Feb 9, 2021 | Science & Technology
By Manuel Vallee Research shows that disease is invariably related to pollution in subtle but intimate ways as Manuel Vallee explains. How reliable is the disease information provided by mass media? What gaps exist in their coverage? In particular, how well do they...
Jul 20, 2020 | Science & Technology
By Gilbert Wong “I was surprised. The streams here are small and New Zealand is supposed to be clean, but the levels were the same as the Danube and the Rhine.” Nadezhda Dikareva is an expert in something she wishes she didn’t have to be. Arguably she is the most...
May 5, 2020 | Science & Technology
By Paul Monks Lockdown’s effect on air pollution provides a rare glimpse of low-carbon future. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused industrial activity to shut down and cancelled flights and other journeys, slashing greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution around the...
Mar 25, 2020 | Business & Economics, Referee, Science & Technology
New Zealand has a dirty rivers problem. In 2017, two-thirds of the country’s rivers were deemed too polluted to swim in. Given this, research is being carried out to find ways in which the country can attempt to clean up its rivers. Ngārie Scartozzi is a Ph.D....
Nov 21, 2019 | Science & Technology
By Farah Qaiser A new Lancet Countdown report presents the lifelong health consequences that a child born today will face from climate change. We often talk about climate change in terms of melting icebergs, rising seawater, and elevated temperatures, but what about...
Oct 22, 2019 | Referee, Science & Technology
By Taga Dagat* Kiwi surfers often lay claim to being the southernmost surfing community in the world. Located on the tip of the Polynesian Triangle, Aotearoa New Zealand’s swell-exposed coasts are savage to say the least; bent and beaten by Antarctic weather patterns....
Jul 25, 2019 | Science & Technology
By Bettina Mrusek Orbital debris is a growing problem. While advances in technology have improved our ability to successfully launch satellites into orbit, the trial and error period required to get to us there, combined with the enormous growth of the satellite...
Mar 7, 2019 | Science & Technology
By Julie Anne Hope We are now living in an age of plastic and really struggling to deal with the plastic waste we produce globally as it is extremely durable and does not degrade. It has been estimated that up to 12.7 million tonnes of plastic end up in the marine...
Sep 7, 2018 | Science & Technology
The ocean is awash with plastic. Giant patches of discarded plastic items, bottles, bags are forming in oceans like the Pacific. Plastic pieces are killing off wildlife that swallow or get choked by them. What can be done about the mounds of plastic that is killing...
Sep 3, 2018 | Business & Economics, Politics & Society
By Jonas Gamso The developing world is in the midst of an environmental crisis. Simply breathing the air is a leading cause of death. One recent study found that pollution is to blame for a fifth of sub-Saharan Africa’s infant deaths. Another showed that exposure to...