Biodiversity Archives - Cool Australia

Let there be no doubt: blame for our failing environment laws lies squarely at the feet of government

Author: Peter Burnett

Date: June 29, 2020

Peter Burnett, Australian National University A long-awaited draft review of federal environment laws is due this week. There’s a lot riding on it – particularly in light of recent events that suggest the laws are in crisis. Late last week, the federal Auditor-General Grant Hehir tabled a damn...

Cats wreak havoc on native wildlife, but we’ve found one adorable species outsmarting them

Author: Euan Ritchie, Amy Coetsee and more

Source: The Conversation

Date: June 16, 2020

Zoos Victoria, Author provided Euan Ritchie, Deakin University; Amy Coetsee, University of Melbourne; Anthony Rendall, Deakin University; Tim Doherty, University of Sydney, and Vivianna Miritis, University of Sydney Feral and pet cats are responsible for a huge part of Australia’s shameful mam...

What Australian birds can teach us about choosing a partner and making it last

Author: Gisela Kaplan

Source: The Conversation

Date: 2/6/2020

Gisela Kaplan, University of New England Love, sex and mate choice are topics that never go out of fashion among humans or, surprisingly, among some Australian birds. For these species, choosing the right partner is a driver of evolution and affects the survival and success of a bird and its offspr...

The Leadbeater’s possum finally had its day in court. It may change the future of logging in Australia

Author: Julia Dehm

Source: The Conversation

Date: 2/6/2020

Julia Dehm, La Trobe University The Federal Court last week ruled that VicForests – a timber company owned by the Victorian government – breached environmental laws when they razed the habitat of the critically endangered Leadbeater’s possum and the vulnerable greater glider. Environmentalis...

A major scorecard gives the health of Australia’s environment less than 1 out of 10

Source: The Conversation

Date: 30/3/2020

Albert Van Dijk, Australian National University; Luigi Renzullo, Australian National University; Marta Yebra, Australian National University, and Shoshana Rapley, Australian National University 2019 was the year Australians confronted the fact that a healthy environment is more than just a pretty w...

The last ice age tells us why we need to care about a 2℃ change in temperature

Author: Alan N Williams, Chris Turney, Haidee Cadd and more

Source: The Conversation

Date: February 25, 2020

The latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) states that without a substantial decrease in our use of fossil fuels, we are on track for a global average increase of 2℃ in the next few decades, with extremes of between 3 to 6℃ at higher latitudes. But 2℃ doesn’...

The burn legacy: why the science on hazard reduction is contested

Author: Kevin Tolhurst

Source: The Conversation

Date: February 20, 2020

When it comes to reducing the extent of bushfires, scientists disagree on the best way to do it. Hazard-reduction burning (also known as “prescribed burning” or “controlled burning”) is controversial and, depending on the scientific paper, it’s shown to either be effective or not work a...

Why a sense of kinship is key to caring about the living world

Author: Matthew Hall

Source: The Conversation

Date: October 29, 2019

Leading thinkers in environmental economics and conservation are asking a pressing question. Why are we ignoring the destruction of the living world? Recently, the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) published a global assessment of biodiversity that set ...

Some animals pause their own pregnancies, but how they do it is still a mystery

Author: Jane Fenelon

Source: The Conversation

Date: October 30, 2019

Putting your pregnancy on pause until the time is right to give birth sounds like something out of a sci-fi novel, but for many mammals what’s known as “embryonic diapause” is an essential part of raising their young. Although scientists have known since the 1850s that some animals have this ...

Our nature laws are being overhauled. Here are 7 things we must fix

Author: Jan McDonald

Source: The Conversation

Date: October 30, 2019

Environment Minister Sussan Ley yesterday announced a ten-yearly review of Australia’s national environmental laws. It could not come at a more critical time, as the environment struggles under unprecedented development pressures, climate change impacts and a crippling drought. The la...