http://www.abc.net.au/environment/ ABC Environment feed for the topic, All, and the section, Opinion. http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Australian Broadcasting Corporation Sun, 12 Feb 2012 13:39:04 Sun, 12 Feb 2012 13:39:04 http://www.abc.net.au/environment/articles/2012/02/09/3426757.htm Despite economic turmoil in the EU, and predictions of disaster if renewable energy is allowed to flourish, Germany's economy sails on strongly and cleanly. http://www.abc.net.au/environment/articles/2012/02/09/3426757.htm Matthew Wright Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:04:00 +1100 ABC Licensed http://www.abc.net.au/environment/articles/2012/02/02/3421179.htm A suggestion to introduce elephants to Australia to control a weed sounds crazy. And maybe it is. But we should at least acknowledge that we need some radical ideas to solve the problem. http://www.abc.net.au/environment/articles/2012/02/02/3421179.htm Don Driscoll Thu, 02 Feb 2012 09:52:00 +1100 ABC Licensed http://www.abc.net.au/environment/articles/2012/02/01/3420406.htm Despite being notionally national, national parks are managed by the states, which often have competing interests. http://www.abc.net.au/environment/articles/2012/02/01/3420406.htm Matt Ruchel Wed, 01 Feb 2012 11:22:00 +1100 ABC Licensed http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2012/01/31/3415550.htm As experts warn about about the world's dwindling reserves of phosphorus and water, Dena Fam has a radical solution. http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2012/01/31/3415550.htm Dena Fam Tue, 31 Jan 2012 13:00:00 +1100 ABC Licensed http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/ockhamsrazor/problems-with-desalination-plants/3796870 According to journalist Ken Davidson from Melbourne, desalination plants are not only outrageously expensive, but also threaten the environment and our health. http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/ockhamsrazor/problems-with-desalination-plants/3796870 Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:29:00 +1100 http://www.abc.net.au/environment/articles/2012/01/25/3415606.htm Mild mannered author and journalist Bill McKibben got himself arrested while protesting last year. But with Obama knocking back a major new oil project, he reflects that it was worth it. http://www.abc.net.au/environment/articles/2012/01/25/3415606.htm Bill McKibben Wed, 25 Jan 2012 14:45:00 +1100 ABC Licensed http://www.abc.net.au/environment/articles/2012/01/23/3412123.htm The fortunes of the Australian cricket team reflect that of our climate policy. And now is not the moment to take our eye off the ball. http://www.abc.net.au/environment/articles/2012/01/23/3412123.htm Ian Lowe Mon, 23 Jan 2012 07:50:00 +1100 ABC Licensed http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/philosopherszone/the-ethics-of-kevin-rudds-heart/3692646 This program was first broadcast on 6 August 2011. Inserting a cow valve into Kevin Rudd's heart is not a new medical technique but is part of a general move towards xenotransplantation. Xenotransplantation is when you take living cells, tissues and organs from one species and transplant them into another. Human xenotransplantation offers a potential treatment for end-stage organ failure, but it also raises many novel medical, legal and ethical issues. This week, we explore some of them. http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/philosopherszone/the-ethics-of-kevin-rudds-heart/3692646 Sat, 21 Jan 2012 14:02:00 +1100 http://www.abc.net.au/environment/articles/2012/01/17/3407657.htm European has recently enacted a ban on battery-caged hens. It is an example the world is sure one day to follow. http://www.abc.net.au/environment/articles/2012/01/17/3407657.htm Peter Singer Tue, 17 Jan 2012 07:50:00 +1100 ABC Licensed http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-01-16/brennen-brisbane-floods-anniversary/3775766 The Brisbane floods of 2011 are long gone. The memories have not yet found that great recess. Life's daily goings on are littered with the simulacrum of disaster. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-01-16/brennen-brisbane-floods-anniversary/3775766 Jenny Brennen Mon, 16 Jan 2012 15:13:00 +1100 ABC http://www.abc.net.au/environment/articles/2012/01/16/3406990.htm Science increasingly shows dolphins and whales to be intelligent animals with the ability to think and reason. Keeping them locked up for our own entertainment therefore raises a big ethical conundrum. http://www.abc.net.au/environment/articles/2012/01/16/3406990.htm Thomas I. White Mon, 16 Jan 2012 07:02:00 +1100 ABC Licensed http://www.abc.net.au/environment/articles/2012/01/12/3406902.htm Propping up Australia's automotive industry ignores the fact that traditional cars will eventually make way for electric vehicles. http://www.abc.net.au/environment/articles/2012/01/12/3406902.htm Alan Kohler Thu, 12 Jan 2012 15:00:00 +1100 ABC Licensed http://www.abc.net.au/environment/articles/2012/01/11/3405281.htm As Asia becomes the dominant economic force this century, the West must help to challenge the idea that consumption-led growth is the best way