The government's Measuring What Matters Report, released by Treasurer Jim Chalmers, paints a mixed picture of Australia's national well-being. Positively, we have seen an increase in life expectancy, increased income, improved job opportunities, and a better acceptance of diversity over the last two decades. There has been little progress in mental health despite the fact that Australians have more chronic illnesses. While we have made improvements in school results, we still lag behind other countries and spend less time on developing new skills. He says that after a test run of a national wellbeing framework in Treasurer Jim Chalmers first...

After years of discussions, international negotiations on the global plastics agreement resumed in Nairobi, Kenya, at the UN Environment Programme Headquarters. From today to Sunday, November 19, the third session of the UN Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution takes place. The goal of the committee is to create a legally-binding agreement that will be finalised by 2024 to address all aspects of the plastics life cycle, including production, design, and disposal. The treaty, which involves 175 countries, is designed to revolutionize plastic waste management by paving the path for new industries and technologies. Plastic pollution is a problem that...

 Neighbors have to contend with noxious odors, toxic emissions, and swarms of insects, and have had little success in obtaining relief - but this could be changing. On April 26, Murphy Brown LLC, a division of Smithfield Foods, was required to pay US$75,000 in compensatory damages and $50 million in punitive damages in a nuisance lawsuit filed by ten residents of Bladen County, North Carolina, over impacts from a nearby hog farm. On June 29, another North Carolina jury awarded $25 million to a couple in Duplin County in a similar lawsuit against Smithfield Foods. Other cases are pending in North Carolina and Iowa. Smithfield...

 It is contaminating freshwater, terrestrial and marine ecosystems. Microplastics, plastic particles less than five millimeters large, infiltrate the global dust cycles, water cycles & carbon cycles. Microplastics are in our food, water and air. These tiny plastic particles may harm populations of wildlife and communities. This can threaten the ecological balance. New research suggests that plastics pose a threat to the planetary boundary, and we have moved outside of our safe operating area. After years of negotiation, 175 nations pledged to draft the first global treaty for plastic pollution during the UN Environment Assembly held in Nairobi. This resolution was passed 30 years after the first treaty on climate...

After much thought, as members of the Climate Change Authority, who participated in full in the Special review of Australia's Climate Goals and Policies report published last week, we have concluded that we cannot in good conscience sign our names on the information. We decided to write the minority report rather than resigning from the Authority. We present here edited excerpts from the information that was released today. Our disagreement with the majority is based on its failure to acknowledge the importance of Australia's carbon budget constraining all future emission-reduction policies and targets. The carbon budget is the total of emissions Australia can emit...

At the recent Global Food Forum, several prominent businessmen called for Australia to significantly increase its contribution towards global food security. They highlighted business opportunities in Australian agriculture for Asia's growing middle class. How realistic is it to double or quadruple Australia’s food production despite the renewed interest? What principles should we follow as we embark upon this journey? Current Situation Australia has a small population but a huge land area. You can easily be misled into thinking that Australia has vast unused land and water resources, just waiting to become agricultural. Truthfully, this is not true. Most of the land...

Food waste is a major contributor to climate change. Food waste is responsible for more than 5 percent of Australia's emissions. This does not include the emissions generated by activities such as farming or transport that are required to produce the food. The home is one of the biggest sites for food waste. Each year, Australian households waste about 2.5 million tonnes. This is equivalent to A$2,000-$2,500 per household per year. There's good news. Today, our Australian first research identified six of the most effective ways to reduce food wastage. These relatively small changes combined can make a huge difference. Australian households waste...

New Zealand is developing plans for two crises - climate change and waste - and to embrace the circular economy. It has no idea how to achieve this. This muddle dilutes the power of a circular economic system to create lasting change. A public consultation is currently underway to develop a emission reduction plan following the Climate Change Commission's advice regarding carbon budgets in New Zealand's 2050 net zero target. A new consultation document suggests a complete overhaul of the country's waste legislation and strategy. Both documents aim to move Aotearoa to a circular economic system -- one that reduces waste and pollution, keeps the...

Most people's first impressions of campaigns to reduce waste and encourage greater recycling are positive. Most of us have been taught since a young age that waste is bad and the less of it we produce, the better. Many of us have heard the phrase "Waste not, want not" since childhood. The "reduce reuse recycle" mantra is also motivated by what appears to be in the best interest of the society. These are causes that have a lot of support. The calls for the government to subsidise recycling programs and to ban certain forms of waste, like bags, are well received....

Americans celebrate the winter holidays in many ways, which typically include an abundance of food, drinks, desserts - and waste. Food waste is receiving increasing attention from managers, activists, policymakers, and scholars, who call it a global social problem. According to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, wealthy nations waste nearly as much food every year as the entire net food production of sub-Saharan Africa. Efforts to reduce food waste tend to focus on consumption practices, with less attention on the production and distribution side. However, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, a large proportion of food loss and waste in the...