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The impact of new highly efficient fridges and washing machines, zero carbon homes and LED lighting will likely reshape the global energy markets, Citigroup says, removing pricing power from fossil fuel plants.

MINIATURE LABORATORY: A new skin patch could help you keep tabs on your health while you work up a sweat - literally.

A large proportion of Australia's perishable vegetables and fruit, such as strawberries, are grown on city fringe farmland around Australia Matthew Carey

Our food systems are under increasing pressure from growing populations, diminishing resources and climate change. But, in a new report, we argue that city foodbowls – the agricultural land surrounding our cities – could supply more secure and sustainable food.

The final report of our Foodprint Melbourne project outlines a vision for “resilient city foodbowls” that can harness city waste to produce food, reduce dependence on distant sources of food and act as a buffer against increasing volatility in global food supplies.

But to do so we need to start planning now. Food is a basic human need – along with water, housing and transport – but it hasn’t been high on the planning agenda for Australia’s cities.

Growing food, and jobs

Australia’s city foodbowls are an important part of the nation’s food supply, particularly for fresh vegetables.

Melbourne’s foodbowl produces almost half of the vegetables grown in Victoria, and has the capacity to meet around 82% of the city’s vegetable needs.

Nationally, around 47% of highly perishable vegetables (such as lettuce, tomatoes and mushrooms) are produced in the foodbowls of the major state capitals, as well as eggs, chicken and perishable fruits such as berries.

New analysis by Deloitte Access Economics has shown that Melbourne’s foodbowl contributes A$2.45 billion each year to the regional economy and around 21,000 fulltime-equivalent jobs. The largest contributors (to the economy and to jobs) in Melbourne’s foodbowl are the fruit and vegetable industries.

Other research estimates that agriculture in Sydney’s foodbowl contributes around A$1 billion to the regional economy. The flow-on effects through the regional economy are estimated to be considerably higher.

City foodbowls at risk

City foodbowls are increasingly at risk. Our project has previously highlighted risks from urban sprawl, climate change, water scarcity and high levels of food waste.

Melbourne’s foodbowl currently supplies 41% of the city’s total food needs. But growing population and less land means this could fall to 18% by 2050.

Australia’s other city foodbowls face similar pressures. For example, between 2000 and 2005, Brisbane’s land available for vegetable crops reduced by 28%, and Sydney may lose 90% of its vegetable-growing land by 2031 if its current growth rate continues.

These losses can be minimised by setting strong limits on urban sprawl, using existing residential areas (infill) and encouraging higher-density living.

However, accommodating a future Melbourne population of 7 million (even at much higher density) will still likely mean we lose some farmland. The Deloitte modelling estimated this will lead to a loss of agricultural output from Melbourne’s foodbowl of between A$32 million and A$111 million each year.

Protecting our food supply

Australia’s city foodbowls could play a vital role in a more sustainable and resilient food supply. If we look after our foodbowls, these areas will strengthen cities against the disruptions in food supplies that are likely to become more common thanks to climate change.

The New Urban Agenda adopted in October 2016 at the United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development, or Habitat III, emphasises the need for cities to “strengthen food system planning”. It recognises that dependence on distant sources of food and other resources can create sustainability challenges and vulnerabilities to supply disruptions.

Resilient city food systems will need to draw on food from multiple sources – global, national and local – to be able to withstand and recover from supply disruptions due to chronic stresses, such as drought, and acute shocks, such as storms and floods.

Our final report presents a vision of a resilient city foodbowl for Melbourne.

In this future vision, highly perishable foods continue to grow close to the city. City waste streams are harnessed to counter decreasing supplies of water and conventional fertilisers, and increased investment in delivery of recycled water creates “drought-proof” areas of food production close to city water treatment plants.

If Australia’s cities are to retain their foodbowls as they grow, food will need to become a central focus of city planning. This is likely to require new policy approaches focused on “food system planning” that addresses land use and other issues, such as water availability.

We also need to strengthen local and regional food systems by finding innovative ways to link city fringe farmers and urban consumers – such as food hubs. This will create more diverse and resilient supply chains.

