Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andy Davis, Director – Institute for Conservation Biology and Environmental Management, University of Wollongong

Curious Kids is a series for children. Send your question to curiouskids@theconversation.edu.au. You might also like the podcast Imagine This, a co-production between ABC KIDS listen and The Conversation, based on Curious Kids.

How would the disappearance of anglerfish affect our environment? – Bella, age 6, Sydney.

As I am sure you know, anglerfish live deep in the ocean. The females have an enlarged fin overhanging their eyes and their mouth that acts as a lure – much like bait on a fishing line – and this explains their name. (“Angling” is a method of fishing.)

The fact is we understand very little about the deep sea and how its inhabitants, including anglerfish, will respond to change. In fact, more people have walked on the Moon than have been to the bottom of the ocean.

But I will do my best to answer your question.

Read more: Curious Kids: how do creatures living in the deep sea stay alive given the pressure?

The food web

Close your eyes and imagine a spider’s web. All parts of it are connected, and if a bug gets tangled in one part, it can cause a completely different part of the web to wobble or break.

It helps to remember that all species are interconnected via something called the “food web”. The food web is not a real web like a spider’s web. It’s just a way of thinking about how species are connected to each other. Basically, the food web tells us who eats whom.

If you make a change to one part of the food web, that can have an ripple effect that can cause changes on another part of the web.

Less of one animal can mean more of another

Anglerfish usually eat small fish, as well as relatives of shrimp.

It is likely that if all the anglerfish in the ocean disappeared, their prey would explode in number and another predator would then “step in” to replace them.

And any species that likes to eat the anglerfish would have to start eating another species instead – or risk dying out.

At the height of the whaling industry, about 100 years ago, whales nearly disappeared. That meant that the number of krill (the tiny animals that whales eat) exploded, providing a feast for other animals that also eat krill – such as seals. That is how a food web works.

Weird and wonderful

There are around 200 different types of anglerfish. Although one giant species grows to over a metre, most anglerfish are tiny – less than 10cm long.

Only female anglerfish have lures. These lures often glow in the dark, thanks to the bio-luminescent bacteria inside them, which presents a tempting (but fake) meal to their unsuspecting prey.

Anglerfish don’t form large schools like many other fish and this represents a problem for them – they need to find a mate. The tiny males have found a solution: if they do happen to find a female, they grasp onto her with their mouths and never let go.

These males tap into the females’ blood stream and never have to eat again. Scientists call this behaviour parasitic. Sometimes more than one male can be attached to a single female. Imagine someone’s father being 100 times smaller than their mother and being permanently attached to her.

Nature is truly weird and wonderful.

Read more: Curious Kids: How was the ocean formed? Where did all the water come from?

Threats

Among the biggest problems for a lot of fish species are disease and overfishing by humans. But it’s highly unlikely that these threats could wipe out anglerfish.

Anglerfish are found between 300 and several thousand metres of water. At this depth, it is constantly dark and the water is cold.

As they live in such deep water and do not form schools, they are not targeted by fishermen, a common threat for many shallow water fish.

And anglerfish are so widely spread across the world’s oceans that any disease is highly unlikely to spread among them.

There is one threat that might affect angler fish – the threat of global warming. Temperatures in the deep ocean are very stable, they simply don’t change much.

Anglerfish live their entire lives at depth with near constant temperatures; hence even small shifts in temperature may affect them. It remains unclear whether increasing temperatures really will threaten angler fish – only time will tell.

Hello, curious kids! Have you got a question you’d like an expert to answer? Ask an adult to send your question to us. You can:

* Email your question to curiouskids@theconversation.edu.au * Tell us on Twitter by tagging @ConversationEDU with the hashtag #curiouskids, or * Tell us on Facebook _

Please tell us your name, age and which city you live in. We won’t be able to answer every question but we will do our best.

– ref. Curious Kids: how would the disappearance of anglerfish affect our environment? – http://theconversation.com/curious-kids-how-would-the-disappearance-of-anglerfish-affect-our-environment-116830

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Melbourne

The Coalition is likely to win 19 of the 40 Senate seats up for grabs at the 2019 election. As they hold 16 of the 36 that are not up for election, they will probably have 35 of the 76 total seats (up four since the pre-election Senate). The new Senate sits from July 1.

Labor is likely to have 26 total seats (no net change), the Greens nine (steady), One Nation two (steady), the Centre Alliance two (steady). Cory Bernardi was not up for election, and Jacqui Lambie regained her Tasmanian seat following her disqualification on Section 44 grounds. While One Nation lost a WA seat, they probably regain Malcolm Roberts after his disqualification.

The likely losers were Fraser Anning, Derryn Hinch, the Liberal Democrats, Brian Burston (who had shifted from One Nation to United Australia Party), and Tim Storer, who did not contest his SA seat.

Read more: Labor and Greens unlikely to win a Senate majority on current polling; Greens jump in Essential poll

The Coalition plus One Nation and Bernardi is 38 seats for the right. To pass legislation opposed by Labor and the Greens, the Coalition’s best path will be these 38 votes, plus either Lambie or the Centre Alliance.

With six senators to be elected in each state, a quota is one-seventh of the vote, or 14.3%. With two to be elected in each territory, a quota is one-third of the vote, or 33.3%. Voters are instructed to number at least six boxes above the line, or at least 12 below, though only one above or six below is required for a formal vote. All preferences are voter-directed.

The Senate count is now at 84% of enrolled voters, while the House count is at 91%. The last few percent in the house count have been good for the Greens and bad for the Coalition, but this is unlikely to make a difference to the Senate seat outcomes. Senate results will be finalised by a computer preference distribution, probably by late next week.

Here is the table of likely Senate results for each state and territory. The Coalition was defending just two seats in each state except SA, where it was defending three seats.

In NSW, the Coalition has 2.70 quotas, Labor 2.10, the Greens 0.60 and One Nation 0.34. Labor preferences should assist the Greens, with One Nation too far behind to catch either the Greens or Coalition. Both Labor and the Coalition gain at the expense of the Liberal Democrats and Burston.

In Victoria, the Coalition has 2.54 quotas, Labor 2.19, the Greens 0.73 and One Nation and Hinch Justice both on 0.19. The Coalition appears too far ahead of everyone else to be caught. The Coalition is likely to gain at the expense of Hinch.

In Queensland, the LNP has 2.75 quotas, Labor 1.59, One Nation (Roberts) 0.71 and the Greens 0.68. Whoever finishes last out of the final four after preferences misses out, and that is likely to be Labor. The LNP and One Nation are likely to gain at the expense of Labor and Anning.

In WA, the Liberals have 2.90 quotas, Labor 1.93, the Greens 0.82 and One Nation 0.39. The top three are too far ahead. The Liberals gain at the expense of One Nation.

In SA, the Liberals have 2.65 quotas, Labor 2.13, the Greens 0.75 and One Nation 0.33. The Liberals and Greens are too far ahead. Labor gains at the expense of Storer.

In Tasmania, the Liberals have 2.21 quotas, Labor 2.15, the Greens 0.88, Lambie 0.61 and One Nation 0.24. The Greens and Lambie are too far ahead. Lambie gains at Labor’s expense.

In the ACT, Labor has 1.18 quotas, the Liberals 0.97 and the Greens 0.52. The Liberals will win the second seat. There will be no change.

In the NT, Labor has 1.11 quotas and the Country Liberals 1.10. Preferences are not required for either seat. There will be no change.

The reason for the right’s three-seat lead over the left is Queensland, where six of the 12 senators are likely to be LNP, One Nation two, Labor just three and the Greens one. All other states are likely to split evenly between the right and left, except for Tasmania (6-5 to the left plus Lambie). SA is tied 5-5 with two Centre Alliance.

The table below shows the seats up for election at the next half-Senate election, due by early 2022. While state senators have six-year terms, territory senators are tied to the term of the House.

The Coalition will be defending three seats in every state except SA, where they are defending just one seat. A bad Coalition performance would put their third seat in some states at risk. However, if the Coalition does as well as they did in 2019 in the mainland states, and wins a third Tasmanian seat, the Coalition and One Nation combined would have a Senate majority (39 of 76 seats).

The three senators most likely to lose at the next election are Bernardi and the two Centre Alliance senators, all in SA. At this election, Centre Alliance won just 2.6% or 0.18 quotas and Bernardi’s Conservatives had 1.5% or 0.10 quotas.

The Greens will be happy with their defence of the six senators they had up for election. A similar performance in 2022 would give the Greens 12 senators – the most they have had. But Labor needs to improve greatly to give the left a chance to gain the four senators they would need in 2022 to control the Senate.

Coalition’s national Senate vote increased over 3%

Senate vote shares are currently 38.3% Coalition (up 3.1%), 28.9% Labor (down 0.9%), 10.1% Greens (up 1.5%), 5.4% One Nation (up 1.1%), 2.4% UAP, 1.8% Help End Marijuana Prohibition, 1.7% Shooters, 1.2% Animal Justice and 1.1% Liberal Democrats. Vote shares in the House are 41.5% Coalition (down 0.5%), 33.3% Labor (down 1.4%), 10.3% Greens (up 0.1%), 3.4% UAP and 3.1% One Nation (up 1.8%). One Nation contested 59 of the 151 House seats.

Read more: Poll wrap: Palmer’s party has good support in Newspoll seat polls, but is it realistic?

One reason for the increase in the Coalition’s Senate vote is a favourable ballot paper draw. In all states and territories, the Coalition was placed to the left of the Liberal Democrats, so they were not hurt by name confusion. In 2016, the Coalition was to the right of the Liberal Democrats in NSW, Queensland and the ACT.

By state, the Coalition’s vote was up 2.8% in NSW, 3.2% in Victoria, 4.2% in Queensland, 1.7% in WA, 5.3% in SA (helped by the collapse of Centre Alliance since 2016) and up 0.2% in Tasmania. The Coalition’s gain in Victoria could be due to a 3.3% drop for Hinch Justice and a 9.7% drop for Senate groups that stood in 2016, but not 2019.

Another explanation for the Coalition’s vote jump in the Senate is that those with a lower level of educational attainment disliked both Malcolm Turnbull and Bill Shorten in 2016, and were thus likely to vote for other right-wing parties. In 2019, these people liked Scott Morrison. There are many parties to choose from in the Senate, so the Coalition’s higher vote should be seen as an endorsement of Morrison.

