These articles give you something to talk about when the subject of climate change comes up in conversation. Every day, before 10am, you will find a new article that will take you 5 minutes to read.
Ang Li et al
The Conversation
7 June 2023
Australia, the world’s driest inhabited continent, is particularly vulnerable to climate-related disasters such as droughts, bushfires, storms and floods. In 2020, we were one of the top ten nations in the world for economic damage caused by disasters.
Climate change: How is my country doing on tackling it?
Find out how the world’s major economies are doing on cutting their emissions and what lies ahead.
Jana Tauschinski
BBC News
6 June 2023
The earth has Bipolar Disorder: as do we
Julian Cribb
Perals and Irritations
5 June 2023
World Environment Day – June 5 – demands some sober reflection about the mess we humans have got ourselves into. And how the hell we get out.
 Electrify Everything!
Port Phillip Council Staff The City of Port Phillip’s Sustainability NEWSLETTER has news of their campaign to electrify your home. I did this years ago when we had a gas leak. The quote to run a new gas pipe from the front of our house to the kitchen at the back was astronomical. So we went ELECTRIC. With only 4 SOLAR PANELS energy costs are now just $2 a day. This is something everyone can do! Is your council helping you? |
We asked an AI chatbot how to fight the extinction crisis
John R. Platt
The Revelator
3 June 2023
Algorithms alone can’t save endangered species. For that you need people who care and who act.
The federal budget: what planet does Labour live on?
Jeremy Webb
Pearls and Irritations
2 June 2023
It’s astonishing now that the analytical dust has settled on the budget that out of 57 leading Australian economists, most have given it top marks. What planet we may ask do they – and the Labour Government – live on? Not one critically endangered by climate change and a catastrophic decline in biodiversity which collectively pose an unprecedented threat to our (not to mention the world’s) wellbeing and prosperity.
‘At risk of destabilising the entire planet’: Report lays down boundaries for ‘safe and just’ future
Nick Kilvert
ABC News
1 June 2023
We are “destabilising the entire planet” warn an international team of scientists, who outline the planetary boundaries we need to stay within in order to provide a “safe and just” future.
Rachel Withers
The Monthly
31 May 2023
The right to peaceful protest is important – no ifs, no buts
By 2100, farm numbers will halve and farm size will double
Emma Bryce
Anthropocene
30 May 2023
“This world in which significantly fewer large farms replace numerous smaller ones carries major rewards and risks for the human species and the food systems that support it,” the new study says.
3 little-known reasons why plastic recycling could actually make things worse
Pascal Scherrer
The Conversation
29 May 2023
This week in Paris, negotiators from around the world are convening for a United Nations meeting. They will tackle a thorny problem: finding a globally binding solution for plastic pollution.
In the eye of the hurricane, can we find truth?
Richard Eckersley
Pearls and Irritations
28 May 2023
To survive this critical century, we need to know the truth about it.
The trillion-dollar auction to save the world
Gregory Barber
WIRED
27 May 2023
Ocean creatures soak up huge amounts of humanity’s carbon mess. Should we value them like financial assets?
Toxins hidden in plastics are the industry’s dirty secret – recycling is not the answer
Charlotte Lloyd
The Guardian
26 May 2023
We need to know more about what goes into plastics in the first place and better regulation of how recycled products are used
Recycled plastic can be more toxic and is no fix for pollution, Greenpeace warns
Damien Gayle
The Guardian
25 May 2023
Campaign group says plastics are incompatible with circular economy as countries prepare for treaty talks
David Lindenmayer and Chris Taylor
The Conversation
24 May 2023
By the end of the year, Victoria’s trouble-plagued native forest industry will end – six years ahead of schedule. The state’s iconic mountain ash forests and endangered wildlife will at last be safe from chainsaws. And there will be no shortage of wood – there’s more than enough plantation timber to fill the gap.
Annabelle Workman and Kathryn Bowen
The Conversation
23 May 2023
Two billion people, including many Australians, will find themselves living in dangerously hot places this century if global warming reaches 2.7℃, research released today reveals.
91% deaths of preterm babies due to air pollution occur in low and middle-income nations
Team MP
Millennium Post
22 May 2023
High income countries make the greatest contribution to climate change but the people who have contributed least to the crisis are the most hit, with 91 per cent deaths of preterm babies related to air pollution occurring in low and middle income nations, says a report by UN agencies.
New high risk, high reward studies will tackle key unanswered questions about our planet
Sophie Docker
Eureka Alert
21 May 2021
NERC has invested £25 million in a host of high risk, high reward research projects to tackle critical environment challenges. The 44 projects cover the full spectrum of environmental science including geology, atmospheric science, biodiversity and ecology.
Fossil fuel firms owe climate reparations of $209bn a year, says study
Nina Lakhani
The Guardian
20 May 2023
Groundbreaking analysis by One Earth is first to quantify economic burden caused by individual companies
Saving humanity: here’s a radical approach to building a sustainable and just society
Mark Diesendorf
The Conversation
19 May 2023
Collectively we are driving Earth and civilisation towards collapse. Human activities have exceeded planetary boundaries. We are changing the climate, losing biodiversity, degrading land, contaminating freshwater, and damaging the nitrogen and phosphorus cycles upon which we all depend.
Why government action to thwart neo-Nazi groups is far more difficult than it appears
Greg Barton
The Conversation
18 May 2023
Hate and prejudice hold no place in our community and we will not tolerate any offensive and abhorrent anti-social behaviour. This statement by a Victoria Police spokeswoman could not have been clearer. Hate and prejudice are most certainly not welcome in one of the world’s most diverse and successful multicultural communities.
