| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
Editor's note
|
|
“Storage” has become one of the buzzwords of the energy policy debate, as experts search for ways to smooth out the intermittent output of solar and wind. If it’s storage you want, try this for size: researchers have identified 22,000 potential sites in Australia for pumped hydro, the dominant form of energy storage worldwide. As Andrew Blakers and his colleagues explain, only a fraction of these would need to be developed to pave the way for a 100% renewable-powered grid.
In other news, today is International Day of Peace and to mark it, celebrities such as Michael Caine and Eddie Izzard have created a “Peace Day Playlist”. But as Samantha Dieckmann and Jane Davidson write, while music can unite us, it can also be a divisive force, fanning conflict.
|
Michael Hopkin
Environment + Energy Editor
|
|
|
Top story
|
Pumped hydro: all you really need is some reservoirs and a big hill.
AAP Image/Lukas Coch
Andrew Blakers, Australian National University; Bin Lu, Australian National University; Matthew Stocks, Australian National University
Electricity storage is vital to the stability of a renewable energy grid. The world's favourite form of storage is pumped hydro – and researchers have located thousands of candidate sites.
|
Environment + Energy
|
-
Jessica Meeuwig, University of Western Australia
Australia's reputation as a global leader in marine conservation is being put at risk by plans to strip back sanctuary areas within marine parks, say scientists from around the globe.
|
|
Arts + Culture
|
-
Samantha Dieckmann, University of Melbourne; Jane Davidson, University of Melbourne
Ahead of International Peace Day celebrity musicians like Yoko Ono have released music for peace. But the same qualities that bring us together around music can also inflame conflict, from the Yugoslav civil wars to Northern Ireland.
-
Catherine Strong, RMIT University
Kurt Cobain killed himself a week before this album was due to come out. It became a perfect soundtrack to Gen X's grief and with its raw, angry, feminist-inspired, grunge sound, remains a classic.
|
|
Health + Medicine
|
-
Fiona Kelly, La Trobe University
Currently the Family Court has to decide for parents and teens whether or not transgender young people can get the hormone treatment they need. This could change today.
-
Jackie Cumming, Victoria University of Wellington
New Zealand's health service provides universal and free access to health care, but inequities remain stubbornly high.
-
Duane Mellor, Coventry University; Ekavi Georgousopoulou, University of Canberra; Nenad Naumovski, University of Canberra; Senaka Ranadheera, Victoria University
Dried and frozen fruit contain more sugar than their fresh equivalents. So, why do we think they're healthy?
|
|
Politics + Society
|
-
Hannah Robert, La Trobe University; Fiona Kelly, La Trobe University
Tony Abbott has claimed that same-sex de facto couples already have the same rights as married couples. This is not true.
-
Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra
It has been reported that the Manus group includes refugees from Sudan, Somalia, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Myanmar.
-
Yee-Fui Ng, RMIT University
Australia’s political donations system remains fragmented, but proposed reforms in Victoria are a good step forward.
-
Tilman Ruff, University of Melbourne
At a time of increasing threat of nuclear war, a historic treaty to ban nuclear weapons might provide a much-needed panacea.
|
|
Business + Economy
|
-
Rob Nicholls, UNSW
Open banking will see customers use their data in a whole range of ways, including seeing how they are faring financially against people in similar situations.
-
Andrew Godwin, University of Melbourne
The recent crackdown on cryptocurrencies in China is a prelude to the assertion of control over this area by the Chinese authorities.
|
|
Science + Technology
|
-
Stuart Phinn, The University of Queensland
Weather forecasting, bushfire management, power and water supply: Australia relies on earth observations to the tune of A$5 billion a year. But we have very little control over the data we get.
-
Richard John Arculus, Australian National University
Warnings are being issued to stay clear of an Indonesian volcano following a series of earthquakes.
|
|
Cities
|
-
Andréanne Doyon, RMIT University; Joe Hurley, RMIT University; Susie Moloney, RMIT University; Trivess Moore, RMIT University
New South Wales is the only state that has made meaningful progress on legislation and enforcement of standards capable of creating a sustainable built environment.
|
|
Columnists
|
|
|
| |
Featured jobs
|
|
Swinburne University of Technology — Hawthorn, Victoria
|
|
University of Melbourne — Parkville, Victoria
|
|
RMIT University — Melbourne, Victoria
|
|
Australian Catholic University — North Sydney, New South Wales
|
|
|
|
Featured events
|
|
UNSW Sydney CBD, 1 O'Connell Street, Sydney, New South Wales, 2000, Australia — Australia New Zealand School of Government
|
|
UTS Business School, level 2, 14-28 Ultimo Rd, Sydney, New South Wales, 2007, Australia — University of Technology Sydney
|
|
The Clemenger Auditorium, National Gallery of Victoria, 180 St Kilda Road, Melbourne, Victoria, 3000, Australia — RMIT University
|
|
The Clemenger Auditorium, National Gallery of Victoria, 180 St Kilda Road, Melbourne, Victoria, 3000, Australia — Edith Cowan University
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