Rachel Carey is a Research Fellow at the University of Melbourne on the Foodprint Melbourne project, which is funded by the Lord Mayor's Charitable Foundation. Project partners include the City of Melbourne and the peak bodies representing the local government areas in Melbourne's city fringe foodbowl. She is also a Research Fellow on the project 'Regulating Food Labels: The case of free range food products in Australia', which is funded by the Australian Research Council.

Jennifer Sheridan is a researcher at the University of Melbourne on the Foodprint Melbourne project, which is funded by the Lord Mayor's Charitable Foundation. Project partners include the City of Melbourne and the peak bodies representing the local government areas in Melbourne's city fringe foodbowl.

Kirsten Larsen is a Research Fellow at the University of Melbourne on the Foodprint Melbourne project, which is funded by the Lord Mayor's Charitable Foundation. Project partners include the City of Melbourne and the peak bodies representing the local government areas in Melbourne's city fringe foodbowl. She is also a Director of the Open Food Foundation, which receives money from the Victorian Department of Health.

When only 14 of any species are left in the wild, you know they are in trouble.

Such is the crisis faced by the last remaining population of orange-bellied parrots in southwest Tasmania. To make matters even worse, very few of these birds are females.

On our trip to southwest Tasmania on Tuesday, we found four nests. We will be returning to the site soon to count the fertile eggs.

There have been some heartening stories of the reversal of fortunes when endangered species crash to such low levels, but these stand against a bleak backdrop of increasing extinction rates in the 21st century.

In perhaps the most dramatic success story, there were only five Chatham Island black robins left in 1980, with the survival of the species hinging on just one breeding pair. The outlook was bleak, but a dedicated team of New Zealand scientists took the daring step of cross-fostering eggs and young to another species to boost productivity.

The fostering program developed to save the black robin worked so well that it became the benchmark for how to save endangered birds around the world. There are now more than 200 Chatham Island black robins in the wild.

Orange-bellied parrots breed only in the south-west Tasmanian wilderness. Dejan Stojanovic Difficult birds

Orange-bellied parrots have an awkward habit that makes them an especially difficult bird to conserve: they migrate.

Every autumn the parrots leave their breeding grounds in Tasmania and fly across Bass Strait to spend the winter in the salt marshes along the Victorian coastline. Migration is a dangerous business and many do not return.

Parrots often move around in flocks looking for food. Knowing where to go, and when, is cultural knowledge held in trust by the flock. Older, experienced birds lead the younger ones and share their knowledge of vast landscapes. This transfer of information from parents to offspring, and between all flock members, is essential.

When numbers fall and birds cannot draw on that reservoir of knowledge, or indeed benefit from the safety of numbers, things begin to go wrong.

Numbers are now so low that it is doubtful whether enough experienced parrots are left to lead the flock to food and safety. The value of the remaining wild birds is especially high.

View from the nest box. Dejan Stojanovic Last chance

Several years ago the Tasmanian government showed tremendous foresight by setting up a captive breeding colony of orange-bellied parrots. These were the “insurance population” for gradual release into the wild to bolster the critical mass of wild birds.

However, the captive-raised parrots have not proved to be as hardy as their wild cousins. Numbers in the wild continue to dwindle in spite of several decades of bird releases at the breeding site. A major outbreak of parrot beak and feather disease in 2015 also wiped out many of the nestlings hatched by wild parrots.

With only 14 wild birds left, difficult decisions must be made and dramatic action is required. The “insurance population” remains our trump card.

We recently launched a crowd-funding campaign to cover the costs of an emergency intervention using the insurance population.

The extent of the crisis only washed over us about a week ago. But hamstrung by the slowness of raising funding via usual methods, and with the agreement of all parties involved, we decided to raise funds quickly to enable the required emergency actions.

We reached our initial target of A$60,000 in less than two days. As we write, we are crashing through the A$100,000 mark in pledges from concerned members of the public. We have just lifted the bar to A$120,000 to fund our work well into next year.

We feel truly humbled by the generosity of the public reaction. It shows the extent to which people from all walks of life care about saving this species from extinction.

