NOAA released its list of climate and weather disasters that cost the nation more than $1 billion each. Like many climate and weather events this past year, it shattered the record.
Cities occupy just 3% of the Earth’s surface, yet more than half the world’s population live in urban environments. We need nation-wide plans to keep our cities cool so no one gets left behind.
Pikas – small cousins of rabbits – live mainly in the mountainous US west. They’ve been called a climate change poster species, but they’re more adaptable than many people think.
Daniel D'Hotman, University of Oxford and Steven Hamilton, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University
The end of coal-fired generation in Australia is inevitable. But the federal government can do more to ensure an orderly transition to renewables – avoiding price spikes and supporting workers.
From coronavirus to climate change and the Black Lives Matter movement, street artists expressed their views on the walls and in the parks and laneways of Australia in 2020.
Kenneth McLeod, Binghamton University, State University of New York
Shifting from fossil fuels to electricity is climate-friendly, but serious cooks don’t think much of electric stoves. Will induction cooking finally catch on as an alternative?
Tim Breitbarth, Swinburne University of Technology; Adam Karg, Swinburne University of Technology, and Kasey Symons, Swinburne University of Technology
A person who exercises, attends sporting events as a spectator and takes their kids to the oval or swimming pool will create 935 kg of CO₂ per year if using their car.
Historically, Muslim scholars have coupled their study of nature to their understanding of Allah. Today, young Muslim women are leading change through an Islamic eco-consciousness with grit.
Given long-term forecasts for growing urban populations and an increasingly variable climate, local authorities will have to think about how best to encourage people to conserve water.
Which countries emerge best from the pandemic, and how the world tackles the climate crisis, will be among the defining features of global politics in the coming year.
Indonesia’s Peatland Restoration Agency is likely to have its tenure extended by four years. What has been achieved and what should the agency focus on for the next term?
Belugas use sound to communicate, navigate the dark marine environment and find food. But climate change is opening up Arctic waters to more sound, and could affect the health and survival of belugas.