Tristan Edis
The Guardian
17 May 2023
Taking on vested interests and mandating housing energy ratings and minimum standards are far more important steps
How to tackle climate change? A new book has answers
Susamma Joy Kurian
THE WEEK
16 May 2023
Anilla Cherian, an independent global climate change and clean energy expert, looks at why we have found little success so far in her new book—Air Pollution, Clean Energy and Climate Change. The book argues that while the link between the three is well-established, there is no integrated approach to tackle the same; it is all happening in silos.
Nuremberg trials for imperiling mass extinction of species
Andrew Glikson
Pearls and Irritations
15 May 2023
While “leaders” fail to protect the people from global warming and nuclear war, they have succeeded splendidly in hiding the truth through the denial of climate change, accounting tricks and claims of reduction in domestic emissions, while in fact opening new coal mines, oil wells and fracked coal seams, exporting hydrocarbons through the entire global atmosphere.
AFP (American Family Publishers) News Agency
ABC News
14 May 2023
Once trusted faces on the news, meteorologists now brave threats, insults and slander online from conspiracy theorists and climate change deniers who accuse them of faking or even fixing the weather.
Societal cost of ‘forever chemicals’ about $17.5tn across global economy – report
Tom Perkins
The Guardian
13 May 2023
Chemicals yield profit of about $4bn a year for the world’s biggest PFAS manufacturers, Sweden-based NGO found
Andrew Blakers
The Conversation
12 May 2023
Last year, the world built more new solar capacity than every other power source combined.
Sarah Bekessy et al
The Conversation
11 May 2023
The Albanese government has made bold environmental promises over the last year. Given the parlous state of nature in Australia, these commitments are important.
‘Regenerative agriculture’ is all the rage – but it’s not going to fix our food system
Anja Bless
The Conversation
10 May 2023
Decades of industrial agriculture have caused environmental and social damage across the globe. Soils have deteriorated and plant and animal species are disappearing. Landscapes are degraded and small-scale farmers are struggling. It’s little wonder we’re looking for more sustainable and just ways of growing food and fibre.
We need 100 million new electric machines, and we’ve got 17 budgets to get it right
Giles Parkinson
Renew Economy
9 May 2023
In the race to a renewable grid, the household and the energy decisions made there often get overlooked. This needs to change – and fast.
Learn more about Saul Griffith by reading the following ABC article and viewing the half hour video at the very top of the page.
Fake Reform: Jim Chalmers’ itsy-bitsy tax “hit” is a gift for foreign fossil fuel giants
Michael West
Michael West Media
8 May 2023
Jim Chalmers long-awaited tweaks to the PRRT are the itsy-bitsyist “reforms” about, the equivalent of recycling old Christmas presents with a bright new bow.
Australia needs a more sustainable approach to fashion
SMH editorial
Sydney Morning Herald
7 May 2023
Disposable fashion is imposing a big cost on the Australian economy and the environment. The industry and consumers now demand a more sustainable business model.
The market won’t restore Australia’s degraded ecosystems. Labor needs to get its priorities straight
Adam Morton
The Guardian
6 May 2023
Change will only come when protecting our unique wilderness comes over other considerations. There are concerning signs the Albanese government is not on board
Archie Chapman
The Conversation
5 May 2023
There were an estimated 100 million individual solar photovoltaic (PV) panels in Australia at the end of 2022. We estimate this number will likely grow to over 2 billion if we are to meet Australia’s 2050 net-zero emissions target. This growth means Australia is facing a 450,000-tonne mountain of used PV panels by 2040.
A year after “climate election”, Australian fossil fuel subsidies hit record $57 billion
Amalyah Hart
Renew Economy
4 May 2023
New report says fossil fuel subsidies to hit record $57 billion, just a year after so-called “climate election”.
George Monbiot
The Guardian
3 May 2023
How has Costa Rica managed to restore its natural wonders, while big, rich nations fail? By George Monbiot, published in the Guardian 21st April 2023 One of the world’s greatest environmental heroes doesn’t even have a Wikipedia page. Though he has done more to protect the living planet than almost anyone alive, his name is […]
An epic global study of moss reveals it is far more vital to Earth’s ecosystems than we knew
David John Eldridge and Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo
The Conversation
2 May 2023
Mosses are some of the oldest land plants. They are found all over the world, from lush tropical rainforests to the driest deserts, and even the wind-swept hills of Antarctica.
Drone seeding and E-seeds sound exciting, but ecosystem restoration needs practical solutions
Simone Pedrini et al
The Conversation
1 May 2023
A drone drops a small wooden projectile with three spiral tails and a seed mounted on the tip. It gently lands on the bare ground and sits there, exposed to the elements, until it rains. Then, the moisture penetrates the wood fibres, and the spiral tails start twisting, slowly pushing the seed into the ground, where it will germinate.
6% of nations provide for citizens in just, sustainable manner
Yazeed M. Aleissa & Bhavik R. Bakshi
One Earth
30 April 2023
Researchers at The Ohio State University have developed a framework for quantifying how well countries around the world are doing at providing adequate food, energy and water to their citizens without exceeding nature’s capacity to meet those needs.
Why Australia needs to change its thinking on growing the economy
Ian Lowe
The Age
29 April 2023
There are two groups who are critically affected by what we do to the natural environment but cannot possibly reflect their wishes in the market: all future generations, and all other species.
