By Steve Turton, Adjunct Professor of Environmental Geography, CQUniversity Australia
California is once again confronting a rapidly escalating wildfire season fuelled by extreme heat, drying vegetation, drought and strong winds.
As of 24 July, the state has recorded more than 3,800 wildfires so far this year, burning approximately 79,000 hectares. The largest active blaze, in Lassen County, had grown to more than 28,000 hectares.
The immediate images are familiar to Australians: towering smoke columns and orange skies. But these wildfires are not simply the result of hot summer weather. They…
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By Aaron Walton, PhD candidate, Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, The University of Melbourne
In his 2023 bestseller, Determined, neuroscientist Robert Sapolsky argued that the interaction of biology and environment leaves no room for free choice. Philosopher and neuroscientist Sam Harris puts the case more bluntly: “free will is an illusion”.
However, prominent voices in psychology and the media…
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By Simon Francis Thrush, Professor of Marine Science, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau
The government’s controversial Fisheries Amendment Bill has reignited debate over New Zealand’s most common – and most controversial – commercial fishing method.
Bottom trawling involves commercial fishing boats dragging large, heavy nets across the seafloor. It is the most widespread source of human disturbance to the global…
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By Judy Ingham, Newsletter Producer, The Conversation
Every day, we publish a selection of your emails in our newsletter. We’d love to hear from you, you can email us at yoursay@theconversation.edu.au.
Monday July 27
“Like any geopolitical fix, this one [to fix ocean chemistry] is ‘naturally’ fraught. There are positives and negatives – which constitute political chemistry. But can we perhaps dissolve these opposites to precipitate a clear solution? I think we can. Use less…
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By Guillaume Lhermie, Professeur, économie et politiques publiques de santé animale, University of Calgary
The cyclosporiasis outbreak linked to fresh produce in the United States is raising concerns in Canada about the safety of imported food. While Canada has seen some recent cases of cyclosporiasis, officials say there is no link with the U.S. outbreak.
The outbreak has drawn attention to public health advice encouraging Canadians…
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By Farid Saberi, Phd Candidate, Western University
There’s a widening divide between two Canadas: one marked by working-class misery and homelessness; the other by the unprecedented prosperity of the uber-wealthy. This wealth gap is unsustainable.
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By Christine Leong, Associate Professor, College of Pharmacy, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba
When parents stop a medication they need or interrupt breastfeeding earlier than intended, the impact affects both mother and child. We need better evidence and decision support.
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By Nick Turner, Professor and Croft Chair in Management, Haskayne School of Business, University of Calgary
Julian Barling, Distinguished Professor and Borden Chair of Leadership, Smith School of Business, Queen's University, Ontario
Kaylee Somerville, PhD Candidate, Smith School of Business, Queen's University
High temperatures raise the risk of everyday workplace injuries, yet Canada still has no common standard to protect workers from extreme heat.
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By Vera Moerbeek, Doctorante en physique, Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS); Université de Perpignan Via Domitia
Solar energy is associated with intermittency issues, as it only generates electricity when the sun shines. Certain PV systems can provide cost-effective power reserves for storing electricity.
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By Jan Pospisil, Researcher at the Austrian Institute for International Affairs
South Sudan is expected to hold an election on 22 December 2026, the first in the country’s history. It’s already been postponed twice, in 2022 and 2024.
A great deal is being said and written about whether…
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