In his acceptance speech of November 6, Barack Obama at long last reaffirmed the need to address global warming. But unfortunately he also reaffirmed the spurious goal of US oil independence, which can…
Global drought has not increased significantly over the past 60 years, a report in Nature has found. Previous assessments of global drought have relied on the Palmer Drought Severity Index, which only…
There’s not much left to show megafauna were hunted, but that doesn’t prove they weren’t.
Peter Murray
What is the oldest debate in Australian science? Probably, the argument over what caused extinction of our Pleistocene megafauna – the diprotodons, giant kangaroos, marsupial tapirs, über-echidnas and…
Several countries have backed away from nuclear power following the Fukushima disaster in Japan.
http://www.theenvironmentalblog.org/, http://www.flickr.com/photos/environmentblog
Market-distorting fossil fuel subsidies rose 30% from 2010 to 2011, stymying efforts to boost the renewables sector and reduce greenhouse emissions worldwide, a new global report has found. The 2012 World…
The Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, Greg Combet, announced on Friday that Australia is “ready” to join a second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework…
Caana pyramid in Caracol, Belize.
Image courtesy of Douglas Kennett, Penn State
Ancient Central American rainfall records suggest climate change was linked to the rise and fall of the Maya civilisation between AD 300 and 1000, a new study has found. Giant stone structures throughout…
A coal ship caught on Nobby’s Beach in Newcastle. The city is the biggest in the world for coal exports.
asnewlibrarian/Flick
Why get worked up about our climate responsibilities when Australia’s contribution to global emissions – around 1.5% of the total - is small? Here is the usual reply. Australia’s domestic greenhouse gas…
As Australia gears up for another risky bushfire season this summer, some of its most iconic and valuable forests are at risk. Giant eucalpytus trees rely on fire to regenerate, but an increase in major…
The new normal? … Climate change will be at the forefront of discussion in the weeks following Hurricane Sandy.
Wandering the World/Flickr
I am writing with Hurricane Sandy having brought devastation to New York and the East coast of the United States. Much has been written on the politics of climate change. But until a few days ago, a severe…
New Jersey was hit hard by the storm surge.
Michael Reynolds/AAP
As I write this, the worst coastal flooding effects from Hurricane Sandy’s attack on the densely populated regions of the US northeast are almost over. Even so, the effects have been significant: record…
Recent extreme weather doesn’t tell us how the future will be.
EPA/Justin Lane
Are we now experiencing the “new normal” climate? Let’s look at the recent evidence: A storm of historic proportions is moving up the east coast as a Nor’easter without precedent, since no such storm has…
Sea levels are rising globally at record-breaking rates and Antarctica is playing an increasing role.
Matt King
A small slice of Antarctica turns up along your coastline each year. We’re all glad it’s just a small slice, given Antarctica could deliver a total sea-level rise of 59 metres. That’s not going to happen…
In some parts of Queensland, half the plant species may be displaced.
Laura Thorn
Climate change will place increasing pressure on Australia’s natural environments in the future. Queensland is no exception. CSIRO and the Queensland Government recently conducted an in-depth review and…
Methane locked under the Arctic ice could take climate change to a whole new level.
Antonio Delgado Huertas
The risk with climate change is not with the direct effect of humans on the greenhouse capacity of Earth’s atmosphere. The major risk is that the relatively modest human perturbation will unleash much…
Children suffer around 90% of the disease burden from climate change.
Flickr/SeemaKK
Climate change has been widely recognised by leading public health organisations and prestigious peer reviewed journals as the the biggest global health threat of the 21st century. A recently released…