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Environment + Energy – Research and News

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Mesmerising fly-over of Earth

NASA has released time-lapse footage of flying over Earth taken from the International Space Station. Turn off your mind, relax, and float downstream (but don’t forget to click the bottom right corner…
The site of the Four Mile uranium mine in South Australia approved by Environment Minister Peter Garrett in 2009. AAP/Quasar resources.

Should Australia sell uranium to India?

Prime Minister Julia Gillard has announced she wants the Australian Labor Party to change its policy of not selling uranium to countries that have not signed up to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty…
Former car manufacturer Chris Peachey in 2008 with the last Mitsubishi 380 to be made in Australia. The Adelaide factory closed the next day after 28 years. AAP/Rob Hutchison.

Need to smarten up again: dark side of the mining boom

The mining boom is gaining momentum with massive investment either underway or slated but the benefits to Australia have peaked and we must now face the difficulties of being a high-dollar quarry where…
The Greens’ Bob Brown and the Liberals’ Bill Heffernan share a moment in the Senate after the passing of the Clean Energy Bill. AAP/Alan Porritt.

Price on carbon as Clean Energy Bill passes Senate: expert reactions

The Gillard Government’s Clean Energy Bill enters legislation after today passing the Senate 36 votes to 32. Voting ‘no’ were the Coalition, independent Nick Xenophon, and the Democratic Labor Party’s…
Voracious parasite: a female Varroa destructor mite on the head of a bee nymph. Flickr/Gilles San Martin.

Death by pest or pesticide? Antibiotic dangers trap bees in a Catch 22

Honey bees are trapped in a Catch 22 where antibiotics used to protect them from bacterial illnesses ravaging hives are making them die from commonly used pesticides, some of which are used to ward-off…
Health officials in Queensland at property that had been visited by a vet who died from the bat-borne-Hendra virus. AAP/Dave Hunt.

Pestilence, pandemics, and climate change: public lecture

Recent outbreaks of deadly bat-borne diseases could be a sign of things to come as rising heat and changing rains help the spread of infectious disease in Australia. Such is the warning that Professor…
King of predators: an estimated seven billion people now walk the Earth. Flickr/James Cridland.

Rise of the planet of the homosapiens: the death sentence for other life

The United Nations has set Halloween as the day when homosapiens are estimated to reach seven billion, up from six billion in 1999 and five billion in 1987. Two centuries ago there were one billion people…
Prime Minister Julia Gillard hugs Minister for Climate Change Greg Combet after the carbon pricing legislation was passed by the House of Representatives on Wednesday. AAP

Carbon price bill passes lower house: the experts respond

The Gillard government’s carbon pricing legislation passed the House of Representatives by 74 votes to 72, and is expected to pass through the Senate with the support of the Greens next month. Under the…
Rena’s list has worsened to about 18° to starboard and between 200 and 300 tonnes of oil has leaked into the ocean. AFP PHOTO/MARITIME NEW ZEALAND

Dispersants may do more harm than good in NZ oil spill case

Dispersants used to break down the 300 tonnes of oil that has leaked from a cargo ship into New Zealand’s Bay of Plenty may do marine ecosystems more harm than good, an ocean oil spill expert has said…

World’s largest virus found in Chile

The world’s largest virus has been found in seawater off the coast of Chile, measuring around 10 to 20 times the length of most viruses. Named Megavirus chilensis, the giant virus infects single-cell marine…
Fist-sized clumps of oil have washed ashore New Zealand beaches following the shipwreck of cargo boat Rena on Astrolabe Reef near Tauranga Harbour. AAP

NZ oil spill may hurt marine ecosystems: experts

Experts have warned of damage to marine ecosystems after the cargo ship Rena struck a New Zealand reef and leaked around 50 tonnes of oil into the Bay of Plenty. New Zealand maritime authorities said on…
University of Melbourne was ranked 37 in the world and top in Australia by the Times Higher Education World university Ranking system in 2011. Flickr/Pip_Wilson

Times Higher Education ranks University of Melbourne Australia’s best but experts urge caution

The Times Higher Education World University Rankings has named the University of Melbourne Australia’s best university, but higher education experts have warned that such rankings tables are easily misinterpreted…

Can crows read?

Crows can recognise and ascribe numerical meaning to symbols, a new study shows, suggesting that the unusually intelligent birds may be able to “read” numbers and simple icons. Crows are known for their…
A bigger hole in the ozone layer over Northern Hemisphere countries could mean more UV damage to humans, animals and plants. Flickr/cdsessums

Arctic ozone hole grew at record speed in 2011

A hole in the Arctic ozone layer grew at unprecedented levels this year, a new study has found, exposing densely populated northern hemisphere countries to potentially harmful levels of UV radiation. The…
Around 50% of Canada’s ice shelf has disappeared in the last six years, researchers say. Denis Sarrazin, ArcticNet/Centre d'Etudes Nordiques

Canadian ice shelves halve in six years

Half of Canada’s ancient ice shelves have disappeared in the last six years, researchers have said, with new data showing significant portions melted in the last year alone. The rate at which ice melts…
Younger academics and researchers need clear career paths, job security and to be freed from red tape, the report said. Flickr/Argonne National Laboratory

Talkin’ bout my generation: young academics on why so many eye uni exit

Nearly 40% of academics under 30 and one-third of staff aged 30-39 years plan to leave the Australian higher education sector within 10 years, according to a new report, raising the prospect of severe…
Laughing in a group releases endorphins that help us cope with pain, a study has found. Flickr/puck90

Pain 10% more bearable after laughing with friends

Laughing with friends for around 15 minutes boosts a person’s pain threshold by an average of 10%, an international study has found. Laughter has long been associated with well-being, even inspiring a…
Indian climate policy expert Dr Kirit Parikh says developed countries should take the lead on reducing global greenhouse gas emissions. Jamie North/PARDALOTE PHOTOGRAPHY

Global climate: India says Australian carbon tax a ‘useful’ idea

A top environmental adviser to the Indian government has described the Gillard government’s proposed carbon tax as an “interesting mechanism” that may be useful for Indian climate policy makers. With annual…
A member of a specialised team checks for radiation outside the CENTRACO nuclear waste treatment center near Marcoule, southern France, after an explosion caused the death of one person and serious injuries to another. AAP/EPA/JEROME REY

Radiation risk low after French nuclear blast: experts

An explosion at a nuclear waste facility in Southern France has killed one and badly burned another but is unlikely to cause a dangerous radioactive leak, experts said on Tuesday. The blast occurred late…
China says it has encouraged a domestic renewable energy industry and is now planning a pilot emissions trading scheme. Flickr/Land Rover Our Planet

Global climate: China eyes Australian ETS model

As the Gillard government prepares to introduce its carbon price legislation to parliament, senior environment policy advisers from big emitters China and India have said they are watching closely Australia’s…
Even small scale, patchy reef restoration efforts can go a long way to repair coral ecosystems, new research has found. Flickr/gruntzooki

Coral rehab finding offers hope for Great Barrier Reef

Coral ecosystems cope much better than was first thought when the reef habitat is fragmented, a new study has found, meaning that efforts to restore even small parts of the damaged Great Barrier Reef could…
Poor countries may be less able to cope with extreme weather events, leading to food shortages and conflict. Flickr/United Nations Photo

Study links climate change to conflict

Global climate change and the El Niño weather event may have played a role in 21% of all civil conflicts since 1950, according to a new study published in the journal Nature. El Niño refers to the periodic…