South Australia is now coal-free, and batteries could fill the energy gap
May 13, 2016 10:15 am UTC| Insights & Views Nature
South Australias last coal-fired power station closed on Monday this week, leaving the state with only gas and wind power generators. The Northern Power Station, in Port Augusta on the northern end of the Spencer Gulf,...
Location, location, location: why South Australia could take the world's nuclear waste
May 12, 2016 03:07 am UTC| Insights & Views Nature
South Australias Nuclear Fuel Cycle Royal Commission has recommended the state investigate an international storage site for intermediate and high-level (spent fuel) nuclear waste. This coincides with the shortlisting...
Do the sums: bicycle-friendly changes are good business
May 12, 2016 02:15 am UTC| Business Health
City of Melbourne councillors voted recently to implement the 2016-20 Bicycle Plan. This followed public consultations that included two phases of community engagement and the release of a draft plan last October. Features...
Perth Green Growth Plan puts strategic environmental assessments to the city test
May 12, 2016 00:08 am UTC| Insights & Views Nature
City planning has many approaches that have been used to enable better economic, social and environmental outcomes. The planning profession has been doing strategic assessments of urban land development opportunities and...
The UAE wants to build a 'rainmaking mountain' – are we all ok with that?
May 09, 2016 12:11 pm UTC| Nature
Eglwyswrw is a real place. This village in Wales is as long on rain as it is short on vowels. Last winter, it rained for 85 days in a row, just missing out on setting the British record. Theres a reason why it is so...
Sea-level rise has claimed five whole islands in the Pacific: first scientific evidence
May 09, 2016 06:40 am UTC| Insights & Views Nature
Sea-level rise, erosion and coastal flooding are some of the greatest challenges facing humanity from climate change. Recently at least five reef islands in the remote Solomon Islands have been lost completely to...
How corruption is hurting Mexico City’s efforts to tackle air pollution
May 06, 2016 01:40 am UTC| Insights & Views Nature
On March 15 this year, Mexico City encountered its worst environmental crisis of the last decade. A gray fog, comprising noxious air pollutants, cast a shadow over the sprawling metropolitan area for two days. Vehicles...
Johannesburg in a time of darkness: Ivan Vladislavić’s new memoir reminds us of the city’s fragility
Economist Chris Richardson on an ‘ugly’ inflation result and the coming budget
Why Germany ditched nuclear before coal – and why it won’t go back
Labour can afford to be far more ambitious with its economic policies – voters are on board
Sudan: civil war stretches into a second year with no end in sight