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This is the most sobering report card yet on climate change and Earth’s future. Here’s what you need to know
This is the most sobering report card yet on climate change and Earth’s future. Here’s what you need to know Earth has warmed 1.09℃ since pre-industrial times and many changes such as sea-level rise and glacier melt are now virtually irreversible, according to the most sobering report yet by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change […]
Cramming cities full of electric vehicles means we’re still depending on cars — and that’s a huge problem
Cramming cities full of electric vehicles means we’re still depending on cars — and that’s a huge problem This week, the NSW government announced almost A$500 million towards boosting the uptake of electric vehicles. In its new electric vehicle strategy, the government will waive stamp duty for cars under $78,000, develop more charging infrastructure, offer rebates […]
The suburbs are the spiritual home of overconsumption. But they also hold the key to a better future
The suburbs are the spiritual home of overconsumption. But they also hold the key to a better future Suburban affluence is the defining image of the good life under capitalism, commonly held up as a model to which all humanity should aspire. More than half of the world’s population now lives in cities. Yet with the […]
A circular food system can withstand crises like COVID-19 — and provide delicious meals
A circular food system can withstand crises like COVID-19 — and provide delicious meals There are many hard lessons learned from the pandemic. One is that our food system needs a serious reboot. Luckily, we need only look to nature’s cycles for clues on how to fix it. In a circular food economy, food waste becomes valuable, affordable […]
Early humans used fire to permanently change the landscape tens of thousands of years ago in Stone Age Africa
Early humans used fire to permanently change the landscape tens of thousands of years ago in Stone Age Africa Fields of rust-colored soil, spindly cassava, small farms and villages dot the landscape. Dust and smoke blur the mountains visible beyond massive Lake Malawi. Here in tropical Africa, you can’t escape the signs of human presence. […]
The battle for the future of farming: what you need to know
The battle for the future of farming: what you need to know It is widely agreed that today’s global agriculture system is a social and environmental failure. Business as usual is no longer an option: biodiversity loss and nitrogen pollution are exceeding planetary limits, and catastrophic risks of climate change demand immediate action. Most concede that there is […]
Climate scientists: concept of net zero is a dangerous trap
Climate scientists: concept of net zero is a dangerous trap Sometimes realisation comes in a blinding flash. Blurred outlines snap into shape and suddenly it all makes sense. Underneath such revelations is typically a much slower-dawning process. Doubts at the back of the mind grow. The sense of confusion that things cannot be made to fit […]
Solar panels in Sahara could boost renewable energy but damage the global climate – here’s why
Solar panels in Sahara could boost renewable energy but damage the global climate – here’s why The world’s most forbidding deserts could be the best places on Earth for harvesting solar power – the most abundant and clean source of energy we have. Deserts are spacious, relatively flat, rich in silicon – the raw material for the […]
5 ways Norway leads and Canada lags on climate action
5 ways Norway leads and Canada lags on climate action As major oil and gas producers and exporters, Norway and Canada share a particular responsibility for confronting the planet’s existential climate threat. However, their different political, economic and cultural features have resulted in major differences in their climate policy track records. Overall, Norway is a leader […]
Worried about Earth’s future? Well, the outlook is worse than even scientists can grasp
Worried about Earth’s future? Well, the outlook is worse than even scientists can grasp Anyone with even a passing interest in the global environment knows all is not well. But just how bad is the situation? Our new paper shows the outlook for life on Earth is more dire than is generally understood. The research published […]
It’s time environmentalists talked about the population problem
It’s time environmentalists talked about the population problem Credit: Shutterstock In all the talk of tackling environmental problems such as climate change, the problem of population growth often escapes attention. Politicians don’t like talking about it. By and large, neither do environmentalists—but former Greens leader Bob Brown has bucked that trend. Brown recently declared the world’s population must start […]
Analysis shows how the Greens have changed the language of economic debate in New Zealand
Analysis shows how the Greens have changed the language of economic debate in New Zealand When Health Minister Chris Hipkins recently quipped that the Green Party is “to some extent the conscience of the Labour Party” he was not simply referring to polls suggesting Labour may need the Greens’ support to form a government. Hipkins was also suggesting […]
Climate explained: why carbon dioxide has such outsized influence on Earth’s climate
Climate explained: why carbon dioxide has such outsized influence on Earth’s climate I heard that carbon dioxide makes up 0.04% of the world’s atmosphere. Not 0.4% or 4%, but 0.04%! How can it be so important in global warming if it’s such a small percentage? I am often asked how carbon dioxide can have an important […]
Nobel prize-winning economics of climate change is misleading and dangerous – here’s why
Nobel prize-winning economics of climate change is misleading and dangerous – here’s why While climate scientists warn that climate change could be catastrophic, economists such as 2018 Nobel prize winner William Nordhaus assert that it will be nowhere near as damaging. In a 2018 paper published after he was awarded the prize, Nordhaus claimed that 3°C of warming would reduce global […]
How our food choices cut into forests and put us closer to viruses
How our food choices cut into forests and put us closer to viruses As the global population has doubled to 7.8 billion in about 50 years, industrial agriculture has increased the output from fields and farms to feed humanity. One of the negative outcomes of this transformation has been the extreme simplification of ecological systems, with complex […]
