Category Archives Environment

Three years ago today, I witnessed first-hand, the unrelenting and profoundly destructive force of the fires that created Australia's worst natural disaster in recorded history. The fires that began on February 7th 2009 "Black Saturday" took many lives, destroyed many homes and buildings and most certainly altered the psyche of many that I know, including me. 1000 plus degrees is…

Giant glacier in Antarctic is melting four times faster than thought.. Satellite records show that if the melting of the Pine Island Glacier in west Antarctica continues at current rates, the main section will have disappeared in 100 years, 500 years sooner than thought just a decade ago. [Environmental Health News]

Executive Director of the Lowy Institute, Michael Wesley, gave a short presentation in Melbourne, with the broad theme being that coming years are likely to see Australia facing the most challenging global environment in our history. Read on at CoreEcon.. Australia's next great challenge?.

Not a plant to be seen, the desert ground is too dry.  But the air contains water, and research scientists have found a way of obtaining drinking water from air humidity. The system is based completely on renewable energy and is therefore autonomous. Cracks permeate the dried-out desert ground, the landscape bears testimony to the lack of water. But even…

Should we bother trying to save energy?. Not according to the Australia Institute who today came out with a press release on the insulation package, arguing that with the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme, it won't reduce emissions.The Government says the scheme will help households save energy and cut carbon emissions by up to 49 million tonnes by 2020. But the…

World faces last chance to avoid fatal warming: EU. The world faces a final opportunity to agree an adequate global response to climate change at a U.N.-led meeting in Copenhagen in December, the European Union's environment chief said on Friday. [Environmental Health News]

  Five days ago, at around this time, I was in the path of [apparently] 1400 degrees.   Our home and all belongings are gone.   I am alive and with my family.   It really happened.... It appears almost everything on the ground has vaporised. It looks like I imagine the surface of the moon.        …

The weight of water behind a 500-foot dam in China may have triggered the massive magnitude 7.9 earthquake in May that killed more than 70,000 people. Link: Man-Made Dam May Have Triggered Great China Quake.

Global Scientists Draw Attention To Threat Of Ocean Acidification. More than 150 leading marine scientists from 26 countries are calling for immediate action by policy-makers to sharply reduce carbon dioxide emissions so as to avoid widespread and severe damage to marine ecosystems from ocean acidification. [ScienceDaily: Latest Science News]

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