Life is woven out of air by light – Jacob Moleschott Before starting to write this article, I asked my eight-year-old boy what he knew about how plants grow. He answered: “Plants take food from the air…
A bigger hole in the ozone layer over Northern Hemisphere countries could mean more UV damage to humans, animals and plants.
Flickr/cdsessums
A hole in the Arctic ozone layer grew at unprecedented levels this year, a new study has found, exposing densely populated northern hemisphere countries to potentially harmful levels of UV radiation. The…
Around 50% of Canada’s ice shelf has disappeared in the last six years, researchers say.
Denis Sarrazin, ArcticNet/Centre d'Etudes Nordiques
Half of Canada’s ancient ice shelves have disappeared in the last six years, researchers have said, with new data showing significant portions melted in the last year alone. The rate at which ice melts…
The Pacific Island State of Palau recently announced it will seek an Advisory Opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ), asking whether countries have a responsibility to avoid their emissions…
Messing with climate systems is a dangerous step to take.
Truthout.org/Flickr
In the past few years, there has been growing interest in geo-engineering our climate. Geo-engineering means making sometimes planetary-scale physical or chemical changes to alter the amount of heat coming…
The climate change “debate” bears the stains of Orwellian interference.
Truthout.org
“Everyone is entitled to his own opinions, but not to his own facts” – Senator Daniel Moynihan Science is a systematic, evidence-based, testable and self-correcting way of investigating the world. This…
As Australia gets warmer and drier, koalas will struggle to survive.
JSFauxtography
On 22 September, a Senate inquiry released its report, The koala - saving our national icon. The inquiry made 19 recommendations, and called for more funding for koala research. The environment minister…
Mental health has been an issue in rural areas for the past few decades. Climate change will only add more stress to the lives of rural people. While a report by the Climate Institute shows broad scale…
Indian climate policy expert Dr Kirit Parikh says developed countries should take the lead on reducing global greenhouse gas emissions.
Jamie North/PARDALOTE PHOTOGRAPHY
A top environmental adviser to the Indian government has described the Gillard government’s proposed carbon tax as an “interesting mechanism” that may be useful for Indian climate policy makers. With annual…
Science follows certain procedures, but does the media get the signal?
CSIRO
Recently my colleagues and I announced the discovery of a remarkable planet orbiting a special kind of star known as a pulsar. Based on the planet’s density, and the likely history of its system, we concluded…
China says it has encouraged a domestic renewable energy industry and is now planning a pilot emissions trading scheme.
Flickr/Land Rover Our Planet
As the Gillard government prepares to introduce its carbon price legislation to parliament, senior environment policy advisers from big emitters China and India have said they are watching closely Australia’s…