In the House, the Coalition’s vote is down 0.5% from 2016. Far fewer right-wing parties stood for the House in 2016 than in 2019, so voters’ choices were more limited in 2016. If the same sorts of candidates had stood in the same seats at both elections, the Coalition’s primary vote would probably have increased in the House too.

Turnout for House increases on 2016

Contrary to this article in Nine newspapers that suggested turnout had fallen to its lowest level since compulsory voting was introduced, official turnout for the May 18 election is currently 91.07%, up 0.06% from 2016. There are many votes outstanding, so turnout will increase further.

As the electoral roll is more complete than it has ever been, this increase in turnout is more impressive than it seems.

It is likely that Labor will hold Macquarie, the last seat in any doubt. That will give the Coalition 77 of the 151 seats, Labor 68 and six crossbenchers.

The national two party count is currently at 51.63-48.37 to the Coalition; the Coalition’s peak was 51.77% on May 30. There are 15 “non-classic” seats that are excluded from this count – ten are likely to favour the Coalition and five Labor. The current two party count therefore understates the Coalition.

Read more: Newspoll probably wrong since Morrison became PM; polling has been less accurate at recent elections

Conservatives and Labour smashed at UK’s European elections

I wrote for The Poll Bludger that at the UK’s European Union elections held on May 23, the Brexit party won 32% of the vote and 29 of 73 seats, the Liberal Democrats 20% and 16 seats, Labour just 14% and ten seats, the Greens 12% and seven seats, and the Conservatives 9% and four seats.

Theresa May will resign as Conservative leader on June 7, and the next PM is likely to be a hard Brexiteer.

In the European Union overall, the Liberals and the Greens performed well.

– ref. Coalition likely to have strong Senate position as their Senate vote jumps 3% – http://theconversation.com/coalition-likely-to-have-strong-senate-position-as-their-senate-vote-jumps-3-118040

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nathan Kilah, Senior Lecturer in Chemistry, University of Tasmania

Curious Kids is a series for children. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to curiouskids@theconversation.edu.au You might also like the podcast Imagine This, a co-production between ABC KIDS listen and The Conversation, based on Curious Kids.

When I swipe the matchstick how does it make fire? Thank you. – Laura, aged 5, Brisbane.

I’m glad you asked this, Laura. I have been interested in the science of fire and fireworks for a long time, and can tell you there is a lot happening in the very short time it takes to light a match.

But first I want to give an important warning: matches are dangerous and they shouldn’t be used without supervision. You can hurt yourself, your friends and family, destroy your home, or damage the environment.

Now, let’s get back to the science.

Read more: Curious Kids: how do bushfires start?

Friction

To learn how the match can catch fire, we first need to understand something called “friction”. Friction is when you rub two things together and it creates heat or warmth. Have you ever rubbed your hands together on a cold morning to warm them up? That’s friction.

(For the adults reading, friction converts kinetic energy into thermal energy.)

Friction is important for the first part of lighting a match. You rub the match head against the red strip on the side of the matchbox.

This strip on the box contains a bit of powdered glass to make it extra rough. Scratching the rough match head against the rough strip leads to friction. That creates just enough heat to start a series of chemical reactions.

Chemical reactions

You probably know about chemical reactions. That’s when one chemical interacts with another chemical, and a change occurs. Maybe you’ve added vinegar to bicarb soda to create a mini volcano. That’s a chemical reaction. Heat can help kick off some chemical reactions or make them happen faster.

There are a lot of chemical reactions involved in the lighting of a match.

Surprisingly, the first chemical to react is not on the match, it is on the box!

This chemical is called “red phosphorus”. To our eyes it just looks like a red powder. But if you zoomed right in to see how all its atoms are arranged, it would look like a bunch of triangles and other shapes stuck together into a long chain.

When you rub the match on the box, you get friction, which means you get heat. This heat causes a small amount of the red phosphorus chain to be broken apart.

When that happens, some of the red phosphorous changes into another chemical called “white phosphorus”. It reacts immediately with a gas in the air called oxygen. This will create a lot more heat.

So the story so far: the friction breaks the red phosphorous chain, which allows the white phosphorous to react with oxygen and the match starts to get hot.

But that’s not the end of the story.

Fuel + heat + oxygen = fire

You need three ingredients for a fire: fuel, heat, and oxygen.

Friction and white phosphorus have provided the starting heat, and now the match needs fuel and oxygen to continue to burn.

The fuel comes from the sulfur (that’s another chemical) and wax in the head of the match. It also comes from the wood in the matchstick.

When it comes to oxygen, the match has a secret supply. Stored inside the match head is another chemical called “potassium chlorate”. When it gets hot, it releases a lot of extra oxygen and heat. This makes the match head burn quickly and strongly.

When you put it all together – the heat, the fuel, and the oxygen – you get a flame! And amazingly, all this chemistry happens in a fraction of a second.

‘Strike anywhere’ matches

What I’ve described are safety matches, which are the kind you probably have at home.

But maybe you’ve seen an old cowboy movie, or a cartoon, where a character has lit a match with their boot, a wall, or something else that’s not a matchbox.

These matches are known as “strike anywhere” matches, and they work very similarly to safety matches.

The difference is that the phosphorus component is in the match head rather than on the box.

While this is convenient, it is also much more dangerous!

So please remember — any kind of match can be very, very dangerous, so never use them without adult supervision.

Read more: Curious Kids: is water blue or is it just reflecting off the sky?

Hello, curious kids! Have you got a question you’d like an expert to answer? Ask an adult to send your question to curiouskids@theconversation.edu.au

Please tell us your name, age and which city you live in. We won’t be able to answer every question but we will do our best.

– ref. Curious Kids: when I swipe a matchstick how does it make fire? – http://theconversation.com/curious-kids-when-i-swipe-a-matchstick-how-does-it-make-fire-116673

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Evie Kendal, Lecturer in Bioethics and Health Humanities, Deakin University

The Moon has always served as an inspiration for humanity, and there are many potential benefits for further exploration of our planet’s rocky satellite.

But we need to establish guidelines to prevent unethical behaviour on the Moon, particularly regarding the use of natural resources and off-planet labour.

How humans should interact with space and celestial objects is central to the emerging field of space ethics. It’s something I’ve been involved with since 2015, when I taught my first class on consent for the use of celestial objects at Yale University’s Summer Bioethics Institute.

Read more: The moon is still geologically active, study suggests

As we prepare to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Moon landing, here are five things we need to reflect on regarding ethical considerations for various future uses of the Moon.

1. Human settlement on the Moon

Some people believe establishing human settlements on the Moon – and other bodies – may help lessen the environmental burden of overpopulation on Earth.

While the practical issues of survival and maintaining communication receive a lot of attention in discussions of Moon settlements, the ethical considerations are often overlooked.

These include whether Moon-based humans would have the same legal and human rights as their counterparts on Earth. Would children born on the Moon even share the citizenship of their parents, or would they be stateless on Earth?

And would they have a different physiology to Earth-born humans due to the reduced gravity on the Moon? A new breed of Moonians? Moonlings?

We need to consider the complexities of establishing independent governance of a Moon base to promote the development of a fair society for those living there. The Moon Village Association, a non-governmental organisation, is one body focused on exploring the possibilities of Moon settlement.

2. Mining the Moon

The Moon is already being considered as a mining site, or a base of operations for asteroid mining.

As with all mining projects on Earth, there are concerns about environmental sustainability and whether it is appropriate for mining corporations to profit from the commercialisation of natural resources in space.

Read more: We should work together in the race to mine the solar system

Then there is the concern over worker safety regulations and how these could be enforced at such a distance from Earth. Miners may be exploited, as it would be difficult to leave in search of better working conditions.

The 1967 UN Outer Space Treaty rejects the idea that anyone can own a celestial object, so one ethical question is whether mining resources violates this non-ownership principle?

Also, how will countries that have not ratified the treaty be regulated? What about transnational private corporations?

It could be argued that the Moon’s resources should not be used for the benefit of people living on Earth, especially once there are settlements on the Moon itself.

3. Medical research on the Moon

There is talk of the potential to 3D print organs in zero gravity on board the International Space Station.

3D printing organs on the Moon, where gravity is one-sixth that on Earth, could be the next step in addressing the shortage of organs available for transplant. Then there’s the possibility of other medical research on the Moon.

There are strict regulations for medical research in most countries on Earth, and experiments on the ISS are done under the watch of the station’s partners. But there is no global system in place to review whether proposed medical studies on the Moon are ethically acceptable.

Read more: How realistic are China’s plans to build a research station on the Moon?

Given that the history of medical research involves many violations of people on Earth, there is significant grounds for concern when considering what kind of research could go ahead off-planet, where monitoring will be more difficult.

The UN space treaty dictates that the use of space should benefit all of humanity, not just countries or organisations wealthy enough to conduct research in space.

From an ethical perspective, this recognises that many of the benefits associated with human interactions with space have the potential to affect all people on Earth, but this is also true for potential harms. One example is biosecurity, the risk of contaminants being transported to Earth from space, with the potential of causing disease.

4. Tourism on the Moon

The private interest in the space industry means space tourism is likely to become a lucrative business. Tourism trips around the Moon are already being planned, and landing missions will no doubt follow.

This carries the same concerns regarding sustainability and ownership as mining, but it also introduces consumer health and safety issues.

While astronauts must be in peak physical condition before serving on a mission, it is unclear what restrictions might be applied to tourists wishing to visit the Moon.

Australia’s space archaeologist Alice Gorman wants to know how the lunar landscape can be culturally preserved in the face of tourism, especially the sites of the Apollo landing missions.

5. Moon based planetary defence

The Czech-based political scientist Nikola Schmidt and his team advocate for the development of laser defence systems on the far side of the Moon. This should have the capability to destroy various asteroids and comets on an impact trajectory with Earth.

But there are ethical questions that need to be answered regarding such planetary defence systems. We would need to establish who would decide on the best course of action in an impact emergency.

For example, if an asteroid could only be partially diverted, who decides which areas of the planet are protected from any impact? Most importantly, how could we regulate who could control the planetary defence technology to ensure they are not used as weapons in warfare?

These are just five areas I raise as a concern, questions that need to be answered soon. While the area of space law is rapidly expanding, space ethics needs to catch up to ensure human interactions in space are safe, fair and benefit all of humanity.

– ref. Five ethical questions for how we choose to use the Moon – http://theconversation.com/five-ethical-questions-for-how-we-choose-to-use-the-moon-116801

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katherine Downing, Alfred Deakin Postdoctoral Research Fellow; Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition (IPAN), Deakin University

The availability of junk foods and screens is increasingly creating challenges for parents.

