ABOUT two months ago I received a “heads-up” from a mate who works in Canberra that Environment Minister Peter Garratt was considering listing prescribed burning as a threatening process under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Act. At … [Read more...] about Fire as a Threatening Process: A Note from Roger Underwood
Archives for March 2009
Note to President Obama: The Science is Not Settled
"Few challenges facing America and the world are more urgent than combating climate change.The science is beyond dispute and the facts are clear." President-elect Barack Obama, November 19, 2008 With all due respect Mr. President, that is not … [Read more...] about Note to President Obama: The Science is Not Settled
Empty Promises and Gridlock: Bjorn Lomborg Reflects on Earth Hour
YESTERDAY the power failed in Sydney’s central business district and there was chaos. The cross-city tunnel was closed and many people became trapped in lifts in high-rise buildings and in traffic gridlock. This reminder of the importance of … [Read more...] about Empty Promises and Gridlock: Bjorn Lomborg Reflects on Earth Hour
The Cost of Symbolism
How can one justify an emissions trading scheme that imposes large costs for purely symbolic benefits? Read more. … [Read more...] about The Cost of Symbolism
Biotechnology and Food Production in Africa
In a world where almost a billion people went hungry last year—119 million more than in 2007—and with food demand set to double by midcentury, the taboo against GM foods is crumbling. Read more. … [Read more...] about Biotechnology and Food Production in Africa
White Possum Back from Extinction, but Now Possum Man Has Gone Bush
LATE last year academic Stephen Williams, from James Cook University, reported that a rare species of white possum was possibly extinct and that this was likely the first recorded mammalian extinction due to global warming. Not surprisingly his … [Read more...] about White Possum Back from Extinction, but Now Possum Man Has Gone Bush