People who love Australia’s reptiles could unwittingly carry deadly fungal diseases from one animal to another. But this is easy to prevent. A red-bellied black snake Patrick Champagne With spring underway and the weather warming, reptiles are on the move in suburbs, parks and bushland across Australia. Snake catchers and wildlife carers are responding to calls for help, and reptile enthusiasts –

Blackberries have long been a problem for Australian farmers and bushwalkers. But who would have illegally released a fungus as a biological control? SashaFoxWalters/Getty Over the summer of 1983–84, a fungus called Phragmidium violaceum was introduced to Australia. It was done secretly, deliberately and illegally. And it was done for one purpose: to kill blackberry plants. I’m a historian, not a

A group of Western dog behaviour experts went to India to see how street dogs live. What they learned raised questions over what it means to care for pet dogs. Srinivasa Krishnan/Getty We give our pet dogs shelter, veterinary care, affection, training and play. We decide when they eat, where they sleep, when they go outside, who they meet, and how they move through the world. We love our dogs and

The Murray Mallee matchstick is a newly discovered grasshopper species from northwestern Victoria. Michael Kearney A vast stretch of land where animals roam widely and plants grow freely. That’s what most people would picture if they thought of a conservation area. Such places are vital for protecting large animals and entire ecosystems. They make managing environmental threats , such as fire and

Isolation has been both blessing and curse for the wildlife of both countries. Michael Lee/SA Museum , CC BY-NC If you had to pick the countries where invasive species pose the biggest problems, you probably wouldn’t think of Australia. The continent has some of the world’s strictest biosecurity , a small human population and a comparatively short period of colonial occupation. It is also girt by

I witnessed a genuine desire for the world to engage with the people affected by climate change. Hilary Wardhaugh/Getty Images Preparatory meetings for the United Nations’ annual climate summit are usually quiet affairs, focused on laying the political and technical groundwork for the main COP event. But this year felt very different. I was at this week’s pre-COP31 gathering in Fiji for talks that

Spring is the perfect time to get outside and appreciate our tiniest critters. A brightly-coloured Australian Christmas beetle on a gum leaf (pictured at the top of this article). Ken Griffiths/Getty Millions of people worldwide watched on as the Sydney Olympics came to a close in 2000. Meanwhile, thousands of bogong moths ( Agrotis infusa ) were airborne, making their annual migration to the Aust

It’s increasingly common to hear climate-fuelled disasters described as the ‘new normal’. But our desire for normality and predictability is wishful thinking Azim Khan Ronnie/500px/Getty Climate change is worsening. There’s now no chance of holding temperature rise to 1.5°C. The future will bring worsening floods , glacial melt, megafires and lethal heat . But can we call this the “ new normal ”?

Electricity in the Pacific is currently among the least reliable and most expensive in the world. Switching to renewables offers huge benefits. Saeed Khan/Getty Across the Pacific, the changes wrought by a warming climate are visible everywhere . Surging sea levels, warming oceans and more intense cyclones and flooding. This week, delegates from the pre-COP31 Pacific climate summit, including Aust

This win could sour the economic argument for developing new coal and gas projects in NSW, and possibly Australia. Australia’s highest court has just delivered its first-ever decision in a climate case. And it could sour the economic argument for developing new coal and gas projects in New South Wales, and possibly Australia. This High Court judgement is timely – Australia is co-hosting an interna

For more than 800 years, frequent cultural burning kept this land as stable, open woodland. Darrian Traynor, Getty Bushfire season is here. The Bureau of Meteorology expects the declared El Niño to be strong to very strong . Southeastern Australia is bracing for a long run of dangerous fire weather. Weather is only part of a catastrophic fire. Another factor is fuel – combustible vegetation. Our n

Smaller electric trucks are already on Australian city streets. As battery prices fall, bigger trucks will become viable – especially if there’s no driver. picture alliance/Getty It’s hard to run heavy trucks without fossil fuels – especially in Australia. They’re big, heavy and cover long distances. Powering big rigs with today’s batteries suffers from added weight and cost. Then there’s rechargi

A new study examines ecosystems and species that are thriving against the odds. Bing Lin Every few years, the elders of Muluk, a tiny coastal community in Papua New Guinea, close a stretch of their reef to fishing. They do this to give these underwater gardens room to breathe, grow and replenish. We first stumbled on this community-led approach back in 2001. These reefs appeared to be faring remar

A new analysis tracking three decades of public discussion about GM finds economic arguments have increasingly crowded out cultural and ethical questions. Phil Walter/Getty Images A quarter-century ago, genetic modification stood as one of the most contentious political and environmental issues in New Zealand. Debate around the technology produced a high-profile royal commission of inquiry , a 20,

Solar and batteries are powering ahead – but wind farms are struggling. There are multiple reasons for this, from politics to construction costs. Renewables now contribute more than 40% of the electricity generated in Australia’s main grid. Twenty years ago, that figure was under 10% . Despite this growth, the federal target of 82% by 2030 is slipping out of reach. This comes down to one reason: u

Thai authorities have declared a city-wide disaster zone following the deaths of at least 31 people. In the humid tropics of Southeast Asia, afternoon thunderstorms roll through almost every day. Daytime heat causes towering, fluffy cumulonimbus clouds to form and swell before unleashing torrential rain on cities such as Singapore , Hong Kong and Bangkok . In these places, drainage systems are des

As ageing coal plants head for retirement, authorities are turning to a century-old technology to stabilise the grid. Siemens , CC BY-NC-ND Australia’s power grid is changing quickly. Coal-fired power stations are gradually shutting down as renewables such as solar and wind grow . But as coal plants retire, they take something useful with them – their giant spinning turbines. As these turbines spi

The latest State of the Rhino report reveals the urgent plight of the Javan and Sumatran rhino populations. Small, hairy and cheekily charismatic. Those words sprung to mind when I first met a Sumatran rhinoceros ( Dicerorhinus sumatrensis ) after traversing the maze of wooden slatted paths at the conservation centre in the dense, humid forests of Malaysian Borneo. It was 1998 and I was an eager s

There’s a strong desire for this Pacific meeting to spur the global summit to action. Fijian Minister for Climate Lynda Tabuya. Saeed Khan/Getty Leaders and delegates from countries including Australia, Germany, Nepal and Pacific nations began climate meetings in Fiji on Monday to discuss the threat of climate change to small island nations. These meetings are a curtain-raiser for the annual Unite

New research shows forests affected by severe kauri dieback can shift from accumulating carbon to losing it, with mature trees particularly affected. Fiona Goodall/Getty Images Kauri are among Aotearoa New Zealand’s tallest and longest-lived trees – and their place in our cultural landscape looms equally large. Centuries-old kauri such as Tāne Mahuta and Te Matua Ngahere are taonga , with deep cul