Plastic Pollution: The Hidden Threat in Supermarket Aisles
I recently opened a packet of crackers. OK… ‘specialty’ crackers. They were packed in a cardboard outer. On opening the box, I see a plastic sleeve. Open the sleeve and there are the contents sitting in a clam-shell style plastic tray. In total, there were exactly 16 crackers.They weighed 80 grams.The packaging weighed 35 grams.Unfortunately, […]
There’s a Floating Patch of Garbage Out There… And You’re Probably Eating It!
What do 745 blue whales, 12,219 Tyrannosaurus Rexes, and 20,853 hippopotamuses have in common? They weigh the same as the amount of visible (remember that word) plastic garbage floating in the North Pacific Ocean right now. Now try to wrap your head around that information. To say that it’s massive would be a terrible, terrible […]
Entrepreneurs Creating Treasure From Trash
ABC Science environment reporter Nick Kilvert On a single stretch of beach on Cape York Peninsula, on Australia’s north-eastern tip, volunteers spend four days collecting more than 7 tonnes of trash. The haul includes 1,000 cigarette lighters, 2,280 toothbrushes, 3,320 plastic drink bottles, 5,500 thongs (flip-flops) and miles of fishing nets. A year ago they collected […]
Light Pollution Is Affecting Your Health!
The comprehensive World Atlas of Artificial Night Sky Brightness has appeared in Science Advances. Written by a group of distinguished scientists lead by Italian Fabio Falchi, it is a noteworthy accomplishment. The first atlas appeared in 2001, but was based on a less precise satellite measurement system. This latest atlas provides far more clarity. Light […]
The Case of the Disappearing Night: Where Did the Stars Go?
Change is often imperceptible. It happens day by day so that we don’t see apparent differences. But over the past 1,460 nights, while you’ve been sleeping, the world has become 8.8% brighter. That brightness is from two sources: Anyone who has driven out of darkness toward a town or city would be familiar with the […]
I Didn’t Always Hate Glitter…
Once upon a time, I actually thought glitter was innocent and sparkly and pretty. And then I started raising a house full of girls. Four to be exact. Glitter nail polish; glitter hair spray; glitter slime; presents wrapped in glittery paper; glitter craft ideas; and a nine year old who wants her room painted with […]
Trees, the Environment and the Simple Art of Breathing
I live on the edge of suburbia. When I came here, it was literally where the suburbs transformed to farms and forest. Our home is, or more correctly was, located in a transition zone of small acreage. In fact, the zoning is classified as ‘Parkland Living’ – an area that rejoiced in native flora and […]
Cats Are Killing a Million Birds a Day in Australia!
There are around 3.3 million pet cats in Australia. For every one of them, there are FIVE feral cats wreaking destruction on our wildlife! In fact, some 15 – 18 million feral cats, along with household cats that are not correctly contained, threaten the survival of more than 100 native species in Australia. They have […]
Climate Science Modelling Faces the Courtroom: Truth or Doubt?
Climate Science Models: The End of the Line for Coal and Oil Giants? This article was first published in the Huffington Post What can you do when the president of the United States says climate change is a hoax and Congress is gridlocked by fossil fuel industry-funded climate science deniers? Look to the courts for […]
Climate revisited – (yet) again!
Climate revisited – September 8th, 2017 It’s getting to the point where I could automate this script. Weather records are falling almost daily. Since last updating this post, the biggest record to fall was the annual one. First, 2014 fell to 2015. Now it’s official that 2015 has tumbled to 2016. And the differences are […]