Planet hamburger

Vast tracts of forest in Australia and around the world have been cleared to make pasture for cattle farming, with disastrous environmental effects. Restoring the world’s forest cover to combat climate change will therefore require a wholesale change in humanity’s taste for meat.

An ocean index will drive the blue economy

The Blue Economy Development Index takes a holistic approach to coastal and marine resource use by using social, economic and environmental indicators to track changes over time at national and international levels.

Farming under the sea

Seaweed farming could free up millions of hectares of land and help cut carbon emissions if its true value is realised but establishing at any scale will take time and investment.

There’s a world going on underground

Hidden underground fungi networks that transport minerals from the soil to plants could be taking in the equivalent of one-third of carbon emitted yearly by fossil fuels, according to international research.

Could life have evolved more than once?

The genesis of life is the oldest biological event, so old that no clear evidence evidence exists beyond the existence of life itself. This leaves many questions open, and one of the most tantalising is how many times life magically emerged from non-living elements.

Extinction is forever

In the lead-up to World Biodiversity Day on 22 May, the Invasive Species Council has reviewed recent research showing Australia has been averaging at least 4.5 probable extinctions every decade since the 1960s, which is more than previously thought.

No plastic? Fantastic

Plastic pollution could reduce by 80 per cent by 2040 if countries and companies make deep policy and market shifts using existing technologies, according to a new report by UN Environment Programme.

Controlling the exotic pet trade

The booming wildlife trade poses serious threats to animal welfare, conservation, human health and biosecurity in Australia and beyond.

Replanting done right

Well intentioned tree-planting schemes can fail if simple rules known to every gardener are not followed when saplings are put in the soil. Fancy tools and strict spacing is far less important, for example, than handling roots with care and saturating the soil.

Think globally, act locally

The constant barrage of bad news stories about the global and national environment can make the problems seem too large to solve, but small consistent actions by enough concerned individuals can make a big difference to saving the natural world.

Make room, make room

In the lead-up to Earth Day 2023, Sustainable Population Australia has called for stabilising, then reducing, population numbers both globally and in Australia.

Green planet

Half our planet’s land surface must remain vegetated if humanity is to meet international goals for maintaining essentials such as food, clean water, and air.