the conversation
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Global Emissions Are Down by an Unprecedented 7% — but Don’t Start Celebrating Just Yet
Global emissions are expected to decline by about 7% in 2020 (or 2.4 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide) compared to 2019 — an unprecedented drop due to the slowdown in economic activity associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. To put this into perspective, the Global Financial Crisis in 2008 saw a 1.5% drop in global emissions…
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Arctic Ocean: Climate Change Is Flooding the Remote North With Light and New Species
At just over 14 million square kilometres, the Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world’s oceans. It is also the coldest. An expansive raft of sea ice floats near its centre, expanding in the long, cold, dark winter, and contracting in the summer, as the Sun climbs higher in the sky. Every…
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National Security Review Recommends Complete Overhaul of Electronic Surveillance
The most extensive review of Australia’s intelligence sector since the 1970s has released its public report. The Comprehensive Review of the Legal Framework of the National Intelligence Community – the “Richardson Review” – culminated in a four-volume declassified report containing 203 recommendations (13 of them classified). It has been embraced by the government, which took…
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Freaky ‘Frankenprawns’ – Ancient Deep Sea Monsters Called Radiodonts Had Incredible Vision
Deep sea animals can be the stuff of nightmares. Many inhabit the ocean’s twilight zone (down to 1,000 metres depth), where sunlight has virtually disappeared, and have adapted their vision to this dark alien world. Evolution gave them large, complex eyes to see in dim light — examples include the Vampire Squid, Sloane’s Viperfish, and…