2020

26 February 2020

Strange bedfellows: a new era of resilience and uncertainty

Australians are still reeling from the aftermath of the recent onslaught of fire, rain and floods, daily lives upended by these unprecedented disasters. Hannah Della Bosca reflects on her latest research with community groups and their processing of such shock events.

26 February 2020

SEI celebrates more than a ‘bight’ sized win as Equinor pulls out of Bight oil project

After months of collaborative recommendations and campaigning efforts between Sydney Environment Institute’s academic experts, Greenpeace and community activist groups, Norwegian oil company Equinor has abandoned plans to drill in the Great Australian Bight.

21 February 2020

Neighbourhood heat stress response: reflections on a community focused workshop

In light of Australia’s hottest year on record, SEI researchers met with influential community members in a workshop dedicated to responding to a warming world. The proposed Partnership Project, led by Associate Professor Ollie Jay and Professor David Schlosberg, aims to tackle head on the issue of extreme heat events experienced in our Sydney neighbourhoods.

20 February 2020

From denial to resilience: the slippery discourse of obfuscating climate action

Christopher Wright and Michael E Mann unveil the government’s illusive acknowledgement of a warming planet, questioning whether their actions will speak louder than words. “The times they are a changing” or are they?

18 February 2020

When fire burnt (some of) the boundaries

Sydney Environment Institute researcher Danielle Celermajer returns with an update on Jimmy, her loyal rescue pig, whose tale of miraculous survival from the catastrophic fires has fostered a community fan base invested in his recovery. In this edition, Danielle looks to Jimmy for advice on how best to comprehend the devastation and grief experienced over the past few months.

10 February 2020

Australia and climate change: a collective action problem

As Australia has burned in a climate emergency summer, Greenpeace Australia Pacific CEO David Ritter reflects on how our Prime Minister Scott Morrison has not only been untruthful about our nation’s effort and ability to contribute to global emissions reduction, but has appeared to take smirking solace in the excuse not to contribute.

03 February 2020

The end of the beach

At Mallacoota, Tamboon, and elsewhere, this summer’s unprecedented bushfires drove thousands to take shelter on the shore—and permanently transformed one of Australia’s “sacred” national icons.

23 January 2020

Fire, storm, flood, blackout: Australia’s electricity sector needs better disaster response

In the wake of unprecedented climate-induced disaster, Australia’s electricity sector urgently needs to learn from Con Edison’s response to Hurricane Sandy on how to plan for and respond to the aftermath.

16 January 2020

Learning to live in a shifted world

Earlier this week SEI researcher Danielle Celermajer published a heartbreaking essay about returning to her property in the wake of the fires with only one of her two beloved rescue pigs. Here, Dany shares an update on Jimmy, coming back to a place that no longer feels like home.

14 January 2020

Greenhouse gaslighting: Scott Morrison’s emotional manipulation from climate apathy to fake empathy

The Prime Minister’s stalwart coal fetish has driven us into the arms of disaster, and his new stance, a flailing façade of empathy, seems to be backfiring. But it’s not that Morrison is unemotional, writes Blanche Verlie. These are deliberate acts of emotional manipulation — but we can fight back by asserting that our distress about climate change is legitimate.