Know Your Plates (Part 1)
Reef building hard corals in the order Scleractinia are animals that could be mistaken for plants. One of the most common such corals at the Great Barrier Reef is Acropora hyacinthus. At Myrmidon reef...
View ArticleMy Daughter is Getting Married, And
They went in search of oysters. He didn’t find a single pearl, rather he found the whole world. That’s true love. I’ve always wanted the very best for my daughter. Now she is marrying the very best....
View ArticleIn Search of Monster Corals – My Latest Film and Underwater Adventure
Marlin fisherman Rob McCulloch, and I, talked about going searching for the monster corals. I wanted the skipper to take me all the way to Myrmidon Reef, where I knew The Australian Institute of Marine...
View ArticleThe Injustice of Blowing-Up Turtles, for Convenience
It is World Ocean Day, an opportunity to learn more about the Great Barrier Reef and also artificial reefs in the Gulf of Mexico. It is an injustice that turtles are blown-up in the Gulf of Mexico...
View ArticleThe Idea of Academic Freedom, Explained by Stone and Forrest*
Does the principle of academic freedom protect Australian academics who engage in pointed public criticism of their academic colleagues, and university governance? A case in the High Court this week...
View ArticleIn Adelaide, for Krish
Last Wednesday my son-in-law Christian, who I call Krish, rolled his Toyota Landcruiser about 6 hours to the southwest of Nhulunbuy near a place called Bulman. My daughter, who was in the passenger...
View ArticleFussing Over One Degree of Simulation
I was at the Australian National University in October 2018, when the largest supercomputer in the Southern Hemisphere began running the simulations that have now been published as the IPCC’s...
View ArticleThe Madness of John Pandolfi and Michelle Gunn
Next time you read that such and such a percentage of the Great Barrier Reef has already been destroyed by humankind, laugh out loud! I say that not to offend, and not because I don’t care about the...
View ArticleKnowing All the Species of Coral at Pixie Reef
Everyone loves the Great Barrier Reef, particularly its corals. Everyone knows that a reef has different species of coral. But how many species should an average inshore reef have? How many corals are...
View ArticleWillie Soon Explains About the Sun, and How to Better Report Science
Temperatures are always changing, and the pattern of change tends to follow cycles. But most science reporters don’t understand this, because they have very little understanding of the solar system and...
View ArticleBleached from a Distance
I lent my underwater camera (Olympus TG-6) to a dear friend who recently visited Lady Elliot Island at the Great Barrier Reef. She came over last Sunday to return the camera, and to show me some of her...
View ArticlePlain English Lost on the High Court of Australia
Coral reefs can be messy, and so can court cases. And so it is with the case of Peter Ridd, sacked by James Cook University because he exercised his intellectual freedom. The only thing that is neatly...
View ArticleIvermectin Banned, Leunig Sacked: No Opportunity for Dissent When it Comes to...
I’ve just put a pen through the name of the doctor who prescribed the triple therapy (Ivermectin, Zinc and Zithromax) for me back in September, as either a prophylaxis or cure for Covid. That same...
View ArticleSubscribe Against Net Zero with Aynsley Kellow
For those of you who want a blow-by-blow, day-by-day, account of what transpires at Glasgow the Institute of Public Affairs will be providing commentary via my dear friend and colleague Professor...
View ArticleUnable to See the Polar Bears for the Snow
Facts often need context, but in the case of world-wide polar bear numbers it is straight forward: since bans on hunting were introduced in the 1970s numbers have increased from about 10,000 in the...
View ArticleDo Glaswegians Mostly Breathe Nitrogen?
I wonder how many of the approximately 30,000 ‘special’ people who are on their way to Glasgow for COP26 know that 78 per cent of the atmosphere is made-up of nitrogen. I asked this question of a group...
View ArticleIf Only Climate Activists Cared About Elephants
Despite their large size, I’m told that counting polar bears is not easy; that they move around a lot. The modelling is always suggesting population decline, but best estimates indicate polar bear...
View ArticleCyclones Downs, Corals Up – Except in Glasgow
It is impossible to reconcile the official statistics and what is under-the-water with the media reporting – including the reporting from Glasgow. There are meant to be more cyclones and less coral,...
View ArticleIf the South Pole Melted, A Note from Arthur
Over the last few decades there has been an overall decrease in the amount of ice at the North Pole, and an increase in the amount of ice at the South Pole. Should all the remaining ice melt at the...
View ArticleHeron Island Photo Check
I am seeking feedback, including comment and corrections, on this draft blog post. I have previously sent an email to Richard Vevers (1 October 2021) and placed a request for more information at the...
View Article
