Act locally, think globally on environmental issues

Many people worry about environmental issues, and despair at the lack of effective political policy to tackle them, but taking individual action can make a positive improvement to the world around us and our state of mind.

The global big dry

Much of Australia has suffered drought in recent months, and global water supplies also shrinking, even as the amount of rainfall is on the rise. The culprit? The drying of soils due to climate change.

Litter is more dangerous than sharks at the beach

Shark attacks are rare but grab the headlines, yet beach litter and marine debris injures one-fifth of beach users, particularly children and older people.

Saving Tasmania’s giant freshwater lobster

Tasmania’s giant freshwater crayfish is the largest freshwater invertebrate in the world, growing up to a metre in length and living for 80 years, but the iconic “lobster” is now threatened across northern Tasmania because of illegal fishing and habitat loss.

Stick to the path to stay out of trouble in our National Parks

The main risks encountered when venturing into the wilderness – from falling off cliffs and waterfalls to deadly snakebites or getting lost – can all be reduced by one crucial piece of advice: stick to the path.

The loss of inter-tidal ecosystems exposes coastal communities

In a world-first study of its kind, UNSW and UQ researchers used artificial intelligence and extensive satellite imagery to find that intertidal zones around the globe have receded.

How extreme weather events batter wildlife populations

A third of Australia’s spectacled flying foxes died in an extreme heatwave north of Cairns in November and new research has shed more light on the devastating effect such weather events can have on wildlife populations.

Queensland sharks suffer sharp decline

While the media portrays sharks as a threat to humanity, the reality is that human action has devastated shark populations around the world, with falls of up to 90% in Queensland’s coastal sharks over the last 50 years.

Invasive species and habitat loss threaten our biodiversity

Invasive species and habitat loss are the biggest threats to Australian biodiversity, according to new research by the Threatened Species Recovery Hub in partnership with The University of Queensland.

Building greener cities helps people thrive too

A new approach to urban design which treats biodiversity as an opportunity, rather than a constraint, would improve the quality of life of future city dwellers as well as help protect ever more threatened urban habitats and species.

Victoria’s old cell-phones help Congo’s gorillas

More than 115, 000 mobile phones have been collected and recycled through a community campaign at Zoos Victoria, preventing around 12 to 20 cubic metres of waste going to landfill and recovering 182 kg of materials whose mining threatens wild populations of eastern Grauer’s gorillas in the Congo.

Victoria’s wet spring won’t damp down summer bushfires

While spells of wet weather make a small impact on the risk of bushfires in the summer, long-term climate trends are much more important in shaping the extent of the threat.