But in the home environment, parents have the opportunity to shape their children’s diet, activity, screen time and health. This includes managing the foods they eat and the activities available to them – and the expectations around these.

We know early childhood is a key time to influence and establish health-related behaviours, so this is important right from the beginning.

Although it can be hard to think about the longer term impacts of meals and screen time during the early years, setting in place a few key healthy and sustainable practices could save a lot of effort and conflict in the long run.

That being said, making changes to your family routine is possible at any time.

Read more: Five things parents can do to improve their children’s eating patterns

Setting up healthy family practices and expectations

The Australian government has guidelines around healthy eating, physical activity and screen time for children to promote optimal health and development. The recommendations vary by age group, but essentially encourage a balanced diet, plenty of movement, and limited screen time.

Taking these guidelines into account, healthy routines can include:

• creating screen-free mealtimes. Eating snacks or meals while watching TV results in children consuming more sweet drinks and junk foods, and fewer fruits and vegetables, likely due to junk food advertising, mindless eating, and increased snacking. Turning off screens and focusing on family meal times can help even very young children learn about socialising

• eating meals as a family, with everyone eating the same food. Evidence suggests parents’ eating and role modelling are important influences on children’s food intakes. Eating together at any meal or snack time lets parents role-model eating and enjoying healthy foods. It also enables parents to set expectations around eating – like encouraging children to eat to their appetite, rather than to finish their plate

Read more: Devices in schools and at home means too much screen time for kids

• switching off the TV/screen and setting screen time limits. It can be easy to get into the habit of turning the TV on before breakfast or after dinner every day, or leaving it on when a show is finished. But “background TV” reduces childrens’ attention spans during playtime and lowers the quality of parent-child interactions. Although it might sound obvious, setting screen time rules will reduce children’s time in front of the screen. Try setting a screen time limit, having one or two screen-free days per week (this includes the whole family), or only allowing recreational screen time on weekends

• structuring regular family activities around physical activity rather than screen time. Although watching TV shows and movies together is recommended to help children understand what they’re seeing, it can unintentionally ingrain screen time habits as normal family practice. Try replacing things like watching a movie together with a family bike ride or an outing to the park. This is an easy way to reduce overall screen time, and parents and young children who participate in physical activity together are more active all round.

Out of sight, out of mind

Another strategy is to set up your home environment so it encourages healthy behaviours, and minimises temptations for unhealthy ones. For example:

• having active play equipment (like balls, bats, and bikes) readily available to children. Among older children, having easier access to equipment within their home prompts more physical activity. Providing lots of different types of equipment, which can be borrowed or shared between families, is even better

• having screen-free bedrooms, and putting electronic devices out of sight in living areas. Having a TV in the room where a child sleeps, not surprisingly, results in children watching more TV and creates another thing parents need to police. By removing the cues to engage in these behaviours, children are less likely to want to participate in them

• filling your fridge and pantry with foods you want your child and family to eat. The foods available at home are associated with children’s diet quality. Fresh fruit, cut vegetables, yoghurt, cheese, wholegrain breads and unsweetened breakfast cereals are good choices. Limiting junk food in the home means children simply have to choose between healthy options.

Read more: How to get children to eat a rainbow of fruit and vegetables

Making big changes to family routine can seem overwhelming, so starting with something achievable from wherever your family is at can make the changes more manageable for everyone.

Try nominating one screen-free day, having one additional family meal, or planning one additional outdoor family activity per week – and then build on your success.

– ref. Kids’ diets and screen time: to set up good habits, make healthy choices the default at home – http://theconversation.com/kids-diets-and-screen-time-to-set-up-good-habits-make-healthy-choices-the-default-at-home-114827

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brydon T. Wang, Research Assistant and PhD Candidate, Queensland University of Technology

Humans have a long history of living on water. Our water homes span the fishing villages in Southeast Asia, Peru and Bolivia to modern floating homes in Vancouver and Amsterdam. As our cities grapple with overcrowding and undesirable living situations, the ocean remains a potential frontier for sophisticated water-based communities.

The United Nations has expressed support for further research into floating cities in response to rising sea levels and to house climate refugees. A speculative proposal, Oceanix City, was unveiled in April at the first Round Table on Sustainable Floating Cities at UN headquarters in New York.

The former tourism minister of French Polynesia, Marc Collins Chen, and architecture studio BIG advanced the proposal. Chen is involved with the Seasteading Institute, which is seeking to develop autonomous city-states floating in the shallow waters of “host nations”.

While this latest proposal has gained UN attention, it is an old idea we have repeatedly returned to over the past 70 years with little success. In fact, the Oceanix City proposal has not reached the same level of technical sophistication as previous models.

Read more: The oceans are coming for us: how should we plan for dire sea level forecasts?

A brief history of floating cities

The architecture community was fascinated with marine utopias between the 1950s and ’70s. The technological optimism of this period led architects to consider whether we could build settlements in inhospitable places like the polar regions, the deserts and on the sea.

The Japanese Metabolists put forward incredible projects such as Kenzo Tange’s 1960 Tokyo Bay Plan and the marine city proposals of Kikutake and Kurokawa.

In the West, Buckminster Fuller proposed Triton City, which would be connected to the mainland via bridges. Archigram, a neofuturistic architectural group, proposed underwater sea farms.

These proposals were directed at solving the impending urban crises of overpopulation and pressures on land-based resources. Many were even sophisticated enough to be patented.

The arc of this global architectural discussion was captured during the first UN Habitat conference (“Habitat I”) in Vancouver in 1976. In many ways, the UN has returned to the Vancouver Declaration from Habitat I to “[adopt] bold, meaningful and effective human settlement policies and spatial planning strategies” and to treat “human settlements as an instrument and object of development”.

We are seeing a pivoting that began in 2008 with Vincent Callebaut’s “Lilypad” – a “floating ecopolis for ecological refugees”.

Where floating cities were once dismissed as too far-fetched, the concept has been repackaged and is re-emerging into public consciousness. This time in a more politically viable state – as a means of addressing the climate emergency.

Read more: Future ‘ocean cities’ need green engineering above and below the waterline

The technology and types of floating city structures

No floating settlements have ever been created on the high seas. Current offshore engineering is concerned with how cities can locate infrastructure, such as airports, nuclear power stations, bridges, oil storage facilities and stadiums, in shallow coastal environments rather than in deep international waters.

Two main types of very large floating structures (VLFS) technology can be used to carry the weight of a floating settlement.

The first, pontoon structures, are flat slabs suitable for floating in sheltered waters close to shore.

The second, semi-submersible structures (such as oil rigs), comprise platforms that are elevated on columns off the water surface. These can be located in deep waters. Potentially, oil rigs could be repurposed for such floating cities in international waters.

Oceanix City is based on the pontoon structure. This would restrict it to shallower waters with breakwaters to limit the impacts of waves. This sort of structure could serve as an extension of a coastal city, as a life raft for island communities inundated by rising waters, or to provide mobile essential services to residents of flood-prone slums.

Read more: Concrete coastlines: it’s time to tackle our marine ‘urban sprawl’

Sovereign floating cities and micronations

While some early marine utopian proposals were responses to emerging urban issues, many proposals conceptualised “seaborne leisure colonies”. These communities would be independent city-states allowing inhabitants to circumvent tax laws or restrictions on medical research in their own countries.

This sort of floating city was conceived of as a micronation with sovereignty and ability to provide citizenship to its occupants. The example was set by the Principality of Sealand, off the coast of Britain.

None of these proposals have succeeded. Even modern attempts such as the Freedom Ship and the Seasteading Institute’s plans for an autonomous floating settlement under French Polynesian jurisdiction have stalled. A recent attempt at creating a sovereign micronation (seastead) off Thailand led to its proponents becoming fugitives, potentially facing the death penalty.

Read more: New laws for the high seas: four key issues the UN talks need to tackle

A viable project?

Technology is not a barrier to floating cities in international waters. Advances in technology enable us to create structures for habitation in deep sea waters. These schemes have never really taken off because of political and commercial barriers.

While this time round proponents are packaging floating cities in a more politically viable concept as a life raft for climate refugees, commercial barriers remain. Apart from the UN, few organisation have the economic and political influence or reason to deliver a satellite floating city in the ocean.

In my view, the future of ocean cities is in technology campuses and in tourism. Given the significant risk of a community in extreme isolation in international waters, the solution to bringing people together in mid-ocean requires us to think about what connects us: technology, work and play. In these three elements we see, perhaps, the two lowest-hanging fruits (or the most buoyant of possibilities) for ocean cities.

The first is in floating tech campuses where large technology companies set up floating data centres and campuses in international waters. Situated outside national jurisdictions, these campuses could circumvent increasingly onerous privacy regimes or offer innovative technological services without having to negotiate regulatory barriers.

The second prospect is a return to the seaborne leisure colonies of the past. Companies like Disney could expand on their cruise offerings to build floating theme parks. These resorts could be sited in international waters or hosted by coastal cities.

Given our fascination with living on water, even if Oceanix City does not suceed, it won’t be long before we see another floating city proposal. And if we get the mix of social, political and commercial drivers right, we might just find ourselves living on one.

– ref. Floating cities: the future or a washed-up idea? – http://theconversation.com/floating-cities-the-future-or-a-washed-up-idea-116511

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Quiggin, Professor, School of Economics, The University of Queensland

By mid-June, if everything goes as expected, Adani Australia will receive the final environmental approvals for its proposed Carmichael coal mine and rail line development.

Newspaper reports based on briefings from Adani suggest that, once the approvals are in place, the company could begin digging “within days”.

On Friday the Queensland government approved Adani’s plan to protect a rare bird, apparently leaving it with just final regulatory hurdle: approval for its plan to manage groundwater.

Its billboards in Brisbane read: “We can start tomorrow if we get the nod today”.

But several big obstacles remain. Even after governments are out of the way, it will have to deal with markets and companies that aren’t keen on the project.

Obstacles aplenty

First up, there’s the problem of access to Aurizon’s rail line. Adani originally planned to build its own 388km railway from the Galilee Basin to its coal terminal at Abbot Point.

However, in the scaled-down version of the project announced last year, Adani plans to build only 200km of track, before connecting to the existing Goonyella line owned by the rail freight company Aurizon.