A parrot at the nest. Dejan Stojanovic

Our immediate plans are simple by necessity. As the few remaining orange-bellied parrots have already laid their clutches, we have little time to act if we are to help them breed to full capacity this season.

We will closely monitor the breeding birds and wherever necessary replace any infertile eggs with fertile ones from the captive birds. We will bolster with eggs and nestlings the brood of any female who has too few, and we will remove and hand-rear back to full health any nestlings that appear to be ailing. We will also boost the number of female nestlings to try to overcome the imbalance of the sexes.

In short, we will use the precious insurance birds in the best way possible, by turning their young into fully wild birds, who are fighting fit thanks to close bonds with their wild foster parents.

It will be a long road to recovery and there are no guarantees of success. But we simply cannot let these beautiful birds go extinct without joining the courageous team who have nurtured them this far and throwing absolutely everything we have at getting them back on their feet (or on the wing) in the wild.

Rob Heinsohn receives funding from the Threatened Species Hub (Australian Federal Government) and the Australian Research Council.

Dejan Stojanovic receives funding from the Australian Government as part of a Research Offset, the Australian Research Council, and the National Environmental Science Program.

Plastic packaging | The lure of London | Lewis Carroll’s Latin pun | ‘Ultra-high-net-worth individuals’ | Yugoslavia | Humanities v sciences | Hygge

If we are not recycling all our plastic waste, largely because many councils cannot deal with all the variations (Just a third of plastic is recycled, survey shows, 22 November), why are the major supermarkets allowed to keep inventing new wrappings consisting of mixed materials and marked “Not currently recyclable”?
Jean Wood
Hythe, Kent

• In 1970, it wasn’t the work, it was the prospect of sex, drugs and rock’n’roll and escaping from home that was the lure (Our friends from the north, G2, 22 November). Now I crave to return to Liverpool, but London-born husband refuses to go somewhere that’s wetter and colder.
Jennifer Henley
London

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The melting Antarctic glacier that now contributes more to sea-level rise than any other ice stream on the planet began its big decline in the 1940s.

Toxic air is causing almost half a million premature deaths in Europe every year, a new report says.

The money for new roads and freezing fuel tax overwhelms support for electric cars, further fuelling the nation’s air pollution crisis

Drive, baby, drive - that was the message from chancellor Philip Hammond’s autumn budget statement, with more money paving the way to new roads and a freeze on fuel tax.

The problem is the UK already has an air pollution crisis that causes tens of thousands of early deaths – more traffic will only make it worse. Furthermore, rising transport emissions are one of the biggest obstacles to the nation meeting its legal targets for cutting carbon emissions.

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The European Space Agency's preliminary report into the Schiaparelli crash on Mars confirms the probe became confused about its altitude.

As winter finally arrives across the US, we take a look back at the annual dazzling display of color across the continent

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Barack Obama awards medal to Margaret Hamilton to recognise role in sending humankind into space.

Only Italy has more annual deaths from nitrogen dioxide, according to a report by the European Environment Agency

The UK is second only to Italy in Europe for the highest number of annual deaths from a major air pollutant, a report has found just days after a court gave UK ministers a deadline for drawing up a stronger air quality plan.

The European Environment Agency said the UK had 11,940 premature deaths from nitrogen dioxide (NO2) in 2013. This is down from 14,100 in 2012, but still the second worst in Europe. The toxic gas is mostly caused by diesel vehicles and is linked to lung problems.

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Nasa astronaut Shane Kimbrough has been showing off the specialties he'll be preparing for the crew's Thanksgiving meal aboard the ISS this year.

They may be cheap and expendable, but XBTs provide crucial data about the oceans

Earth is warming due to the release of heat-trapping greenhouse gases. Scientists are working hard to measure how fast the planet is warming, how much warming has occurred over the past few decades, and how this is affecting coastal areas, ecosystems, and fisheries. By understanding these factors, scientists can better project future climate impacts.

A large component of Earth’s warming involves the oceans, which absorb excess heat. The difficulty of gathering measurements in the oceans is that they are vast, deep, and often hard to reach. It’s also costly. Think about it: if you wanted to take the ocean’s temperature, how would you do it?

