As of 2016, 3.2 billion people globally are considered middle class. A study by the Brookings Institution estimates this number to increase by 140 million annually, and in the next five years, by 170 million. While the growth of the global middle class is not necessarily the same all over the world, it can be considered...
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Authors: Mark Howden, Director, Climate Change Institute, Australian National University and Rebecca Colvin, Knowledge Exchange Specialist, Climate Change Institute, Australian National University. A landmark report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, commissioned at the breakthrough 2015 summit that brokered the Paris climate agreement, outlines what’s...
Climate change is a major contributor to the larger storms striking the Earth and the hurricanes, fire seasons, and droughts that have affected the US and many other parts of the world. There are enormous impacts on the climate that have specifically been caused by humans, and those changes are starting to have a negative...
In 1858 and 1859, oil was discovered for the first time in commercial quantities in Ontario Canada and Pennsylvania, USA. This was a turning point in human civilization. From producing diesel for steam engines to using kerosene to light up house lamps, oil was the ‘oil’ of civilization. By the middle of the 20th century almost all...
Abuja, Nigeria: Nicholas Patrick Wiseman, back in 1845, once wrote that an idea is immortal and cannot be killed. Personally, I think ideas are pretty much eternal. All the greatest changes in human lives across the world had at one time or another stemmed from an idea. From the concept of slavery to that of...
While there are many prominent men flying the flag for climate change and sustainability – Al Gore and Leonardo DiCaprio quickly spring to mind here – there are plenty of prominent women leading the way too. Below, famous female leaders from a variety of professions and backgrounds, share their thoughts on climate change, sustainability and...
Electronic waste, or e-waste for short, is one of the world’s fastest growing waste streams, being dumped in landfills at record rates in Australia and across the world. According to Sustainability Victoria, an estimated 16 million TVs and one million mobile phones are discarded in Australia each year. But rather than throwing these away, electronic goods such...
With pollution rates on the rise and climate change drastically altering our world, it’s vitally important right now for kids to learn about nature and ways to protect and save it – before it’s too late. Those who care about the future of our environment need to promote the education of climate change in schools...
Brisbane, Australia: The Victorian Government is making it illegal to dump e-waste in landfill from 1 July 2019. According to Sustainability Victoria, an estimated 15 million electronic items were sent to landfill in Australia in 2007-2008, and that number has steadily increased. Electronic waste, or e-waste, refers to any electronic item with a plug, battery or...
This article was originally published on The Conversation. Author: Frank Jotzo, Director, Centre for Climate Economics and Policy, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University and Salim Mazouz, Research Manager, Crawford School of Public Policy; and Principal at NCEconomics, Australian National University. Renewables are stealing the march over coal in Australia, and the international outlook is...
In 2016, 174 nation states (including Australia) and the European Union, agreed on the United Nations Paris Agreement on climate change. This global acknowledgement that humans are the primary drivers of climate change was a critical turning point in history. To avoid the most serious impacts of human-induced climate change, scientists estimated that the planet’s average temperatures could...
Ocean Conservancy’s 33rd annual International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) is on September 15. The world’s largest single-day volunteer effort to fight against ocean plastic pollution, this year the non-profit launches their new #SuitUpToCleanUp campaign encouraging people to suit up and head to their local beach or waterway to help pick up litter and plastic debris and...