There are many factors that contribute to climate change, both in the past and in the present. They were present long before humans evolved; however, many things in our modern world produce extra greenhouse gases, like the burning of fossil fuels. Compared to other processes that produce greenhouse gases or warm our planet, how much are humans to blame, and what can we do about it?

On digital platforms, disinformation can be introduced by a malicious group or individual, and then shared by many different people – who may have no intention to deceive – as misinformation. With a tsunami of misinformation impacting our public and environmental health and sowing sociopolitical discord around the world, how can we act to protect ourselves and our communities?

Online abuse and bearing witness to the destruction of what many of us know (and love) intimately can take a heavy toll on scientists and environmental advocates. But the choices we make now will determine the future we inherit. Far from feeling that all is lost, Euan Ritchie urges all to speak and act for the voiceless, to care for and defend what you love.

Air pollution can alter the regulation of immune systems, stunt lung development, and increase blood pressure, demonstrating that even at a young age, human immune, respiratory, and cardiovascular systems are negatively impacted by exposure. Even before birth, the growth, development, and overall health of unborn babies is impacted. So what can we do about it?

Working adaptively with fire as a tool for ecological health can help us to prevent the extinction of flora species across Victoria’s ecosystems. Ella Plumanns Pouton (University of Melbourne/Deakin University) works to understand how fire regimes support different plants across their whole life cycle, providing a vital scientific foundation for fire management practices that respond to the unfolding global biodiversity crisis.