Wilderness Photos & Videos

Photos & videos of wilderness and wild places from around the world that appeal to me.

[wildernessphotos]

New Year Changes (2022): Kevin's Wilderness Journeys (Facebook Page)

New Year Changes (2022): Kevin’s Wilderness Journeys (Facebook Page)

Hi all. It has probably become obvious to anyone that may have been following this Blog for some time that posts have become few and far between of late. I think I have more-or-less struggled over the years with times of poor health, but no more so than the current time. It is a many faceted problem and I won’t go into all of the details. Essentially, something needs to change (or a number of…

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We need lithium for clean energy, but Rio Tinto’s planned Serbian mine reminds us it shouldn’t come at any cost

We need lithium for clean energy, but Rio Tinto’s planned Serbian mine reminds us it shouldn’t come at any cost

Ana Estefanía Carballo, The University of Melbourne; Gillian Gregory, The University of Melbourne, and Tim Werner, The University of MelbourneThousands of demonstrators rallied across the Serbian capital Belgrade this month, protesting the US$2.4 billion (A$3.3 billion) Jadar lithium mine proposed by global mining giant Rio Tinto. The project, Rio Tinto’s flagship renewable energy initiative, is…

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Scientists still don’t know how far melting in Antarctica will go – or the sea level rise it will unleash

Scientists still don’t know how far melting in Antarctica will go – or the sea level rise it will unleash

Chen Zhao, University of Tasmania and Rupert Gladstone, University of LaplandThe Antarctic ice sheet is the largest mass of ice in the world, holding around 60% of the world’s fresh water. If it all melted, global average sea levels would rise by 58 metres. But scientists are grappling with exactly how global warming will affect this great ice sheet. This knowledge gap was reflected in the latest…

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Tasmania’s salmon industry detonates underwater bombs to scare away seals – but at what cost?

Tasmania’s salmon industry detonates underwater bombs to scare away seals – but at what cost?

Shutterstock Benjamin J. Richardson, University of TasmaniaAustralians consume a lot of salmon – much of it farmed in Tasmania. But as Richard Flanagan’s new book Toxic shows, concern about the industry’s environmental damage is growing. With the industry set to double in size by 2030, one dubious industry practice should be intensely scrutinised – the use of so-called “cracker bombs” or seal…

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Destroying vegetation along fences and roads could worsen our extinction crisis — yet the NSW government just allowed it

Destroying vegetation along fences and roads could worsen our extinction crisis — yet the NSW government just allowed it

Shutterstock Euan Ritchie, Deakin University; Ben Moore, Western Sydney University; Jen Martin, The University of Melbourne; Mark Hall, Western Sydney University; Megan C Evans, UNSW, and Ross Crates, Australian National UniversityWhat do koalas, barking owls, greater gliders, southern rainbow skinks, native bees, and regent honeyeaters all have in common? Like many native species, they can all…

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The Nationals signing up to net-zero should be a no-brainer. Instead, they’re holding Australia to ransom

The Nationals signing up to net-zero should be a no-brainer. Instead, they’re holding Australia to ransom

AAP Matt McDonald, The University of QueenslandPrime Minister Scott Morrison is reportedly developing a plan for Australia to adopt a target of net-zero emissions by 2050. Climate change was a central focus of the Quad talks in Washington which Morrison attended in recent days, and he is under significant international pressure to adopt a net-zero target ahead of climate talks in Glasgow in…

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The clock is ticking on net-zero, and Australia’s farmers must not get a free pass

The clock is ticking on net-zero, and Australia’s farmers must not get a free pass

Dan Peled/AAP James Ha, Grattan InstitutePolitical momentum is growing in Australia to cut greenhouse gas emissions to net-zero by 2050. On Friday, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg was the latest member of the federal government to throw his weight behind the goal, and over the weekend, Prime Minister Scott Morrison acknowledged “the world is transitioning to a new energy economy”. But for Australia to…

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Climate change is testing the resilience of native plants to fire, from ash forests to gymea lilies

Climate change is testing the resilience of native plants to fire, from ash forests to gymea lilies

One year following the 2019/20 fires, this forest has been slow to recover. Rachael Nolan, CC BY-NC-ND Rachael Helene Nolan, Western Sydney University; Andrea Leigh, University of Technology Sydney; Mark Ooi, UNSW; Ross Bradstock, University of Wollongong; Tim Curran, Lincoln University, New Zealand; Tom Fairman, The University of Melbourne, and Víctor Resco de Dios, Universitat de LleidaGreen…

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Agitated Nationals grapple with climate debate, as former minister Chester takes ‘a break’ from party room

