Past Programs
Environment - 2008
Realising the potential of desert environments
24/12/2008
Nearly three quarters of Australia is desert, you know. Consequently, most of our population centres have built up around the edges of the continent.
Recent discussion around deserts here have centred on the viability of remote indigenous communities, with remote Australia being described by some as a 'failed state' ... referring to the difficulty maintaining infrastructure like health and housing. But it's a bitter contradiction - Australia's deserts and the people living there contribute over ninety billion dollars to Australia's gross revenue. That's according to the Desert Knowledge Cooperative Research Centre.
In early November this year, over 300 people got together in Alice Springs to discuss the potential of desert environments. A sixth of the world's population live in desert regions ... and the conference examined the potential of these environments to generate energy, food, knowledge and industry. Sharing and developing knowledge of desert environments seems particularly relevant given climate change.
Guests from around the world have come to Australia because we apparently lead the way in approaches to the economic development of desert communities.
Recyling and e-waste
19/11/2008
About 8 million new mobile phones are sold in Australia each year and at last estimate, there were more mobiles in this country than people. But what happens to old phones when it comes time to buy new ones? Only about three per cent are recycled; most end up as landfill. The story is not much better for other e-waste— computers, electronic goods, televisions. Environment groups want the federal government to introduce a scheme of 'extended producer responsibility', where the manufacturer takes charge of the disposal of the goods, not just their production. So what could that add to the cost of a new TV or computer? Should schemes like that be voluntary rather than regulated by government? And what's the consumer's role in recycling?
Solar feed-in tariffs
17/11/2008
Five states and territories have already announced feed-in tariffs for solar energy, meaning that you are able to sell the energy your solar panels generate back to the grid.
The Council of Australian Governments is now considering a national tariff scheme. The feed-in tariffs are supposed to boost the solar industry and attract investment. So will national feed-in tariffs enable solar energy to deliver on its promises? And what form should the tariffs take?
Climate change and the reef
13/11/2008
It's one of the world's unique marine environments and, not surprisingly, a heritage-listed site. People come in their millions each year to see and experience the Great Barrier Reef. But some scientists are predicting that if temperatures continue to rise, within 30 years it may be gone. Could climate change kill the Great Barrier Reef?
Environmental Triage
04/11/2008
The term Triage is usually associated with emergency medicine - there's a major accident with a lot of people injured. Medicos systematically assess the severity of each one's condition, and organize their treatment according to a set of priorities. The idea being that with an effective system, you can save as many lives as possible. But triage is increasingly being applied in conservation to decide what species should be protected and what management systems should be adopted for threatened eco systems. And in Australia there's a lot to choose from. The WWF's Living Planet Report says we have the fifth largest ecological footprint per capita in the world, one in five Australian mammals is in danger of dying out - the highest of any developed country. So could triage be a useful guide in deciding how best to manage the environment and its diversity? Or will competing interests, like economic, emotional and political factors, affect our priorities for future environmental management and species protection?
Tim Flannery and Australia's sustainable future
30/09/2008
Tim Flannery is one of Australia's most prominent public intellectuals. In a new essay he addresses the issue of climate change, outlines scenarios for the future and argues that Australia has a special responsibility to work towards ameliorating the effects of climate change. This is your opportunity to talk with Tim Flannery about the challenges facing Australia and the globe.
Recycling
09/09/2008
After you've separated out the plastics, papers, bottles and cans and wheeled the bin out to the kerb, do you ever wonder what happens to the contents? Our record on newspaper recycling is among the best in the world and we're now recycling 600 million more aluminium cans than we were 10 years ago. Paper, plastic and glass are the most frequently recycled materials because they're collected through local kerbside recycling services and about 90 per cent of households have access to them.
What's emerging as an increasing problem though is e-waste. Each year, Australians buy more than 2.4 million personal computers and more than a million televisions. Add to that the fact that there are more mobile phones in this country than there are people and you get an idea of the size of the problem. So how do we deal with our increasing waste stream and whatever happened to the first two Rs in the three step campaign: reduce, reuse and recycle?
Fishing stocks and the Pacific
04/09/2008
With the Atlantic and Indian Ocean fisheries almost wiped out, fishing fleets are looking towards the Pacific as the next frontier. Some Pacific Island nations are tired of waiting for substantial international protections and have formed their own group to protect their valuable natural assets while others are succumbing to economic temptations and are selling licenses to fish to foreign fleets at bargain basement prices.
One suggestion is that a complete ban for a fixed period could give fisheries a much needed respite, and Greenpeace UK has been promoting the idea of a network of global marine reserves covering 40% of the world's oceans as a way of safeguarding long-term sustainability.
What would be the regional security implications if the Pacific stocks collapse, and should Australia be playing a more significant role in policing the high seas?
Buying back the Murray
21/08/2008
South Australia's lower lakes have become a rallying point for the crisis facing the Murray Darling. Scientists say the lakes will be lost unless there are significant inflows of water before summer. But is there enough water to save the lakes and where will it come from?
The Australian Conversation Foundation wants the federal government to buy six big rural properties that have significant water storages, including the controversial Cubbie Station. The ACF says between them, those properties could deliver 300 gigalitres, and buy some time for the lower lakes.
Meanwhile, the new independent senator Nick Xenophon is supporting the compulsory acquisition of water licences, arguing that time is running out for the Murray Darling. But with the resource in crisis, have we lost the chance to strike a balance between the environment and the needs of agriculture? Do we have to accept that nothing can be done to save the lower lakes?
Resilience: National Science Week
18/08/2008
Scientists around the world are getting very excited about a new way of thinking called resilience. They say it can be used to better manage our communities, businesses, natural resources or even help cope with the pace of change in our lives.
