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In his new documentary, the explorer joins Borneo’s Penan tribe to see what the world’s indigenous people can teach us about our own survival and that of the planet

• Tawai: A Voice from the Forest review – earnest odyssey to the heart of Borneo

Bruce Parry has made a career out of going native. The Royal Marine-turned-celebrity explorer may not yet be as fully-fledged an institution as David Attenborough, but if the British public were to nominate anyone to paddle up a crocodile-infested creek, tuck into a wriggling dinner or liberate their mind with shamanistic drugs, Parry would surely rank near the top.

So it is worthy of note that this affable and – until now – mainstream film-maker has been forced to part ways with the BBC for his latest project, a documentary that stresses environmental defence begins on the home front.

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The entrepreneur says his new rocket could fly people to Mars or move them rapidly between cities.

Creator of ChemStart, Bathabile Mpofu, takes hands-on scientific experiments into schools in South Africa.

Cast: AdelaideSBN

Mercury is found in household items from beauty products to electronics, and even in food. Without proper safeguards our health is in danger

Mercury is far more pervasive than most people realise, and we have no idea how many people are at risk. It can be found in everything from mascara and dental amalgam to thermometers and skin whitening creams – and that’s before it reaches the food chain.

There is no safe level of exposure, and everyone is at risk when mercury is released without safeguards. Children and newborn and unborn babies are most vulnerable, along with populations who eat contaminated fish. Studies have shown that children as far afield as Brazil, Canada, China, Columbia and Greenland all suffer cognitive impairment from eating fish containing mercury.

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Bigger livestock in larger numbers in more regions has led to methane in the air climbing faster than predicted due to ‘out-of-date data’

Emissions of the greenhouse gas methane from livestock are larger than previously thought, posing an additional challenge in the fight to curb global warming, scientists have said.

Revised calculations of methane produced per head of cattle show that global livestock emissions in 2011 were 11% higher than estimates based on data from the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC).

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Tesla signs connection agreement for world's biggest lithium battery" in South Australia, triggering 100-day countdown. But much of it is already in place and was providing the power for a night-time launch party at the Hornsdale wind farm.

Cast: AdelaideSBN

Australia is standing for election to the World Heritage Committee from 2017 to 2021.

Cast: AdelaideSBN

Welburn, North Yorkshire Neighbourly etiquette precludes releasing our captives near another house, and compassion compels me to avoid roads

While we were on holiday recently, our home became the venue for an unsanctioned party. It probably started with one or two acquaintances, a few nibbles. But word got around, as it does. The first we knew of the ensuing orgy was the smell in the kitchen, the ureic perma-damp stink I associate with concrete-floored public toilets.

Our house is highly permeable to small mammals. On moving in we found dozens of bank vole skeletons in the loft. Two shrews once drowned in a nappy bucket and another morning we found a baby rabbit camped under a bookcase. Sometimes bats appear in the kitchen.

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A year ago, the power system went down in South Australia. Homes and businesses across the state were without electricity for hours, some for days. While its specific causes have already been worked through, the nation’s most widespread blackout in decades quickly became a symbol of “Australia’s energy crisis”.

One year on, it is time to ask: how far have we come and what have we learned? Some progress has been made, but there is still a long way to go before Australians can rest assured that they have an affordable, reliable and sustainable energy system.

While politicians have been beating their chests, companies pleading their case, and energy institutions busying themselves with the search for solutions, five lessons have emerged from the great SA blackout.

Read more: Baffled by baseload? Dumbfounded by dispatchables? Here’s a glossary of the energy debate

1. Big storms cause blackouts – and blackouts cause big (media) storms

There’s nothing quite like a blackout to focus the minds of politicians and industry alike, and generate momentum for energy policy reform.

In the blackout’s immediate aftermath, federal and state energy ministers together commissioned Chief Scientist Alan Finkel to review the National Electricity Market. Finkel presented his findings in June this year.

So far, 49 of his 50 recommendations have been accepted – all except the contentious Clean Energy Target. The blackout served as a reminder that electricity obeys the laws of physics, not of governments, and that system security is paramount. It has already prompted some important reforms that reduce the chances of future blackouts, such as new rules for extreme power system conditions and new obligations on network businesses.

2. Energy is now a political plaything

While being in the spotlight has created the opportunity for much-needed reforms, it has also made energy policy a political plaything.

Consider the petty public stoush between Labor SA Premier Jay Weatherill and Liberal federal energy minister Josh Frydenberg in March, or the lump of coal that was passed around Federal Parliament back in February. Politicians have created a false contest between coal and renewables, instead of working together to fix the real policy problems.

