To keep up with climate-related disasters, we need transformational solutions. These range from ‘sponge cities’ and floating houses to putting out bushfires minutes after they start.
Jessie Cole’s memoir traces a love affair: a long-distance relationship with an unnamed, older lover. It’s set against layers of thinking about love, desire, bodies and ecological disaster.
New research finds the Victorian town of Buchan never experienced catastrophic bushfires, until misguided laws banned the use of burning as a way to control the land.
A flooded farm from the Loddon river in Serpentine, Victoria.
Luke Milgate
La Niña is officially here for the third year in a row. You probably associate it with flooding, but how might it affect future drought and bushfires? And could a fourth La Niña be possible?
The tiny golden-tipped bat roosts in the nests of rainforest birds. But high intensity extreme fires can increasingly reach into their unburnt sanctuaries.
Floodwaters wrecked Lismore resident Robert Bialowas’s house.
Jason O'Brien/AAP
The long delays in housing displaced flood victims point to the need to develop a permanent reserve of temporary housing to be available wherever and whenever disaster strikes.
The paltry spending means many species severely impacted by the megafires were left in desperate trouble, potentially pushing some closer to extinction.
Almost half of the rehabilitated possums in our study were killed by foxes shortly after release. Keeping wildlife wild during rescue is hard – but necessary.
Property buybacks and managed retreat from high-risk areas were once seen as far-off options as the planet warms. Now this ‘last resort’ adaptation to climate change is an urgent priority worldwide.
Indigenous fire management reduces the risk of bushfires, supports habitat and improves Indigenous wellbeing. Yet, the State of the Environment report this week found it’s underused.
The findings are staggering in their representation of loss and environmental degradation across Australia. While I am disappointed, I am unfortunately not surprised.
Building houses better at withstanding the impacts of climate change is one way we can protect ourselves in the face of future catastrophic conditions.
Disaster victims in Australia can wait months or years for insurance payouts – or can’t afford the premiums at all. As climate change worsens, we need a radical rethink.