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Listed under:  Science  >  Environmental management  >  Pollution
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Waterways: clean-up

We all have the power to help keep our coastlines, rivers, lakes, swamps, creeks, floodplains, billabongs and estuaries clean by diverting rubbish from our waterways. This can be done with regular clean-ups, picking up litter when you see it, and changing our behaviour such as limiting our use of single-use plastic. This ...

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Catchment management: what’s in a drop?

Water is a precious resource, yet water is also wasted every day. This activity investigates water consumption and how you can reduce the amount of water wasted. OUTCOMES of this learning activity are for students to: understand the urban water cycle; learn different ways to reduce water usage; discover how much water is ...

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Catchment management: the drain is just for rain

Stormwater originated as rain and flows into creeks, rivers and other water bodies. Any rubbish or chemical pollution collected during this journey can end up polluting the waterways. This activity looks the impacts of stormwater and rubbish in our waterways. Outcomes of this learning activity are for students to: understand ...

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Waterways: behaviour change

We have the power to help keep our coastlines, rivers, lakes, swamps, creeks, floodplains, billabongs and estuaries clean by diverting rubbish from our waterways. We can all be change makers. By altering our everyday habits such as limiting our use of single-use plastic items, we can also inspire others to do the same. This ...

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'Sergeants Freehold Quartz Gold Mining Company's claim, Redan, Ballarat', 1881

This is a pen, ink and watercolour drawing, measuring 43.5 cm x 55 cm, of Sergeants Freehold Quartz Gold Mining Company's claim at Redan, Ballarat. It was drawn in 1881 by T G Moyle, a gold fields artist working in the 1880s and 1890s. Extensive mine buildings are spread over a wide area, but dwarfed by a huge pile of quartz. ...

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Foreign Correspondent: Spawning dams, not fish, on the Mekong?

The Mekong is the largest freshwater fishery in the world; however, this may be about to change. Discover in this 2010 clip how migration of fish species along the lower Mekong may be impeded by the proposed construction of dams along this mighty river. Do the economic benefits of the dam outweigh the potential loss of ...

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Foreign Correspondent: Damming the free and mighty Mekong

The Mekong has been a rare thing: a largely untouched and free-flowing river. Stretching for nearly 5,000 km from the mountains of Tibet to Vietnam's Mekong Delta, it has provided a way of life for millions of people and been an important trading route between south-western China and south-eastern Asia. In this clip from ...

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Four Corners: TV killed the radio star

Can you imagine a time when, instead of watching dramas at home on a screen, people listened to them on the radio - a time when the most popular of those dramas were made in Australia? This Four Corners program from 1964 examines the reasons for the death of Australian radio serials, the role played by television in their ...

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Stateline: Proposed coal mine raises environmental issues

Explore the possible benefits and impacts to the environment and community of a proposed new coal mine, called the Wallarah 2 Coal Project. In this clip from late June 2013, find out some viewpoints that landowners, community members, mine representatives and politicians present about the proposed underground mine.

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Show me the water!

Where does the water in your tap come from? Fresh water accounts for only 3% of the earth's water supply and only 1% of that is available to us in lakes and rivers or in the atmosphere. But how much do we use for drinking water and what else do we use fresh water for? Watch this video to find out how NASA's Global Precipitation ...

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Welcome to Bonegilla Migrant Camp

Following World War II, the Australian government was eager to increase the country’s population. The war reminded Australians that their small population would not withstand an enemy invasion. Further, a larger workforce was needed to develop the postwar economy. European people, many displaced by the war and the spread ...

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Carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases

Have you heard of greenhouse gases? What do you think they are? (The word 'greenhouse' is a big clue!) The delicate balance of greenhouse gases has been affected by the addition of an unprecedented amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) to our atmosphere in the last 150 years. Watch this video to find out how CO2 is being added ...

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GTK: Germaine Greer on rock culture, 1971

Does music have the power to change the world? From the 1950s rock 'n' roll to later popular music of the 60s and 70s, music encouraged teenagers to rebel against the ideas and beliefs of earlier generations and, in some instances, to change society for the better. In this clip, explore some of these changes from the perspective ...

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Objects through timeline: 50,000 years before present

This is a 26-page fact sheet that provides a comprehensive overview of migration to Australia from the first arrival of humans to 2006. It includes details about the major waves of international and internal migration, key events and policies, and individuals and groups that have made significant contributions to the development ...

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Understanding the causes of climate change

Did you know that climate change is not a recent phenomenon? In the past, natural events led to changes in the climate. Although natural events still affect climate, they're not enough to explain the big changes we've been seeing in the last 150 years. What changes on earth can account for such dramatic changes to our climate? ...

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Four Corners: Funding conservation charities, 1973

Imagine that, while working for a company responsible for pollution, you were a member of a commission to control pollution. This clip looks at such conflicts of interest between big business and conservation. The reporter explores the issue of whether an anti-pollution commission can be truly independent if people holding ...

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Catalyst: How will fire change the climate?

Considering the impact of a changing climate on the severity and frequency of fires is one thing, but how about the impact of fires on climate? Why does Professor David Bowman describe this scenario as a 'fire spiral'? What are the consequences of a world with fewer forests? As Professor Craig Allen explains, drought and ...

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Foreign Correspondent: Dams and dolphins on the Mekong?

If the Lao Government's plans are realised, nine hydropower dams will be built across the Mekong River in Laos, and more across its tributaries. The government wants the country to become the 'battery of Asia'. With this dream comes a host of issues. Listen to reasons why the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) suggests hydro-dam ...

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Four Corners: Surf culture hits Australia in the 1960s

How did surf culture change Australian popular culture? Rock music and the concept of the 'teenager' had arrived in Australia in the 1950s but in the 1960s the surfboard gave rise to a new youth subculture. This clip from 1964 explores conflict in the water and cultural changes that came with the rise of the 'surfie'.

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Catalyst: E-waste, recycling, and sustainability

What happens to electronic waste (e-waste)? Watch this clip about the physics of recycling to find out the way that useful materials are captured from waste at a local materials recovery facility. Presenter Tanya Ha investigates e-waste, the products it comes from, and the sustainability challenges it poses.