Category Archives: Science

Mornings with Katya Quigley

Posted on 13 July 2011 | Leave a comment

Snake with tongue outEvery Wednesday morning (around 9:40 am AEST) I chat with the wonderful Katya Quigley from ABC Mid North Coast NSW (Port Macquaire).

I love chatting to Katya as she always asks what I’m up to and what I think about topics that they’ve been discussing earlier on air.

Recently, Katya and Beth (wonderful producer) have started posting our conversations online. Here is the first one where we talk about a a development in the treatment of snake bites and explore the link between volcanoes and atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide.

Mornings with Katya Quigley (29 June 2011)

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Posted in ABC Science

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Climate change on The Drum

Posted on 7 April 2011 | Leave a comment

Thermometer in front of globeRecently I was asked to write another piece for The Drum – the ABC’s online analysis and opinion website. This time the topic was climate change.

So here’s the first few pars. The rest you can read by clicking on the link below.

Heat rises in the search for temperature data truth

When it comes to climate change either you’re with us, or you’re on the other side. Well at least that’s how it appears at times. So what happens when someone from one camp says something that appears to support the other?

In the last few days, pro- and anti-climate change blogs have gone into overdrive over comments made at a US Congressional hearing into climate science.

To understand what it’s all about, you need to go back to November 2009. One of the biggest science stories that month was the ‘leaking’ of emails from the Hadley Climate Research Unit (CRU) at the University of East Anglia, including the unit’s head Professor Phil Jones.

Read more…

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Talking about the final mission of Discovery

Posted on 10 March 2011 | Leave a comment

Occasionally I get a call from ABC News 24 – our 24 hour television news channel. I’m ‘on call’  to talk about science, but most of it seems to be about space and astronomy. Here’s one of my most recent chats.

P.S. I enjoy really doing this and hope I get a call more often. ;)

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Sense of direction

Posted on 6 March 2011 | Leave a comment

Man with map scratching the back of his headRecently I received a call from ABC North Tasmania asking if I would chat about ‘sense of direction’. A quick search of our news archives revealed we had at least three interesting stories. So I agreed to speak with the breakfast presenter Penny Terry at 6:20 am (what I do for science).

Continue reading →

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Posted in ABC Science, Science

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Climate science stuff up

Posted on 20 January 2011 | 1 Comment

Eurkealert logoA few days ago, while scanning through the embargoed press releases on the Eurekalert website, my eye was struck by a headline that said ‘Earth to be 2.4°C warmer by 2020′*. Really?

From memory, 2010 sits about 0.8°C above 20th century average, so 2.4°C would mean another 1.6°C during the next nine years. That doesn’t seem correct. I neglected to return to it.

This morning, blogs and online news websites were tearing the paper to shreds. And so they should. Continue reading →

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Posted in Science