That requires an agreement of access pricing and conditions. Aurizon is legally obliged to negotiate with Adani, but has shown itself to be in no hurry to reach a deal.

Then there’s insurance. Faced with rejection by every major bank in the world, Adani announced it would fund the project from its own resources. But now insurers, including nearly all the big European firms and Australia’s own QBE, are saying the same sort of thing as the financiers.

Without insurance the project can’t proceed, and the pool of potential insurers is shrinking all the time.

Not particularly financial

But the most fundamental problem may lie within the Adani group itself. The A$2 billion required from the project will ultimately come, in large measure, from chairman Gautam Adani’s own pocket.

With an estimated wealth of A$7 billion, he can certainly afford to pay if he chooses to. But it would represent a huge bet on the long-term future of coal-fired electricity, at very bad odds.

In my analysis of the original Carmichael mine proposal in 2017 I concluded that the profit from operating the coal mine would be around A$15 per tonne.

A recent analysis of the revised project by David Fickling for Bloomberg yielded a marginally more favorable estimate of US$16 per tonne, or US$160 million a year for the initial output of 10 million tonnes a year.

That’s an 8% rate of return on $US2 billion, before considering overheads and depreciation.

It’d need a long life…

Such an investment could only be profitable on the basis of a mine with a long life and substantial potential for future expansion. How likely is that? When the start of construction was re-announced last November, it was suggested the coal might be shipped by 2021. With six months’ delay, and the insurance problem noted already, 2022 seems like the earliest possible date.

But by that time, the current construction pipeline for coal-fired plants in India will have been worked through, and very few new ones will be being commissioned. A mere 8 gigawatts of new coal-fired power was commissioned in 2017-18, partly offset by 3.6GW of coal-fired power stations that closed down.

The Indian government has stated that no new coal plants will be needed after 2022, or 2027 at the latest.

…which it might not get

In these circumstances, newly opened coal mines will be able to sell coal only if they can displace existing suppliers. This suggests prices will have to fall to a level sufficient to ensure further closures of existing mines. Such a fall would erode or eliminate Adani’s already thin margins.

By 2030, with the project still in its relatively early stages, most developed countries will have stopped using coal-fired power. The others will be moving fast in that direction. So far under President Trump, the United States has closed 50 coal-fired power stations, and will almost certainly never build another.

The only glimmer of hope for coal has been in less developed countries in Asia. But over the course of this year, even these hopes have dimmed. Major banks in Japan and Singapore have withdrawn from funding new coal projects, following the lead of the global banks based in Europe and the US.

Read more: If the Adani mine gets built, it will be thanks to politicians, on two continents

That leaves South Korea and China as potential sources of funding. Korea is already phasing out coal-fired power domestically and its banks are being pressured to divest globally. The option of relying solely on China is problematic to say the least.

To sum up, unless current trends change dramatically, the economic life of the Carmichael mine is unlikely to be more than a decade – nowhere near enough to recover a A$2 billion investment.

Explaining Adani

So what could be going on? Perhaps Gautam Adani is willing to lose a large share of his wealth simply to show he can’t be pushed around. Alternatively, as on numerous previous occasions, his promises of an imminent start to work may prove to be baseless.

The third, and most worrying, possibility is that the political pressure to deliver the promised Adani jobs will lead to a large infusion of public money, all of which will be lost.

The A$900 million Adani sought from the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility in 2017 would be enough to keep the project going for a couple of years, without the need for Mr Adani to risk his own money. It now appears that a similar sum might be sought from the Export Finance and Insurance Corporation.

All this is speculation. Assuming the approvals come through by the Queensland premier’s self-imposed deadline of June 13, we will find out soon enough whether something happens, or whether something else will stay in the way.

Read more: Interactive: Everything you need to know about Adani – from cost, environmental impact and jobs to its possible future

– ref. Explaining Adani: why would a billionaire persist with a mine that will probably lose money? – http://theconversation.com/explaining-adani-why-would-a-billionaire-persist-with-a-mine-that-will-probably-lose-money-117682

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Holland, Professor in Human Resource Management and Employee Relations, Swinburne University of Technology

In Back to the Future II (1989), fingerprints are used to lock and unlock doors. It’s a benign technology, apart from the rise of “thumb bandits” who amputate thumbs. Gattaca (1997) envisages a bleaker future, where corporations collect DNA samples and genetic discrimination reigns.

Three decades on, “biometric recognition” technology is no longer science fiction. Should we embrace it or fear it?

That question faced Jeremy Lee, a sawmill worker in the town of Imbil, Queensland. when his employer, Superior Wood Ltd, introduced fingerprint scanning to verify clock-on and clock-off times.

Lee refused to comply. He was sacked as a result.

Lee then lodged an unfair dismissal claim in the Fair Work Commission. His claim was rejected last November.

But last month Lee won his case on appeal before a full bench of commissioners.

Their ruling was particularly critical of the employer’s lack of process and failure to understand its employees’ right to privacy.

It’s concerning management appeared to not understand the sensitivity of such data, and believed it had the right to demand it for something so mundane.

But what is most disturbing about this case, the first of its kind in Australia, is that just one employee out of about 400 resisted having their biodata taken. Every other employee acquiesced, despite management failing to provide any information about how it planned to store and protect such sensitive data.

Boundaries of consent

Biometrics refers to any technology that measures and analyses unique physical and distinctive behavioural characteristics considered innate, immutable and unique to the individual.

Physiological markers include fingerprints, hand geometry, eyes and facial features. Behavioural markers include gait or voice patterns.

You don’t have to look far to see these technologies in use. Fingerprint and facial scanning is now common as a security measure on phones and computers.

Read more: Big brother is watching: how new technologies are changing police surveillance

The advantages are obvious. The drawbacks less so.

The problem is when they are used by others to collect information about us.

In Australia, our political system may protect us from the prospect of biometric surveillance becoming omnipresent, as in the case of China, but we do face the potentially coercive power of employers wanting to use it.

Their reasons may be benign, possibly even quite compelling, but demanding that information might still cross a line that infringes privacy rights.

Once we agree to give up those rights, what guarantees do we have the information won’t end up being used for other ends, legal or illegal?

Biodata is forever

This is why you, like Jeremy Lee, should be concerned.

Biometrics information can reveal a huge amount of information about you. If may even reveal information you don’t know. Fingerprint data, for instance, could potentially detect genetic disorders.

There needs to be clear boundaries, so information can only used for the purpose to which an employee has actively consented. Otherwise there is potential for systematic discrimination in recruitment, promotions and conditions of employment.

Perhaps an even greater risk is the security of this data.

Biometric data is vulnerable as any other digital form in an era of sophisticated hacking. It could prove just as valuable to criminals as credit-card details.

Read more: Fingerprint and face scanners aren’t as secure as we think they are

Cards can be replaced and passwords changed. Biodata cannot. The level of security protecting biodata should be much greater.

In the case of Jeremy Lee vs Superior Wood, the company admitted the data was stored at multiple sites with access by multiple sources.

Lee ultimately won his case because the commissioners decided the company had not abided by the Privacy Act (1988). That law says collecting sensitive information should be “reasonably necessary” – in this case there were other ways to verify when employees clocked on and off. It also prohibits collecting sensitive information without an individual’s consent.

Thanks to Jeremy Lee, we now know any employer seeking to collect biometric data has the same obligations. And any employee has the right to object.

– ref. As privacy is lost a fingerprint at a time, a biometric rebel asserts our rights – http://theconversation.com/as-privacy-is-lost-a-fingerprint-at-a-time-a-biometric-rebel-asserts-our-rights-117745

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Mokrzycki, PhD Candidate, Victoria University

In recent years, there has been a surge in “female empowerment” stories in the Australian picture book market. This long-overdue movement was largely inspired by the success of the crowdfunded book Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls, spawning many imitations since its publication in 2016.

In April 2019, I examined the 100 bestselling picture books at Australian book retailer Dymocks: an almost 50/50 mix of modern and classic stories (the majority being published in the past five years). I discovered that despite the promising evolution of the rebel girl trend, the numbers tell us that picture books as a whole remain highly gendered and highly sexist. Worse – female protagonists remain largely invisible.

Ballerinas and princesses

In the Dymocks bestsellers list, 46% of books had male protagonists, while only 17% had female protagonists (in 32% of books there was no lead character). There were only seven female led books in the top 50, compared to 26 male led books.

Sixteen books in the list showed characters in specific occupations (outside of parenthood). In the female-led stories, protagonists only showed ambition for traditional feminine pursuits. There were three ballerinas, three princesses and one fashion designer – Claris, a mouse, who “dreamed about clothes” and “read about handbags in Vanity Fair”. (In this story, a misbehaving girl is also chastised for being “neither proper nor prim!”)

In comparison, the male-led stories showed protagonists in roles ranging from farmers and chefs to zookeepers and scientists.

Not much has changed in the past 20 years. A 1998 study found there were four primary occupations for female characters in picture books – scullery maid, daughter, princess and mother, while there were ten for males – which included detective, aircraft inventor and knight.

Zog and the Flying Doctors (2016), one of the books from the Dymock’s bestsellers list, attempts to rectify this gender imbalance, but doesn’t quite manage it.

Consider the first line: “Meet the flying doctors – a dragon, knight and girl, their names are Gadabout the Great, and Zog, and Princess Pearl.” Both Zog (the dragon) and the knight are male characters. The human characters are both doctors, and it is later shown that Pearl bemoans traditional princess duties. However, the male lead is a “great” knight, while our female lead is first introduced as a “girl” and then identified as a princess.

Of course, there is nothing wrong with ballerinas and princesses, nor with celebrating femininity. What is problematic, however, is the lack of other roles presented to young girls. When there is little variety in female-led stories, and female ambition is restricted, picture books become part of a bigger problem.

Read more: Friday essay: the feminist picture book revolution

Mothers and fathers

Parental roles are also represented in largely conventional ways in picture books. In a 2005 study of 200 picture books not a single father was shown kissing or feeding a baby. While mothers were always shown as active parents (feeding, holding and caring for baby), fathers were rarely shown performing parenting duties.

In my study, mothers were similarly shown as much more active parents, but also much more cautious and serious than fathers. No One Likes a Fart (2017) is a good example of this: a mother sits daintily on the couch next to a stack of books, drinking tea. The father stands with the remote control in his hand when he farts. “Do you have to?” the mother asks crossly, as he laughs.

