Nov 2, 2020 | Science & Technology
By Finlay MacDonald Few countries were ready for the pandemic that’s hit the world. So has the Covid-19 crisis taught us anything about ameliorating the threats of climate change? The world is heading to be 1 degree warmer in 2040, leading to fires, floods, heatwaves...
Sep 9, 2020 | Science & Technology
By Zebedee Nicholls & Tim Baxter Methane is a shorter-lived greenhouse gas – why do we average it out over 100 years? By doing so, do we risk emitting so much in the upcoming decades that we reach climate tipping points? The climate conversation is often...
Aug 20, 2020 | Science & Technology
The natural sciences that allow us to understand the environment are at the heart of developing strategies to adapt to, survive, and thrive as climate changes. Water is at the heart of many of the most complex problems in climate sciences: understanding the behavior...
Aug 5, 2020 | Science & Technology
By Robert McLachlan Humanity is not doomed, not now or even in a worst-case scenario in 2030. But avoiding doom — either the end or widespread collapse of civilisation — is setting a pretty low bar. We can aim much higher than that without shying away from reality....
Jul 23, 2020 | Science & Technology
By James Shulmeister What was the climate and sea level like at times in Earth’s history when carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was at 400ppm? The last time global carbon dioxide levels were consistently at or above 400 parts per million (ppm) was around four million...
May 21, 2020 | Science & Technology
By Michael Grose & Julie Arblaster Just how hot will it get this century? Latest climate models suggest it could be worse than we thought. Climate scientists use mathematical models to project the Earth’s future under a warming world, but a group of the latest...
Dec 12, 2019 | Science & Technology
By Phil Shane One of the grand challenges of volcano science is understanding the behaviour of a volcano, and whether can we forecast the likelihood of future eruptions. Despite decades of high technology monitoring, and even longer historic records for some...
Jun 14, 2018 | Science & Technology
Our options as a humanity may be dwindling in the face of climate change. The coming changes may completely alter the world as we know it with collapsed ecosystems, mass immigration of climate refugees, and more devastating wars over basic necessities such as food and...
May 8, 2018 | Science & Technology
By Christopher O’Bryan, Eve McDonald-Madden, James Watson, Neil Carter Predators are helping farmers and reducing car crashes with surprising results. Humans may be Earth’s apex predator, but the fleeting shadow of a vulture or the glimpse of a big cat can cause...
May 2, 2018 | Science & Technology
Professor Simon Thrush from the Institute of Marine Science at the University of Auckland talks about his big question, “how do we restore marine ecosystems?” Thrush’s current research interests focus on the ecology of coastal ecosystems, how they respond to...