Global rates of resource consumption and ecological impact are now far beyond levels that are sustainable, or that all people in the world could rise to, or that technical advance could make sustainable. This is steadfastly ignored by all governments and the economics profession and the consuming masses. Few realise how great the degrowth would Continue reading »
climate
In World War III the enemy is not an array of tanks, shells and soldiers, but a collection of beliefs damaging to the earth’s future. The enemies are the minds and actions of those with the cult of neo-liberalism and greed acting through the power of huge industries, the enemy within. In 2006 “Why we Continue reading »
Both the WHO and UN may be starting to take seriously the effects of climate change on health. A global plan to save 1,000 freshwater fish from extinction. Covid reverses life expectancy at birth. WHO resolution on climate change and health It’s difficult to know whether to celebrate (the achievement) or groan (about the delay) Continue reading »
In an era of out of control climate change, the case for leaving gold in the ground is even stronger than that for coal. Investor and shareholder pressure has seen the likes of BHP and Rio Tinto divesting from the latter; but in practical, if not financial, terms ending the mining of gold is a Continue reading »
Two major Malaysian logging companies that have devastated Borneo’s forests have been granted “Forest Carbon Research Permits” in the first step to enable them to log old-growth forests and claim carbon credits. The Malaysian state government of Sarawak has granted Forest Carbon Study permits to the Shin Yang group of companies and SaraCarbon Sdn Bhd, Continue reading »
Australia’s emissions reductions have stalled just when we need to be ramping up ambition and action. Concrete’s emissions set to be high for decades. Australia’s emissions reductions stall Ketan Joshi keeps a very close eye on what the government reports as Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions. His analysis of the emissions to the end of 2023 Continue reading »
Each winter the surface of the sea freezes around Antarctica, over a vast area, mostly to a depth of about one metre. But this is starting to change. Last year, the sea ice reached an unprecedentedly low maximum extent of only 17 million square kilometres. Why aren’t we talking about sea ice? Perhaps it’s because Continue reading »
I can not think of a greater tragedy in existence than to allow the greed of a few to destroy all life on earth. “What is it going to take?” It’s the question I whisper as I do the dishes. It’s the question that ticks along in my mind with the indicator at traffic lights. Continue reading »
Despite industry and political spin, our Australian native forests continue to be destroyed. The many mythologies put forward in defence of continued logging are contradicted in detail by the facts and evidence. In this podcast, David Lindemayer, AO, distinguished professor, forest ecology, Australian National University (ANU) and author of the book ‘The Forest Wars: the Ugly Continue reading »
Big old trees are few in number but store lots of carbon. Loopholes found in Victoria’s ban on native tree logging. Great Barrier Reef bleaches for fifth time in eight years. Which trees hold the most carbon? The somewhat complicated figure below illustrates a very important point: the few, older, larger trees in primary forests Continue reading »