The polar vortex bringing icy temperatures across southern Australia
A destabilised weather pattern has pushed the polar vortex high above Antarctica off course, pushing freezing winds into southern Australia. When will it end?
- by Bianca Hall
Latest
Updated
Extreme weather
World’s hottest day recorded, but land temperatures will be even higher
The last 12 months have set new temperature records, with the 12-month global average 1.64 degrees above the pre-Industrial average.
- by Gloria Dickie and Bianca Hall
Top agency casts doubt on nuclear reactors flagged by Dutton
Australia’s academy of engineers says the cost and operational performance of small modular nuclear reactors are untested and unproven.
- by Bianca Hall
Can the Voices model help communities fight off nuclear reactors?
Coal communities across the country – facing the loss of industry, jobs and the social fabric that binds them together – are poised to transition from the coal that built their histories.
- by Bianca Hall and Mike Foley
‘A political mischief’: Forrest hits back at green hydrogen detractors
Mining executive Andrew Forrest has denied he is abandoning his ambitions for green hydrogen, saying the fuel is imperative for combating climate change.
- by Bianca Hall and Peter Milne
Exclusive
Mining
Mining groups lobbied PM to weaken environment reforms, documents show
Mining giants including Hancock Prospecting and Rio Tinto lobbied the Albanese government to weaken national environmental reforms, new documents show.
- by Bianca Hall and Mike Foley
Common product banned around the world is killing our owls
Powerful owls predate on possums, snatching as many as 250 a year. But those possums are increasingly falling prey to another predator: rat poison.
- by Bianca Hall
Two stars out of 10: Why most Australian homes are poorly heated
Homes built before 2003 are typically inefficient, leading to higher energy bills and increased greenhouse emissions. But experts say there are simple things you can do.
- by Bianca Hall
Only the lonely: How regent honeyeaters are learning to sing again
The critically endangered birds made worldwide headlines when researchers discovered they were losing their songs. Now, there are signs efforts to teach them are working.
- by Bianca Hall
Exclusive
Water
Who owns a river? Bitter feud over High Country farmer’s green power plan
A cattle station owner’s plan to build a hydroelectric power station on his property raises broader questions about land and water use, and the responsibility of authorities to take cultural values into account in granting permits for projects.
- by Bianca Hall
Dutton’s claim nuclear waste would be size of Coke can ‘hard to swallow’
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton is spruiking the benefits of nuclear energy, but one of his claims has left a bad taste in experts’ mouths.
- by Mike Foley and Bianca Hall