Pollution

Analysis and Comment (27)

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Burning wood to heat your home is one of the great pleasures of the winter months. Sam Greenhalgh

Everyone loves a wood-burning heater but is the harm worth it?

By Fay Johnston, University of Tasmania

At this time of year there’s nothing better than being warm and cosy in front of a blazing wood fire. But take a moment to walk outside and check your chimney – it could be polluting an entire neigbourhood…
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Mining for rare earth elements is taking China down the track to environmental degradation. Göran Höglund (Kartläsarn)/Flickr

Has the western world exported cancer to China?

By Matthew Currell, RMIT University

Environmental pollution is currently a white-hot topic in China, but what if western consumers are driving the issue? A storm of activity recently occurred on Sina Weibo, triggered by reports that industries…
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Great ocean garbage patches should be left alone until plastics are stopped from entering our oceans. Flickr/CesarHarada

Leave the ocean garbage alone: we need to stop polluting first

By Erik van Sebille

Recent plans to clean plastics from the five massive ocean garbage patches could do more damage to the environment than leaving the plastic right where it is. There is no doubt that the focus on cleaning…
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Better protection for and public consultation on CSG’s effect on aquifers is good news. Kate Ausburn

Federal government’s control of coal seam gas a welcome relief

By Samantha Hepburn, Deakin University

The Federal Government has moved to exert greater control over coal seam gas mining projects which are currently largely in the hands of the states. Under the proposed new rules if a coal seam gas project…
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Plastic is a major threat to our seabirds and marine life – this bird has filled its stomach with plastic during the 80-90 days it lived. Ian Hutton

Plastic and politics: how bureaucracy is failing our forgotten wildlife

By Jennifer Lavers, Monash University

Seabirds: the poster children for ocean health. Fishers use them to identify fishing hot spots. Environmental and marine scientists use them as indicators of the condition of the ocean environment due…
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Heavy smog is descending on Beijing again, a week after record air pollution choked China’s capital and much of northern China. AAP/EPA/Adrian Bradshaw

Deadly air: the smog shrouding China’s future

By Yanshuang Zhang

Beijing has been smothered by a dense and dangerous smog this month, which has set new air pollution records over several days. The World Health Organization advises that the acceptable level of fine…
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If your environment is polluted, you’re probably poor. Kaptain Kobold/flickr

A healthy environment shouldn’t just be for the rich

By Jason Byrne, Griffith University

Ever heard of “environmental justice”? No? It links social and environmental discrimination. Still doesn’t sound familiar? Well if you’ve seen the movie Erin Brockovich – which examines how a single mother…
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The EPA has made great strides in protecting waterways, but its pollution licences still don’t do what they should. Ian Wright

Time for NSW to take chemical leaks seriously

By Ian Wright, University of Western Sydney

NSW is not doing enough to prevent excessive environmental damage from chemical leaks: it is more common than many people realise for liquid wastes to be discharged into waterways. The NSW Environment…
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World of bag people: a million a minute are used globally, with Australians churning through almost one a day on average. Flickr/Heal the Bay

Plastic, like diamonds, is forever: time to use fewer bags

By Joseph Ting

Between 30 million and 50 million plastic bags enter the environment as litter in Australia each year. These environmentally damaging bags – produced to be used once and then thrown away – are a symbol…
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It’s currently difficult to limit your exposure to traffic pollution because you can’t smell it. Flickr/pəruse

Creating a stink about traffic pollution

By Adrian Barnett, Queensland University of Technology; Joacim Rocklöv, Umeå University, and Nicholas Graves, Queensland University of Technology

The World Health Organization’s recent decision to categorise diesel fumes as carcinogenic is yet another reminder of the negative health effects of traffic pollution. Cancer can now be added to a list…
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Australians should be more aware of the health effects of pollution. OZinOH

Why petrol bowsers deserve the same treatment as cigarette packs

By Adrian Barnett, Queensland University of Technology

Every time smokers pull a cigarette pack out of their pocket, they’re reminded of the harms their habit is likely to cause. In much the same way, Australian petrol stations should display health warnings…
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Another wave is coming: the coral-killing crown of thorns starfish. Flickr/<SLIM>

Great Barrier Reef dying beneath its crown of thorns

By Jon Brodie, James Cook University

The Great Barrier Reef is under attack from a range of enemies including climate change effects (coral bleaching, increased severe storms, and ocean acidification), pollutant discharge from the land, coastal…
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Most forms of energy generation are a blight on the landscape: why single out wind? eidlog42/Flickr

Not a level playing field for wind power

By Neil Perry, University of Western Sydney

Wind farms make noise. Coal fired power stations pollute the air and atmosphere. Coal-seam gas mines pollute underground water aquifers. All electricity generating sources, to some people, pollute the…
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Modern motorists have a pile of engine choices. Flickr/ Joost J. Bakker IJmuiden

The rise of diesel: but how cheap and clean is it?