Agitated Nationals grapple with climate debate, as former minister Chester takes ‘a break’ from party room

Michelle Grattan, University of CanberraA tough debate is expected when a highly volatile Nationals parliamentary party meets on Monday, ahead of climate change negotiations between Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce to endorse a target of net zero emissions by 2050. Joyce is under dual pressure, with his party room sharply divided over the 2050 target, and former…

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Vital Signs: a simple way to cut carbon emissions — don’t let polluters hide

Vital Signs: a simple way to cut carbon emissions — don’t let polluters hide

Shutterstock Richard Holden, UNSWWorld leaders and about 30,000 others from assorted interest groups will converge on Glasgow in November for the United Nations’ 26th annual climate summit, COP26 (“Conference of the Parties”). It will be five years (allowing for a one-year Tokyo 2020-style pandemic hiatus) since the Paris Agreement adopted at COP21 in 2015. There has been plenty of cynicism…

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Josh Frydenberg prepares ground for Scott Morrison to commit to 2050 climate target

Josh Frydenberg prepares ground for Scott Morrison to commit to 2050 climate target

Michelle Grattan, University of CanberraTreasurer Josh Frydenberg will prepare the way for Scott Morrison to take a target of net zero emissions by 2050 to Glasgow, when he warns on Friday capital inflow will be at risk if Australia is seen as a climate laggard. “Australia has a lot at stake. We cannot run the risk that markets falsely assume we are not transitioning in line with the rest of the…

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We analysed data from 29,798 clean-ups around the world to uncover some of the worst litter hotspots

We analysed data from 29,798 clean-ups around the world to uncover some of the worst litter hotspots

Shutterstock Lauren Roman, CSIRO; Britta Denise Hardesty, CSIRO, and Chris Wilcox, CSIROCoastal litter is a big environmental problem. But how does this litter differ around the world, and why? In the first global analysis of its kind, we set out to answer those questions using data collected by thousands of citizen scientists. Our analysis, released today, discovered litter hotspots on every…

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Smoke from the Black Summer fires created an algal bloom bigger than Australia in the Southern Ocean

Smoke from the Black Summer fires created an algal bloom bigger than Australia in the Southern Ocean

Himawari-8, Author provided Christina Schallenberg, University of Tasmania; Jakob Weis, University of Tasmania; Joan Llort, Barcelona Supercomputing Center-Centro Nacional de Supercomputación (BSC-CNS); Peter Strutton, University of Tasmania, and Weiyi Tang, Princeton UniversityIn 2019 and 2020, bushfires razed more than 18 million hectares of land in Australia. For weeks, smoke choked major…

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Pregnant male seahorses support up to 1,000 growing babies by forming a placenta

Pregnant male seahorses support up to 1,000 growing babies by forming a placenta

Shutterstock Jessica Suzanne Dudley, Macquarie University and Camilla Whittington, University of SydneySupplying oxygen to their growing offspring and removing carbon dioxide is a major challenge for every pregnant animal. Humans deal with this problem by developing a placenta, but in seahorses — where the male, not the female, gestates and gives birth to the young — exactly how it worked hasn’t…

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There she blows: the internal ‘magma filter’ that prompts ocean island volcanoes to erupt

There she blows: the internal ‘magma filter’ that prompts ocean island volcanoes to erupt

Laura Becerril, Author provided Teresa Ubide, The University of QueenslandThe volcanoes we see on Earth’s surface are just the tip of the iceberg. Beneath the surface, they are fed by a complex network of conduits and reservoirs that bring molten rock, called magma, to the surface. When the magma erupts, it can generate lava flows that cool down to become volcanic rocks. These rocks hold key…

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Doctors and farmers turn up heat on Morrison ahead of Glasgow

Doctors and farmers turn up heat on Morrison ahead of Glasgow

Michelle Grattan, University of CanberraMultiple doctors’ organisations, led by the Australian Medical Association, and a major farm lobby have called on the federal government to boost Australia’s climate change ambition, as pressure mounts on Scott Morrison and Barnaby Joyce to finalise a deal ahead of the Glasgow conference. In an open letter to the Prime Minister, the AMA, Doctors for the…

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View from The Hill: Barnaby Joyce falls (sort of) into step for the ‘net zero’ march

View from The Hill: Barnaby Joyce falls (sort of) into step for the ‘net zero’ march

Lukas Coch/AAP Michelle Grattan, University of CanberraThe Coalition brigade is assembling, readying for the final march to a place it once regarded as enemy territory and poisoned ground, too dangerous to approach. Josh Frydenberg waved the flag on Friday. Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce, a conscripted officer, is reluctantly falling (sort of) into step. Angus Taylor will be purchasing the…

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