The Conversation

Invertebrates are “the little things that run the world”. So researchers decided to count all the ants on Earth, to help monitor how they’re coping with environmental challenges. Mark Wong, Forrest Fellow, The University of Western Australia Benoit Guénard, Associate professor, University of Hong Kong François Brassard, PhD candidate, Charles Darwin University Patrick Schultheiss, Temporary Principal Investigator, Julius Maximilian University of Würzburg Runxi Wang, PhD candidate, University of Hong Kong Sabine Nooten, Temporary Principal Investigator, Julius Maximilian University of Würzburg Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Urban plantings are part of the solution to living in warmer cities, but most tree and shrub species in the world’s cities will struggle too. The impacts on liveability could be huge. Manuel Esperon-Rodriguez, Lecturer and Research Fellow, Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University Jaana Dielenberg, University Fellow, Charles Darwin University Jonathan Lenoir, Senior Researcher in Ecology & Biostatistics (CNRS), Université de Picardie Jules Verne (UPJV) Mark G Tjoelker, Professor and Associate Director, Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University Rachael Gallagher, Associate Professor, Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Spontaneous and often temporary initiatives drove most of the early earthquake recovery in Christchurch, offering examples for many other cities facing hazards and climate risks. Kelly Dombroski, Associate Professor in Geography, Massey University Amanda Yates, Associate Professor in Regenerative System Change, Auckland University of Technology Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Floodwater carries dense clouds of sediment, choking the lush seagrass meadows on which these gentle grazers rely. Kathy Ann Townsend, Senior Lecturer in Animal Ecology, University of the Sunshine Coast Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Cyclones, floods and other climate-linked events are threatening Indigenous heritage tens of thousands of years old. Unless we act, they’ll be gone for good. Anna M. Kotarba-Morley, Senior Lecturer in Archaeology, Flinders University Enid Tom, Kaurareg Elder and director of Kaurareg Native Title Aboriginal Corporation, Indigenous Knowledge Marcus Lacey, Senior Gumurr Marthakal Indigenous ranger, Indigenous Knowledge Shawnee Gorringe, Manager at Mithaka Aboriginal Corporation, Indigenous Knowledge Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

UK supermarket chains have dropped the use of “best before” date labels to reduce the amount of food being thrown out when it’s still perfectly edible. It’s just as big a problem in Australia. Louise Grimmer, Senior Lecturer in Retail Marketing, University of Tasmania Nathan Kilah, Senior Lecturer in Chemistry, University of Tasmania Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

SUVs made up half of all new car sales last year. They’re a drag on Australia successfully reducing its total greenhouse gas emissions. Robin Smit, Adjunct Associate Professor, University of Technology Sydney Nic Surawski, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Engineering, University of Technology Sydney Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Our ocean forests of seaweed are enormous. But these quick-growing, life-supporting forests are already vanishing. Albert Pessarrodona Silvestre, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, The University of Western Australia Karen Filbee-Dexter, Research Fellow, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia Thomas Wernberg, Professor, The University of Western Australia Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

The safeguard mechanism is supposed to stop Australia’s largest polluters from emitting over a certain threshold. It’s been widely criticised for lacking teeth, and is finally under review. Rebecca Pearse, Lecturer, Australian National University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Biofuels are heralded as a climate-friendly replacement of fossil fuels, but encouraging people to drive less and shift to other modes of transport would cut more emissions. Paul Callister, Senior Associate Institute of Governance and Policy Studies, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington Robert McLachlan, Professor in Applied Mathematics, Massey University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Air pollution from traffic causes the deaths of thousands of Australians. A swift transition to electric vehicles will save lives – and save households and businesses money in the long run. Hussein Dia, Professor of Future Urban Mobility, Swinburne University of Technology Christian A. Nygaard, Associate Professor in Social Economics, Swinburne University of Technology Krzysztof Dembek, Senior Lecturer Social Impact, Swinburne University of Technology Magnus Moglia, Associate Professor, Swinburne University of Technology Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Millions of mangroves died off along Australia’s northern coast. The cause? El Niño - and the moon’s wobbly orbit causing extremely low tides. Neil Saintilan, Professor, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

The city is a A$725 billion wall-like structure running for 170km across the Saudi Arabian landscape. Can it live up to its huge ambitions? Andrew Allan, Senior Lecturer in Transport, Urban and Regional Planning, University of South Australia Subha Parida, Lecturer in Management, University of South Australia Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Kangaroos are essentially peace-loving herbivores, but they’re known to attack if it feels cornered – or even if it sees a human as a sparring partner. Graeme Coulson, Honorary Principal Fellow, The University of Melbourne Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Society is built on intersecting workplaces – and workers from many industries are being affected by climate change. Lauren Rickards, Professor, RMIT University Todd Denham, Research officer, Centre for Urban Research, RMIT University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

La Niña is officially here for the third year in a row. You probably associate it with flooding, but how might it affect future drought and bushfires? And could a fourth La Niña be possible? Andrew King, Senior Lecturer in Climate Science, The University of Melbourne Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

The findings of a new study suggest mistrust in climate science and uncritical faith in “alternative science” lead people to reject consensus science and generate alternative explanations. Rachael Sharman, Senior Lecturer in Psychology, University of the Sunshine Coast Patrick D. Nunn, Professor of Geography, School of Law and Society, University of the Sunshine Coast Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Australia last week moved to tackle the climate crisis when federal parliament passed Labor’s climate bill. But the new law is just the first step. Wesley Morgan, Research Fellow, Griffith Asia Institute, Griffith University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

New research documented 50 different ways Sydneysiders tried to stop sulphur-crested cockatoos opening their bins, from rubber snakes to custom locks. Humans didn’t always win. John Martin, Animal Ecology Lab, Western Sydney University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

We’ve heard all the concerns about switching to electric cars before. But California, a market with many similarities, shows why Australia is well placed to accelerate its transition. Scott Hardman, Professional Researcher, Electric Vehicle Research Center, University of California, Davis Daniel Sperling, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Founding Director, Institute of Transportation Studies, University of California, Davis Gil Tal, Director, The Plug-in Hybrid & Electric Vehicle (PH&EV) Research Center, University of California, Davis Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.