| Read time: 5 minute(s)

Australia offers climate refuge to Tuvalu citizens

Australia has offered refuge to citizens of Tuvalu because of the catastrophic impacts of climate change, in a landmark new pact. Tuvalu – a series of low-lying atolls in the Pacific – is among the nations most at risk from rising seas. It is home to 11,200 people and has repeatedly called for greater action […]

| Read time: 5 minute(s)

DEBATE OF THE WEEK: Should we change the way we live?

THE NEWS: The population has exploded in the last 200 years. Now it is going into reverse. Experts worry this could be one shock too many.  Rapid population growth is a very new phenomenon. After 300,000 years on the planet, we only hit one billion people in 1804. That doubled 123 years later. Since 1974 […]

| Read time: 6 minute(s)

Debate of the Week: Do monsters keep us sane?

THE NEWS: This month, volunteers from across the world will flock to Loch Ness to try to spot an ancient beast. Some think they might just be on to something.   In 565 AD, a monk named Saint Columba, travelling through Scotland, came across some locals burying a man by the River Ness.The man, they explained, […]

| Read time: 4 minute(s)

An otter in Santa Cruz is hassling surfers — and stealing their boards

An aggressive sea otter in California is hassling locals by riding boards she stole from surfers in the lineup. Steamer Lane is a legendary point break nestled along the rocky shores of Santa Cruz, home to swaths of experienced surfers, as well as a 5-year-old female sea otter with a growing reputation for repeatedly confronting […]

| Read time: 4 minute(s)

Debate of the Week: Is the world set for permanent heatwaves?

THE NEWS: The latest spell of hot weather has experts wondering whether the world faces the same high temperatures this summer as it did last year.  Kiran Mahtani broke the egg into a saucepan. She wanted to fry it — so she carried the pan to her car and left it on the dashboard. “The […]

| Read time: 4 minute(s)

Florida professor resurfaces after a record 100 days living underwater

The university professor broke a Guinness World Record and surpassed the initial 73 days, two hours and 34 minutes record set by two people in 2014.  The lodge was submerged beneath 30 feet of water in a Key Largo lagoon. The diving explorer and medical researcher surpassed the previous mark of 73 days, two hours […]

| Read time: 8 minute(s)

Meet the house that diapers built

Researchers have designed and erected a house that has shredded, disposable diapers mixed into its concrete and mortar. A single-story home of about 36 square meters can pack nearly 2 cubic meters of used diapers into its floors, columns and walls. Using recycled diapers as composite building materials would not only shrink landfill waste but […]

| Read time: 7 minute(s)

Debate of the Week: Have we missed our chance to stop global warming?

IN THE NEWS: A new report has warned that the world is on track to hit a 1.5C temperature increase by 2027. Wildfires spread across Canada. Floods deluge Italy. Droughts cause havoc in France and Spain. And it all takes place in the same week. This may be only the start. Extreme weather events are […]

| Read time: 5 minute(s)

“Historic” deal to restore the Colorado River Delta in United States.

Arizona, California and Nevada have agreed to take less water from the drought-strained Colorado River, a breakthrough agreement that, for now, keeps the river from falling so low that it would jeopardize water supplies for major Western cities like Phoenix and Los Angeles as well as for some of America’s most productive farmland. The agreement, […]

| Read time: 8 minute(s)

DEBATE OF THE WEEK: Is the tug-of-love over Taiwan threatening global peace?

IN THE NEWS: As China and the US compete for Taiwan’s attention, many fear that what they are actually flirting with is war. As one proverb popular in both Taiwan and China goes: “Water can make a boat float, but it can also sink it.” These days Taiwan is in particularly rough waters. The country, […]