In the paper Fracking the future, The Australia Institute look at both the economic claims and the health and environmental risks of coal seam gas (CSG) extraction, concluding that while the economic benefits are likely to be relatively small, a …
Urban heating further increases extreme summer temperatures. The urban heat island effect is explored in the video Melbourne an ‘urban heat island’. In recognition of the climate buffer and other benefits of urban trees, the City of Melbourne is implementing an …
The impacts of human population size on the environment and natural resource consumption have long concerned scientists. Population growth is slowing and even reversing in some places, but this has not translated into reduced human consumption of natural resources and …
Long-term dynamics of household size and their environmental implications Read more »
Classical urban planning, which is clearly evident in Australian cities, uses a central business district (CBD) approach where urban amenities and ease of access to employment fall with the distance from the CBD. The research paper Simulating future societies in …
The Isobenefit Cities approach can deliver a higher and more equal quality of life Read more »
The accepted view that the Rapa Nui, the ancient inhabitants of Easter Island, degraded their environment so much that they destroyed its ability to provide for them now appears to be wrong. New research discussed in the COSMOS article Collapse …
New research challenges Easter Island “ecocide” theory Read more »
We’re overusing the earth’s finite resources, and yet excessive consumption is failing to improve our lives. The book Enough Is Enough lays out a visionary but realistic alternative to the perpetual pursuit of economic growth – an economy where the …
Enough Is Enough: Building a Sustainable Economy in a World of Finite Resources Read more »
The OECD report Environment at a Glance 2013: OECD Indicators offers a comprehensive snapshot of key environmental trends in OECD member countries since the early 1990s. Issues addressed include climate change, air pollution, biodiversity, water resources, and waste. The report reveals …
The Green Building Council Australia (GBCA) Green Star – Performance rating tool assesses the operational performance of buildings allowing owners and managers to identify opportunities for improvement and make informed decisions about how to generate greater efficiencies and reduce the …
The urban environment is particularly exposed to climate impacts, due to a range of factors, such as its geographical location, spatial immobility, and high population. A major policy and knowledge gap exists in the social scientific understanding of the private …
Capacities of private developers in urban climate change adaptation Read more »
A project between NASA, the US Geological Survey (USGS), TIME, Google, and the CREATE Lab at Carnegie Mellon University has compiled images of Earth taken from space into an interactive time-lapse experience, revealing a comprehensive picture of our changing planet …
Timelapse: A fascinating but frightening look at global landscape change Read more »