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Section: Environment

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Putting soul into climate change debate

    • Kent Rosenthal
    • 27 February 2007
    1 Comment

    When multinationals and politicians seem to be looking the other way in the face of an impending climate change crisis, it’s good to know there are people out there pushing for reform and stirring debate at the highest levels. 

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  • ENVIRONMENT

    The fake morality of Al Gore's convenient lie

    • Scott Stephens
    • 22 January 2007
    25 Comments

    Perhaps the slick advocacy of Al Gore’s pop environmentalism is a way of baptising lives that are already excessive, self-seeking and idolatrous with a sickly green tinge. Rather than change our consumption habits, it makes us feel better about them (like drinking Diet Coke).

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  • ENVIRONMENT

    Zookeeper Irwin preached the wrong message

    • Binoy Kampmark
    • 24 December 2006
    1 Comment

    The story of Irwin's life, already being written, will conclude that he was a good conservationist, a global ambassador for protecting 'dangerous' animals. But how can the owner of a zoo be worthy of such a title? Zoos are enclosures that imply a loss of sanctuary and celebrate the subjugation of nature. From 19 September 2006.

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  • ENVIRONMENT

    Biotech revolution promises to alter human nature

    • Ursula Stephens
    • 24 December 2006

    The most significant threat posed by contemporary biotechnology is the possibility that it will alter human nature—and thereby move us into what Fukuyama calls a "post human" stage of history. From 14 November 2006.

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  • ENVIRONMENT

    Bodies and brains already merged with computer power

    • Tim Thwaites
    • 11 December 2006
    1 Comment

    The animated family conversation was becoming louder. Looking for signs that it was disturbing the other passengers, there was no need to worry. On a tram which was two-thirds full, almost all were staring into space, plugged into their iPods.

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  • ENVIRONMENT

    Biotech revolution promises to alter human nature

    • Ursula Stephens
    • 13 November 2006
    4 Comments

    The most significant threat posed by contemporary biotechnology is the possibility that it will alter human nature—and thereby move us into what Fukuyama calls a "post human" stage of history.

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  • ENVIRONMENT

    Environmental complexities of the modern dishwasher

    • Tim Thwaites
    • 30 October 2006

    Because of the intricate nature of all the interactions involved, the best course of action in environmental matters is rarely clear or obvious. We just need to be grateful for decisive political leaders.

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  • ENVIRONMENT

    Renewed esteem for a former marine enemy

    • Tim Thwaites
    • 16 October 2006

    Grey nurse sharks were cast as villains who preyed on unsuspecting swimmers. It's now regarded as an endangered species, whose potential disappearance from the marine ecosystem could lead to nasty imbalances further down the food chain.

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  • ENVIRONMENT

    If governments won't fix climate change, people power will

    • Inna Tsyrlin
    • 18 September 2006

    A visiting Dutch environmental economist says it may be too late to expect governments to wake up to the dire need to make and implement adequate policies. He says it is time for us to "work on our government", rather than wait for the government to work on us, to change the way we live.

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  • ENVIRONMENT

    Honk if Pluto is still a planet

    • Tim Thwaites
    • 04 September 2006
    4 Comments

    The outcry with which people greeted ex-planet Pluto’s change in status surprised many. Even the language used was astonishing. Pluto had been “demoted”, “banished” and “stripped of its status”. The Times of India reported people buying bumper stickers asking fellow drivers to “Honk if Pluto is still a planet”.

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  • ENVIRONMENT

    Changed climate will cook the elderly

    • Kate Mannix
    • 04 September 2006
    4 Comments

    When the human body gets to 42°C, it starts to cook. Death is inevitable, and it is the most vulnerable who will go first. While the CSIRO has projections on the likely effects of climate change in Australia, there has been little work on what that will actually mean for human health outcomes in specific regions.

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  • ENVIRONMENT

    When human life is not really human life

    • Tim Thwaites
    • 07 August 2006
    6 Comments

    The term 'therapeutic cloning' is unfortunate, as it has nothing to do with replicating humans. Researchers undertaking therapeutic cloning would say that the circumstances under which they stimulate human eggs to develop ensure there is no way the result could ever become a human baby.

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