Basic

Australia's fires | Okavango Delta at risk

Posted by: The Conversation Global

Date: Friday, 15 November 2019

 

Editor's note

This has been a difficult week for Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison and his government. The powerful coverage of devastating bushfires has intensified pressure on a government already on the back foot over its climate policy, Michelle Grattan writes, which has exposed it as poorly equipped to deal with complex policy problems.

The Okavango Delta in southern Africa is a mosaic of water paths, floodplains and arid islands, created by various natural processes in a delicate balance. Its unique ecosystem, and the huge array of wildlife it attracts, have earned it World Heritage status. Michael Murray-Hudson and Olivier Dauteuil explain how some imminent changes, like higher global temperatures and the diversion of water for irrigation in upstream countries, could disrupt the balance.

Amanda Dunn

Section Editor: Politics + Society

Top story

The devastating bushfires are intensifying the pressure on a government already increasingly on the back foot over climate. Dan Himbrechts/AAP

Grattan on Friday: When the firies call him out on climate change, Scott Morrison should listen

Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra

Emergency Leaders for Climate Action have a simple message: we're in “a new age of unprecedented bushfire danger” due to climate change. But Morrison refuses to acknowledge it as a central issue.

The Delta’s rich array of wildlife makes it a popular tourist destination. Ger Metselaar/Shutterstock

Botswana’s Okavango Delta is created by a delicate balance, but for how much longer?

Michael Murray-Hudson, University of Botswana; Olivier Dauteuil, Université Rennes 1

It's imperative that we understand what creates and sustains the delta for the future management of the system.

Science + Technology

‘4°C of global warming is optimal’ – even Nobel Prize winners are getting things catastrophically wrong

Steve Keen, UCL

William Nordhaus' predictions of what the climate crisis will cost the earth are dangerously at odds with climate science.

Quantum physics: our study suggests objective reality doesn’t exist

Alessandro Fedrizzi, Heriot-Watt University; Massimiliano Proietti, Heriot-Watt University

A quantum experiment raises deeply philosophical questions about the fundamental nature of reality.

Arts + Culture

A little humour may help with climate change gloom

Lakshmi Magon, University of Toronto

Studies show that humour is useful for engaging the public about climate change

How Zulu radio dramas subverted apartheid’s grand design

Prof Liz Gunner, University of Johannesburg

Even though they were a product of apartheid's propaganda broadcasting machine, Zulu language radio dramas proved subversively powerful by reflecting communal black life and creating new stars.

Politics + Society

Impeachment: Two quotes that defined the first day of public hearings

Kirsten Carlson, Wayne State University; Chris Edelson, American University School of Public Affairs

The first day of public impeachment testimony was defined, in part, by strongly worded statements from Representatives Adam Schiff and Devin Nunes.

Do biased polls skew elections? Experimental evidence says yes

Zacharias Maniadis, University of Southampton

Study shows voters struggle to take media bias into account – even when they are explicitely told it's there.

En français

Quand il est muté, ce gène rend obèse et diabétique

Philippe Froguel, Université de Lille

Nous ne sommes pas égaux devant le surpoids : notre tendance à grossir dépend de nos gènes. L’identification de ceux impliqués dans l’obésité fait espérer la mise au point de nouveaux traitements.

Comment l’abolition de l’esclavage a légitimé le travail forcé colonial en Afrique de l’Ouest

Romain Tiquet, Aix-Marseille Université (AMU)

Un pan méconnu de l’histoire de l’abolition de l’esclavage révèle comment le travail forcé a été mis en place au nom d’une supposée « mission civilisatrice ».

 
 
 
 
 
 

6ይ ክፋል: ማዕበል ስርሒት ፈንቅል - የካቲት 1990 - ሰነዳዊት ፊልም| sirihit fenkil 1990 - part 6 - ERi-TV Documentary

Dehai Events