This week on radio, Tim Thwaites is talking about killer volcanoes; rogue satellites; robot gardeners; the anti-waggle song; and more… Read the full article →
geoscience
This week on radio, Tim Thwaites is talking about golden earthquakes; chaos and stereotypes; greener fireworks; virtual whiskers; and more. Read the full article →
This week on radio, Tim Thwaites is talking about printing new skin; earthquake prediction; bears in space; innovation irritation; and more… Read the full article →
Australian Academy of Science media release
AAS 1/11
Sixty of Australia’s big-thinking young geoscientists have identified how to ensure this country continues to be a powerhouse of mining for at least the next century.
The report of a Think Tank on the future of resource discovery and utilisation held at the Australian Academy of Science late last year was launched by the Minister for Resources and Energy, The Hon Martin Ferguson, today at the Shine Dome in Gordon Street, Canberra at 3 pm. Read the full article →
In 2011 Australia will hold one of the world’s largest meetings of earth scientists. They will explore all the physical aspects of our planet, from deep in the Earth’s core to our place in space.
Given recent natural disasters—such as the Pakistan floods, Black Saturday bushfires, Hurricane Katrina, the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami, 2010 Chile earthquake, Iceland’s Eyjafjallajökull volcano—the Earth seems ever more restless and destructive, and the impact on human life and infrastructure is increasingly heavy.
So it is important to understand how the Earth works—which means the 25th General Assembly of the International Union of Geophysics and Geodesy in Melbourne from 28 June to 7 July 2011 will be a focus of attention, not only for the 3,000 delegates expected to attend, but for many others besides. Read the full article →
Tomorrow the Prime Minister will present her Prizes for Science. The embargo is 5 pm on Wednesday 17 November 2010.
The winners will be at Parliament House from 11 am tomorrow morning and available in the Press Gallery from 1 pm.
Other science news: a L’Oréal award and $100,000 for an Aussie scientist discovering bacteria everywhere; Chinese science leaders in Australia marking 30 years of collaboration; CERN director here soon for physics congress; the end of the world; and…
‘When you’re up to your arse in alligators, it’s hard to remember that your original intention was to drain the swamp.’ This quote sets the scene for a black comedy on biodiversity staged in the skeleton gallery of the Australian Museum tonight and Thursday. Read the full article →
Released on behalf of the Australian Academy of Science
Most of the easily-found, economically exploitable mineral deposits in Australia have already been discovered, and are steadily being mined out. We need new, large, rich ore bodies to replace them.
How we go about finding and developing them is at the core of an Australian Academy of Science Think Tank to be held in Canberra on Thursday 19 and Friday 20 August. The media are invited to the first day, and the speakers are available for interview. Read the full article →
“Our failure to act on climate change could encourage an underground movement to take action and fix climate change through geo-engineering. It’s a real threat according to leading academics. And the ethics of geo-engineering were explored at a Victorian government backed conference in California earlier this year,” says science commentator Tim Thwaites.
Shock? Horror? Why should we be surprised? As climate provocateur, Bjorn Lomborg pointed out to Robyn Williams recently on the ABC’s Science Show, many geo-engineering possibilities are inexpensive enough to be with the reach of a billionaires like Bill Gates and Richard Branson —and Governments seem hamstrung about coming to agreement on any other action. This makes the ABC online drama project Bluebird timely, as it explores these very issues. Read the full article →
11 am, 27 April 2010
From Australians stranded in Europe to fresh vegetable growers in Africa, people dependent on the world’s airlines have done it hard in the past two weeks.
If the eruption of one volcano in Iceland can disrupt us so badly, what could the Bluebird project do? You are about to find out.
From today, the ABC invites you to enter the world of the experimental science of geoengineering—the deliberate manipulation of the Earth’s atmosphere to counteract climate change. Bluebird AR, an interactive alternative reality story about geoengineering, will play out on websites, in the social media, on ABC programs, and all around you. Read the full article →
UPDATED:
- The Prime Minster’s speech from the awards ceremony
- The Prime Minister’s press release
- The Science Minister’s press release
- Photographs from the night (at the bottom of this page)
- Official Prime Minister’s Prizes site
Below are the in-brief summaries. Click links for full citations, biographic information and print resolution photographs. Read the full article →
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Len Altman
Creating new careers in the rocks
Geoscience is at the heart of some of humanity’s biggest challenges in the 21st Century: access to water; alternative energy sources like geothermal and hydro; and adapting to climate change. “So why,” asks Len Altman, “Are students in our schools more likely to learn about the moons of Jupiter or the rings of Saturn than about the planet Earth and its history?” Read the full article →
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‘Fool’s gold’ has tricked many amateur gold miners, but Queensland researchers have discovered it can reveal much about the early evolution of life on Earth.
Read the full article → 
