Australia & Oceania

‘It Gives Life’: Philippine Tribe Fights To Save A Sacred River From Dam

"Each year, members of the Dumagat-Remontado tribe gather at the Tinipak River to observe an Indigenous ritual to honor their supreme being and pray for healing and protection. This year, the rite had an additional intention: to ward off an impending dam project they fear will inundate the site of the ritual."

Source: Mongabay, 05/10/2023

"Analysis: Race To The Bottom For Deep-Sea Minerals Centers On Tiny Nauru"

"The Pacific island nation of Nauru and its roughly 11,000 residents are at the center of the increasingly contentious debate over whether the world's seabeds should be mined for nickel and other green energy transition minerals."

Source: Reuters, 04/14/2023

What Will It Take for Geothermal To Heat Up the Renewable Energy Sector?

Geothermal has long been hyped as the next big thing in renewable energy, but its breakthrough moment hasn’t happened yet. Barriers to expansion include the elusiveness of sites offering the magic trio of heat, water and permeability and concern for unique ecosystems. Contributor Jessica McKenzie on geothermal energy’s possibilities and challenges and the government funding that may finally fire it up.

SEJ Publication Types: 
Visibility: 

"Australia To Make Area The Size Of Germany A Marine Park In Southern Ocean"

"The Australian government plans to make an area about the size of Germany in the Southern Ocean a marine zone, strengthening protections around Macquarie Island for millions of penguins and seals."

Source: Guardian, 02/23/2023

Koalas, Under Pressure From Wildfires and Development, Are Beloved But Undefended

The cuteness of the fuzzy koala appears not to be winning it special protection in its native Australia, despite dwindling numbers, per a new volume on the endangered marsupial. BookShelf contributor Melody Kemp offers praise for “Koala: A Natural History and an Uncertain Future,” with a review that begins amusingly with bodily functions but ends dispiritedly with yet more koala habitat lost to housing tracts and wildfire.

SEJ Publication Types: 
Visibility: 

Pages

Subscribe to RSS - Australia & Oceania