
Green beans: why pulses are the eco-friendly option for feeding – and saving – the world
Aug 17, 2016 09:19 am UTC| Insights & Views Nature
We all know the score: current trends predict there will be 9.7 billion mouths to feed by 2050. Producing enough food without using more land, exacerbating climate change or putting more pressure on water, soil and energy...

Parasitic flies, zombified ants, predator beetles – insect drama on Mexican coffee plantations
Aug 16, 2016 15:28 pm UTC| Nature
Ants are voracious predators and often very good at defending plants from herbivores. People have taken advantage of this quirk for centuries. In fact, using ants in orange groves is one of the first recorded pest control...
Our planet is heating - the empirical evidence
Aug 16, 2016 14:07 pm UTC| Nature
In an entertaining and somewhat chaotic episode of QA (Monday 15th August) pitching science superstar Brian Cox against climate contrarian and global conspiracy theorist and now senator Malcolm Roberts, the question of...

As Rio bay waters show, we badly need innovation in treating human wastes
Aug 13, 2016 11:09 am UTC| Insights & Views Nature
In the months leading up to the Rio Olympics, there was growing awareness that Brazil had not met the water quality goals outlined in their bid, and that athletes might be swimming, sailing, rowing or canoeing in waters...
Going for... green? Why Rio's swimming pools are changing colour
Aug 11, 2016 08:34 am UTC| Nature Sports
On Monday, the diving pool at the Rio Olympics was fine. By Tuesday, it had turned green. Now, the water polo pool is showing a distinctly green tone. Authorities were quick to deny that the green pool posed a risk to...
As the climate changes, are 750 million refugees predicted to move away from flooding?
Aug 04, 2016 10:21 am UTC| Insights & Views Nature
The Conversation is fact-checking claims made on QA, broadcast Mondays on the ABC at 9.35pm. Thank you to everyone who sent us quotes for checking via Twitter using hashtags #FactCheck and #QandA, on Facebook or by...
State of the Climate 2015: global warming and El Niño sent records tumbling
Aug 04, 2016 10:16 am UTC| Insights & Views Nature
The State of the Climate in 2015 report, led by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, was released yesterday. Unfortunately, it paints a grim picture of the worlds climate last year. For a second...