The Conversation

Buildings can be engineered to resist bushfires, but we can’t engineer the many aspects of human behaviour and decision-making that will still put lives at risk. Alan March, Professor of Urban Planning, Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning, The University of Melbourne Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Indigenous fire management shaped Australian tropical savannas over millennia, until the arrival of Europeans pushed the landscape back into a dangerous, unmanaged state. Cassandra Rowe, Research Fellow, James Cook University Corey J. A. Bradshaw, Matthew Flinders Professor of Global Ecology and Models Theme Leader for the ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, Flinders University Michael Bird, JCU Distinguished Professor, ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, James Cook University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

The Great Barrier Reef is facing its worst summer of sustained heat stress since the mass bleaching event of 1998, but now with less time to recover amid repeated brutal conditions. Terry Hughes, Distinguished Professor, James Cook University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

What does fire management do to soils? We compared prescribed burning to cultural burning and looked at how soil properties changed after fire. Cultural burning was better. Anthony Dosseto, Professor, University of Wollongong Katharine Haynes, Honorary Senior Research Fellow, University of Wollongong Leanne Brook, CEO, Ulladulla Local Aboriginal Land Council, Indigenous Knowledge Victor Channell, Murramarang and Walbunga Elder, Indigenous Knowledge Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

A first-of-its-kind legal decision puts native title holders in a stronger position when fighting fossil fuel projects. The Gomeroi people won their appeal against the Native Title Tribunal. Lily O'Neill, Senior Research Fellow, Melbourne Climate Futures, The University of Melbourne Rebekkah Markey-Towler, PhD Candidate, Melbourne Law School, and Research fellow, Melbourne Climate Futures, The University of Melbourne Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

This marine ecosystem is so important it’s one of the main reasons the federal government has greatly reduced the area available for offshore wind farms in the region. Jochen Kaempf, Associate Professor of Natural Sciences (Oceanography), Flinders University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Long lifespans and slow reproduction rates make deep-water sharks and rays as vulnerable to overexploitation as whales once were. We must place them under protection to avoid extinctions. Brittany Finucci, Fisheries Scientist, National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research Cassandra Rigby, Adjunct Senior Research Fellow, James Cook University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Will it make a difference when companies have to track and report emissions and environmental impact? Only if policies with teeth follow. Martina Linnenluecke, Professor of Environmental Finance at UTS Business School, University of Technology Sydney Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Australia’s increasing energy demand is inconsistent with global efforts to tackle climate change and suggests our housing energy policy requires a radical rethink. Kate Wingrove, PhD Candidate at the Sustainable Buildings Research Centre, University of Wollongong Emma Heffernan, Associate Professor in Architecture, University of Sydney Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

This obsession with economic growth is destroying our planet. We must rethink private ownership of land – that’s where it all went wrong. Alex Baumann, Sessional Lecturer, School of Social Sciences & Psychology, Western Sydney University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Is there really a secret continent to Australia’s north? Not quite. The Maritime Continent is a region where hot seas and islands shape the world’s climate. Michael Hewson, Senior Lecturer Geography, CQUniversity Australia Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

A disfiguring disease of cattle and buffalo has arrived on our doorstep. We need to keep lumpy skin disease out of Australia, while preparing for the almost inevitable outbreak. Kei Owada, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, The University of Queensland Ben Hayes, Director, Centre of Animal Science, University of Queensland, The University of Queensland Ricardo J. Soares Magalhaes, Professor, The University of Queensland Timothy J. Mahony, Professor, The University of Queensland Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Australia’s approach to estimating bushfire emissions is credible and sophisticated. But it must be refined as technology improves and the climate changes. Robert Hortle, Research Fellow, Tasmanian Policy Exchange, University of Tasmania Lachlan Johnson, Research fellow, University of Tasmania Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Platypuses are drowning in Australian waterways, tangled in fishing line and trapped in closed nets meant for freshwater crayfish or yabbies. But we can fix this. Katherine Warwick, PhD Candidate, Western Sydney University Ian A. Wright, Associate Professor in Environmental Science, Western Sydney University Michelle Ryan, Senior lecturer, Western Sydney University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Consumer NZ’s case against Z Energy under the Fair Trading Act may be a sign of things to come. But new legislation would be a cleaner way to regulate fossil fuel advertising. Matthew Hall, Visiting Scholar, Faculty of Law, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Translocation may have been the key to survival for the eastern barred bandicoot but it might not be the golden ticket for every species. Anthony Rendall, Lecturer in Conservation Biology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University Amy Coetsee, Threatened Species Biologist, The University of Melbourne Aviya Naccarella, PhD Candidate, Deakin University Euan Ritchie, Professor in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, School of Life & Environmental Sciences, Deakin University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Big changes are needed to create a consumer-centric National Electricity Market that’s able to manage the rise of rooftop solar. Vikki McLeod, PhD Graduate, Centre for Clean Energy Technologies and Practices, Queensland University of Technology Marcus Foth, Professor of Urban Informatics, Queensland University of Technology Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

For years, Australia and New Zealand have been united in working for sustainable fishing in the South Pacific. That just changed. Lynda Goldsworthy, Research Associate, University of Tasmania Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

A UN meeting this week considered a motion on a suite of technologies known as ‘solar radiation modification’, but no consensus could be reached on the controversial topic. James Kerry, Adjunct Senior Research Fellow, James Cook University, Australia and Senior Marine and Climate Scientist, OceanCare, Switzerland, James Cook University Aarti Gupta, Professor of Global Environmental Governance, Wageningen University Terry Hughes, Distinguished Professor, James Cook University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

We analysed photos of predators and prey from 3,667 camera traps in southwest Victoria. We found feral cats were more abundant and behaved differently in areas where foxes were baited. Matthew Rees, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, CSIRO Bronwyn Hradsky, Research Fellow in Ecology, The University of Melbourne Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.