Imagine waking up before dawn every day to fetch water for your family. You trek to the nearest water source, miles away, with only a jerrycan to carry the precious liquid. You…
Category: Environment
commercial fishers help monitor rising temperatures in coastal seas
The world’s oceans are buffering us from the worst climate impacts by taking up more than 90% of the excess heat generated by greenhouse gas emissions. This has warmed them by 0.88℃…
Want an easy $400 a year? Ditch the gas heater in your home for an electric split system
Earlier this month, regulators flagged electricity price rises in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. Like many people, you’re probably wondering how you can minimise the financial pain. Getting rid…
Want to help protect rare birds in nesting season? Keep your dog on its lead
There are few sights more joyful than a dog bounding through the countryside. But for ground-nesting birds and other wildlife, the experience is quite different. Letting a dog off its lead can…
Britain’s wild woods are under threat and we’re running out of time to save them
The UK has a strange relationship with its woodlands. Trees and woods form part of the national identity, yet with only about 13% tree cover, it is one of the least wooded…
Scientists are using machine learning to forecast bird migration and identify birds in flight by their calls
With chatbots like ChatGPT making a splash, machine learning is playing an increasingly prominent role in our lives. For many of us, it’s been a mixed bag. We rejoice when our Spotify…
Why bioplastics won’t solve our plastic problems
Last month, Victoria banned plastic straws, crockery and polystyrene containers, following similar bans in South Australia, Western Australia, New South Wales and the ACT. All states and territories in Australia have now…
How the bottled water industry is masking the global water crisis
Bottled water is one of the world’s most popular beverages, and its industry is making the most of it. Since the millennium, the world has advanced significantly towards the goal of safe…
how scientists know the climate is changing
Earlier this week, the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its Synthesis Report, bringing together six previous assessments on the state of the Earth’s climate. The verdict is sobering….
The Great Southern Reef is in more trouble than the Great Barrier Reef
Marine heatwaves are damaging reef ecosystems around Australia, but while the tropical north has received the lion’s share of the attention to date, we equally need to worry about the temperate south….