Climate change is a global problem, and yes we need to find a global solution, but we also need to start doing something here in Australia to turn our greenhouse gas emissions around. 

Taking meaningful action here in Australia, where we have the highest greenhouse gas emissions per capita of any major country (in 2005, we were edged out only by Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Luxembourng), would be a powerful example to the rest of the world about what can be achieved.  I recently explored this thought further in an opinion piece that I wrote for ABC Science and in a speech I gave in Melbourne last week (3 December).

The first step you can make to take action on climate change is to arm yourself with information and ask the questions you need to make sure you understand the issue.  A starting place is a report titled: Climate Change: Global Risks, Challenges and Decisions, from an international science meeting that I attended in March in Copenhagen.  Just last week, the Copenhagen Diagnosis: Climate Science Report was released with the latest findings on climate change science.  Another great place to start is the UK Met Centre.

Other news

Since I’ve last updated this blog, I delivered two invited presentations at the World Science Forum to the world’s top scientists and scientific policy makers.  The forum is held once every two years in Budapest, and is sponsored by UNESCO and the International Council for Science.  The first presentation was on Women in Science and was based on a recent report on the status of Australian Women in Science.  Briefly put, women in Australia are entering most, but not all, areas of science in increasing numbers, but they are under-represented at the top levels of science.  I also reported in Budapest Australia’s foresight activities to help prepare Australia for the future using science.  Follow the links to these presentations to see the slides I showed at the World Science Forum.

On 26 November, I was involved in a discussion about food security and the role of science and research in the agricultural sector at the National Press Club.  Joining me at the roundtable, titled Rural R&D Challenges 2030:Confronting Climate, Food, Water and Productivity were:

• Reverend Tim Costello, AO, Chief Executive, World Vision Australia;
• Dr Brian Fisher, AO, Economist and former head of ABARE;
• Mr Enzo Allara, Chair, Council of Rural Research and Development Corporations Chair; and  
• Ms Barb Madden, Queensland Farmer.

The lively discussion was facilitated by Tony Jones from ABC’s Lateline and you can check out the footage here.

Last Thursday l travelled to Melbourne to present a keynote address on climate change sponsored by Australian Davos Connection, The Victorian Employer’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VECCI) and L.E.K. Consulting.  My speech titled Changing the World: Science and leadership before and after Copenhagen is now up on my website for you to read.  You can also view the slides that accompanied my address.

Later this week, I’ll be attending an Advisory Board meeting for the Defence Science and Technology Organisation as well as attending a graduation ceremony for Australians receiving doctorates in science.

Quite a bit is happening over the next few weeks, so don’t forget to check in from time to time.   

With the population exceeding 6.7 billion and growing by over 6 million a month, the need to protect agricultural land and to increase food production has become critical. Does sustainable agriculture have the answers?

Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs is the key principle behind the concept of sustainability.  If natural resources such as soil, nutrients and water are used up at a rate faster than they are replenished, then the farming system is unsustainable.  Sustainability is also dependent on maintaining a high level of biodiversity, especially in the soil and the surrounding environment.

Some of the biggest threats to sustainable agriculture are loss of biodiversity, dryland salinity, acid soils and pests and weeds.  Farmers, scientists and agricultural authorities are working together on approaches to deal with them.

Sustainable agriculture is a simple concept that embraces a complex web of scientific and economic issues.  Developments in information technology will play a key role in managing the complexity.

To achieve sustainable agriculture we must deal both with issues involving environmental impacts and productivity of the land. The farmer-focused agricultural organisations in Australia are working with researchers to develop farming systems that are both sustainable and profitable.
More information on this topic is available on the Australian Academy of Science’s Nova: Science in the news at Feeding the future – sustainable agriculture. This topic is sponsored by the CSIRO.

This author of this article is Nova Science in the News.

Nova covers the science that makes news — the exciting, and often controversial, research that has the potential to revolutionise the world we live in.

Nova, developed by the Australian Academy of Science, is a website you can trust to provide accurate and up-to-date information on science, health, the environment, mathematics and technology. You can register free of charge on Nova’s home page to receive an email whenever a new topic is added.

Nova can be used by teachers planning lessons, students doing assignments, parents helping children with projects, librarians answering reference queries, journalists researching stories – and anyone who wants to keep up-to-date in science and technology.