What is the global stocktake of climate action and why does it matter?
Matteo Civillini
Climate Home News
28 April 2023
As governments signed up to the Paris agreement in 2015, they committed to officially checking in at the end of 2023 on how the fight against climate change is going. This health check is known as the global stocktake and work toward it began at Cop26 in Glasgow in 2021.
EPA report details the ways climate change endangers children
Joseph Ostapiuk
silive.com
27 April 2023
Climate change will spur cascading risks to children in the coming decades as a warming planet stunts learning, threatens physical health and upends housing security, a new Environmental Protection Agency report found.
Jessica Walsh et al
The Conversation
26 April 2023
Australia’s woodland birds include colourful parrots, flitting honeyeaters, bright blue fairywrens and the unassuming “little brown birds”. Some, such as willie wagtails, laughing kookaburras and rosellas are found in urban gardens. Others, such as swift parrots and regent honeyeaters, are exceptional rarities for which bird enthusiasts spend days or weeks searching.
Climate isn’t a distraction from the military’s job of war fighting. It’s front and centre
Matt McDonald
The Conversation
25 April 2023
It was pitched as the “most significant” shift in Australia’s armed forces in decades. And among the headline announcements, climate change was recognised as an issue of national security.
How is climate change affecting nutrients in plants?
Amber Dance
Knowable Magazine
24 April 2023
Higher levels of carbon dioxide are changing micronutrients in grasses, trees and even kelp. What does that mean for animals higher up the food chain?
The climate and biodiversity crises are not two separate things
Friedrich-Alexander
Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
EurekAlert!
23 April 2023
An unprecedented and continuing loss of biodiversity has been sparked by anthropogenic climate change together with the intensive use and destruction of natural ecosystems. However, since the public often views the climate crisis and the biodiversity crisis as two separate catastrophes, an international team of researchers including paleontologist Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Kiessling from Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) calls for adopting a new perspective: In their review study just released in the journal “Science”, they recommend protecting and restoring at least 30 percent of all land, freshwater and marine zones, establishing a network of interconnected protected areas, and promoting interdisciplinary collaboration between institutions.
When climate despair spills over into righteous violence, can that ever be right?
Natasha Walter
The Guardian
22 April 2023
The film How to Blow Up a Pipeline makes a case for using sabotage, but hope remains that we can build rather than destroy.
Why the food system is the next frontier in climate action
Daniel O’Brien and Devan Crane
Yale Climate Connections
21 April 2023
According to a recent study, virtually all paths to a net-zero-emissions food system rely on consumers in high-income countries shifting to a more plant-forward diet.
Biodiversity targets may be slipping out of reach – study
Helen Briggs
BBC news
20 April 2023
Ambitious targets to halt the decline in nature may already be slipping out of reach, research suggests.
Electric vehicle strategy released with major focus on increasing affordability and supply of EVs
Georgia Hitch
ABC News
19 April 2023
The federal government has released its first electric vehicle strategy and outlined how it plans to remove barriers to buying and increase the uptake of EVs.
Yolanda Lee Waters and Angela Dean
The Conversation
19 April 2023
Promoting small actions, such as reducing plastic use, can be a useful entry point for other actions around climate change. It’s an example of ‘positive spillover behaviour’.
Climate change threatens insects — and us
Tara Lohan
The Revelator
17 April 2023
Researchers warn we risk losing a sustainable future if we don’t take action to conserve insects and address climate change. They also offer solutions.
Living with density: will Australia’s housing crisis finally change the way its cities work?
Elias Visontay
The Guardian
16 April 2023
Experts agree medium- and high-density development in established suburbs is an essential part of making housing more affordable. But the opposition from existing home owners is fierce
Gas can’t compete with wind, solar and storage, even in world’s biggest market
Giles Parkinson
Renew Economy
15 April 2023
Latest cost assessment from Lazard shows that wind, solar and storage win against gas in every metric – including firming – in world’s biggest market.
World’s ocean surface temperature at all-time high
Oceanographic
14 April 2023
The data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has found that the average ocean temperature has been around 21.1C since the beginning of April 2023. This exceeds the highest average temperature that was 21C in 2016. Experts warn that this will lead to an increase in marine heatwaves around the world.
For a 1.5°C aligned electricity sector we need capital – and for capital, we need policy
Tim Buckley
Renew Economy
13 April 2023
Australian governments must do all they can to crowd-in private capital at the scale and speed required to deliver on our energy and climate objectives.
Crisis? What crisis? Media failing to convey the urgency of the climate emergency
Paul Virgo
Inter Press Service
12 April 2023
If an alien landed on Planet Earth today and started watching television and reading the newspapers, it would probably not realize that humanity and the natural world face an existential threat – one that has taken us into the Sixth Mass Extinction, is already devastating the lives of many, especially in the Global South, and is set to hit the rest of us soon.
Nature is in crisis. Here are 10 easy ways you can make a difference
Matthew Selinsk et al
The Conversation
11 March 2023
Last month, Sir David Attenborough called on United Kingdom residents to “go wild once per week”. By this, he meant taking actions which help rather than harm the natural world, such as planting wildflowers for bees and eating more plant-based foods.