Fathers are portrayed as sillier and more easy-going than mothers – but fathers are also often shown to be less engaged with raising their children. For example, in the classic Australian picture book Edwina the Emu, part of the comedy is meant to come from Edwina’s partner Edward’s reluctance to be a parent (“You must be joking!”) and subsequent difficulty and annoyance in caring for his eggs (“‘You’re late,’ muttered Edward, ‘and I need a rest’”).

Where are the girls?

Perhaps most worrying of all is how little female characters are represented – male protagonists are far more common. A recent study showed that of the top 100 Australian picture books published in 2017, it was more common for a book to have no lead character than a female lead character. Characters with speaking parts were also much more likely to be male, and 31 of the books had all male characters while only six had all female characters.

Male protagonists have long been the default in picture books. Consider favourite protagonists like Max from Where the Wild Things Are, Spot the Dog, Peter Rabbit and Hairy MacLary – even the Very Hungry Caterpillar is a “he”. This is common throughout picture books: a character may be an animal or creature and not even have a name, but will most likely be referred to as a “he”.

Of the books in the Dymocks bestseller list, 24.6% had either all male characters or used all male pronouns – even when characters weren’t human and had no discernible gender. Conversely, only one used all female pronouns and there were no books with all female characters.

How we tackle gender in picture books is important, as they help inform children’s understanding of the world and themselves.

Courageous girls and loving fathers should not be radical concepts, nor do we need to continue dividing gender so severely: girls can be sweet and brave with scientific minds, boys can be adventurous and kind with a penchant for tea parties.

None of these traits are defined by gender. It’s time we stopped limiting the things that kids can be.

– ref. I looked at 100 best-selling picture books: female protagonists were largely invisible – http://theconversation.com/i-looked-at-100-best-selling-picture-books-female-protagonists-were-largely-invisible-115843

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra

Kristina Keneally is continuing her rise and rise, appointed to “shadow” Home Affairs minister Peter Dutton, in Anthony Albanese’s frontbench bench line up announced on Sunday.

After last week obtaining a place in the shadow ministry and becoming Labor’s deputy Senate leader, with two men standing aside to make way for her, Keneally now takes on one of the toughest players in the Coalition. She’ll also cover immigration, which comes under the home affairs portfolio but has a separate minister in the government’s ranks.

At Bill Shorten’s side all through the election campaign, Keneally didn’t recoil from the task of head kicking. She called Dutton a “thug” and “the most toxic man in Australian politics”.

Dutton is a head kicker from way back. On Sunday he was quickly out of the blocks.“Kristina Keneally I predict will be somebody who is very spiteful, very nasty and very personal in her attacks, that’s been her history, he said, adding, “I’m not going to attack Kristina Keneally on a personal basis”.

They could make the perfect matchup for those into political bloodsports.

Home Affairs to continue under Labor

The appointment does mean, and Albanese confirmed, that the opposition is committed to the home affairs portfolio long term, despite Labor’s platform providing for a review.

Asked “now that you have a home affairs shadow minister, does that mean you will preserve the portfolio if in power?”, Albanese said: “Obviously the position we have as a shadow ministry is the one that we hope to take to an election and one that we hope to then implement if we were in government”.

Keneally tweeted:“@AlboMP ‘s decision to introduce a Shadow Home Affairs portfolio sends a clear message that Labor will ensure Australians are kept safe. Labor fully supports offshore processing, boat turnbacks where safe to do so, and regional resettlement”.

Another notable feature of the Albanese frontbench is Bill Shorten’s appointment as shadow for the National Disability Insurance Scheme and government services, where he will be up against minister Stuart Robert.

It brings Shorten (who wanted health) back to where he started on the ladder after arriving in parliament at the 2007 election, when he was appointed parliamentary secretary for disabilities and children’s services. His work in the disabilities area laid a foundation for the NDIS.

NDIS is now politically important

This is not a high profile post for Shorten but because both he and Robert will have a good deal to prove, it could further ensure the NDIS gets a lot of attention, which will be a good thing.

Albanese made a point of his shadow cabinet having equal numbers of men and women, 12 each, when shadow cabinet secretary Jenny McAllister is included.

The four new members of the shadow cabinet are all women: Keneally, Katy Gallagher, Terri Butler and Madeleine King.

At every opportunity Labor highlights that it does way better on the gender front than the government; frequently, Scott Morrison seeks to argue he is doing better than the Liberals did before.

Chalmers is Labor’s voice on economics

As expected, former finance spokesman and Queenslander Jim Chalmers becomes shadow treasurer. Chalmers has a formidable job in front of him, having simultaneously to carry the day-to-day economic argument while being at the centre of the overhaul of Labor’s most controversial election policies.

His colleagues and the public will have abundant opportunity to assess someone who aspires to be leader in the longer term.

Chalmers’ first task and Labor’s first test will be when the new parliament considers the income tax cuts legislation at the start of July. Finance Minister Mathias Cormann reiterated on Sunday that the government will not split the package, which includes tax relief for higher income earners in later years.

As part of the new economic team Gallagher, one-time ACT chief minister – who has returned to the Senate from her exile in the citizenship crisis – becomes shadow minister for finance.

Albanese performs a balancing act

Former shadow treasurer Chris Bowen will be health spokesman; the previous occupant of that post, Catherine King, moves to infrastructure, transport and regional development.

Tony Burke goes from environment to industrial relations, with Brendan O’Connor, who previously had employment and workplace relations, keeping the former but losing the latter and acquiring industry. This removes the conflict of interest he had, with his brother Michael being secretary of the Construction Forestry Maritime Mining and Energy Union.

A number of shadows remain in their old portfolio spots – one is the new deputy leader Richard Marles (defence). Others include Penny Wong (foreign affairs), Tanya Plibersek (education), Mark Butler (climate change and energy), and Michelle Rowland (communications). But Plibersek loses responsibility for women, which goes to Julie Collins. It remains to be seen how much refashioning Butler will have to do to Labor’s climate policy.

Read more: View from The Hill: Morrison rewards friends, avoids making enemies and announces new ambassadors

There will be the odd interesting balancing act, such as on coal issues. Queenslander Terri Butler, from the left, gets environment and water; Joel Fitzgibbon, from the right, who was concerned how the coal debate swung votes against him in his mining seat of Hunter, has resources added to his responsibility for agriculture.

Linda Burney will cover Indigenous Australians in addition to her previous responsibilities of families and social services. It will be important how she and the Minister for Indigenous Australians, Ken Wyatt, both themselves Indigenous, choose to balance conflict and consensus in this area.

Leigh gets looked after, Husic declines offer

Shayne Neumann has taken a big tumble, from immigration and border protection and a member of shadow cabinet, to veterans affairs and defence personnel in the outer shadow ministry.

Pat Dodson is shadow assistant minister for reconciliation, and Andrew Leigh, who lost his shadow ministry because he didn’t have a faction, has been awarded a position as shadow assistant minister for treasury.

But Ed Husic, who stood down so Keneally could get one of the right’s spots in the shadow ministry, is not even in a shadow assistant minister position. He could have had one – they were in the gift of Albanese – but declined. Which is rather a pity, given his talents.

For the fridge door:

– ref. View from The Hill: Kristina Keneally vs Peter Dutton should produce plenty of political bloodsport – http://theconversation.com/view-from-the-hill-kristina-keneally-vs-peter-dutton-should-produce-plenty-of-political-bloodsport-118171

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Garnett, Professor of Conservation and Sustainable Livelihoods, Charles Darwin University

The Queensland government has ticked off a crucial environmental approval for Adani’s Carmichael coalmine, bringing the contentious project a step closer to becoming reality.

It has approved Adani’s proposed management plan for the endangered black-throated finch, less than a month after the state’s environment department announced a delay in approval because the plan was judged to be inadequate.

Read more: Why Adani’s finch plan was rejected, and what comes next

Four days after the May 18 federal election, in which the mine’s future was a prominent issue, Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk called for an end to the delays and uncertainty.

In a statement issued today, the government said it has now approved a “strengthened” version of the plan, submitted by Adani earlier this week.

Under the revised plan, Adani has now committed to:

• “establish enhanced understanding” of the finch, with the help of “appropriate population studies”

• implement “appropriate monitoring protocols” to track the finch’s population over time

• restrict grazing in nearby areas.

The only remaining state environmental approval for the project now is Adani’s groundwater management plan, on which a decision is due by June 13.

Bad plan caused the delays

As members of the scientific panel that reviewed the finch management plan, we can understand the Premier’s frustration. There is no excuse for such a poor plan to have been put forward for approval when the company has been aware for almost a decade that the land it wants to mine is home to the largest known remaining population of the black-throated finch.

There has already been ample time to undertake the studies Adani has pledged to carry out in the future. Had it done so before now, it could have put its claims to be able to manage the finch’s extinction risk on a much more solid footing.

As it is, the plan we reviewed made biologically improbable assumptions about the finch, while ignoring what is known about the finch’s precipitous decline so far. Under the plan, people with the curious title of “fauna spotter-catchers” were to find finches and move them “to suitable habitat adjacent to the disturbance, if practical” before the habitat is destroyed.

It sounds impractical, and will in all likelihood prove to be so. If the adjacent habitat already has finches, it is likely to be “full” and so won’t be able to support mining refugees. If it lacks finches, there is probably a very good reason.

The finch has been observed only a handful of times in just a tiny proportion of the area purchased for conservation purposes near the mine site. The finch has had more than 10,000 years to occupy and breed in the proposed conservation area that is supposed to offset the impact of the mine. It hasn’t, and it probably won’t.

As far as can be determined by overlaying the available maps, the proposed conservation area has a different geology and soil type. Adani has categorically failed to provide robust scientific evidence to demonstrate that the conservation reserve will adequately offset the loss of the finches and the habitat in the mined area. It has had more than 10 years to conduct the science to provide the evidence.

Meanwhile, before the existing habitat is mined, the plan had talked about grazing being used to control bushfire fuel loads and reduce the abundance of a weed called buffel grass. Yet grazing is thought to be the main reason the finches have disappeared from most of their once vast range – they once occurred from the Atherton tablelands to northern New South Wales.

The new plan is said to “restrict grazing” but no details are yet available. Under the original plan, the cattle would have got fat on the buffel grass pastures just as they did in all the places where the finch once lived.

Rigorous research

What must really frustrate the Queensland Premier is the contrast between Adani’s efforts with the black-throated finch and the much more rigorous work done by mining companies who find themselves in similar situations. Rio Tinto, for example, is currently funding high-quality research on two other birds, the palm cockatoo and red goshawk, ahead of its planned expansion of bauxite operations on Cape York Peninsula.

