Environment
Sustainability
Exclusive
Waste
How 35 kilometres of pipe helped Opera House win a 6-star green rating
Architect Jorn Utzon included plans for a state-of-the art heating and cooling system using seawater, which became crucial to the building earning the highest possible environmental certification.
- by Helen Pitt
Latest
Why Australia needs to change its thinking on growing the economy
There are two groups who are critically affected by what we do to the natural environment but cannot possibly reflect their wishes in the market: all future generations, and all other species.
- by Ian Lowe
Opinion
Population
A welcome attempt to meet current and future economic challenges
Huge job shortages across the nation are a brake on growth and a spur to inflation.
- by The Herald's View
NSW mulls extending life of biggest coal plant to avoid power shortfalls
The state government is racing to get more renewable energy projects online to curb possible energy shortfalls before the scheduled retirement of four out of five coal-fired power stations.
- by Laura Chung
The Aussie tackling an ocean-spanning seaweed ‘monster’
A gigantic belt of seaweed that can be seen from space has bloomed in the Atlantic since 2011. An Australian woman wants to turn it into plastic.
- by Angus Dalton
Exclusive
Pollution
Hazelwood pit rehab plan risks creating giant lake that’s unsafe for swimming
Environmentalists believe the plan to flood the former Hazelwood coal mine to create a large “pit lake” is too risky, but energy giant Engie says it’s the safest option.
- by Miki Perkins
End of an era: What happens when Liddell is switched off for good?
The towers will be blown up, thousands of tonnes of steel and concrete will be trucked away and workers will hang up their hard hats. This is how the Liddell coal-fired power station will be demolished.
- by Laura Chung and Janie Barrett
Sponsored
Volvo Car Australia
Ocean lovers make waves for sustainability
In the wake of the 2023 Volvo Ocean Lovers Festival, Volvo Car Australia reflects on current sustainability achievements and goals for the future.
Going against the flow: the plan to engineer Victoria’s wetlands
The Victorian government wants to flood nine wetlands along the Murray using levees and pumps. Opponents say it is a thinly veiled bid to get out of restoring the river’s environmental flows.
- by Miki Perkins
In a world desperate to go green, a NSW steel town is providing a solution
The world’s single most important construction material is responsible for nearly 10 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions, but that’s set to change.
- by Nick O'Malley
Exclusive
Renewables
Wind turbines: infrasound a lot of noise about nothing, study finds
Australian scientists find no link between inaudible soundwaves from wind turbines and mental or physical illness.
- by Nick O'Malley