Moving towards 3 degrees of warming — the phasing out of coal is too slow
Jessica Jewell
Chalmers University of Technology (Sweden)
10 April 2023
The use of coal power is not decreasing fast enough. The Paris Agreement’s target of a maximum of 2 degrees of warming appear to be missed, and the world is moving towards a temperature increase of 2.5 — 3 degrees. At the same time it is feasible to avoid higher warming.
Carbon Capture Just Got A Whole Lot Cheaper
Will Lockett
Medium.com
9 April 2023
New technology from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory is utterly revolutionary.
Hugh Possingham
The Conversation
8 April 2023
Australia has embarked on an experiment to create a market for biodiversity. No, we’re not talking about buying and selling wildlife, although, sadly, there is a black market for that. This is about repairing and restoring landscapes, providing habitat for threatened species and getting business and philanthropy to help pay for it.
Rebecca Pears
The Conversation
6 April 2023
Old tensions emerged between green groups en route to the hard-fought Labor-Greens deal over the safeguard mechanism industrial emissions policy.
Revealed: UAE plans huge oil and gas expansion as it hosts UN climate summit
Damian Carrington
The Guardian
6 April 2023
UAE’s fossil fuel boss will be the president of Cop28, making a mockery of the summit, say campaigners
Jacqueline Peel and Zoe Nay
The Conversation
4 April 2023
The United Nations has just backed a landmark resolution on climate justice.
How to tackle climate change, according to math
Bill McKibben
Rolling Stone
3 April 2023
It’s our last shot to save the planet, and these are the numbers that could change the end of the story.
ABC News
2 April 2023
Without billions of dollars more to feed millions of hungry people, the world will see mass migration, destabilised countries, and starving children and adults in the next 12 to 18 months, the head of the Nobel prize-winning UN World Food Program says.
Wikipedia has a climatetech problem
Mike Munsell
Canary Media
1 April 2023
Millions rely on Wikipedia, but its entries can be outdated or incomplete, especially on climate topics — and that’s where you come in.
Prianka Srinivasan, Fred Hooper and Melissa Maykin
ABC News
31 March 2023
A landmark resolution by Vanuatu law students and its government to get climate change to the world’s highest court has been adopted by the United Nations, in a bid to clarify if states are responsible for preventing climate harm.
Global energy transition “off-track” and needs $US35 trillion by 2030
Joshua S Hill
Renew Economy
30 March 2023
“The stakes could not be higher.” IRENA declares global energy transition “off-track” and in need of massive investment by 2030 to be successful.
Safeguard mechanism still leaves Australia with a big methane problem
Annika Reynolds & Chris Wright
Renew Economy
29 March 2023
Australia has been left in the dark about the scale of the methane pollution from its energy sector, and Safeguard reforms do little to pull back the curtains.
2022 was a good year for nature in Australia – but three nasty problems remain
Albert Van Dijk et al
The Conversation
28 March 2023
A new report card on Australia’s environment reveals 2022 was a bumper year for our rivers and vegetation – but it wasn’t enough to reverse the long-term decline in plant and animal species.
Albanese is just pretending to be tough on emissions
Ross Gittins
The Age
27 March 2023
Labor talks the talk, but doesn’t walk the walk. Last week’s ‘‘final warning’’ from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change – and the Albanese government’s refusal to be moved by it – should be a gamechanger in our assessment of Labor’s willingness to do what must be done.
Australia’s climate targets could go up in smoke amid planned increase in coal, gas use: report
Su-Lin Tan
Pearls and Irritations
27 March 2023
New research shows 116 new government-approved fossil fuel projects due to start before 2030 will emit 4.8 billion tonnes of emissions by then. That amount is vastly more than proposed reduction in emissions; ‘clearly, Australia’s climate policies are not working’
Labor promised a lot during the election. Here’s what you should expect to see
Anthony Segaert
The Sydney Morning Herald
26 March 2023
Here’s everything we know about the major policies unveiled by Chris Minns and Labor during the campaign, and what you can expect from them in government.
While you fight climate wars, we lose the climate battle
Penny Sackett and Chris Barrie
The Age
25 March 2023
The real climate war threatens our lives and livelihoods. It must swiftly and unilaterally end. Nature will not negotiate.
“Criminally irresponsible:” Report finds methane bomb buried in Safeguard design
Amalyah Hart
Renew Economy
24 March 2023
Report says methane emissions from fossil fuel facilities will make up about 70% of total emissions budget covered under Safeguard Mechanism, raising new questions over its integrity.
10 Big Findings from the 2023 IPCC Report on Climate Change
Sophie Boehm and Clea Schumer
World Resources Institute
23 March 2023
March 20 marked the release of the final installment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) Sixth Assessment Report (AR6), an eight-year long undertaking from the world’s most authoritative scientific body on climate change. Drawing on the findings of 234 scientists on the physical science of climate change, 270 scientists on impacts, adaptation and vulnerability to climate change, and 278 scientists on climate change mitigation, this IPCC synthesis report provides the most comprehensive, best available scientific assessment of climate change.
New IPCC report shows Labor’s approach is deadly and reckless
Ketan Joshi
Renew Economy
22 March 2023
The Labor party has manufactured a widespread delusion that climate action can be left to later. What will it take to break through the fog of denial?
This decade last chance to avert climate catastrophe
Miki Perkins and Nick O’Malley
The AGE
21 March 2023
Humanity has a last-ditch chance to make meaningful cuts to greenhouse gases and secure a habitable future for life on Earth, the final instalment of the definitive report on the climate crisis says, and our actions this decade will have profound consequences for thousands of years.
