Environment + Energy – Articles, Analysis, Comment – The Conversation

Technical myopia - sometimes experts fail to see the bigger picture. National Institutes of Health via Wikimedia Commons

Don’t trust me, I’m an expert

Mark Burgman, The University of Melbourne

In 2002 when I visited Santa Barbara, I went to a grocery store called Trader Joe’s. It had its own line in milk. Trader Joe’s Vitamin D Milk (Grade A, pasteurized, homogenized) had some ‘nutrition facts…

La Niña brings us rain - global warming makes it worse. AAP

La Niña chief culprit in flooding rains, global warming a co-conspirator

Steven Sherwood, UNSW Sydney

As six weeks’ rain gets dumped on Sydney in a single day and Queensland cleans up after shocking floods, it’s not surprising people ask if global warming is to blame for our weather woes. But following…

Planning is the cheapest way of avoiding major flood damage. AAP

Averting disaster: why we shouldn’t build on Australian floodplains

Andrew Western, The University of Melbourne

The tragic events of last summer confirmed that floods are among the most costly and dangerous natural disasters Australians face. Our response must start with a thorough examination of how we can better…

Flocks falling from the sky can be the canaries in our environmental coalmine. AAP

Birdbrains cry aflockalypse as fish die and birds fall from sky

Susan Lawler, La Trobe University

The year began with the news that thousands of birds had fallen out of the sky in Arkansas, and 100,000 drum fish were found dead in a river nearby. Soon the media began reporting more incidents all over…