During the summer of 2023/24, a mass coral bleaching event hit Australia’s iconic Great Barrier Reef (GBR), according to the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS). The GBR bleaching is part of the fourth global coral bleaching event which has bleached reefs in at least 57 countries and territories. The event was sparked by 2023’s record-high global ocean heat, with an estimated 60 per cent of global coral reef experiencing bleaching-level heat stress, which is the highest on record, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) stated. It is the fifth mass bleaching event on the GBR in just eight…
Author: Jordon Gijsbers
According to the 2024 Edelman Trust Barometer, no single institution (Government, Business, NGOs, and Media) receives a score high enough to be deemed trusted, with an alarming 59% of Australians worrying that leaders are intentionally misleading them. The Edelman Trust Barometer underscores that eroding trust is already leading to societal instability and political polarisation within Australia, and it’s spiralling down even further. Australia and its people have faced a challenging few years, marked by a long list of trials including the COVID-19 pandemic with its countless socio-economic impacts, the referendum on the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice to Parliament,…
While the proposed Illawarra offshore wind farm has sparked concerns about underwater noise, its impact on marine life may be overestimated and less harmful than climate change effects, according to University of Wollongong (UOW) researchers. Blue Energy Futures Lab, a UOW research team, has discouraged rejecting offshore wind on environmental grounds because “the cost of inaction [on climate change] is worse than the cost of action.” UOW PhD candidate Sunnefa Yeatman Omarsdottir, who researches international policy on marine noise pollution, said offshore wind energy has many environmental advantages over fossil fuel energy, and that related noise could be contained well.…
There has been an increase in noise complaints as development in Wollongong’s CBD continues to rise. An online survey among Wollongong residents, conducted by Numbeo, has revealed that while pollution issues in the city are generally low, noise pollution has been a source of nuisance that is threatening residents’ quality of life. With development in the city continuing to rise over the last three years, construction noise has also boomed. University of Wollongong PhD candidate Sunnefa Yeatman Omarsdottir, who researches international policy on marine noise pollution, said that noise can have detrimental impacts on both humans and (other) animals. “Noise…
While on a cosmic voyage into a realm of taboo and darkness, Shawn (not his real name) takes a chilling peek behind the curtain. As he questions the very origins and limits of reality, his narrative sketches a portrait of life lived in the shadows of liminality. “Is this all a Fabrication?” Jordon Gijsbers · Lost in Illusion.. or Awakened Reality?