Flood and heat: why millions of fish are dying in western NSW
Graham Readfearn
The Guardian
21 March 2023
How did the latest mass fish kill happen? How does it differ from previous events and how can we stop it happening again?
To all who care about humanity’s and the planet’s future
Joseph Camilleri et al
Pearls and Irritations
20 March 2023
Humanity has reached a tipping point. It is time for governments, international institutions and people everywhere to take stock and act with renewed urgency.
‘A wake-up call’: total weight of wild mammals less than 10% of humanity’s
Robin McKie
The Guardian
19 March 2023
From elephants to tigers, study reveals scale of damage to wildlife caused by transformation of wildernesses and human activity
What can we expect from the final UN climate report? And what is the IPCC anyway?
Nerilie Abram
The Conversation
18 March 2023
After all the talk on the need for climate action, it’s time for a reality check. On Monday the world will receive the latest United Nations climate report. And it’s a big one.
There is no “gas shortage,” just a shortage of ethics and integrity from the gas cartel
Tim Buckley
Renew Economy
17 March 2023
We know the solution to the energy crisis, and it is not to pander to demands from the war-profiteering gas cartel to create new supply.
Ian Lowe
The Conversation
16 March 2023
Within ten years, Australia could be in possession of three American-made Virginia-class nuclear submarines under the AUKUS agreement with the United States and United Kingdom. The following decade, we plan to build five next-generation nuclear submarines.
Where will Australia dump its waste from the AUKUS nuclear submarines?
Nabil Al Nashar
ABC News
15 March 2023
As part of the AUKUS deal, Australia must manage all radioactive waste generated by the submarines on Australian soil. What are the types of waste and where will it be disposed of?
I’ve watched the Murray-Darling for 30 years and I’ve never seen carp numbers like this
Adam Kerezsy
The Guardian
14 March 2023
The great flood of late 2022 changed the ecology of the basin’s rivers, and not in a good way
Voting teal is all very well but curbing our lifestyles to save the planet is crucial
Conal Hanna
The Guardian
13 March 2023
Voting teal is all very well but curbing our lifestyles to save the planet is crucial
How the NSW government acted for climate at the expense of the environment
Nick O’Malley and Laura Chung
The Age
12 March 2023
Conservationists fear the need to negotiate with the Nationals has hampered the Liberals’ ability to deliver better outcomes.
How PR and the fog of corporate disinformation has governments paying to burn the planet
Grant Ennis
Michael West Media
11 March 2023
Public relations is at the core of coal and gas industry influence which has governments actually incentivising the burning of the planet. Ending subsidies and lifting the price of emissions is the simplest and most effective way to transform to a clean energy world
A tonne of fossil carbon isn’t the same as a tonne of new trees: why offsets can’t save us
Wesley Morgan
The Conversation
10 March 2023
This week, the Albanese government is attempting to reform the safeguard mechanism to try to make it actually cut emissions from our highest polluting industrial facilities.
Carbon credits and offsets – What’s the scam?
Kim Wingerei
Michael West Media
9 March 2023
As the Labor Government seeks to get the “Safeguard Mechanism” through Parliament, the opposition to it is getting louder both inside and outside of Parliament. It’s complicated, they say. Or is it?
How saving the rainforests could prevent the next pandemic
Reporter – Caroline Chen
Photographer – Kathleen Flynn
ProPublica
8 March 2023
They set out to save rainforests — and stumbled upon a way to help prevent the world’s next deadly pandemic.
UN takes step toward new way of tracking greenhouse gases
Agence France-Presse
Environmental Health News
7 March 2023
The United Nations announced Monday that it had taken a significant step towards trying to fill a key gap in the fight against climate change: standardized, real-time tracking of greenhouse gases.
To defeat climate change, Australia must do the impossible
Alan Kohler
The New Daily
6 March 2023
The argument between Labor and the Greens about new gas projects is strange and pointless. New projects must be included in the government’s emissions reduction target, which doesn’t change.
‘Let’s get real’: scientists discover a new way climate change threatens cold-blooded animals
Lesley Alton and Vanessa Kellermann
The Conversation
5 March 2023
All animals need energy to live. They use it to breathe, circulate blood, digest food and move. Young animals use energy to grow, and later in life, to reproduce.
10 of the best climate change documentaries to see in 2023
Daisy Simmons
Yale Climate Connections
3 March 2023
What happens when you watch 20 or so documentaries that grapple with climate change and its many impacts — all in a row? I set out to find out at the 21st annual Wild and Scenic Film Festival, held in February in Nevada County, California.
Deflecting sun’s rays to cool overheating Earth needs study, scientists say
Oliver Milman
The Guardian
2 March 2023
More than 60 US scientists, including James Hansen, renowned former Nasa climate researcher, sign open letter
Fossil fuels kill more people than Covid. Why are we so blind to the harms of oil and gas?
Rebecca Solnit
The Guardian
1 March 2023
Were we able to perceive afresh the sheer scale of fossil fuel impact we might be horrified, but because this is an old problem too many don’t see it as a problem
Listen: There’s no shortage of climate solutions — here’s how to tell which ones are legitimate
Eyder Peralta
UPR
28 February 2023
Some ideas to combat climate change are more realistic, and readily available, than others. We’ll highlight some rules of thumb for telling what’s what.
Lessons from evolutionary psychology
Robert Clark
Spectator Australia
27 February 2023
Some of the response to climate change concerns seems driven by emotion more than by reason, and especially to be driven by tribalism. It would be unbearably humiliating if those insufferable, Woke, politically correct leftists were actually right about something.
