicers coupled with dyes might be a good choice to visually prevent over-application. They can also temporarily reduce concretes surface reflectivity, thereby increasing its warming effect and enabling melting. inally, its important to know that many deicers become ineffective at or below certain temperatures. Rock salt/sodium chloride loses its effectiveness at 15 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 9 Celsius), magnesium chloride at 5 F (minus 15 C) and calcium chloride at minus 20 F (minus 29 C). If temperatures are expected to fall below those numbers, it might make sense to skip the salt. 3. Sweep up after. We have all seen rock salt on sidewalks for days on end, especially when a storm never materializes. If the next storm brings rain, this leftover salt will form a concentrated brine solution that will wash down the nearest storm drain and into a local waterway. Leftover salt can be swept up and reapplied after the next storm event, saving money and supplies. Read more of our stories about Philadelphia and Pennsylvania, or sign up for our Philadelphia newsletter on Substack. Steven Goldsmith is an associate professor of environmental science at Villanova University. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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You probably know filmmaker and actor Taika Waititi from directing work like the Marvel movie Thor: Ragnarok or the Oscar award-winning film Jojo Rabbit. What you might not know is that hes also the creative mind behind multiple Old Spice ads, a bout of early 2010s PSAs for his home country of New Zealand, and some of the most iconic Super Bowl commercials of all time. From the early days of his career, between directing short films and appearing in acting gigs, Waititi has kept up a consistent cadence of ad work, ranging from spots for local names like the New Zealand Transport Agency to bigger brands like Samsung. Even as his Hollywood work has expanded, ad work remains a consistent part of his creative churn. In 2025, Waititi directed three different spots for the Super Bowl. This year, hes returning to Americas biggest game with a new spot for Pepsi. Waititi says he keeps coming back to the Super Bowl for the same reason hes done ad work for decades: it keeps his creative muscles firing. Selfishly, Ive used the world of making commercials as my filmmaking gym, he says. Inside Pepsi’s new Super Bowl spot Waititis 2026 return to the Super Bowl comes via a Pepsi spot titled The Choice, set to Queens I Want to Break Free. The ad carries on Pepsis long tradition of lightheartedly bashing its main rival, Coca-Cola, by signaling the superiority of its colas taste. This time, Pepsi turned to one of Coca-Colas most iconic symbols as the star of its new Cola War spot: the Coca-Cola polar bear. I feel like I’ve been watching the [Cola Wars] all my life, and so it was pretty fun just to take part in that and because it’s an iconic relationship that they’ve got, Waititi says. He adds that the spots bear-centric storyline was already established before he joined the project, and that my main job when it comes to these things is just to help solidify the tone, carry that through, and make sure that it’s fun and watchable. The bear has appeared in Coca-Colas advertising as far back as 1922, including in some of its most beloved Christmas ads. In The Choice, hes faced with the reality that he actually prefers Pepsi over Coke after conducting a blind taste-test of the two sodas. The realization drives him to his therapist (played by Waititi himself), before he ultimately breaks free from Coca-Cola and enjoys a Pepsi in, weirdly enough, a parody of the viral Coldplay kiss cam moment from last summer. Why ads are Taika Waititi’s creative gym Before Waititi ever became a household name, many of his clever, absurdist spots had already cemented themselves in the canon of advertising acclaim. Along the way, those projects were quietly shaping his creative voice and informing his larger projects. In 2008, Waititi directed a series of ads for Pot Noodle, including one surrealist spot called Moussaka Rap, a loosely Eminem-inspired song about the Greek casserole. In 2011, he tackled another rap video for Sour Patch Kids and an underwater ballad for Cadbury. His first big break in the ad worldand one of his most recognizable spots to this daywas NBCs 2012 Super Bowl bash Brotherhood of Man, which featured talent from on-air shows at the time like The Office and Parks and Recreation (as well as a now cringe-inducing cameo from The Apprentices Donald Trump), and which had such a fraught production that its inspired entire think pieces. What I remember about that was just how fun it was to visit all of these different TV shows and work with all of these people, Waititi says, adding with a laugh, Let’s not talk about everyone that I worked on that with. Waititi took a hiatus from the big game to produce iconic spots like Air New Zealand’s 2014 Lord of the Rings-inspired “The Most Epic Safety Video Ever Made, featuring Elijah Wood; and a 2018 series of heavy hitters for Old Spice. By the time he returned to directing for the Super Bowl in 2025, Waititi was both an Oscar and Grammy winner. His spots last yeara heartstring-pulling ad for Lay’s, two shorts for Homes.com featuring Morgan Freeman, and a brain-rottingly ridiculous ad for Mountain Dew starring humanoid sealswere all met with a hearty dose of acclaim. For Waititi, ad direction isnt just a side gig; its a tool thats shaped his career. In the periods between filming larger projects, he uses commercials to test new jokes, try out character ideas, experiment with VFX, and work on new camera and lighting techniques. If he feels like theyre really good, he says, he can use them in a film at some point down the road. It’s fun to play with the creative space, and it’s not as risky for me when I’m making commercials, Wititi says. It’s just kind of a play space, reallya nice big sandpit.
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