Recent patterns of residential development in Australian cities are threatening to overwhelm green space in our urban cores. Policies of urban consolidation have concentrated medium to high density residential…
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Environment + Energy – Articles, Analysis, Comment
Displaying 7026 - 7050 of 7556 articles
We know very little about the world’s biodiversity. A recent study suggests that, despite 250 years of taxonomic effort, a mere 14% of the world’s species are recognised by scientists. Worryingly, anthropogenic…
In 1947 the Sydney Basin produced “three quarters of the State’s lettuces, half of the spinach, a third of the cabbages and a quarter of the beans; seventy percent of the State’s poultry farms were in…
2011 was the year everyone suddenly developed an opinion on the environment, because all of a sudden the environment was out to take their air-conditioner, their TV, their right to a comfortable suburban…
As the climate gets warmer, growing conditions and ripening times of crops will be affected. This raises all kinds of challenges for food security, but as we hit the festive season you may also be wondering…
Here’s a scene that might be familiar: it’s an invitingly sunny day yet, infuriatingly, the kids remain sprawled, skinny and listless, on the couch. They’re peering into tiny Nintendo machines and every…
Tropical cyclones are one of the most destructive types of weather system on the planet. The obvious human interest in tropical cyclones is in their sheer power. Historically tropical cyclones have had…
Australia’s forest conflict gets easier to solve as every day passes. In reality, the conflict will solve itself if the government can just resist reviving the environmentally and economically inferior…
DURBAN CLIMATE CHANGE CONFERENCE: Amongst the general brouhaha of the Durban Climate Change Conference, progress of sorts on REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation, plus measures…
DURBAN CLIMATE CHANGE CONFERENCE: One of the main achievements of the Durban climate change conference was establishing the Green Climate Fund. This is expected to channel a fair amount of the US$100 billion…
The millenium drought has broken in the south, but that hasn’t diminished interest in developing the seemingly vast water resources of northern Australia. The recent announcement of a multi-million dollar…
Since the MDBA (the Authority) released the long awaited Plan for the Murray-Darling Basin, the response has been both predictable and somewhat muted. Most predictable have been calls for certainty, based…
The vast majority of Australians live in coastal cities. This means most of us have sharks as neighbours. Living alongside sharks in metropolitan cities in Australia requires urban resilience. Unlike birds…
There is no doubt that the greatest challenge currently facing agriculture is our capacity to feed an anticipated population of 9 billion by 2050. Not only is there an increasing demand for food, but the…
Welcome to Safe as Houses, a series delving into a topic close to the heart of many Australians – property. This is not a series on where the market might be heading. Instead we aim to explore how we view…
Recently, Jenny Corbett, Executive Director of the Australia-Japan Research School at ANU, sat down with Tatsuo Hatta, Professor Emeritus at Osaka University and a former President of the Japanese Economic…
The forces of climate science denial have geared down a level. Having failed in their attempt to confuse adults and stop the parliament adopting a timid first step in response to climate change, they are…
The carbon tax was not the only significant piece of environmental legislation to come into law recently. The Australian government’s Product Stewardship Act paves the way for a comprehensive solution…
Indonesia’s decision to cut live cattle imports from Australia is the clearest example yet of the significant and long-lasting damage that June’s export ban did to relations with our nearest neighbour…
You have probably heard at least a little about thorium. There are certainly advocates out there who strongly believe it could help solve the world’s energy problems. The idea is that thorium-based nuclear…
In his latest article for The Conversation Dr. David Karoly reports on the proceedings of a recent Canberra symposium on “Geo-engineering the Climate”. In his article, Dr. Karoly presents an insightful…
This article was published in 2011. A follow-up article refuted its claims. The ethics of eating red meat have been grilled recently by critics who question its consequences for environmental health and…
A recent report by the Clean Energy Council claims that the capacity of domestic solar panels in Australia has increased 35-fold in the past three years. This (among other factors) means we are well on…
The past few years have seen the rapid expansion of the coal seam and shale gas industry. Combine this expansion with the recent introduction of a price on carbon here in Australia, and you end up with…
The average temperature of the oceans has already increased significantly due to global warming and will continue to warm rapidly in coming decades. If we are going to effectively manage and conserve fish…