Want to live life with less plastic? You’re not alone and we need to make it easier
Rob Raven et al
ABC News
26 February 2023
Transitioning to low waste living requires changes in household consumption and waste management practices but research shows making changes and sticking to them is not easy. If the transition to a circular economy is to be successful, it needs to be planned from the perspective of everyday life within households.
Emily Harwitz
Haki Magazine
25 February 2023
Fear leads to anger … anger leads to hate … hate leads to suffering.
Gas industry still talking garbage about big batteries, knowing they will kill its dirty cartel
Giles Parkinson
Renew Economy
24 February 2023
The gas industry is sprouting utter nonsense about big batteries – a technology it knows will kill its dirty cartel in no time at all.
Today’s climate activist ‘criminals’ are tomorrow’s heroes: silencing them in court is immoral
George Monbiot
The Guardian
23 February 2023
It’s not ‘the whole truth and nothing but the truth’ if campaigners cannot explain their motivations to a jury.
Julian Cribb
Pearls and Irritations
22 February 2022
Among the world’s many pressing needs, the most urgent of all is a plan for human survival. And Australia should be the country to lead its creation.
Australian states among world’s most at risk from climate change, extreme weather
Amalyah Hart
Renew Economy
21 February 2023
New report ranking the climate risk of every state, province and territory in the world puts parts of Australia in the top 10 per cent.
One in five developments threatening koala habitat are renewable energy projects
Mike Foley
The Age
20 February 2023
Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek faces hard decisions as the government balances competing environmental aims of lowering carbon emissions and avoiding extinctions.
Minimalism is synonymous with wellbeing. Is less really more? Here’s what the research says
ABC News
19 February 2023
“The less you have, the less you have to worry about,” according to Buddha. But beyond the most recent minimalism trend, how is living with less linked to wellbeing?
We found 29 threatened species are back from the brink in Australia. Here’s how
John Woinarski et al
The Conversation
18 February 2023
Australia’s natural world is in deep trouble. Many of our species are getting rarer. Some are now perilously close to extinction, while entire ecosystems face collapse.
World risks descending into a climate ‘doom loop’, warn thinktanks
Damian Carrington
The Guardian
17 February 2023
Report says simply coping with escalating impacts of climate crisis could override tackling root cause
Rising seas threaten ‘mass exodus on a biblical scale’, UN chief warns
Damian Carrington
The Guardian
16 February 2023
António Guterres calls for urgent action as climate-driven sea level rise brings a ‘torrent of trouble’ to almost a billion people,
Labor isn’t rising to the climate occasion – their own projections prove it
Ketan Joshi
Renew Economy
15 February 2023
The Labor government wants to keep climate a quiet issue. But their latest projections show how dire the situation is.
Think plastic pollution is your own fault? That’s rubbish
Marcus Strom
The Age
14 February 2023
Rather than tackle polluting corporate giants, individuals are asked to “do their bit”. The result? People feel powerless and greenwashed corporations continue to trash the planet.
Imagining a world without fossil fuels
Kiley Bense
Inside Climate News
13 February 2023
Mark Stoll’s new book “Profit” describes how capitalism and its spawn, consumerism, fuel climate change and environmental degradation. “The environment,” he writes, “can no longer bear the cost.”
Long-term bush recovery at stake as fire burns through UNESCO-listed biosphere
John Dobson and Louise Miolin
ABC News
12 February 2023
A Western Australian botanists says some native plants in the Fitzgerald River National Park are not rejuvenating from historical bushfires, and believes more research is required into the impact of all fires, including prescribed burns.
More than 10 per cent of Australians deny climate change will harm them in their lifetime
Mike Foley
WAtoday
11 February 2023
A global survey shows people in poorer nations are more likely to view climate change as an imminent risk.
Justine Bell-James
The Conversation
10 February 2023
Federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek has formally rejected mining magnate Clive Palmer’s proposed Central Queensland Coal Project. Her decision was based on the risk of damage to the Great Barrier Reef, freshwater creeks and groundwater.
Pollution and climate change set stage for rise in antimicrobial resistance
John Cannon
Mongabay
9 February 2023
A new report from the United Nations Environment Programme illustrates the role that pollution, climate change and biodiversity loss can play in the development of antimicrobial resistance.
We don’t need ‘miracle’ technologies to fix the climate. We have the tools now
Mark Z Jacobson
The Guardian
8 February 2023
Wind, water and solar energy is cheap, effective and green. We don’t need experimental or risky energy sources to save our planet
Turn this old house into your clean-energy dream home
Alison F. Takemura
Canary Media
7 February 2023
How can you make a home more climate-friendly and more comfortable? Here’s the technology you need, plus the steps to get you there.
Single-use plastics surge globally by one kilogram per person
Nick O’Malley
The Age
6 February 2023
The world’s addiction to single-use plastics is growing worse by the year, with 139 million tonnes consumed in 2021, up from 133 million tonnes in 2019.
Protected areas fail to safeguard more than 75% of global insect species
Science Daily
5 February 2023
Insects play crucial roles in almost every ecosystem — they pollinate more than 80% of plants and are a major source of food for thousands of vertebrate species — but insect populations are collapsing around the globe, and they continue to be overlooked by conservation efforts. Protected areas can safeguard threatened species but only if these threatened species actually live within the areas we protect. A new study found that 76% of insect species are not adequately covered by protected areas.
