Environment Archives - Page 4 of 46

The cold and the beautiful: five cool things we’ve been up to in Antarctica

Australia and Antarctica go way back. 96 million years, in fact. Lately, we’ve played a key role in some of the biggest scientific discoveries in Antarctica.

Environment

Could the Aussie barbeque go up in smoke?

In summer we all crank up the barbie and in winter we stoke the fireplace. But is all this smoke causing us harm? Our air quality experts are on the case.

Environment

Six reasons you should care about El Niño

You’ve probably heard of El Niño, but do you know what it is? Or more importantly, why you should care?

Plastic is deadly: how you can help

We calculated how many MCGs it would take to hold all the plastic in our oceans. Spoiler alert: a lot. Plastic is filling our oceans, killing animals and costing us billions. We need your help to solve this massive problem so here's what you can do about it.

Environment

Gardens in the ice: the flora of Antarctica

Not just ice, Antarctica is host to hardy mosses, lichens, and flowering plants that persist on a continent of extremes, extreme scarcity—water, heat, nutrients—and extreme overabundance—wind and radiation.

Why we need to start categorising marine heatwaves like hurricanes

Although marine heatwaves can last many months and extend over thousands of square kilometres, they don’t have a naming convention, like hurricanes do.

Indigenous peoples are crucial for conservation – a quarter of all land is in their hands

A new map shows that more than 25% of all land outside Antarctica is held and managed by Indigenous peoples. This makes these communities vital allies in the global conservation effort.

Taking charge of our lithium-ion battery waste

Australia recycles only 2% of its lithium-ion battery waste. Our new report has found ways to improve this statistic.

Happiness helps football players do better, and it could help economies too

Smiling is a reflection of confidence and greater confidence leads to a greater capacity to overcome complex situations, such as scoring a goal in the World Cup. We decided to explore whether this same smiling-creativity link holds for entire societies by looking at the relationship between happiness and creative capacity.

What a buzz: why we released millions of mozzies in northern Queensland

Our trial to reduce numbers of an invasive, disease-spreading mosquito in northern Queensland has been successful.

Environment

We need a bank of DNA from dirt and water to protect Australia’s environment

DNA sequencing means a scientist can take a bucket of seawater and ID every fish in the area. Now we need a universal 'biobank' of samples to make a truly powerful environment monitoring tool.

Sorry, baristas: instant coffee has the smallest carbon footprint (but don’t overfill the kettle)

How you prepare your coffee at home (and wash up the mugs) can have a big impact on its carbon footprint. So fill that kettle carefully, and only brew what you know you'll drink.

Environment