Life in the deep freeze – the revolution that changed our view of glaciers forever
Saiko3p/ShutterstockI’ve been fascinated by glaciers since I was 14, when geography textbooks taught me about strange rivers of ice that crept down yawning valleys like giant serpents stalking their next meal. That...
Tesla's Bitcoin about-face is a warning for cryptocurrencies that ignore climate change
ShutterstockOver the weekend, Tesla chief executive Elon Musk suggested his company could sell off its Bitcoin holdings, sending the cryptocurrency plummeting. It followed Musk’s announcement earlier this month...
Downloading our thoughts to the mainframe may be the stuff of science fiction — but humans have been imagining it for centuries
In Altered Carbon, bodies just become 'sleeves' for downloaded human brains to occupy. NetflixModern transhumanism is the belief that, in the future, science and technology will enable us to transcend our bodily...
Social plants: in the wild, staghorn ferns grow in colonies to improve water storage for all members
Shutterstock/Florist_YanaSocial colonies are nothing new in the animal kingdom. We know bees, ants and termites live in large colonies, divide labour and co-operate to take care of offspring produced by a single...
A Victorian logging company just won a controversial court appeal. Here’s what it means for forest wildlife
Australia’s forest-dwelling wildlife is in greater peril after last week’s court ruling that logging — even if it breaches state requirements — is exempt from the federal law that protects threatened species....
From Mickey to Moana — Disney treasures at ACMI tell the story of animation's evolution over almost a century
ACMI/Phoebe PowellReview: Disney: The Magic of Animation at ACMI. Disney is one of the longest running animation studios in the world. As a result, the studio’s nearly 100 year legacy also provides a substantial...
Using captured CO₂ in everyday products could help fight climate change, but will consumers want them?
Consumer decisions could play a critical role in dealing with climate change. A study gauging perceptions was published May 13, 2021. FotographiaBasica via Getty ImagesWould you drink carbonated beverages made with...
Art by Indigenous prisoners can forge links with culture and a future away from crime
The Torch artist and Barkindji man Trevor Mitchell at work on a painting. The TorchFeaturing over 350 artworks created by more than 320 artists, The Torch’s annual exhibition, Confined 12, is its largest to date. All...
Getting ready for climate change is about people, not spreadsheets. Let's use our imaginations
Measures in this week’s federal budget to help Australians withstand and adapt to climate change are sorely needed, after years of cuts in this policy area. The Morrison government has funded a raft of initiatives,...
A dangerous fire season looms as the drought-stricken Western US heads for a water crisis
Just about every indicator of drought is flashing red across the western U.S. after a dry winter and warm early spring. The snowpack is at less than half of normal in much of the region. Reservoirs are being drawn down,...
WhatsApp's controversial privacy update may be banned in the EU – but the app's sights are fixed on India
The May 15 deadline for users to accept WhatsApp's new privacy policy has also been extended by 'several weeks'. rafapress/ShutterstockThe roll out of WhatsApp’s new privacy policy, which critics warn will lead to...
Refugee camps can wreak enormous environmental damages – should source countries be liable for them?
Tents in a Rohingya refugee camp cluster on a muddy hillside in Bangladesh. Saleh Ahmed, CC BY-NDWhile it may seem that much of the world has been locked down during the past pandemic year, more than 80 million people...
The budget should have been a road to Australia's low-emissions future. Instead, it's a flight of fancy
ShutterstockLooking at other nations around the world, the path to cutting greenhouse gas emissions seems clear. First, develop wind and solar energy and battery storage to replace coal- and gas-fired electricity....
The Mitchells vs The Machines shows 'smart' tech might be less of a threat to family bonds than we fear
NetflixRobots have fascinated cinema-goers ever since Fritz Lang’s 1927 expressionist silent film Metropolis. The German dystopia film portrays a near future where a female robot (a “gynoid”) is built as an evil...