freelance science journalist and author
From Wired UK, 4 October 2021: Christoph Gebald and Jan Wurzbacher were, in the latter’s words, “young, motivated and maybe a bit naïve,” when they decided in 2009 to set up a company based on technology that could capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The two mechanical engineers, who met while studying at ETH Zürich, … Continue reading Direct air capture sucks carbon right out of the skies
From Nature, 8 September 2021: Nearly 90% of economically viable global coal reserves must be left in the ground to have even a 50% chance of hitting internationally agreed climate-change goals, according to an updated model of limits to fossil-fuel extraction, published today in Nature. For a 50% chance of remaining below 1.5 °C of … Continue reading Most fossil-fuel reserves must remain untapped to hit 1.5 °C warming goal
I was delighted to be invited on the Book Talk Today podcast, to talk with Aun Abdi about climate change, how we can get to carbon zero, and my new book with Wired UK and Penguin Random House UK.
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?
Bianca Nogrady 