Terrifying': Scientists dig deep for missing piece of climate puzzle

This weekend, a crucial but barely heralded scientific mission will come to an end in a remote part of Antarctica.

David Etheridge, CSIRO lead scientist on the Hydroxyl
project, at Law Dome laboratory in Antarctica.CREDIT:

A team of seven Australian and American researchers will conduct the last extraction of ancient air from ice cores drilled as deep as 240 metres.

They hope to reveal answers to some fundamental questions about how our atmosphere is coping with our soaring emissions of greenhouse gases.

“We’re trying hard not to screw it up," Peter Neff, a glaciologist at the University of Washington, tells the Sun-Herald and Sunday Age from behind the wheel of a tracked snow vehicle at his icy basecamp.

Read the story from The Age by Peter Hannam - “‘Terrifying': Scientists dig deep for missing piece of climate puzzle.”

The Best Way to Cut Carbon Emissions

The key divide here is personal/political: what are the things we can do ourselves, and what can governments do? A balance here is crucial, mostly because neither side of the equation can be trusted to fully implement their changes. Governments often sacrifice the environment first, and the populous often has bigger issues to be concerned about.

Sunrise and fog in Germany.

Therefore, if a balanced solution can be achieved, the whole plan can never truly fail.

Just as environmental policy until now has been a case of “halfway there”, so too have the actions of individuals. We have a fantastic start: targets and mine closures; vegetarianism and conscientious consumption. But some things need to be added, and the existing trends must be reinforced.

Read the story from Medium by David Olsen - “The Best Way to Cut Carbon Emissions.”https://medium.com/dialogue-and-discourse/the-best-way-to-cut-carbon-emissions-a4832d61e1b0

How climate change could spell the end of America's Yellowstone Park

Yellowstone National Park: On a recent northern autumn afternoon in the Lamar Valley, visitors watched a wolf pack lope along a thinly forested riverbank, 10 or so black and grey figures shadowy against the snow. A little further along the road, a herd of bison swung their great heads as they rooted for food in the sagebrush steppe, their deep rumbles clear in the quiet, cold air.

Pronghorn antelope in Yellowstone National Park,
where winters are getting shorter and warmer.CREDIT:

In the United States, Yellowstone National Park is the only place bison and wolves can be seen in great numbers. Because of the park, these animals survive. Yellowstone was crucial to bringing back bison; reintroducing grey wolves; and restoring trumpeter swans, elk and grizzly bears - all five species driven toward extinction found refuge here.

Read the story from The Age by Marguerite Holloway and Josh Haner - “How climate change could spell the end of America's Yellowstone Park.”

Drought forcing Queensland graziers to sell off cattle.

Water is a crucial issue in Queensland right now where graziers are having to sell off thousands of head of cattle as they stare down their sixth year of drought.

Six years of unrelenting drought is putting
pressure on Queensland farmers.

As parched conditions drag on in more than 30 Queensland shires food and water are dwindling for stock.

Graziers in the west are being forced to spend big money on adjustment to keep their animals alive or to simply sell.

Listen to the Radio National Breakfast interview by Hamish Macdonald - “Drought forcing Queensland graziers to sell off cattle.”