forward. http://www.abc.net.au/environment/articles/2012/01/11/3405281.htm Chandran Nair Wed, 11 Jan 2012 09:09:00 +1100 ABC Licensed http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/bigideas/science-on-radio-national-summer-writing-in-lab/3695726 In the third in this series of forums recorded around Australia in 2011, we have an all-star panel discussing their latest bookson sex, gender, genes and climate change, and much more. The event was recorded at the Melbourne Writers Festival, and your host is All in the Mind presenter Natasha Mitchell. Please note that this program contains some strong language. http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/bigideas/science-on-radio-national-summer-writing-in-lab/3695726 Wed, 07 Dec 2011 15:12:00 +1100 http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/ockhamsrazor/ockham27s-razor-8-january-2012/3732572 Jill, Duchess of Hamilton, wonders why dirt has such a bad name and the word is often used in a derogatory and negative way. In this talk she puts in the good word for dirt. http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/ockhamsrazor/ockham27s-razor-8-january-2012/3732572 Tue, 03 Jan 2012 15:37:00 +1100 http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/philosopherszone/how-do-octopuses-think/3692530 This program was first broadcast on 9 April 2011. How do animals think? Do they have consciousness? If your answer to that question is 'yes', you're probably thinking of your pet dog. But dogs are easy: they're domesticated, they more of less co-evolved with us. Apes are easy too: they're our cousins. But what about octopuses? An octopus has neurons in its arms, and it has eight arms, so does it have eight brains, or nine counting the one in the head? This week on The Philosopher's Zone, we investigate an intelligence very unlike our own. http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/philosopherszone/how-do-octopuses-think/3692530 Tue, 03 Jan 2012 15:44:00 +1100 http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-12-30/kohler-10-favourite-charts-of-2011/3751208 The year 2011 has almost drawn to a close. And what a turbulent year it was. Alan Kohler, a man who loves a good chart, looks back on his favourite charts of 2011 and what they say about where we've been and where we're heading. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-12-30/kohler-10-favourite-charts-of-2011/3751208 Alan Kohler Fri, 30 Dec 2011 10:11:00 +1100 ABC http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/bigideas/science-on-radio-national-summer---powerplay-tune/3695616 In the first of five forums recorded around Australia in 2011, we travel forward in time to the year 2020 for a hypothetical look at power. As we move towards a lower carbon economy, will we derive our energy from the sun or the wind, or might Australia be one big nuclear family? Who might be making the big decisions, and what might the electorate make of those choices? http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/bigideas/science-on-radio-national-summer---powerplay-tune/3695616 Wed, 07 Dec 2011 14:22:00 +1100 http://www.abc.net.au/environment/articles/2011/12/19/3392925.htm The climate change agreement reached at Durban is a blessing for business. At last there is clarity that the world will act on climate change, the only question now is how. http://www.abc.net.au/environment/articles/2011/12/19/3392925.htm Yvo de Boer Mon, 19 Dec 2011 07:03:00 +1100 ABC Licensed http://www.abc.net.au/environment/articles/2011/12/16/3391698.htm Nine months after Fukushima, Barry Brook is still an advocate for nuclear power. Despite everything, it remains the rational approach to energy with climate change on our door. http://www.abc.net.au/environment/articles/2011/12/16/3391698.htm Barry Brook Fri, 16 Dec 2011 07:32:00 +1100 ABC Licensed http://www.abc.net.au/environment/articles/2011/12/15/3391113.htm The proposed Murray-Darling Basin Plan is like a long-suffering three-legged mongrel. And someone just took away two more legs. http://www.abc.net.au/environment/articles/2011/12/15/3391113.htm Tim Napier Thu, 15 Dec 2011 07:21:00 +1100 ABC Licensed http://www.abc.net.au/environment/articles/2011/12/07/3385508.htm Economic modelling that shows communities in the Murray-Darling Basin will only be lightly affected by returning water to the environment is based on flawed assumptions. http://www.abc.net.au/environment/articles/2011/12/07/3385508.htm Stefanie Schulte Wed, 07 Dec 2011 10:51:00 +1100 ABC Licensed http://www.abc.net.au/environment/articles/2011/12/06/3383895.htm Powerful commercial interests are keen to maintain the status quo on the Murray-Darling but this will wreck the river, destroying lives and livelihoods. http://www.abc.net.au/environment/articles/2011/12/06/3383895.htm Paul Sinclair Wed, 07 Dec 2011 16:35:00 +1100 ABC Licensed http://www.abc.net.au/environment/articles/2011/12/05/3382451.htm With United Nations climate negotiations seemingly inextricably mired, the private sector offers hope for the climate. http://www.abc.net.au/environment/articles/2011/12/05/3382451.htm Heherson Alvarez and John Topping Jr Mon, 05 Dec 2011 07:32:00 +1100 ABC Licensed