Australia still uses dozens of chemicals that are banned in other countries, including the UK and USA. These chemicals are banned because they’re toxic to humans, animals or the myriad other plants and animals that inhabit our planet with us. Consider the thousands of litres of inorganic chemicals in white plastic bottles that we see lining the ‘cleaning’ aisle of the supermarket. Treated or untreated, your sewerage and waste ends up in the Bay.
A significant, urgent and sustained reduction in emissions is required to reach greenhouse gas neutrality by 2050. A target of 50% reduction relative to 2005 levels by 2030 for Australia would be consistent with the required rate of emissions reductions to meet the Paris Agreement targets of limiting global warming to less than 2°C above pre-industrial levels.
At the boundary between the basalts of the western suburbs of Melbourne and the Silurian sedimentary rocks of the eastern suburbs, the Merri Creek meets the Yarra River. The location is rich in the history of contact between Indigenous and European peoples, and in the industrial history of Melbourne. It holds the complex geological story of the lavas and turbidities that underpin the geography of Melbourne, told by Dr James Driscoll and Mr Rob Gell AM.
In 2019, to celebrate International Year of the Periodic Table and the 150th anniversary of Dmitri Mendeleev’s 1869 discovery, Melbourne artists Damon Kowarsky and Hyunju Kim were commissioned to design 51 images describing the birth of the universe through to the charting of the elements on the Periodic Table. These 51 images were installed on hexagons in the gallery at Quantum Victoria.
Australia’s caves were formed over millions of years, and exploring them is a journey to a hidden underworld that holds many wonders. But caves and karst landforms need our protection. They house complex ecosystems, critical habitat for plants, animals, and micro-organisms which, in many cases, cannot survive elsewhere. The biggest threat is overuse from tourism – which builds positive awareness, but also damages their natural integrity.
