The Age of Collapse

You don’t have to look very hard to see that the great theme of the 21st century so far is sudden, ruinous collapse. America, Britain, Europe — all teetering on the brink. But it’s hardly just countries in a political sense. The planet. A mass extinction of life itself. People’s sense of optimism and faith in the future imploding into nationalism, extremism, fascism. Trust, meaning, belonging, purpose. Bang! Everything, more or less, as far as you look, seems to be collapsing in on itself, as wide as you care to see. Why is that?

If collapse is the theme of this new century, then what’s really weird, strange, and remarkable is that when you really look at all these very different kinds of collapse, whether what’s imploding is economies, societies, minds, food chains, or ecosystems, it seems to follow a specific and characteristic pattern too. The glaciers melt from the bottom. The insects and bees and little fish and mammals are dying off first. The oceans are warming faster than the atmosphere. Economies are imploding because a new class of poor has grown — whether in America, Britain, or Europe. Do you see the pattern yet?

Read the Medium story by Umair Haque - “The Age of Collapse.”

Changing Face of Agriculture and Food System into the 21st Century

Professor Mark Howden will later this month discuss the “Changing Face of Agriculture and Food System into the 21st Century”.

His presentation on Thursday, April 26 will address aspects of this nexus being faced by the changing demands on our food production systems into the 21st century.

The free public lecture is part of the Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences' 2018 Dean's Lecture Series and more details can be found from the University of Melbourne website.

Australia lacks vision and leadership - MSSI report

A

ustralia is not displaying vision or leadership on climate policy, according to a report from the Melbourne Sustainable Society Institute (MSSI).

Cathy Alexander.

The report, written by MSSI Research Fellow and former environmental journalist Cathy Alexander, examines the claim that Australia is doing the same as, or more than, key countries on climate change.

Claims regularly expressed that Australia would be ‘out in front’ if it did more on climate policy are considered and the paper examines the evidence on how Australia compares.

Author, Ms Alexander is eager to understand how the Australian government compares with key peers and partners on climate policy, and how the government is addressing one of the major challenges of the 21st century.

Read the MSSI report - “Peers and Partners: How Australia compares on climate policy.”

A 'Decade of Extremes' - WMO

A “Decade of Extremes” is the description given to the past 10 years by the World Meteorological Organization.

In the forward to its report, the organization says:

“The first decade of the 21st century was the warmest decade recorded since modern measurements began around 1850. It saw above-average precipitation, including one year – 2010 – that broke all previous records.

It was also marked by dramatic climate and weather extremes such as the European heatwave of 2003, the 2010 floods in Pakistan, hurricane Katrina in the United States of America (USA), cyclone Nargis in Myanmar and long-term droughts in the Amazon Basin, Australia and East Africa.”