Sea levels are rising and the world’s vast coastal settlements face many damaging changes. One of the most difficult and expensive challenges is the risk to the safe and effective operation of our sewerage…
Australia has some of the world’s most ancient soils, many of which grow delicious produce. In this series, “The good earth”, soil scientist Robert Edis profiles iconic soils and the flavours they bring…
It’s make or break time for Australia’s national parks.
National parks on land and in the ocean are dying a death of a thousand cuts, in the form of bullets, hooks, hotels, logging concessions and grazing…
Since July 2012, Australia has had in place its carbon pricing scheme. It is commonly referred to as a “carbon tax”, but also as an “Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) with a fixed price”. And the plan is…
Clive Palmer’s Waratah Coal claims its Galilee Coal Project, which will create four underground mines, two open-cut mines, and 468 kilometres of railway line in central Queensland, will bring economic…
By Erik Gawel, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research and Sebastian Strunz, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research
When the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan was hit by a tsunami in March 2011, the disaster had a profound effect on German energy policy. Chancellor Angela Merkel reasoned that “Fukushima…
Due to a serious drought that has seen one-third of Queensland drought declared farmers are struggling to feed their cattle. There’s inadequate feed on their own land, feed is hard to source in the marketplace…
It looks as though everyone will be happy to sign the next global climate agreement, due in 2015. Why? Because there will be very little in the agreement that will force countries to act on climate change…
Tornadoes are a part of life for people living in the Great Plains of the United States. In Oklahoma, a state that averages 62 tornadoes a year, people are prepared as best as they can be and are well…
Renewable ocean energy harnesses the power of the oceans to produce electricity. This can be done in several ways, but the resources that have the most immediate potential in terms of energy production…
A new study published today suggests that the short-term warming due to increasing greenhouse gases may be less than previously feared. However, when we look at the bigger picture, we still find that climate…
Winter is coming, and all across the southern states eyes turn to energy bills and minds towards how to make them smaller. What is the most efficient way to heat your house?
As with anything to do with…
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Gobies are one of the largest and most widespread fish families in the world, but even so, the presence of endemic species in the Great Artesian Basin spring complexes of central Australia is a little…
Torrent frogs are an interesting group of frogs found in the rainforests of north-east Australia. There are four species in the group: the Mountain Mistfrog (Litoria nyakalensis), the Armoured Mistfrog…
The recent tragic death of a young boy from Australian bat lyssavirus (ABL) produced a predictable chorus of calls to disperse flying fox colonies and kill flying foxes, all in the name of public health…
It may have been chilly locally, but how cold was it overall?
Flickr/Emyan
By Blair Trewin, Australian Bureau of Meteorology and Karl Braganza, Australian Bureau of Meteorology
If you’ve been following the news in Australia in recent months, you would probably be under the impression that it has been exceptionally cold in the Northern Hemisphere. We’ve seen heavy snow on multiple…
Ah, the freedom of the open road!
Walter Parenteau
Although the national budget is now apparently $12 billion in debt, a welter of state governments are pressing the federal government for support to build new freeways. The Victorian Government has just…
It’s rough out there: the waters off Townsville present many more threats to dugongs than do the hunters of the Torres Strait.
Francisco Martins
“How many are there?” and “how are they doing?” are the first questions people usually ask about species of conservation concern. These seemingly straightforward questions are tough to answer when it comes…
This Green and Golden Bell Frog is one of the few species to be successfully protected using offsets.
Flickr/eyeweed
Clive Palmer’s China First Coal Project is entering the last stages of review for its proposed coal mine in Queensland’s Bimblebox Nature Refuge. As part of the Supplementary Environmental Impact Statement…
To figure out where we’re safe from crocodiles, we need to know more about what makes them move around.
Jeff Keir
The estuarine crocodile is the top predator in waterways across Northern Australia. Large crocodiles pose a risk to humans, so local governments take measures to control crocodile abundance and distribution…
Honeybees aren’t the only species pollinating plants in Australia; we have little idea how pesticides are affecting native pollinators.
Howard Rawson
News that the European Union (EU) has restricted the use of neonicotinoid insecticides was welcomed by scientists, farmers, beekeepers and politicians around the world. But the limitations of the restriction…
The passing of Lonesome George, the last Pinta Island Tortoise, is emblematic of the mass extinction of species the earth is currently experiencing.
Flickr/A Davey
“Dad, the world is missing amazing animals. I wish extinction wasn’t forever”.
Despite my wife and I working as biologists, our five-year-old son came to make this statement independently.
He is highlighting…
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