A new book, The Biggest Estate on Earth, by historian Bill Gammage explodes the myth that pre-settlement Australia was an untamed wilderness revealing the complex, country-wide systems of land management used by Aboriginal people. According to the … [Read more...] about How Aborigines Made Australia: Bill Gammage
Archives for November 2011
University Entitlement Must Change
THE revelations that Paul Greenfield, vice chancellor at the University of Queensland, has been forced to retire early because of "irregularities" in admission of a close relative to medical school do not come as a shock to many of us who have worked … [Read more...] about University Entitlement Must Change
Australia to Become Involved in ‘Subprime’ Carbon Market?
EARLIER this week the Australian Senate passed the Clean Energy Bill and the associated 18 other Bills that set out the carbon pricing mechanism due to come into effect from July 1, 2012. The so-called big polluters will need to reduce or offset … [Read more...] about Australia to Become Involved in ‘Subprime’ Carbon Market?
Dredging a Harbor Won’t Destroy the Great Barrier Reef
Activist group GetUp! has just launched a campaign to save the Great Barrier Reef from the dredging of Gladstone Harbor. http://www.getup.org.au/campaigns/coal-seam-gas/great-barrier-reef/dredging-the-reef/take_action “Millions of cubic … [Read more...] about Dredging a Harbor Won’t Destroy the Great Barrier Reef
Global Carbon Dioxide Emissions Up, Australian Carbon Dioxide Emissions Down
PRELIMINARY estimates of global and national emissions of carbon dioxide from fossil-fuel combustion and cement manufacture indicate 2010 was a record year. Australian emissions, however, are down to 99 Teragrams from 108 Teragrams in 2008. As a … [Read more...] about Global Carbon Dioxide Emissions Up, Australian Carbon Dioxide Emissions Down
Pseudoscience as a Consequence of Confirmation Bias: Matt Ridley
Matt Ridley began a recent lecture to the national academy of sciences in Scotland by suggesting it was easy to distinguish science from pseudoscience. He explained that: Astronomy is science; astrology is pseudoscience. Molecular biology is … [Read more...] about Pseudoscience as a Consequence of Confirmation Bias: Matt Ridley
Jennifer Marohasy BSc PhD is a critical thinker with expertise in the scientific method.