Meanwhile, consumers have been left in the dark, both literally and metaphorically. Energy institutions and companies have largely failed to explain themselves, and what is going on, to the people that matter most.

Reports from the market operator, written in technical language for industry, have triggered media panic, and politicians have seized these moments to point the finger rather than reassure the public.

Read more: The day Australia was put on blackout alert

It’s not easy. These problems are complex, and no decent explanation will fit a media soundbite. But consumers must be brought along on the journey; confusion creates unnecessary fear, unhelpful reactions, and false expectations.

3. In a crisis, politicians will act – whether or not it helps

Politicians are understandably keen to act to keep the lights on. The SA government responded by announcing a go-it-alone Energy Plan. Some other states, and the federal government, are now buying or contracting for new electricity generation and storage.

Some interventions help, but others could make matters worse. We have seen a lot of policy on the run in the past year, yet state and federal governments continue to ignore the policy changes that would make the biggest difference.

New generation and storage will be needed to bring down electricity prices, reduce emissions, and avoid supply shortfalls as older power stations are closed. Governments are jumping in to build that generation. But this could force existing generation out of the market, making the problem worse.

Industry has made it clear that policy stability, including a credible emissions reduction mechanism, is needed to enable appropriate investments to be made. Yet stability and predictability in energy and climate change policy have been sorely lacking over the past decade.

If governments can collectively agree to implement Finkel’s plan in full, this would give the market more certainty on how emissions will be cut over time, and how the entry of new technologies and the exit of old power stations will be managed.

Laying out a path from where we are today to where we want to be in future is essential. Without it, uncertainty will continue to paralyse investors and drive up electricity prices.

4. All hands are on deck, but no one is steering the ship

There is a lot going on, but it is still not clear where it is all headed. Since the blackout there has been unprecedented attention on the energy sector. Everyone is busily trying to solve this, but from their own “silo”.

The sector has always suffered from a bit of a leadership vacuum. The top policy body, the COAG Energy Council, can be compromised by partisan politics and conflicts of interest, or simply bogged down in process.

Yet it is important that Canberra works with the states and territories, because each government has different legislative levers and political priorities that affect the national energy system. Policy leadership will be crucial throughout the transition to a cleaner energy future. The COAG Energy Council needs to focus on the core strategic issues, and it will need clear guidance from the sector to do so.

5. We should be able to avoid blackouts this summer, but longer-term solutions are still needed

We are certainly better prepared for the coming summer as a result of lessons learned from the SA blackout and the renewed attention on energy policy reform. Back-up generation and demand-response schemes are being organised, new energy storage is being built, and this week Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull struck a deal that should ensure adequate domestic gas supplies.

If all goes to plan, we should be able to avoid problems this summer. But we shouldn’t be relying on emergency measures every year. Longer-term solutions are needed, and these will require continued action, building on the momentum of the past year.

Read more: A year since the SA blackout, who’s winning the high-wattage power play?

The SA blackout was a wake-up call for the sector, triggering much-needed new thinking and some early reforms. But it has also thrown energy into the spotlight, requiring the sector to lift its game, particularly in communicating with the public and each other.

Looking back on the past year, we have come a long way, but it is still not clear where we are going and who will steer us there. Australians must hope that the new Energy Security Board, which includes the heads of the three main energy institutions, can help state and federal governments chart a steady course.

A shared sense of direction, across states and across party lines, is needed to focus the sector on the horizon, rather than on the waves below.

Kate Griffiths does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond the academic appointment above.

A Queensland local government council has installed what is believed to be Australia’s first off-grid solar and battery storage system to use a Tesla Powerpack, to maintain local drinking water quality around the clock.

UK solar fund buys major stake in 110MW Bannerton solar farm as part of plan to grow investments in "attractive" geographies.

Herbert Smith Freehills’ full service project finance team has advised on the project financing of the Lilyvale Solar Farm, located 50km north east of Emerald in the Central Highlands region of Queensland.

Polling of over 1,000 voters in the Deputy Prime Minister’s electorate of New England shows strong support for renewable energy investment over coal.

Tesla's big battery will be delivered on time, or even ahead of schedule, but overwhelming demand and diversions to hurricane-affected areas mean households will have to wait for their battery storage.

At this time of year, football matters, but in the case of Australia’s energy system, the stakes are much higher and it affects us all.

Clean Energy Regulator says new rule will make replacement rooftop solar panels ineligible for the government rebate, in an effort to boost the standard of installs.

South Australia is ready to lead again, this time with saltwater pumped hydro storage. Here's an inside look at what is planned.