By Damon Honnery, Monash University

Like many countries, Australia is seeing a growth in the number of diesel vehicles on our roads. Since 2006 the number of registered diesel vehicles has increased by a remarkable 40%; diesel passenger…
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Much of our e-waste – such as these computer parts – ends up in developing countries. Greenpeace India

E-waste: the high cost of high-tech

By Sunil Herat, Griffith University

E-waste from used electrical and electronic gadgets such as desktop computers, laptops and iPhones is one of the fastest growing waste streams in the world. Rapid uptake of information technology around…
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How can we dispose of 20 million tyres a year while minimising our environmental impact? ppip

Recycling helps tyred-out rubber hit the road again

By Qipeng Guo, Deakin University

Used tyres pose a major environmental risk around the world, with more than one billion tyres disposed of every year. Most of these tyres end up in landfill. Estimates suggest more than 20 million passenger…
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It doesn’t take much for sewage to break out of its pipes and into waterways. Claire Evans

Popping the pipe: how sewage gets out into the environment

By Ian Wright, University of Western Sydney

Australia’s urban waterways are often polluted and sick. They suffer from a condition called the “urban stream syndrome”. A common factor that contributes is contamination from sewage. How and why does…
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Coral bleaching is a serious issue, but we’re learning how reefs can best recover. AFP/Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority

Back from the bleach – how isolation helps coral reefs recover

By Zoe Richards, Western Australian Museum

Coral reefs around the world are under pressure from multiple threats. A burgeoning gas industry – such as that near Gladstone – is one of the newest of these. Pollution, sedimentation, declining water…
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Oil gets into the ocean in all sorts of ways, but oil spills are the most visible. AAP

How can we clean up the Bay of Plenty oil spill?

By Nic Bax, CSIRO

Responding to oil spills, like that in New Zealand’s Bay of Plenty, is a very complex, high pressure situation. Decisions must be made based on whatever data are available at the time. One of the difficulties…
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Exporting uranium carries a risk not just in Australia, but all over the world. Mad House Photography

Expanding Olympic Dam: with great power comes great responsibility

By Gavin Mudd, Monash University

The South Australian and Federal governments have approved another expansion at Olympic Dam. This expansion raises some very important questions about Australia’s role in the future of global energy and…
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Sure, they’re ugly; but plastic bags might not be so bad. Robin Tennant-Wood

Banning plastic bags: real change, or a cosmetic solution?

By Robin Tennant-Wood, University of Canberra

From today, plastic bags are banned in the NT. The ACT will follow suit in November: in 2009 the ACT abandoned its 14-year old “No Waste by 2010” strategy and replaced it with a ban on plastic shopping…
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Coal seam gas drilling exposes us to chemicals we know nothing about. AAP

Coal seam gas could be a fracking disaster for our health

By David Shearman

Coal seam gas is indeed a potential disaster if present attitudes and lack of regulatory control prevail. An important part of public health is to enact precautions based on potential impacts. The CSG…

Research and News (1)

Research Briefs (28)

Oil sands create pollution

Environment Canada

The pollution created from extracting and processing Canadian tar sands is comparable to a large power plant or a mid-size…

Air pollution can increase cyclone intensity

National Science Foundation (USA)

New research has found that air pollution is making cyclones in the Arabian Sea more intense. Prevailing wind patterns normally…

Air pollution linked to mental disorders

The Ohio State University

Research on mice has found that long-term exposure to air pollution can lead to physical changes in the brain, depression…

The road to pollution is paved with… paving

National Center for Atmospheric Research

Widespread urban development alters weather patterns, making it easier for pollutants to accumulate during warm summer weather…

Pesticide exposure lowers children’s IQ

University of California

Prenatal exposure to organophosphate pesticides has the potential to lower children’s IQ, according to three studies published…

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