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With a reality TV demagogue in power, it’s crucial that we find a story in which people can discern a better future

Climate change is like the type of film director who, having already thrown the audience into seemingly inescapable peril, keeps piling on the jeopardy. The carbon budget to stay below the Paris climate accord’s target of 1.5C of warming is all but used up, and staying below even its lower goal of 2C now requires elaborate leaps of faith.

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43 UK universities have pledged to dump investments in fossil fuels, having accepted the arguments of campaigners

Pretty much all we know about climate change comes from academia, which makes the news of a leap in fossil fuel divestment by universities in the UK particularly important.

On so many issues over the decades, where universities lead, society follows. Now, as I report here, 43 UK universities have pledged to dump investments in fossil fuels, having accepted the arguments of campaigners that funding these companies is both economically and morally bankrupt.

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The worst drought in 25 years in Bolivia is affecting at least seven major cities. In La Paz alone, water rationing has hit almost half of the city’s 800,000 inhabitants while, elsewhere, peasants and miners are competing for the use of aquifers.

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Wenlock Edge, Shropshire There is something about the combination of sky-blue, red and black that fascinates me – I don’t understand why

For a moment before dusk, the sky was sky-blue. Like looking into a pool, only overhead, the sky’s edges around its horizons were pale, chalky, blackbird egg blue, deepening through Wedgwood into the above as it thickened ultramarine and darkened inkily towards space.

Oddly, the colour gained more substance as the atmosphere became thinnest, so that light itself was the material of air. From high on the Edge, the blue replaced everything I noticed about the sky: crazy shoals of rooks and jackdaws, arrowheads of geese, wraiths of starlings speeding towards murmurations.

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Nasa’s Earth science division is set to be stripped of funding as the president-elect seeks to shift focus away from home in favor of deep space exploration

Donald Trump is poised to eliminate all climate change research conducted by Nasa as part of a crackdown on “politicized science”, his senior adviser on issues relating to the space agency has said.

Nasa’s Earth science division is set to be stripped of funding in favor of exploration of deep space, with the president-elect having set a goal during the campaign to explore the entire solar system by the end of the century.

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The idea is to come up with better alternatives to this. Australian Customs and Border Protection Service, CC BY

Japan’s fleet has left port for another season of “scientific” research whaling in the Southern Ocean.

Like last year, there is little that anyone can do to legally rescind Japan’s self-issued lethal research permit – a fact that has led to calls for more pragmatism and less confrontation in efforts to conserve whales.

Such avenues include greater collaboration between the International Whaling Commission (IWC) and other organisations, and a renewed emphasis on marine ecosystem research in the Southern Ocean.

How whale poo can help

While Japan’s new whaling program dominated the IWC’s summit last month, a Chilean-sponsored resolution nicknamed the “whale poo” resolution was also quietly adopted at the meeting.

More formally known as the Draft Resolution on Cetaceans and Their Contribution to Ecosystem Functioning, the resolution notes the growing scientific evidence that whale faeces are a crucial source of micronutrients for plankton.

The resolution will lead to a review of the ecological, environmental, social and economic aspects of whale defecation “as a matter of importance”, while the IWC’s Scientific Committee will review the research and identify any relevant knowledge gaps.

Why is this important?

Much of the Southern Ocean is described as high-nutrient, low-chlorophyll (HNLC) waters. This means that the despite high concentrations of important nutrients such as nitrate and phosphate, the abundance of phytoplankton is very low.

Phytoplankton is the base of the marine food chain, and plays an important role in the global carbon cycle by removing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere through photosynthesis. However, the growth of phytoplankton in large HNLC regions of the Southern Ocean is limited by the availability of a key micronutrient: iron. In essence, the Southern Ocean is anaemic, and whale poo is the remedy.

It works like this. Antarctic krill graze on phytoplankton, taking up the iron. The krill are then consumed by whales, which store some iron for their own use as an oxygen carrier in their blood (as in ours), but also expel large amounts of iron in their faeces.