Our population has doubled over the past 40 years, smog is choking our cities and our resource base is disappearing. So, is this the answer to tackling the big problems like the future for the Murray Darling, drought, global warming, or even depression? Or is resilience just a new buzzword that will inevitably fall out of favour? A leading panel of scientists, farmers, industry leaders and psychologists discuss the possibilities of the new science of resilience at a special Australia Talks forum in Canberra, part of National Science Week.
Public transport
31/07/2008
With rising petrol prices and looming climate change, environmentalists pin their hopes on public transport. However, the government has included public transport in the emissions trading scheme. Cities such as Melbourne and Sydney are struggling to get an automatic ticketing system running. Many outer suburbs are cut off from public transport altogether.
What improvements does public transport need in order to be workable in the future—or is it just a thing of the past?
Urban Water
24/07/2008
Water Minister Penny Wong, has given assurances that drinking water remains a priority in the southern basin even though the Murray River is at its lowest levels on record. More than a million Australians draw their drinking water from the Murray and there's little prospect of rain between now and the start of Spring.
Water used for domestic purposes, accounts for about 11 per cent of our total consumption. Agriculture uses about 65 per cent. But with the farm sector facing a tough future, is it time to reduce urban water consumption? Patrick Troy from the Australian National University says households could cut their demand for potable water by up to 70 per cent, but we'd have to be prepared to change the way we build. He wants all new developments to include rain and grey water tanks and composting toilets. Would those measures work and what about permanent water restrictions? The future for urban water in Australia Talks.
Responsible tourism
17/07/2008
Responsible travel is becoming more and more of a challenge. Flying is the fastest growing contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. It might only make up around three per cent of the emissions at this stage, but until the middle of the century flying could eat up half of Australia's emissions allowance.
With around eight per cent of the global workforce bound to tourism, the margin of the industry between supporting and exploiting local communities gets tighter. Particularly the trend to travel to destinations such as war zones or Burma poses the question of supporting shady regimes. However, for these countries tourism often is the only door to international contact. So how responsible can tourism be?
Wood-fired heating
15/07/2008
As temperatures across the East have been dropping and energy prices rising we're asking how you are heating your home this winter. Well here's a novel idea; how about running a wood heater? Wood fired heaters are set for a revival and the science is suggesting they can be carbon neutral across the life cycle of the fuel. At the moment the downside of air pollution still outweighs the benefits in combating climate change BUT with a bit more research that could be eliminated. In parts of Northern Europe, wood-fuel power stations are generating 250-300 megawatts of power and could also form the basis of potential bio-fuels. Maybe it's too soon to throw out your old wood burner?
Biosecurity
20/05/2008
In the last 15 years we've had 17 breaches of quarantine in Australia—and they're just the ones we know about. A report into a possible breach of quarantine procedures around last year's outbreak of equine flu is yet to be made public but at the same time the government has launched a comprehensive review of the Australian quarantine measures.
This centenary year should have been a celebration for the Australian quarantine service. But now, there are difficult questions: Is the quality of our biosecurity up to the challenges of global markets and free trade?
The Kimberley
27/03/2008
The debate over whether or not to allow industrial development in Western Australia's Kimberley region continues as the federal and WA governments begin a 'strategic assessment' of the area.
According to environment minister Peter Garrett's comments, there's a chance the results of the study may lead to the area being declared a World Heritage site. But at the same time, Japanese company Inpex is proposing to build a processing plant in the region and is threatening to look elsewhere if a decision isn't made soon ... and while some traditional owners and tourism operators want no part of it, the Kimberley Land Council says developing the region promises unique economic opportunity for Indigenous employment and investment. How should Indigenous communities deal with the pressure to develop environmentally and culturally important areas like the Kimberley?
Do developments like these deliver better economic outcomes or threaten to destroy remaining traditional communities forever?
Planning for population growth
17/03/2008
How is Australia planning for population growth? How do we square a population projected to be running as high as 34 million by 2050 with the other challenges we're facing: climate, water, a skilled labour force and economic and social management?
Rethinking farming
12/03/2008
As Australia's most recent drought continues to affect large parts of the country, some farmers are still relying on Exceptional Circumstances assistance to keep afloat.
At the recent ABARE conference in Canberra, ministers, bureaucrats -- as well as some of the farming sector -- asked whether it might be time to review drought assistance.
As a nation do we need to be rethinking how and where we farm? Should we start redirecting drought mitigation money into relocating some of our primary producers out of agriculture?
Watching the weather
25/02/2008
When the Bureau of Meteorology was established 100 years ago, its role was to help in the process of building the nation. According to the newly federated government, the country needed more European immigrants and investment as well as expansion beyond the coastal strip. The Bureau, it was hoped, would be part of that, providing information about rainfall patterns, potential water storages and regions that could support new pasture.
Later, and particularly after the second world war, the bureau's role changed. Air travel, mining exploration and even Britain's atomic testing, demanded greater and more accurate weather science. And now climate change has thrown up new expectations. But despite that, historian David Day says the bureau has had to cope on shoestring budgets for years and more recently, enforced efficiency dividends. David Day has just published The Weather Watchers: 100 Years of the Bureau of Meteorology.
Beyond Kyoto
04/02/2008
Signing Australia up to the Kyoto protocol was one of the first acts of the Rudd government but where to now? As Minister for Climate Change Penny Wong returns from a meeting of the world's biggest carbon emitters, we look Beyond Kyoto.
One of the issues ahead is what responsibility current generations have to future generations. While many international treaties do refer to inter-generational responsibility, it's much more difficult to pin down in legislation. And in framing that legislation, does the environment itself need to be considered? Do the atmosphere, the oceans, or even the trees have a right to exist?
