Sam Illingworth

Sam is a Professor in Creative Pedagogies. His research is concerned with trying to engage and empower people with science, especially those from under-served communities. He writes science poems to try and communicate some of the beautiful and important scientific research that is being done on a daily basis, all across the world.
Close-up image of a 10-year-old boy’s upper teeth, showing a large dark cavity in a decayed tooth near the front of the mouth. The surrounding gums appear pink and healthy, but the affected tooth has a significant area of blackened enamel and structural damage, indicating advanced dental caries.

Line Decay

Ending water fluoridation in the US would lead to 25 million more decayed teeth in children over 5 years – mostly affecting those without private insurance.

Large stainless steel beer brewing tanks and a tangle of hoses are visible behind a black-paned glass wall inside Parker County Brewing Company. The equipment is brightly lit, contrasting with the darker dining area in the foreground, where a wooden table with glasses, menus, and a red sauce bottle sits empty.

Brewer’s Trace

Beers brewed across the US contain PFAS, with some exceeding EPA limits.

An industrial factory emits thick plumes of smoke from multiple chimneys near the Yangtze River in China. The greyish-white smoke billows into the overcast sky, partially obscuring the green, terraced hills in the background. The factory complex is surrounded by dense vegetation in the foreground, contrasting sharply with the pollution above.

Proxy Measures

Democracies may appear greener by offshoring pollution, shifting environmental harm to less democratic countries.

A wooden construction panel in a Venetian square, Campo Santa Marina, features black spray-painted graffiti reading ‘RISE UP 4 CLIMATE JUSTICE.’ The panel is part of a temporary structure, bordered by red and white hazard tape, with a pile of metal pipes stacked on the cobbled ground in front. Behind, historic buildings with shuttered windows and balconies frame the scene.

Inheritance Pattern

The wealthiest 10% of people are responsible for two-thirds of the global warming we see today, while the top 1% account for one-fifth.

A tightly stacked wall of yellow metal ballot boxes from the 2007 Philippine Barangay Elections in Davao. Each box is labelled either “VALID BALLOTS” or “SPOILED BALLOTS” in embossed capital letters. One box near the centre features a glass window, standing out among the otherwise solid fronts. The boxes are weathered, with some showing signs of rust, dents, and faded paint.

Disposition

Democratic countries are linked to kinder personalities and greater wellbeing than autocratic regimes.

Close-up photo of a vial labelled "M-M-RvaxPro," a measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine. The vial has a blue cap and white label with blue text, placed on a dark textured surface. The vaccine is intended for injection via intramuscular (IM) or subcutaneous (SC) use.

Refusal Archive

Falling childhood vaccination rates in the US risk widespread disease resurgence, hospitalisations, and deaths.

A large wildfire burns across the hills behind a suburban neighbourhood in Santa Clarita, California, at night in October 2007. Bright flames and smoke fill the sky in the distance, while the foreground shows rows of illuminated homes under a dark sky. 

Ash Weight

Wildfire smoke exposure is linked to increased mental health emergencies, especially among children, women, and people from Black and Hispanic backgrounds.

A carrion crow flies low over tall, dry grasses at Ouaisné Common, Jersey. Its wings are mid-beat, splayed and slightly curved, revealing layered black feathers with a subtle gloss. The bird’s head is slightly tilted, and its beak points forward, giving a sense of focused motion against the soft, blurred background of beige grass.

Crowsight

Crows instinctively recognise geometric patterns, suggesting shared evolutionary intuition.

Rows of industrial computer units mounted on blue metal shelving inside a cryptocurrency mining facility operated by Genesis Mining in Iceland. Each unit has visible cooling fans, and the space is brightly lit with exposed wiring and ventilation ducts along the ceiling.

The Cost of Crypto

Bitcoin mining in the US causes widespread air pollution, affecting millions due to fossil fuel use.

A world map showing global terrestrial water storage anomalies for December 2019. The map uses shades of brown and blue to illustrate areas with below-average (brown) and above-average (blue) water storage compared to the long-term average from 2003 to 2019. Large parts of North and South America, southern Africa, Australia, and parts of Asia display significant water deficits (brown), while areas such as Canada, northern Eurasia, and parts of Southeast Asia show above-average storage (blue). The background is a dark navy grid indicating global latitude and longitude lines

Drying the Spine

The climate crisis is not just altering weather – it is rewiring Earth’s hydrological systems.