Adult blue whales, for example, consume about 2 tonnes of krill a day, and the amount of iron in their faeces is more than 10 million times higher than normal seawater.

Conveniently, whale poo is liquid, and is released at the surface where it can act as a fertiliser to promote phytoplankton growth in the ocean’s sunlit top layers. Therefore, whales are part of a positive feedback loop that helps sustain marine food chains.

The whale poo positive feedback loop. Indi Hodgson-Johnston/University of Tasmania

More whales obviously make more whale poo, so it makes sense that more research and protection should be afforded to whales to ensure a healthier marine ecosystem.

Scientists collect whale faeces from the surface of the water, making this a great way to do whale research without killing or harming them.

What about scientific whaling?

Some have suggested that the legal arguments against scientific whaling are well and truly exhausted, and that controlled commercial whaling could be the next step. Assuming that anti-whaling nations such as Australia would not follow such a pathway, and that hard law options are frustrated, other avenues to end lethal research are needed.

The whale poo resolution also aims to increase the IWC’s existing collaborations with various research organisations. This includes the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), of which Japan is a member. CCAMLR made headlines last month when it approved, by consensus, the world’s largest marine protected area in Antarctica’s Ross Sea.

While the CCAMLR Convention states that nothing in it shall derogate from the rights and obligations under the Whaling Convention, the role of whales are important to CCAMLR’s ecosystem approach to conserving marine life in the Southern Ocean.

Japan’s current whaling program has the stated scientific objective of investigating “the structure and dynamics of the Antarctic marine ecosystem through building ecosystem models”. This aligns with both the research needed for CCAMLR’s ecosystem approach and the Australian Antarctic Division’s own research priorities.

With an emphasis on research such as ecosystem modelling, collaborations that include and value Japan’s abundant non-lethal research in the area could help to most of the stated scientific objectives of Japan’s whaling program without harming whales.

Of course, many people contend that the main purpose of Japan’s whaling program is not scientific. But this doesn’t change the fact that the same old battles at sea and in the courts have done little to prevent the taking of whales. The Whaling Convention cannot be changed, and nor can Japan’s interpretation of it. A different tack is clearly needed in both law and diplomacy.

As the new marine protected area shows, Antarctica is a proven platform of peace. Increasing joint scientific research, and riding on the wave of the recent success in the Ross Sea, may provide fresh dialogue with which to resolve the stalemate. What we need is a newly respectful, non-combative discourse with Japan which, whaling aside, is a brilliant contributor to Antarctic science.

Joint Australian and Japanese research in other areas of Southern Ocean and Antarctic science has a long and friendly history. It is upon these longstanding and positive relationships that research addressing relevant objectives should be focused and funded.

Constructive intervention

While some, including the Australian Greens, have called for an Australian government vessel to intervene, Japan is whaling in waters that are recognised by most countries as the high seas.

Since the landmark 2014 International Court of Justice ruling, Japan no longer consents to that court’s jurisdiction on matters of living marine resources. And with little recognition of Australian jurisdiction in the area, and the risk of any intervention being illegal under laws of the sea, there is little hope for successful international legal action. Sending an Australian ship to intervene or collect evidence would therefore be largely futile.

On the other hand, researching marine ecosystems in the Southern Ocean is difficult and expensive. Instead of sending a customs vessel, Australia should divert its funds and attention to research that will boost our understanding of the Southern Ocean ecosystem and its role in the global carbon cycle.

By increasing knowledge and recognition of whales’ role in the Southern Ocean ecosystem, the resolution offers yet another avenue for developing norms of non-lethal whale research that are recognised as legitimate by all International Whaling Commission members.

Perhaps in one of Australia’s most vexed diplomatic issues with their close ally, whale poo could pave the way to more intensive and thoughtful scientific collaborations, and help deliver a peaceful end to Japanese whaling in the Southern Ocean.

The author would like to thank Lavy Ratnarajah, a biogeochemist at the Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems CRC, for her kind assistance with the scientific aspects of this article. The views expressed are solely those of the author.

Indi Hodgson-Johnston receives funding from the University of Tasmania.