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Nau mai haere mai, welcome to your newsletter.
Antarctica has been in the headlines recently, but none of the news was good.
A slow-down of a vital deep-ocean current that begins with super-cooled Antarctic waters and carries nutrients, oxygen and heat around the globe. A skip in the beat of the annual freeze-thaw rhythm of Antarctica’s sea ice. An extreme heatwave that circumnavigated the continent over several months.
Antarctica may be isolated from other landmasses by the Southern Ocean, but changes there have worldwide repercussions and scientists are warning that ongoing warming will push the icy continent towards thresholds which, once crossed, will lead to irreversible impacts.
As earth scientist Tim Naish writes, the last time atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide were as high as they are today was three million years ago. Our planet’s climate system eventually adjusted, but “it took a millennium, and when it did, Earth’s surface was 2℃ warmer and global sea-levels were 20m higher – and back then, even our earliest human ancestors were yet to evolve”.
Our current trajectory is taking Earth across thresholds humans have never experienced, into a climate where Antarctica’s ice shelves can no longer exist, leading to several metres of sea-level rise, he writes. The prospect is depressing but it’s not too late - as Naish reiterates, fast and deep cuts to greenhouse gas emissions will keep Antarctica covered in ice and avoid the worst impacts from rising seas.
As always, you’ll find a lot more to read in this newsletter and on our homepage. Many thanks for your ongoing interest and support - until next week, mā te wā.
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Veronika Meduna
Science, Health + Environment New Zealand Editor
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Timothy Naish, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington
We are on a trajectory that takes Earth across thresholds humans have never experienced, into a climate where Antarctica’s ice shelves can no longer exist, leading to several metres of sea-level rise.
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Christine McCarthy, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington
The Prison Inspectorate has found ‘segregation’ policy and practice in New Zealand prisons are harmful, and has recommended significant changes.
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Kevin Trenberth, University of Auckland
2016 was the world’s warmest year on record, due in part to a very strong El Niño event. But 2023 (and 2024) could beat that record – what should we expect?
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Damien Kingsbury, Deakin University
A negotiator in early talks to free Phillip Mehrtens from West Papuan independence rebels explains the current stalemate and what might happen now.
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Rebecca J McLeod, University of Otago; William Austin, University of St Andrews
Marine sediments are the world’s largest store of carbon, and fiords in particular are a massive sink. But New Zealand doesn’t even have an oceans policy to develop blue carbon climate policy.
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Jeremy Moses, University of Canterbury; Sian Troath, University of Canterbury
While the technologies being explored under ‘pillar two’ of the AUKUS security pact are becoming clearer, New Zealand’s policy on autonomous weapons and military AI has become increasingly murky.
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Angela (Ang) McGaughran, University of Waikato
With a focus on ships and cargo, we are missing the opportunity to prevent pests that ride in on the wind. It is time to invest in addressing the biosecurity threats before they arrive.
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Karen Fisher, University of Auckland
Marine governance in New Zealand is fragmented, with several agencies operating under various statutes. But a more collaborative, ecosystem-based approach to better protect the ocean is emerging.
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From our foreign editions
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Carlton Basmajian, Iowa State University
Maybe it was a nuclear war, devastating climate change, or a killer virus. But if something caused people to disappear, imagine what would happen afterward.
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Simon Coghlan, The University of Melbourne
First published in 1975, Animal Liberation opened our eyes to the exploitation of animals. At a time of ‘ag-gag’ laws and ‘skyscraper’ farms, a new edition assesses the state of animal rights today.
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James Wood, UNSW Sydney; Freya Shearer, The University of Melbourne; James McCaw, The University of Melbourne
Australia is in the middle of its fifth Omicron wave, which has been brewing since February. But it’s been slow and drawn out and the health impacts are very different to earlier waves.
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Stefanie Lindquist, Arizona State University
Like all criminal defendants, Trump will enjoy the protection that a jury will offer from abuse by government prosecutors.
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Christopher Bigsby, University of East Anglia
Miller told me that he was writing at the edge of a cliff. There was a reason the Bible began with the story of Cain and Abel, brother killing brother.
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Aled Jones, Anglia Ruskin University; Nick King, Anglia Ruskin University
Four graphs that show us how humanity’s impact on the planet is growing.
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Simon Sherry, Dalhousie University
Weddings have become increasingly curated: everything from the shoes to the table runners are perfectly themed and colour-co-ordinated. It is emblematic of our cultural obsession with perfection.
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Tinashe Mushakavanhu, University of Oxford
Novelist Petina Gappah’s call for translators on Facebook has resulted in the publication of Chimurenga Chemhuka.
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