Life

Health, science, climate, and society-focused reporting.

Tropical Cyclone Narelle to make landfall in far north Qld on Friday as category 5 storm, bringing 315km/h wind gusts

Massive storm tracking a path to Queensland coast, intensified offshore to category 5, fueled by warm waters in Coral Sea.

Editorial Staff Mar 19

Life

Briefing: Why $4 gasoline is the tipping point for EVs

Strategic angle: As fuel costs climb, the long-term math shifts toward EVs — but consumer hesitation and infrastructure gaps could slow the transition.

Editorial Staff Mar 19

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Briefing: UK to cut climate aid to developing countries by 14% to £2bn a year in ‘refocus’

Strategic angle: Move will put national security and lives overseas at risk, critics say, as overall UK aid budget is slashed to 0.3% of gross national income.

Editorial Staff Mar 19

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Briefing: Power prices expected to fall by up to 10% from July, bringing ‘welcome relief’ to Australia’s east coast

Strategic angle: Increased output from wind generation and batteries, and falling electricity contract prices, are expected to deliver lower energy bills.

Editorial Staff Mar 19

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Briefing: Stopping gas dictating UK energy price could cut bills by £200, thinktank says

Strategic angle: Household energy bills could be reduced by up to £203 a year by stopping expensive fossil gas from setting the price of energy in the UK, according to Common Wealth.

Editorial Staff Mar 19

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Briefing: Scientists race to decode data from Europe’s vanishing glaciers

Strategic angle: Glacier ice contains valuable information about the climates of the past. Researchers are scrambling to study it before it's too late.

Editorial Staff Mar 18

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Briefing: The Supreme Court takes up a Guam munitions case with high stakes for CHamoru lands

Strategic angle: The ruling won't just dictate the fate of a CHamoru beach. It could set a major precedent for Indigenous rights and federal power across U.S. territories.

Editorial Staff Mar 18

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Briefing: Government to lift paywall from large parts of the Land Registry

Strategic angle: Finding out who owns land will become simpler under plans to make the best use of green spaces and hit net zero targets.

Editorial Staff Mar 18

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Briefing: Australia’s environment minister wants to ban fishers and drillers from more ocean – and avoid a culture war

Strategic angle: Conservationists hope Murray Watt’s review of national marine parks will ‘right the wrongs’ of previous downgrade of protection.

Editorial Staff Mar 17

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Briefing: Saving the pint: behind the race to climate-proof beer in the US

Strategic angle: Water shortages and rising heat are putting pressure on beer ingredients, but US brewers and farmers are adapting.

Editorial Staff Mar 17

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Briefing: Reduced physical activity due to global heating will lead to rise in health issues, study says

Strategic angle: Researchers project that reduced activity could contribute to half a million additional premature deaths annually by 2050.

Editorial Staff Mar 16

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Briefing: Realtime pollution alerts needed on Windermere, campaigners say after boy nearly dies

Strategic angle: Campaigners urge for immediate pollution alerts following a serious health incident involving a young boy.

Editorial Staff Mar 16

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Briefing: Replacing 1m petrol cars with EVs could cut Australia’s reliance on foreign fuel by 1bn litres a year

Strategic angle: Electric vehicles reduce exposure to global oil price shocks and shift energy consumption to electricity largely produced domestically, expert says.

Editorial Staff Mar 16

Life

Briefing: 4 ways Trump is sabotaging climate action around the world

Strategic angle: In just the last year, the Trump administration has derailed an international carbon tax, boosted forecasts for oil and gas, and sought to silence an island nation’s climate campaign.

Editorial Staff Mar 16

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Briefing: Species slowdown: Is nature’s ability to self-repair stalling?

Strategic angle: Recent analysis reveals a concerning trend in the rate of species turnover within ecosystems.

Editorial Staff Mar 15

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Briefing: Germany misses climate targets as emissions barely fall in 2025

Strategic angle: Greenhouse gases dropped just 0.1% last year as environment minister criticises lack of improvement.

Editorial Staff Mar 14

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Briefing: Mining Rush for Critical Minerals Threatens Amazon Land Reform Settlements

Strategic angle: A survey reveals a surge in mining requests for critical minerals in Brazil's Carajás region, endangering land reform settlements.

Editorial Staff Mar 14

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Briefing: Fetuses likely have more ‘forever chemicals’ in blood than thought – report

Strategic angle: New research reveals alarming levels of PFAS compounds in fetal blood samples.

Editorial Staff Mar 14

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Briefing: Some top US lobbying firms are working both sides of the Pfas issue at the same time

Strategic angle: Review from non-profit finds range of scenarios of firms simultaneously lobbying for and against Pfas regulations.

Editorial Staff Mar 14

Life

Briefing: ‘Drinking from a fetid pond’: superbug-creating genes found in UK’s largest lake

Strategic angle: Genes capable of creating antibiotic-resistant superbugs have been detected in Lough Neagh, which supplies drinking water for 40% of Northern Ireland.

Editorial Staff Mar 14