Kristina Marusic
Environmental Health News
4 February 2023
Exposure to air pollution has a significant impact on rates of cancers typically associated with smoking, according to a recent study.
What Lego—yes, Lego—can teach us about avoiding energy project boondoggles
Dan Gearino
Inside Climate News
3 February 2023
A new book looks at why big projects fail and finds that solar, wind and transmission lines are some of the best kinds of big projects, while nuclear power is among the worst.
Fossil giants tipped funds into major parties, but then the climate movement fought back
Michael Mazengarb
Renew Economy
2 February 2023
While data shows the fossil fuel industry yet again pouring money into Australia’s major parties, the 2022 federal election changed the political donations game.
To best fight climate change, ‘blue carbon’ habitats must first survive it
Sylvia Troost & Alex Clayton
PEW
1 February 2023
In what’s becoming a distressingly familiar scenario, the scientific evidence that a natural ecosystem can help fight climate change is building just as that same habitat faces increasing threats from a warming planet.
Efforts to combat climate change and biodiversity loss are inseparable as new mass extinction looms
David Dodwell
Pearls and Irritations
31 January 2023
Recently, I had a catch-up conversation on climate change and November’s UN climate change conference (COP27) in Sharm el-Sheikh with one of Hong Kong’s most conscientious students of the subject.
Toxic pollutants can build up inside our homes. Here are 8 ways to reduce the risks
Mark Patrick Taylor et al
The Conversation
30 January 2023
We know everything in our homes gathers dust. What you probably don’t know is whether there are toxic contaminants in your house dust, and where these might come from.
No sunlight, no soil – no worries as vertical farming looks stacked with promise
Donna Lu
The Guardian
29 January 2023
Stacked Farm can produce perfect-looking strawberries, tomatoes and baby cos all year round. But will high energy inputs be its achilles heel?
Miki Perkins
The Age
28 January 2023
How urgently we respond to the climate crisis this decade will change will be hugely consequential for thousands of years to come. Here’s what Australia needs to do.
When will we hit peak fossil fuels? Maybe we already have
Dan Gearino
Inside Climate News
27 January 2023
Kingsmill Bond, energy analyst and author, describes the circumstances that hastened the transition of the electricity sector—plus four reasons he’s optimistic about our planet’s future.
Doomsday Clock is the closest it has ever been to midnight (23s video)
ABC News
26 January 2023
Atomic scientists have set the “Doomsday Clock” closer to midnight than ever before.
Coal states miss out on benefits of cheap wind and solar, pay twice the price of power
Giles Parkinson
Renew Economy
25 January 2023
States most dependent on fossil fuels hit by surging prices, despite lowest ever coal output, the lowest gas generation for 18 years, and record wind and solar.
Bei Cui et al
The Conversation
24 January 2024
At the end of last year, the world’s average price to emit one tonne of greenhouse gases was around US$5.29 (AU$7.77). For pricing to work as we want – to wean us off fossil fuels – it needs to be around $75 by the end of the decade, according to the International Monetary Fund.
Air quality can affect health. Climate change is worsening both
Jan Ellen Spiegel
Stamford Advocate
23 January 2023
While heat is well-understood as a consequence of climate change, air quality is both cause and effect when it comes to the nexus with climate change
We are at war, with no strategy adequate to the challenge
Andrew Gaines
Pearls and Irritations
22 January 2022
Unlike the Ukraine war, the war I am referring to is not a military war; it’s our battle for planetary health, and we have no strategy adequate to the challenge.
Salt marsh microbes threaten to reshape the atmosphere
Christian Elliott
Haki Magazine
21 January 2023
Turf wars between microbes dictate how much carbon salt marshes store and how much methane they pump into the air.
Financing 1.5°C: Six trends to watch in 2023
Elizabeth Harnett, Ella Warshauer
RMI
20 January 2023
We expect six key trends to inform financial institutions’ climate strategy design, implementation, and reporting this year.
Humanitarian experts report ‘cascading crises’ as climate, health emergencies soar
Mactilda Mbenywe
Mongabay
19 January 2023
Globally, humanitarian aid workers are facing complex climate and health crises that require urgent adaptations within a shrinking humanitarian space, according to a recent piece in the Lancet.
The right words are crucial to solving climate change
Susan Joy Hassol
Scientific American
18 January 2023
Speaking to people’s priorities can build the will needed to implement climate solutions.
‘We need a polluter pays policy’
Emily Beament
Ecologist
17 January 2023
Requiring fossil fuel companies to pay to clean up their carbon emissions could help curb dangerous global warming at a relatively affordable cost, a study says.
Calls grow for war on millions of feral deer
Cassandra Morgan
The New Daily
16 January 2023
Wild deer are running rampant in Victoria and Tasmania, destroying crops and natural habitats and prompting calls to change local laws and allow the animals to be classified as pests.
Many Australian beaches are disappearing before our eyes. So what’s the solution?
Evelyn Leckie
ABC News
15 January 2023
For decades, residents along a section of suburban Australian coastline have witnessed their beach dissolve before their eyes, sometimes literally dropping into the sea. It’s a problem that is also confronting coastal towns throughout the country — and the world — as sea levels continue to rise.
Climate change tops World Economic Forum’s agenda – podcast
Omoh Bello
SBS News
14 January 2023
With the annual World Economic Forum set to meet in Davos, a new report indicates climate change tops the list of long term global economic challenges.
