What you’d spend to prevent climate change — and what you could get with your money

As the country burns and temperatures rise, climate change is once again at the forefront of our national consciousness. 

How much would we spend to prevent climate change? 

It’s a problem that seems intractable and has dogged politics for decades.

More than 54,000 Australians took part in the nationally representative Australia Talks National Survey, and the number one thing they said was keeping them up at night was climate change.

When we asked how much more they’d be personally willing to spend to help prevent climate change, the numbers varied.

Some people wouldn’t spend anything more (21 per cent) and some were happy to spend thousands (9 per cent) — but most of us sit somewhere in the middle. On average, we’re willing to chip in at least $200 each year*.

To halt climate change we’d need to make some major changes to the way the world works, so would an extra couple of hundred dollars a year even make a difference?

Read the special article from The Age - “What you’d spend to prevent climate change — and what you could get with your money.”

Melting Arctic Permafrost Releases Acid that Dissolves Rocks

As temperatures rise in the Arctic, permafrost — permanently frozen ground — is defrosting at an alarming rate. But the permafrost isn't the only thing in the Arctic that's melting.

Runoff from melting permafrost in Alaska flows toward the sea.

Exposed rock that was once covered in ice is dissolving, eaten away by acid. And the effects of this acid bath could have far-reaching impacts on global climate, according to a new study.

Icy permafrost is rich in minerals, which are released when the ice melts. The minerals then become vulnerable to chemical weathering, or the breakdown of rock through chemical reactions, scientists recently reported. They investigated areas once covered by permafrost in the western Canadian Arctic, finding evidence of weathering caused by sulfuric acid, produced by sulfide minerals that were released when the permafrost melted.

Read the LiveScience story by Mindy Weisberger - “Melting Arctic Permafrost Releases Acid that Dissolves Rocks.”

Climate change to take the gloss of Goulburn Valley apples

Climate change will impact on the
Goulburn Valley's apple crop.

Red apples could be a bit less red as temperatures rise due to climate change, Royal Galas are likely to suffer more sun damage, and some fruit growers are likely to rip out trees and opt for different varieties.

The looming impact of climate change on the fruit growing industry is detailed in a new report out of the University of Melbourne, which says climate change could affect what is grown and where in some Australian apple growing regions.

The report concentrates on science, but as climate change affects farmers and the fruit that they grow, a changing climate is likely to have some impact on the apples displayed on the shelves of Australian supermarkets in future years.

Northern Victoria's Goulburn Valley, one of the biggest apple-growing districts in Australia, faces a real threat from a rise in the number of hot days in January that could lead to "sun damage" on Royal Gala apples, the report warns.  

Read Darren Gray’s story in today’s Melbourne Age - “Climate change to affect how and where fruit is grown.”