The culprit behind east Australia's big dry.

When leading climate scientist Matthew England began work at a lab in Hobart in the mid-1980s, visitors were greeted by a huge graphic depicting a tight correlation between El Ninos and Australia's farm yields.

Climate scientists and meteorologists increasingly pay attention to what's
happening in the Indian Ocean to help predict rainfall in south-eastern Australia.

Any government minister would leave understanding that "we’ve got a tremendous amount of economic wealth" dependent on Pacific climate influences, making El Nino research "iconic", England says.

It turns out more attention should have been paid to the Indian Ocean.

Read the story from The Age by Peter Hannam - “The culprit behind east Australia's big dry.”

Growth pains and gridlock come to Hobart, and building more roads is not the best way out

Hobart is a city with growing pains. As Australia’s second-oldest city, it might be likened to an octogenarian suddenly experiencing a teenage “growth spurt”. Growth is occurring both in visitor numbers and new residents.

The morning traffic builds up on the Tasman
Highway at Montagu Bay. Congestion has
become a hot issue for Hobart residents.

The March 3 state election has drawn attention to several growth-related issues, including housing affordability, rental vacancies and traffic congestion. These issues are not new for many Australian cities, or indeed for cities globally. But in Hobart they are almost as surprising as the city’s midwinter 2017 nude swim.

Read the piece on The Conversation - “Growth pains and gridlock come to Hobart, and building more roads is not the best way out.”

Victoria weather: Why south-east Australia is expecting a tropical deluge

South-east Australia is bracing for more than a quarter of a metre of rain in a single weekend, a tropical downpour part of the same extraordinary weather system that has brought heatwaves from Melbourne to Hobart and cool, wet weather in Queensland.

Three weeks ago a high-pressure system settled between Australia and New Zealand.

Normally high-pressure systems clear within the week, but forecasters such as the Bureau of Meteorology's Dr Blair Trewin watched in amazement as the system refused to budge.

"It is very unusual to have such a blocked situation, particularly in spring. It is something you see more often in late summer or early autumn," Dr Trewin said.

"But even then it would be unusual to have something last this long.”

Meteorologists call these slow-moving systems 'blocking highs' because they block fresh weather coming through.

Read the ABC News story by Kate Doyle and Ben Deacon - “Victoria weather: Why south-east Australia is expecting a tropical deluge.”

‘Worst fears': States prepare to highlight the negatives in Turnbull's energy plan

The Turnbull government's national energy guarantee is set for a rocky reception when energy ministers meet in Hobart, with one state declaring new modelling confirmed its "worst fears", and another saying it was "deeply disappointing”.

Sunrise or sunset for coal-fired power: NEG would
 extend the life of aging fossil fuel plants. 

Federal Environment and Energy minister Josh Frydenberg will front the dinner on Thursday night and is expected to release a paper during Friday's talks that has yet to be shared with state and territory counterparts.

The federal government provided a summary of its modelling for the energy guarantee on Wednesday, claiming wholesale prices would be as much as 23 percent lower than business usual under the dual "guarantee" to cut emissions while improving reliability of the nation's ailing electricity grid.

South Australia Energy Minister Tom Koutsantonis indicated his state would reject the plan, which needs consensus from all parties to proceed. For historical reasons, changes to the National Electricity Market also need to pass the SA parliament.

Read Peter Hannam’s story in today’s Melbourne Age - “‘Worst fears': States prepare to highlight the negatives in Turnbull's energy plan.”

March for Science participants hoping to send strong message to political leaders

Thousands of people have rallied across Australia as part of a global movement calling on political leaders to focus more on science.

Marching for science in Sydney.

Crowds gathered in cities and towns including Sydney, Melbourne, Hobart, Perth, Brisbane and Townsville as part of the inaugural March for Science, which is taking place in 500 locations worldwide.

The movement was started by scientists sceptical of the agenda of US President Donald Trump, but Stuart Khan, one of the organisers of the Sydney march, said it quickly went global.

He said marchers were calling on politicians to take note that the public wanted policy based on fact.

Read The Melbourne Age story - “March for Science participants hoping to send strong message to political leaders.”

Australian high school scores international green technology gong

Toby Thorpe, shares the stage with Sheikh
 Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of
Abu Dhabi (left) and Nursultan Nazarbayev,
 President of Kazakhstan.

It's not every day an Australian high school student from Australia gets to share a stage with Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince, Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed and the President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev – and walks away with a $US100,000 ($132,000) prize.

But for 15 year-old Toby Thorpe, this week's award ceremony in Abu Dhabi was merely the end of the beginning for a two-year plan to spur interest in renewable energy and energy savings among students and his local community south-west of Hobart.

​"It's been a long time coming … now we can actually put our plan into action," Mr Thorpe said. "It's quite exciting."

So far, about 20 students have helped design and install a pellet mill, bio digester, a bicycle-powered mobile cinema, and started work on a greenhouse made from 2500 recycled bottles.

Read Peter Hannam’s story in today’s Melbourne Age - “Australian high school scores international green technology gong.”

Forum looks at 'Species on the Move'

Plants and animals all over the world are responding to warming temperatures, many by shifting where they live.

A team of international experts were in Tasmania’s Hobart in February to talk about the surprising ways climate change is affecting the planets natural ecosystems – from the Arctic to the tropics, on land and in the ocean.

The “Species on the Move” public forum heard how a changing climate is impacting Indigenous communities in the Arctic.

This special event featured a series of short talks and was followed by question and answer sessions.