6 reasons 2023 could be a very good year for climate action
Wesley Morgan
The Conversation
13 January 2023
Many people think of the annual UN climate talks as talkfests which achieve only incremental change, at best. Activist Greta Thunberg has described them as “blah blah blah” moments – grossly inadequate and too often hijacked by fossil fuel producers who would like the world to keep buying their main exports.
How can the law account for the value of natural places?
Nanda Jarosz
The Conversation
12 January 2023
In November 2022, the Australian government made a commitment to legislate new protections of Indigenous heritage sites. The decision was made in response to recommendations passed down by a joint parliamentary committee investigation into Rio Tinto’s destruction of an Aboriginal sacred site at Juukan Gorge in 2020.
Reduce consumption, or face reality of civilisational collapse
Mark Diesendorf
Pearls and Irritations
11 January 2023
An important debate is developing in Pearls and Irritations on the need to reduce consumption.
Are Electric Vehicles Really The Future?
Dr Stuart Woolley
Medium.com
10 January 2023
Well, maybe, but not in the way you think.
How climate change is affecting what’s on the shelves at your local supermarket
Aleisha Orr
SBS News
9 January 2023
Despite advances in technology and infrastructure, transport supply chains have begun to face new challenges in getting groceries to consumers.
Will prospects for long-term human survival improve in 2023?
Bob Douglas
Pearls and Irritations
8 January 2023
What can we expect in 2023 about future human prospects? Will current threats to long-term human survival, continue to increase or will they begin to diminish as a consequence of responses to current threats?”
Activists fight back after being SLAPPed with lawfare tactics
Isabella Kaminski.
Independent Australia
7 January 2023
The use of Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation to intimidate campaigners is a global trend, but activists are taking a stand.
Can we restrain our excessive consumption to arrest climate change?
Nigel Barber
Psychology Today
6 January 2023
As affluence grows globally, people spend more. Money spent is roughly equivalent to carbon pollution and climate change. Can the urge to splurge be brought under control? Or, is it terminal?
‘Boys will be boys’: why consumers don’t punish big polluters for greenwashing lies
Adam Austen Kay
The Conversation
5 January 2023
Stigma is an awful burden for business. But what if – for some companies – stigma is an asset?
John R. Platt and Tara Lohan
The Revelator
4 January 2023
This will be a critical year for several endangered and threatened species, as well as a time of opportunity for others.
Ways to keep your house cool during summer’s heat that doesn’t cost a fortune
Emma Wynne
ABC Yours Newsletter
3 January 2023
Short of blasting the air conditioner (and coping with the subsequent bill), people can make small changes around their homes to keep the inside temperature down.
2022, a year staring at the apocalypse
Farhana Haque Rahman
The Manila Times
3 January 2023
A year that started with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and is ending with famine in Africa, while still spreading death and misery through an enduring pandemic and a deteriorating climate crisis — 2022 has been an apocalyptic warning of the frailty of our planet and the woeful shortcomings of humankind.
There was a break from Climate Change articles until 3 January 2023.
Instead there were short, daily articles that may be of interest to you.
The Future of AI, According to Human History
Alan Trapulionis
Medium.com
2 January 2023
“…Humanity will create something more powerful than itself. When you have something that understands you better than you understand yourself, then you’re useless. Anything you can do, this system can do better.” Yuval Noah Harari
The 24 Questions That Can Warn You of Declining Brain Health
Alexa V.S.
Medium.com
1 January 2023
How to know if your brain might be suffering from cognitive decline, and what to do about it?
Sarah Berry
The AGE
31 December 2022
The AGE recently serialised these 6 short articles.
They were written by Sarah Berry, a SLEEP expert.
You may find some of the suggestions useful.
- What happens when we sleep?
- Rethink a perfect night’s sleep
- Light up your circadian rhythm
- Quest to rest: from pills to pillows
- Daily hacks for sweet dreams
- Chase not; let sleep come to you
How to learn a language (and stick at it)
John Gallagher
psyche.co
30 December 2022
Forget about fluency and how languages are taught at school: as an adult learner you can take a whole new approach
Will Lockett
Medium.com
29 December 2022
Is this a good idea?
More information is HERE.
How supermarket design influences what you put in your trolley
Nicola Heath, Rosanna Ryan and Teresa Tan
ABC News
28 December 2022
It’s time to do your grocery shopping. You’ve got your reusable bags and your shopping list. You’ve written down everything you need to prepare meals for the week: staples like bread, milk and eggs, plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables, and healthy snacks for the family. But there’s a lot more that’s happening in the supermarket that influences what you put in your trolley.
Robert Roy Britt
Medium.com
27 December 2022
Walking, and more of it, is great for health, but let’s be reasonable, science says
Why it’s becoming nearly impossible to be healthy in Australia
Dr Sandro Demaio
ABC News
26 December 2022
It seems counterintuitive. That in a country as rich as ours, and with a world-class health system, 50 per cent of Australians now live with chronic disease. You can view Magda Szubanski’s program for free on ABCiView here https://iview.abc.net.au/show/magda-s-big-national-health-check
Would you eat food made from plastic?
Abby
MEDIUM.COM
25 December 2022
How scientists are transforming plastic waste into food-safe ingredients
How to Talk to Anyone at a Christmas Party
Various Authors
Forge Magazine
24 December 2022
The holidays are a time of warmth, cheer, and awkwardness. Here’s how to enjoy even the trickiest conversations.