Guest Work

Floods leave a legacy of mental health problems — and disadvantaged people are often hardest hit

Guest Author • Mar 22, 2021

• disasters,
• floods,
• Mental health

Sabrina Pit, Western Sydney University Yet again, large swathes of New South Wales are underwater. A week of solid rain has led to floods in the Mid-North Coast, Sydney and the Central Coast, with several areas being evacuated as I write. As a resident of the NSW Far North Coast, which has had its share of devastating floods, many … Read More

A green tax on long-haul flights favours rich tourists. NZ needs a fairer strategy

Guest Author • Mar 17, 2021

• climate change,
• long-haul flights,
• sustainable tourism,
• tourism,
• tourist levy

Michael Lueck, Auckland University of Technology International tourism has clearly been hit hard by COVID-19. But despite the desperation of the travel and airline industries, people are already questioning whether it should ever return to pre-pandemic levels. One who thinks not is Air New Zealand’s chief environmental adviser, Sir Jonathon Porritt. Increasing the price of long-haul flights to pay … Read More

‘Biodegradable’ plastic will soon be banned in Australia. That’s a big win for the environment

Guest Author • Mar 09, 2021

• biodegradable plastic,
• compostable plastics,
• kerbside recycling,
• recycling

Jenni Downes, Monash University; Kim Borg, Monash University, and Nick Florin, University of Technology Sydney To start dealing with Australia’s mounting plastic crisis, the federal government last week launched its first National Plastics Plan. The plan will fight plastic on various fronts, such as banning plastic on beaches, ending polystyrene packaging for takeaway containers, and phasing in microplastic filters … Read More

Following 3 major quakes off New Zealand, questions remain about how they might be linked

Guest Author • Mar 08, 2021

• earthquake research,
• East Cape,
• Hikurangi subduction zone,
• Kermadec Islands,
• plate tectonics,
• Tonga Kermadec subduction zone,
• tsunami

Timothy Stern, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington A sequence of three major offshore earthquakes, including a magnitude 8.1 quake near the Kermadec Islands, triggered tsunami warnings and evacuations along the east coast of New Zealand on the morning of March 5. The Tonga Kermadec subduction zone stretches between New Zealand and south of Samoa. USGS, … Read More

Gender bias in medicine and medical research is still putting women’s health at risk

Guest Author • Mar 08, 2021

• gender bias,
• human biology,
• International Women's Day,
• medical research,
• women's health

Kelly Burrowes, University of Auckland International Women’s Day celebrates women’s achievements and raises awareness of the continuing mission towards gender equality. So it’s a good time to be reminded we still need to correct decades — centuries even — of gender bias in medicine and medical research. It’s no secret men and women are different. It’s why we have a … Read More

Can Cult Studies Offer Help With QAnon? The Science Is Thin

Guest Author • Mar 01, 2021

• Conspiracy Theories,
• cults,
• deprogramming,
• disinformation,
• MAGA,
• Psychology,
• QAnon,
• radicalisation

Michael Schulson Days before the inauguration of President Joe Biden, at a time when some Americans were animated by the false conviction that former President Donald J. Trump had actually won the November election, a man in Colorado began texting warnings to his family. The coming days, he wrote, would be “the most important since World War II.” … Read More

The mysterious existence of a leafless kauri stump, kept alive by its forest neighbours

Guest Author • Feb 16, 2021

• Drought,
• forest ecology,
• parasites,
• tree stumps

Sebastian Leuzinger, Auckland University of Technology and Martin Karl-Friedrich Bader, Auckland University of Technology Plants use their leaves to make food from the sun’s energy and carbon dioxide. With very few exceptions of parasitic plants, no tree is known to grow without green foliage — or to be more precise, no tree can start life without leaves or some … Read More

The fate of chemicals in the environment

Guest Author • Feb 12, 2021

• chemicals,
• Environment,
• Pollution

Understanding what happens to a chemical in the environment and where it ends up can help keep our environment safe. Guest writer Hannah Davidson from EPA explores the issue of chemical fate in NZ.  If you don’t know what a slip and slide is, you have sorely missed out. All you needed for a whole summer’s worth … Read More

When Scientists Become Allergic To Their Research

Guest Author • Feb 09, 2021

• allergens,
• allergic reactions,
• antibodies,
• immune system,
• personal protective equipment (PPE),
• Scientific Research

Hannah Thomasy Bryan Fry’s heart was pounding as he stepped back from the snake enclosure and examined the bite marks on his hand. He had just been bitten by a death adder, one of Australia’s most venomous snakes. Its neurotoxin-laced bite could cause vomiting, paralysis and — as the name suggests — death. Fry, at the time … Read More

In an age of digital disinformation, dropping level 1 media studies in NZ high schools is a big mistake

Guest Author • Feb 05, 2021

• digital communication,
• disinformation,
• media studies,
• Ministry of Education,
• NCEA,
• school curriculum

Wayne Hope Primary and secondary school teachers engage with students who are constantly on devices — consuming, sharing and jointly creating texts, photos, videos and memes. Across social media, hate speech, conspiracy threads and health disinformation swamp evidence-based material. Fabrications and fragmentations of reality cannot be challenged in real time. Despite this massive influence on young minds, the government intends … Read More