Victoria now has a Minister for Food Security and the Federal coalition too has rebranded its shadow minister Minister for Agriculture and Food Security. Food security is a notion that over the last three…
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Environment + Energy – Articles, Analysis, Comment
Displaying 7376 - 7400 of 7477 articles
One of our most valuable stores of carbon dioxide isn’t even covered in our carbon accounting plans. And because we don’t know about it, we may be destroying it. Seagrass meadows, mangroves and salt marshes…
The scientific community is polarised on the matter of climate change. On one hand there are those within what might be called the climate research establishment. They should know what they are talking…
This week’s budget, with its withdrawal of subsidies for renewable energy, has left many commentators wondering if we’ve turned our back on carbon-neutral power. They should focus on the main game - the…
Reports of the death of the Murray Darling Basin food bowl are grossly exaggerated, to borrow a phrase from Mark Twain. Farmers have been up in arms about plans to give more water to the environment, but…
Sadly, the major environmental policy announced in the Federal Budget yesterday was not an environmental policy at all but the change to the Fringe Benefits Tax. The government announced changes to the…
Apparently desalination plants are the answer to keeping Australian cities supplied with water. All that is required is to remove enough salt from an unlimited source of water to provide for each city’s…
There’s been a boom in sustainable products and packaging from keep cups to green bags - but how important is sustainable design in reducing our global footprint? Sustainable design can play a critical…
The International Monetary Fund recently called on Australia to bank more of the proceeds of the resources boom. The fund has warned that Australia needs to manage its resources wisely, or run the risk…
After 25 years, one of the craziest taxation rules in Australia is about to be fixed. The federal government is expected to announce a revamp of fringe benefits tax rules for company cars in Tuesday’s…
Since we realised we were on the brink of a global extinction crisis in the 1980s, seed banks have emerged as powerful tools to protect species. Most banks focus on biodiversity, which means a range of…
Oil is a finite and non-renewable resource. Its production is going to peak. “Peak oil” is the point at which half of the world’s original endowment of oil has been extracted. This is the point at which…
Household electricity bills are rising and about half of a typical bill goes to paying network costs. Are we paying too much for network infrastructure? Electricity networks are undeniably important. They…
In the developing world, there’s often a face-off between conservation needs and the needs of the community, with neither coming out all that well. Is it possible to “save more space for nature” without…
Without a strong legal foundation, any carbon pricing scheme we come up with will be on shaky ground. And right now, the signs aren’t promising. While we don’t yet have a firm idea of what will be incorporated…
As an environmental scientist, I am a: Biologist Geologist Ecologist Physicist Chemist Soil Scientist Sociologist Psychologist Anthropologist Economist Political Scientist Teacher Communicator and nature…
At the heart of the Gillard Government’s health reform are an Independent Hospital Pricing Authority and a National Health Performance Authority. New details of how these bodies may work have been leaked…
Carbon farming - or biosequestration - seems to be the only climate change mitigation measure that both sides of politics can agree on. But its effectiveness may be sorely overstated. Biosequestration…
The word “sustainability” has been evacuated of any substantial meaning it may once have had. It’s been appropriated by a ragbag of “green-washing” market interests, opportunists and political hacks. As…
Pity the humble transport researcher who tries to understand how much Australian governments spend on roads and public transport! In this country, figuring out who gets most is next to impossible. The…
With global warming, carbon trading and record-high petrol prices in the news, not to mention the ever-looming spectre of peak oil, we need to find an environmentally sustainable and socially acceptable…
It’s inescapable that when it rains a lot, floods occur. These events are largely beyond our control. We have to live with them, rather than live in the hope that we can eliminate them. And by using buy…
The Great Barrier Reef is worth billions to Australia’s economy and is one of the world’s most significant natural features. We have a responsibility to protect it, and our other reefs, from the warming…
The ongoing nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi plant has caused some to question the impact of various power generation sources on our environment and lifestyles. So is there any such thing as “free…
The most important factor determining whether consumers avoid purchasing a product containing palm oil is not how they feel about orangutans, the environment, or anything else for that matter. It’s whether…