Vista Gold, meanwhile, funded research on stress levels in Gouldian finches long before mining was planned to begin at its Mt Todd goldmine in the Northern Territory.

In criticising Adani’s plan, we are not criticising mining. Like all Australians, we use the products of mining every day. We enjoy a high standard of living that is delivered partly by royalties from mining. We also understand that miners (and politicians) in Queensland want to see jobs created.

Most mining companies, however, provide jobs while willingly abiding by national and state legislation. They compromise where necessary to minimise environmental harm. And crucially, they commission research to demonstrate how they can mitigate damage well before that damage occurs, rather than when their operations are already underway.

Read more: Does ‘offsetting’ work to make up for habitat lost to mining?

In contrast, the so-called research and monitoring that went into Adani’s finch plan seems only to conclude that more research is needed. After nine years, Adani did not even know the population size of the finch, how it moves around the landscape, or even what it eats.

Given the time available, this bird could (and should) have been among the best-studied in Australia. The management plan could then have been based on robust evidence that would show how best to safeguard the finch population.

Now the research and monitoring is a hurried add-on with no proof that the threat posed to the finch can actually be solved and an extinction averted. Given the high stakes involved, Australians might reasonably have expected something altogether more rigorous.

– ref. Adani’s finch plan is approved, just weeks after being sent back to the drawing board – http://theconversation.com/adanis-finch-plan-is-approved-just-weeks-after-being-sent-back-to-the-drawing-board-118114

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory John Leach, Honorary Fellow at Menzies School of Health Research, Charles Darwin University

Sign up to the Beating Around the Bush newsletter here, and suggest a plant we should cover at batb@theconversation.edu.au.

The Kakadu Plum fruiting season in the Top End is just finishing. Over one weekend, I was able to find a few fruits on the ground beneath some trees in the Eucalypt woodland near Darwin.

This is the best way to eat Kakadu plums – fresh, fully ripe, and fallen from the tree. The fruit is smooth, fleshy and ovoid in shape with a short beak, and yellow–green or slightly reddish when ripe.

Initially, the taste seems somewhat bland, but with a definite sour and astringent finish. While that’s probably not a very inspiring description to encourage a tasting, a professional flavour profile describes the taste as “a stewed apple and pear aroma with cooked citrus and a floral-musk note” – so it’s perfect for jam, sauces and relishes.

Read more: The tasty, weed-like desert raisin plant is as big as a carpark

With small, creamy white flowers in long spikes clustered towards the tips of the branches, the Kakadu plum, Terminalia ferdiandiana, is just one of about 29 species of Terminalia found in Australia.

But the extraordinary properties of the Kakadu plum makes it attractive for a diversity of food, beverage and even cosmetic products. And this demand is creating supply problems as competition to cash in on the fruit increases.

A plum by any other name

Kakadu plums are abundant in the Eucalypt woodlands of the northern savannas. There are a plethora of Aboriginal names that reflect the distribution of the species and the broadly held knowledge across numerous language groups, such as “Gubinge”, a name from the Bardi people north of Broome.

Common names such as “billygoat plum” or “green plum” are also sometimes used. But thanks to marketing success, the common name “Kakadu plum” is the most well known, although it’s misleading.

While the species is found in Kakadu National Park, its distribution extends to the savanna vegetation, from the Kimberley to Cape York.

Getting ‘superfood’ status

The rise of the Kakadu plum to international fame as a “superfood” may appear to have come about almost overnight. But this story has been a long time in the making.

Aboriginal people have valued this plant for thousands of years for its food and medicinal properties. The health benefits of the fruit were certainly recognised, but more specifically, the red inner bark was used to treat skin conditions and sores.

Read more: Traditional medicines must be integrated into health care for culturally diverse groups

The findings of western scientists also go back a little way. Pioneering analysis of the composition of bush foods in the early 1980s found phenomenally high vitamin C content in Kakadu plums.

Citrus fruits are known for being good natural sources of vitamin C, which makes up around 0.5% of their weight.

But the Kakadu plum tops the scale, with vitamin C levels of 3.5-5.9% of its weight. This is about 50 times more vitamin C than in oranges.

Chemicals in the plum also have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties, and recent research has shown extracts have excellent preservative qualities. This means the plum is now used in the seafood industry to extend the shelf life of, for instance, cooked prawns.

Opportunities for Indigenous-owned business

Now, increased demand for the fruit has produced opportunities for Indigenous communities to create enterprise on country.

Many communities in the Top End and the Kimberley are now engaged in fruit harvesting, which, for the most part, takes place from the wild on Indigenous-owned land.

A successful example is in Wadeye, about 250km southwest of Darwin.

I spoke to the Community Development Officer at Thamarrurr Development Corporation there, Melissa Bentivoglio, who said:

Thamarrurr Plums [Kakadu plums], based at Wadeye, has been evolving over the past 10 years as a locally owned and operated Indigenous enterprise. This year’s plum season saw over 250 local women harvest over 10 tonnes of plums from their clan estates in the Thamarrurr Region.

The community continue to carefully discern their way forward in this local enterprise to ensure community ownership and long-term sustainability.

But Indigenous representation over the entire supply chain and processing is poor. The participation rate in the bush food industry is reported to be less than 1%.

Indigenous groups are actively seeking mechanisms to see greater recognition and returns from their traditional knowledge.

In 2007, for instance, the American-based cosmetic company Mary Kay Inc. was granted a patent for Kakadu plum extracts in a skin cosmetic product.

Read more: Warrigal greens are tasty, salty, and covered in tiny balloon-like hairs

These patents were opposed following concerns around the recognition of the Indigenous knowledge and the lack of any benefit-sharing arrangements with relevant Indigenous communities. They were rejected by IP Australia on the grounds of lack of novelty – there were serious claims of biopiracy – commericially exploiting natural material – a cloud of uncertainty around the legal acquisition of the plant material.

Competing interests: food, cosmetics, bandicoots

The increasing demand for the fruit and sustainability concerns of the harvest has led the Northern Territory government to draft a management plan for Kakadu plum. It was released for public comment last year.

Ecologists also know the fruits of Kakadu plum form an important part of the diet of a suite of small native mammals, such as possums, rock rats, tree rats, and bandicoots. The recently observed decline in these populations can, in part, be attributed to overly frequent fires which are detrimental to small trees in the wild like the Kakadu plum.

The NT government’s management plan will need to ensure commercial harvest doesn’t add to the pressure on these native mammals.

Read more: Can we be Australian without eating indigenous food?

What’s more, the traditional medicinal uses are being tested in a current research project through a Cooperative Research Centre for Developing Northern Australia (CRCNA) funded collaboration to assess potential for establishing a medicinal plant agribusiness on Indigenous land.

It’s not easy being a super plant.

Sign up to Beating Around the Bush, a series that profiles native plants: part gardening column, part dispatches from country, entirely Australian.

– ref. Meet the Kakadu plum: an international superfood thousands of years in the making – http://theconversation.com/meet-the-kakadu-plum-an-international-superfood-thousands-of-years-in-the-making-116362

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra

University of Canberra Deputy Vice-Chancellor Geoff Crisp speaks with Michelle Grattan about the week in politics. They discuss the Coalition’s new ministry, including Indigenous Minister Ken Wyatt and Stuart Robert who will oversee the NDIS and service provision, what could happen with treasurer Josh Frydenberg’s tax package, and Labor’s frontbench and former leader Bill Shorten’s place in it.

– ref. VIDEO: Michelle Grattan on Ken Wyatt’s appointment – and Labor’s frontbench – http://theconversation.com/video-michelle-grattan-on-ken-wyatts-appointment-and-labors-frontbench-118119

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert McLachlan, Professor in Applied Mathematics, Massey University

A decade ago, one of New Zealand’s leading scientists, the late Sir Paul Callaghan, put forth his vision for the country in his book Wool to Weta. He envisaged New Zealand emphasising green high-technology industries and reducing dependence on agriculture.

This approach would lift productivity and reduce pollution, but it would need an increased investment in research and development. It was then woefully low at around 1% of GDP, compared to the OECD average of 2.4%.

Last December, the government signalled that it was on board with this vision. Two of the government’s five spending priorities reflect this: one a goal to create opportunities for productive businesses to transition to a low-emissions economy, and another to support a thriving nation in the digital age through innovation.

Read more: New Zealand’s ‘well-being budget’: how it hopes to improve people’s lives

Investing in green ideas

A new NZ$300 million venture capital fund will support early stage companies. There is an additional NZ$157 million of direct support to businesses to develop high-value, low-emissions products. It appears these are on top of the NZ$100 million Green Investment Fund established last year and due to launch shortly.

Last year’s budget also moved NZ$657 million from a grant scheme into an estimated NZ$1 billion research and development tax incentive. Since this kicked in only in April 2019, it’s too soon to tell if it is having an effect.

But research and development is certainly on the right track in New Zealand. Over the five years between 2014 and 2018, spending has grown 38% in real terms to reach 1.37% of GDP. The target is 2% of GDP by 2027. Notably, the lion’s share of the increase has been from business, not state, investment.

These investments are crucial. Studies have shown that disruptive innovation emerges when small start-ups and grassroots enterprises are given resources to pilot concepts, learn, adjust and scale up.

A lifeline for rail infrastructure

Rail gets a major boost with NZ$1 billion in investment for Kiwirail. Rail suffered under privatisation from 1993 to 2008, but even since renationalisation it has not had a dedicated funding line like roads do. Some passenger services entered the National Land Transport Plan in 2018, but not yet freight.

This investment will bring much-needed new rolling stock, track improvements and new ferries for the critical link between islands. Rail carries 15% of New Zealand’s freight and growth has the potential to reduce emissions and make roads safer.

The investment includes NZ$300 million from the Provincial Growth Fund for regional rail initiatives. This could include a proposal for regional rapid rail linking Auckland with other centres in the north of the country, or investment for the beleaguered commuter lines linking the capital with surrounding regions. It could also go towards an upgrade of the partly mothballed rail link north of Auckland.

Unfortunately, we don’t know yet which projects will go ahead. There appears to be only NZ$34 million for regional rail in the coming year.

Further electrification of the network, hinted at last year by Climate Change Minister James Shaw, is not in the budget, but at least the existing electrified section is saved.

