On October 20 2011, the Tokai Challenger solar car drove quietly into Victoria Square in the centre of Adelaide, winning the 2011 World Solar Challenge. The car had crossed Australia from north to south…
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In the lead up to the 2011 Melbourne Cup I have heard numerous interviews with Australian racing legend Bart Cummings. Apparently Cummings has “won the Melbourne Cup race a record 12 times”. I had no idea…
SEVEN BILLION PEOPLE: Today the Earth’s population has reached 7 billion. With so many of us here now, there is no better time to reflect on the world we want and how we can create it. Some of us are lucky…
SEVEN BILLION PEOPLE: In the early 1970s, three leading American scientists were locked in a passionate debate about what had made the greatest contribution to humanity’s impact on the environment. The…
What if the world left it too long to take action on global climate change? Is there a way we could somehow cool the planet before an environmental crisis occurs? Geo-engineering is a potential course…
CHOGM: As the leaders of Commonwealth nations meet in Perth, The Conversation is examining the role of the biennial Commonwealth Heads of Government (CHOGM) Meeting. Daniel Rodriguez from the University…
Melbourne’s myriad laneways are at one turn dark and lifeless cul-de-sacs, and at another, splendid window-front galleries. Exhibits of colourful ceramics, velvet tiers of artisan jewellery and delicate…
Wealthy countries have committed to mobilise up to $US100 billion a year by 2020 for climate change action in developing countries. This is almost as much as the total amount of aid provided globally each…
CHOGM: As the leaders of Commonwealth nations prepare to meet in Perth this week, The Conversation is examining the role of the biennial Commonwealth Heads of Government (CHOGM) Meeting. In our second…
When you read the word “bacteria” you probably think about illness, advertisements for “probiotic” food supplements, and maybe about brushing your teeth. Chances are, you probably don’t think about electricity…
Despite the emphasis in Australia on the “compact city” foreshadowed in every major strategic metropolitan plan such as the South East Queensland Regional Plan; there is a growing trend towards “colliding…
All over the planet, a new wave of exploration and exploitation is taking place. Bioprospectors are searching for new and useful biological samples and compounds from previously unstudied animals and plants…
The Australian Alps cover some 1.64 million hectares, 0.3% of the Australian continent. Included on the National Heritage register, they are of major environmental significance and home to rare and endangered…
In Western Australia, politicians and members of the public are calling for a shark cull in response to the state’s recent shark attack fatalities. The most recent of these attacks was on a diver off the…
Last week the Coalition announced it would scrap the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) if it forms government. As the main renewable energy investment measure included in the Clean Energy Future…
For most people, the debate about climate change and what we should do about it is not really based on the science. It’s much more about what they think the implications are for them. Let’s face, it if…
CYCLING IN AUSTRALIA: Every year, dozens of cyclists are killed and thousands are injured while riding on Australian roads. Statistics such as these, coupled with all-too-frequent horror stories about…
The agricultural use of genetically modified (GM) plants has been a subject of disagreement, debate and bitter conflict around the globe. Sectors of Australian science experienced this recently when field…
Residents of Zanesville, Ohio, woke to the news today that most of the bears, wolves, lions and tigers that had been roaming free in their neighbourhood had been shot by police. Police believe the animals…
CYCLING IN AUSTRALIA: Forget about the wild scenes of public adulation for Cadel Evans following his Tour de France triumph. Forget about the widespread admiration for champion cyclist Anna Meares following…
The Queensland port city of Gladstone has been in the news for all the wrong reasons lately. Fish and other marine life have been infected by a strange parasite that seemed to make the leap to humans…
CYCLING IN AUSTRALIA: More than half of Australia’s population can be classified as overweight and obese. This statistic is alarming but some of the risk factors associated with obesity – such as poor…
Anyone observing the climate change debate from Australia might think the world is moving away from carbon trading schemes. That would be understandable, but wrong. International carbon markets exist…
For more than a decade, the Tasmanian devil has been fighting for survival against an unusual enemy – Devil Facial Tumour Disease (or DFTD). This deadly infectious cancer has ravaged the Tasmanian devil…
There is common assumption that those of us who undertake applied research with the commercial world must be biased. This month the University of Queensland’s Sustainable Minerals Institute (SMI), which…