freelance science journalist and author
From Wired UK, 21 April 2020: Everything was chaos, but at least he wasn’t being hunted by a lion. Chad Staples comforted himself with that thought as he crammed pandas, marmosets and tamarins into his kitchen until his counters overflowed with animals. Outside his home, giraffes, rhinoceroses, zebras and ostriches fended for themselves in flaming … Continue reading The day Australia burned
From USA Today, 14 January 2010: We have evacuated from our house in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney, twice already in Australia’s bushfire season, and it’s not even halfway through summer. After the second time, just a few weeks ago in December, we returned to a scorched block of land. The fire came so … Continue reading I wasn’t prepared for bushfires this menacing. Even now, Australia doesn’t have a plan.
From The Atlantic, 8 January 2020: Facing a future of fire, drought, and rising oceans, Australians will have to weigh the choice between getting out early or staying to fight. Read more.
From MIT Technology Review, 25 April 2019: The Blue Mountains are burning. I stand in the doorway of our home and take a long look around: the handmade rugs, the jumble of artworks, the shelves crammed with books, the scattered toys. The house is a tinderbox: wooden walls, doors, balcony, window frames, all built into … Continue reading Inside Australia’s plan to survive bigger, badder bushfires
From Nature News, 12 February 2019: An Australian court has rejected an application for an open-cut coal mine because of its potential contribution to greenhouse-gas emissions and global warming. The New South Wales Land and Environment Court turned down an appeal by mining company Gloucester Resources, which had sought to overturn a previous government decision … Continue reading Landmark Australian ruling rejects coal mine over global warming
From Fish magazine, November 2018: The fishing industry is no stranger to seasonality. Fish migrate, invertebrates spawn or moult at varying times of year, and larger meteorological forces such as the El Niño-Southern Oscillation change how, where and in what numbers fish and seafood can be harvested. But the changes now being seen in many … Continue reading Our fisheries in 2050
From Ensia magazine, 16 August 2017: “We are still in.” On June 5, 2017, with these four words a group of U.S. businesses and investors with a combined annual revenue of US$1.4 trillion sent a powerful message to the world: U.S. president Donald Trump may have withdrawn from the Paris agreement on climate change four … Continue reading Can business save the world from climate change?
From ABC Science, 30 May 2017: Arctic peatlands may become a substantial source of a greenhouse gas 300 times more potent than carbon dioxide when they thaw, a new study suggests. The study by a team of Scandinavian scientists indicated that thawing permafrost could release nitrous oxide (N2O) — also known as ‘laughing gas’ — … Continue reading Arctic peatlands may release potent greenhouse gas as permafrost thaws
From the Guardian, 21 February 2017: When it comes to coping with heatwaves, our own cities are conspiring against us. Road surfaces, pavements and buildings all contribute to keeping urbanised environments three to four degrees hotter than surrounding non-urbanised areas. With heatwaves like the ones that have just baked half of Australia to a crisp … Continue reading Urban heat islands: cooling things down with trees, green roads and fewer cars
From ABC News in Science, 12 May 2015: Sea levels over the past two decades have risen faster than previously thought, suggests a new study that reassesses the accuracy of satellite data. The study by an international team of scientists, published today in Nature Climate Change , compares satellite records of sea levels made from … Continue reading Satellite data indicates sea level rise accelerating
