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Australian sponges made from waste can soak up oil spills
Freya Langley | April 24, 2018Australian scientists have developed a reusable sponge-like polymer to efficiently soak up environmentally damaging oil spills in the world’s oceans.
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The limits of modelling – Knowing what we don’t know
Emma White | April 22, 2018Modelling the impact of mine developments on groundwater is critical for protecting ecosystems and agriculture, but it can go astray if we don’t recognise that all models lack certainty.
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Hacking the reef
Open Forum | April 21, 2018Queensland’s innovation festival Myriad is hosting a ground-breaking creative think tank today to find solutions to the problem of plastics and other marine debris despoiling the Great Barrier Reef.
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The threatened species in our urban jungle
Kylie Soanes | April 20, 2018Far from being a biodiversity wasteland, our sprawling conurbations are home to some of Australia’s most threatened species. While some have already been lost, others can still be nurtured to maintain a toe-hold for nature in an increasingly man-made environment.
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South Australia’s supermarket bag ban won’t cut plastic pollution
Scott Morton | April 19, 2018State bans on plastic bags may reducing the litter on our streets but won’t do enough to tackle the global problem of plastic pollution.
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Marine heatwaves are getting hotter, longer and more frequent
Alvin Stone | April 15, 2018Marine heatwaves have increased over the past century as a direct result of warming oceans, with significant impacts on biodiversity, fisheries, tourism and aquaculture.
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Australia’s 2017 environment scorecard – Too hot to handle?
Albert Van Dijk | April 13, 2018Record-breaking temperatures stressed our ecosystems on land and sea in 2017, according to our annual environmental scorecard. Unfortunately, it looks like those records will be broken again next year – and again in the years after that.
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Research efforts step up to save the Great Barrier Reef
David Mead | April 11, 2018Australia’s leading coral reef researchers and managers have come together to address one of the most pressing environmental issues to face our Great Barrier Reef.
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Why the health of our ecosystems matters as much as their size
Ayesha Tulloch | April 9, 2018The Victorian mountain ash forest, like many other Australian habitats, has been severely affected by fires and logging. To determine the actual health of the forest, we need to look at the quality, not just the quantity, of what remains.
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Our ‘liveable’ cities need a visionary response to rapid growth
Chris Chesterfield | April 8, 2018Australia is now undergoing its third great wave of population growth, putting pressure on infrastructure, services and the environment. A similar third wave of planning and investment in open space and green infrastructure is therefore now needed to underpin liveability as our cities grow.
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Tracking down London’s thylacines
Penny Edmonds | April 7, 2018The Tasmanian Tiger is one of 30 mammals that have been lost in Australia since European settlement and we still have the worst mammal extinction rate in the world. Thinking through the meanings and politics of the loss of the thylacine is crucially important to protecting the environnment today.
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Myth and dystopia in the Anthropocene
Mark Kernan | April 5, 2018The symbolism of the devouring glacier is unmistakable. As these modern day ice giants melt, they seek revenge for their deaths by attempting to devour those whose actions are causing their demise—our cities, our industries and us.