Food, forests, freshwater

Research into agricultural greenhouse gases, the only area in which the New Zealand government funds research overseas, continues. There is money to set up and run a climate change commission. There is also money for policy advice on a “just transition to a low‐emissions economy”. But there’s nothing that will specifically reduce emissions in the coming year.

Electric vehicle proponents, alarmed by the growth in transport emissions (up 82% since 1990, and up 6% in 2017 alone) and stagnant EV sales and encouraged by hints last year about coming incentives, will be disappointed. But the long-term strategy remains in place, with a focus on passing the zero carbon bill, currently open for submissions, with bipartisan support this year.

Read more: NZ introduces groundbreaking zero carbon bill, including targets for agricultural methane

The big winner in environment and climate funding in this budget is agriculture. NZ$229 million is going towards cleaning up waterways and improving wetlands and sustainable farming. Much of this will go directly to farmers.

Freshwater quality was a key issue in the 2017 election. Agricultural intensification, especially dairy farming, is the main reason for the continuing decline in water quality in rivers and lakes. There is NZ$122 million for “enabling the transition in agriculture”, primarily advice to farmers and improvements to data collection. A further NZ$184 million goes towards the One Billion Trees Program, currently on track and a key part of the present plan to lower net emissions.

A decade ago, Wool to Weta seemed like a pipe dream. Even Paul Callaghan did not foresee that, by 2019, New Zealand would be a spacefaring nation. Today, the technology and creative sectors are booming and we are embarking on the low-emission transition.

– ref. NZ Budget 2019: support for lower-emission business, transport, land use – http://theconversation.com/nz-budget-2019-support-for-lower-emission-business-transport-land-use-118058

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard Holden, Professor of Economics, UNSW

Who’d make a decision that would give a household with an income of A$150,000 an extra $100,000 to $120,000 of borrowing power? APRA, that’s who. APRA is the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority. It was hived off from the Reserve Bank and insurance and superannuation regulators in the late 1990s in order to set rules for institutions whose size meant they could threaten the stability of the financial system.

Often it does the right things too late, and often not enough of them, or too much.

Although it is increasingly seeming like a like a distant memory, there was a time not long ago where Sydney and Melbourne home prices were soaring.

APRA got worried, about people borrowing too much and defaulting, and also about banks getting stuck with bad loans.

So, after prodding by the Reserve Bank, it imposed a bunch of what are known as “macroprudential regulations” – those are regulations that have an effect on the economy, achieving the same sort of thing the Reserve Bank does by moving interest rates, but by different means.

APRA made lending harder

In late 2014 it introduced a rule that required lenders to assess an intending borrowers ability to repay not against the actual interest rate they would be charged, but against the actual interest rate plus two percentage points, or a rate 7%, whichever was higher.

It told the banks “good practice would be to maintain a buffer and floor rate comfortably above these levels,” meaning that in practice they were required to refuse to lend to anyone who couldn’t handle an interest rate of 7.25%.

At the time, the actual rates for new mortgages of 5%, so it had quite an effect.

Ten days ago it wrote to lenders saying it was considering removing the rule and replacing it one that merely required a buffer of 2.5 percentage points, meaning that when mortgage rates fall below 4%, banks will only be required to assess a borrower’s ability to handle 6.5%.

Now, it wants to make it easier…

It’ll mean households with incomes of $150,000 could have their ability to repay assessed against a 0.75% lower rate, enough to give them the capacity to borrow an extra $70,000 or so.

It’s not the only extra borrowing power about to be bestowed on households.

It is all but certain that Reserve Bank will cut interest rates by at least 0.25 points next week, and perhaps more at coming meetings. Assuming the major banks pass this through – and in the wake of the Royal Commission they would be crazy brave not to – that will give prospective buyers even more borrowing power.

It’s not implausible, then, to think that a household with an income of $150,000 might have an extra $100,000 to $120,000 of borrowing power in the next few months.

Measured against median home price even in Australia’s most expensive city, Sydney, of $1 million, it’s significant.

…which could reignite home prices

Home prices have fallen from their peaks of around 18 months ago, at least in Sydney and Melbourne by double digits. One explanation has been a credit crunch by the banks brought on by the royal commission.

The actions of APRA and the Reserve Bank could offset that crunch, perhaps more than fully.

Given that pre-crunch it looked like we were in the midst of a housing bubble it is quite possible that APRA and the Bank combined will reignite the bubble.

Suppose this is right. What should we conclude about APRA and the Reserve Bank?

First the Bank. If/when it do cut rates it will not, repeat not, be because it wants home prices and household debt to gallop away again. It’ll be because it is worried about continuing to miss its inflation target and sluggish wage growth.

Pumping up household borrowing will be collateral damage.

Read more: Cutting interest rates is just the start. It’s about to become much, much easier to borrow

But I’m not willing to give APRA a pass.

It instituted its macroprudential rule in late 2014 – well into the unprecedented run-up in home prices. It was asleep at the switch about the magnitude and danger of interest-only loans, acting on it way too late.

Now, just as the housing market is correcting, it wants to pull out the economic version of a cattle prod.

As the cool kids say: “What’s up with that?”

It might be too much too late

Macroprudential regulation is a profoundly important tool for ensuring against large financial risks. It is particularly important in property-obsessed Australia.

But it is important to get it right. Risks have to be seen early and action needs to be decisive. Being late can be the same as being wrong. Wild swings, with rules coming on and coming off seemingly out of nowhere, are dangerous.

And they can themselves lead to significant financial instability – precisely the opposite of the goal.

Or to put it another way: what APRA does is great, except when it’s not.

– ref. Vital Signs: APRA is going to make it easier to borrow. It could be another one of its bad calls – http://theconversation.com/vital-signs-apra-is-going-to-make-it-easier-to-borrow-it-could-be-another-one-of-its-bad-calls-117967

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jane Melville, Senior Curator, Terrestrial Vertebrates, Museums Victoria

You may have seen news in recent days of the suspected demise of the Victorian grassland earless dragon – now thought to be the first lizard species to be driven to extinction by humans in mainland Australia.

That suspicion arose on the basis of a newly published study in Royal Society Open Science by our research team, in which we discovered that the grassland earless dragons of southeastern Australia are not a single species, but four distinct ones: one that lives around Canberra, two in New South Wales, and one restricted to the Melbourne region.

The most recent confident sighting of the Melbourne species was 50 years ago, in 1969 – hence the fears that the Victorian species has already succumbed.

But despite this worrying news, we’re not leaving this lizard for dead just yet. Conservationists are now combing remaining grassland around Melbourne in a search for survivors.

Read more: EcoCheck: Victoria’s flower-strewn western plains could be swamped by development

Although no lizard species have previously been declared extinct on the Australian mainland, the grassland earless dragons (Tympanocryptis) of southeastern Australia have long been the subject of conservation concern. Even before being split into four separate species, they were already officially listed as endangered.

The Victorian grassland earless dragon (Tympanocryptis pinguicolla) is known only to occur in the native grasslands around Melbourne. A review of historical collections at Museums Victoria show that it was found at several locations including Sunbury, Maribyrnong River (then called “Saltwater River”), and as far west as the Geelong area until the late 1960s.

Although there is little information available about the ecology of this species, it was described by Lucas and Frost in 1894 as:

Inhabiting stony plains and retreating into small holes, like those of the ‘Trap-door Spider,’ in the ground when alarmed […] Often met with under loose basalt boulders.

The last confirmed sighting was near Geelong in July 1969.

First mainland extinction?

Globally, 31 reptiles have been listed as extinct or extinct in the wild, according to the IUCN Red List, the global authority on the status of species. Two skinks and one gecko species have been declared extinct in the wild on Christmas Island, a remote Australian territory in the Indian Ocean. But until now there have been no recorded reptile extinctions on the Australian mainland.

Yet it is too early to give up on the Australian grassland earless dragon. Zoos Victoria researchers have completed a mapping analysis of potential grassland habitats. But this doesn’t give us enough information to say whether or not any grassland earless dragons remain.

There are several factors that leave open the possibility that the Victorian grassland earless dragon is still clinging to survival. There are some remaining habitat areas that have not yet been surveyed, and this species is small, secretive and hard to find. We urgently need more surveys to try and find any remaining populations.

Read more: Vale ‘Gump’, the last known Christmas Island Forest Skink

If these lizards are not yet extinct, their protection will clearly become an urgent conservation priority. But it is hard to develop a conservation program without knowing where the target species actually lives, or indeed whether it is still alive at all.

Zoos Victoria is now leading a campaign, alongside expert ecologists and local communities, to try and confirm the presence or absence of the Victorian grassland earless dragon. This involves various methods, including habitat mapping, camera trapping, and active searching. The team is also working to identify unsurveyed areas that might potentially be home to these elusive lizards.

Last year the team deployed a series of small pitfall traps at two locations in Little River. Unfortunately, no earless dragons were detected during the survey and few lizards of any species were caught, despite the fact that these locations seemed to offer appropriate food and habitat.

The team is not giving up yet and is committed to continuing the search, with Zoos Victoria researchers having identified sites with suitable habitat both within and outside of the historical distribution, which they aim to survey intensively over the coming years. Meanwhile, reptile keepers at Zoos Victoria are developing husbandry techniques to help look after the grassland earless dragon species from Canberra and NSW.

The conservation challenge has got harder, because where previously we were tasked with looking after one species, we now have to safeguard at least three – and hopefully four!

This article is based on a blog post that originally appeared here. It was coauthored by Adam Lee and Deon Gilbert of Zoos Victoria.

– ref. Why we’re not giving up the search for mainland Australia’s ‘first extinct lizard’ – http://theconversation.com/why-were-not-giving-up-the-search-for-mainland-australias-first-extinct-lizard-117831

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Carolyn Masel, Lecturer in Literature, Australian Catholic University

This is a longer read. Enjoy!

This year marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of Walt Whitman, America’s most admired poet. Celebrations will be especially joyful around his birthday on May 31 and in New York City, whose citizens were often depicted in his poems. But the poetry many people now love won him notoriety before it won him fame.

Whitman’s life was interesting and varied. He was born in 1819 and grew up in and around Brooklyn, moving often as his family tried to make money from farming and real estate. His formal education ended when he was 11. He worked by turns in Manhattan and Brooklyn as a printer’s apprentice, a schoolteacher and a newspaper publisher, before resolving to become a writer.

