Two major critical minerals projects in Queensland and South Australia will receive $400 million in federal government loans to to deliver Australia’s first high-purity alumina processing facility.
Extractive mining disrupts the balance of the planet’s ecosystems and is set to rise. Could urban mining or degrowth help curb unsustainable practices?
Whether moving away is a good idea depends as much on a young person’s aspirations as it does on their resources. Staying put – or moving back – does not necessarily mean personal failure.
The Koli community depend on fishing, but fish stocks off Mumbai’s coast have been declining.
Akella Srinivas Ramalingaswami/Shutterstock
Lyla Mehta, Institute of Development Studies; D Parthasarathy, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay e Shibaji Bose, National Institute of Technology Durgapur
Facing human threats, Mumbai’s Koli community are taking risk reduction into their own hands – other vulnerable coastal settlements should take note.
Children reported five key things they need from their communities, including better infrastructure and more inclusive spaces.
There is a U.S. flag on the Moon, but in the future, countries may start to turn access to the Moon and asteroids into serious wealth.
NASA/Neil A. Armstrong
Current trends suggest that powerful nations are defining the rules of resource use in space and satellite access in ways that will make it hard for developing nations to ever catch up.
Builders construct experimental vaults of brick and cement blocks in Santiago de Cuba in December 1960.
Centro de Documentación, Empresa RESTAURA, Oficina del Historiador de la Ciudad de La Habana
After Fidel Castro took power, government plans to build new housing, schools and factories were hindered by sanctions and supply chain issues, forcing architects to come up with creative solutions.
Stunning mosaic of oxidised copper in the form of azurite (blue) and malachite (green) in a rock.
Dimitri Houtteman
Complex questions over environmental protection and resource extraction require the signatories to give the future of the treaty much more serious attention.
A child plays in a street in the port village of Paquitequete near Pemba, northern Mozambique. The region suffered decades of neglect, and major gas projects have failed to deliver local benefits.
Photo by Alfredo Zuniga/AFP via Getty Images
Sam Jones, United Nations University e Finn Tarp, University of Copenhagen
The development strategy based on foreign investment in natural resources projects has not delivered economic growth or security. What’s needed is an inclusive vision based on local realities.
People displaced by the atacks on the town of Palma, northern Mozambique, flee to safety with meagre possessions.
Alfredo Zuniga / AFP via Getty Images
The conflict has put a temporary lid on plans that have been in the making for more than a decade since rich liquefied natural gas reserves were discovered in the Rovuma Basin.
A building designed to be easily taken apart so the components can be reused is a model for much less wasteful construction. It reduces resource use and environmental impacts, and can be cheaper too.
In a growing world with an increasing population with ever-greater needs, it is high time to find a balanced solution for our activities. Nature provides us with the template.