Having had some success – a novel and newspaper pieces – he became chief editor of the Brooklyn Eagle, but lost this position when his opposition to the spread of slavery clashed with the views of the newspaper’s owner. Luckily, an opportunity arose to work on a newspaper in New Orleans. Whitman enjoyed this different culture, but never lost his horror of slave auctions.

On learning his brother George might have been injured during the Civil War, Whitman travelled to Washington DC and Fredericksburg, Virginia, to look for him. Fortunately, George’s wound was only superficial, but Whitman stayed on in Washington as a nurse, where he attended to sick, maimed and dying soldiers.

Working in field hospitals, Whitman’s health deteriorated, and at the age of 53 he suffered a stroke. Although he made a partial recovery, he was cared for by friends until he died almost 20 years later in March 1892. By then, he was admired for his writing in England, but the thousands who lined the streets in New Jersey for his funeral procession were probably more curious about his enormous tomb, which he had designed himself, than his writing.

Whitman’s innovation

We don’t know how or why Whitman began to invent his extraordinary poetry. In 1842 he listened to “The Poet”, a lecture in which philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson called for a national bard who could write about the US in all its diversity. But Whitman’s daring originality seems more than a mere response to Emerson’s demands.

It is clear he thought of his book of poems, Leaves of Grass, as an experimental project. He took the opportunity of having the best compositors, the Rome brothers, typeset his poems, and he supervised the work closely, revising his poetry to fit the page. He even set about ten pages of the type himself.

The book’s long non-rhyming lines are reminiscent of bible verses. Each seems to correspond with a single breath or a single gesture. Words or phrases are often repeated at the beginning of a series of lines, building up a rhythmical pattern. However, Whitman is careful to break the pattern before it can become mere rhetoric. The reader is constantly being called to attention:

Smile O voluptuous cool-breath’d earth!

Earth of the slumbering and liquid trees!

Earth of departed sunset – earth of the mountains misty-topt!

Earth of the vitreous pour of the full moon just tinged with blue!

Earth of shine and dark mottling the tide of the river!

Earth of the limpid grey of clouds brighter and clearer for my sake!

Far-swooping elbow’d earth – rich apple-blossom’d earth!

Smile, for your lover comes. (“Song of Myself”, canto 21)

Leaves of Grass was Whitman’s sole book of poetry. Rather than publish several collections containing new poems, he revised and expanded this single volume, so that the first edition of 12 poems eventually became a thick book of close to 400 poems.

There are six editions of the book (nine, if you count different type-settings). As soon as one was published Whitman would revise, regroup and add to the poems, treating the published book as a manuscript to be edited and republished.

The overall result of this practice is that Whitman’s poetry is seen always to flow from a single being; it is as unified and as singular as the man who made it.

The first edition of Leaves of Grass did not even contain the author’s name on the title page, but he was instantly recognisable from his picture on the frontispiece – a working man in his prime, open-shirted, hat on the back of his head, hand on hip, looking straight out at the reader.

The poet of democracy

Emerson’s influence – or Whitman’s agreement with Emerson – can be seen in Whitman’s insistence on democracy as a central value of American society. People are equal, according to Whitman, because we are all mortal; moreover, we all have immortal souls.

In “Song of Myself”, we can see the connection between democracy, equality and immortality in the symbolic use of grass, which grows everywhere:

[…] I guess it is a uniform hieroglyphic, And it means, Sprouting alike in broad zones and narrow zones, Growing among black folks as among white, Kanuck, Tuckahoe, Congressman, Cuff, I give them the same, I receive them the same. […]

Tenderly will I use you curling grass, It may be you transpire from the breasts of young men, It may be if I had known them I would have loved them, It may be you are from old people, or from offspring taken soon out of their mothers’ laps, And here you are the mothers’ laps. […]

What do you think has become of the young and old men? And what do you think has become of the women and children?

They are alive and well somewhere, The smallest sprout shows there is really no death […]

All goes onward and outward, nothing collapses, And to die is different from what any one supposed, and luckier.

In this passage the grass signifies equality, by making no distinction where it grows. A “hieroglyphic” symbol might need an expert – such as Whitman – to translate it, but it grows “uniform[ly]”, giving everyone the same rights and the same chances to mean something in the great poem that is America, as Whitman saw it.

Poet of the soul

As a result of Whitman’s habit of revision, we can witness the growth of many poems. The Sleepers, generally agreed to be among his finest, was worked on over the course of his career.

It is one of his most ambitious poems, with a triumphant ending that seems genuinely earned. It poses questions about the limitations of a single human life. How can one life, or one death, or one gender, be enough for a man, a poet, consumed by curiosity?

Whitman wants to dream every sleeper’s dream, be every sleeper’s lover, know every person’s meaning in the larger scheme, live everyone’s life and die everyone’s death.

In the third section of the poem, he envisages a beautiful swimmer, who comes to grief on rocks and dies. His body is then retrieved and laid out in a barn, with others, to be mourned just as the slain soldiers in the Revolutionary War (1775-83) were mourned by General Washington.

A Native American woman comes to visit the man’s mother, and then goes on her mysterious way, before everyone else returns to their rightful place: immigrants return home, colonial masters return to their countries of origin, the dead (including the beautiful swimmer), those waiting to be born, the sick, the disabled, the criminal are all likened to one another and restored in sleep.

At the end of the poem, all of the restored sleepers begin to awaken, an event described in terms of reconciliation and resurrection:

The sleepers are very beautiful as they lie unclothed, They flow hand in hand over the whole earth from east to west as they lie unclothed, The Asiatic and African are hand in hand, the European and American are hand in hand […]

The felon steps forth from the prison, the insane becomes sane, the suffering of sick persons is reliev’d, The sweatings and fevers stop, the throat that was unsound is sound the lungs of the consumptive are resumed, the poor distress’d head is free […] Stiflings and passages open, the paralyzed become supple, The swell’d and convuls’d and congested awake to themselves in condition, They pass the invigoration of the night and the chemistry of the night, and awake. (Canto 8)

Only at the end of the poem does Whitman state that he has been previously afraid to trust himself to the night, but that now he is at peace with the rhythm of night and day, sleeping and waking, which governs the world.

Poet of the body

Whitman’s poetry was initially unpopular. Not only was his new verse form considered outlandish, but his insistence on the worthiness of the body put him beyond respectability. Emerson originally endorsed him, “greet[ing him] at the beginning of a great career”, but when Whitman published Emerson’s approving letter without permission in the next edition of the book, he put Emerson in an awkward position.

Emerson tried to dissuade Whitman from publishing explicit poems about sex and sexuality, but Whitman did so anyway. The 1860 edition of Leaves of Grass introduced a Children of Adam section, depicting robust heterosexual love, and a Calamus section, which celebrated love between men:

Not heat flames up and consumes,

Not sea-waves hurry in and out,

Not the air delicious and dry, the air of ripe summer, bears lightly along white down-balls of myriads of seeds,

Wafted, sailing gracefully, to drop where they may,

Not these, O none of these more than the flames of me, consuming, burning for his love whom I love […]

There were a few enthusiastic anonymous reviews for Leaves of Grass, but they were written by Whitman. His friends William Douglas O’Connor and John Burroughs allowed Whitman to make bold claims for his poetic achievements under their names. One pamphlet, ostensibly by O’Connor, was called The Good Grey Poet, an image of wholesomeness that went some way toward transforming and boosting Whitman’s image. Eventually, in 1881, Whitman had the opportunity to publish an edition of his book with a major publisher, Osgood.

However, no sooner had 1,500 copies of this definitive edition been printed than the publisher had to withdraw it, under threat of litigation for promoting obscenity. Then, in 1882, Leaves of Grass was banned in Boston. Fortunately, he was taken up by another publisher, and made more than $1000 in royalties on this edition.

Whitman’s overtly homoerotic poems won him friends as well as enemies. The English socialist writer and reformer Edward Carpenter visited him twice, and Oscar Wilde was also pleased to meet him. John Addington Symonds, an English poet and critic, wrote to Whitman over many years, urging him to state explicitly what he meant by the love of comrades.

At last Whitman emphatically disavowed any claim made by Symonds about the possibly sexual nature of the Calamus poems and stated that he had fathered six children. No evidence has been found to substantiate this claim.

Only after his death were Whitman’s romantic letters to streetcar conductor Peter Doyle published. Today Whitman is claimed as a champion of same-sex love, although whether or not it was consummated is still a matter of debate and probably unknowable.

Whitman today

In one of the appraisals that Whitman ghost-wrote, he claimed to be better appreciated across the Atlantic than he was in America. There is truth in this: a censored English edition had found its way to a band of fervent supporters in industrial Bolton, near Manchester. They sent him a birthday message and ten pounds, and eventually two of them, J. W. Wallace and Dr John Johnson, went to visit the poet, by then gravely ill.

A lively transatlantic correspondence ensued that lasted long beyond the death of the poet and the two leaders of the Bolton Whitman reading group. Whitman’s birthday is still celebrated with a walk led by Bolton Socialist Club members.

The transformation of Whitman from shunned outsider to national poet-hero happened in fits and starts. Whitman’s own critical efforts and those of his transatlantic disciples began it. Then Whitman’s “spiritual son”, Horace Traubel, wrote a nine-volume work called With Walt Whitman in Camden, published between 1906 and 1996, designed to make Whitman’s thought more generally known.

Wealthy collectors of Americana began to exhibit the various editions of Whitman’s books. Readers began to appreciate Whitman’s insistence on the body and the value he placed on manly love. Whitman’s poetry began to be studied wherever American literature was taught, and he was taken up by popular culture.

Whitman’s birthplace in Huntington, New York, is now a museum, close to the Walt Whitman Shops on Walt Whitman Road. You can take a tour through his last residence – the only house he ever owned – in Camden, New Jersey.

He is now considered the father of free verse (although he was not the first poet to use it), the father of modern poetry, and, according to one critic, the “imaginative father and mother” of every American, whether a poet or not.

Whitman is also recognised with parks in Washington DC and New York. Among the most moving tributes is the Dupont Circle train station in Washington DC, which contains an inscription from his poem “The Wound Dresser”.

Originally written about the Civil War, these lines in their new context become a tribute to those who cared for sufferers during the AIDS crisis. One senses that the poet would be gratified at last to be given the recognition craved by this generous, embracing imaginative personality.

– ref. Guide to the classics: Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass and the complex life of the ‘poet of America’ – http://theconversation.com/guide-to-the-classics-walt-whitmans-leaves-of-grass-and-the-complex-life-of-the-poet-of-america-116055