In this issue

	ECOS Issue 193

Features

Reconnecting landscape: it’s not just about planting trees How do we know when revegetation programs are successful? More specifically, when the aim is not just to regenerate tree species but to reconnect fragmented landscapes and bring back wildlife, how do we know what success looks like?

Home computers to help reveal what's driving record rain and heat in our region The Weather@home project, just launched in Australia and New Zealand, is the latest stage of what has been dubbed ‘the world’s largest climate modelling experiment’, started in the UK a decade ago.

Flexible electronics to boot up new solar manufacturing industry? Australia's manufacturing industry could be given a welcome boost if it takes advantage of some of the latest research here and overseas to create ultra thin and flexible electronic devices, including solar cell films that could be integrated with windows and roofs.

Too busy to grieve Extinction may sound like something that happened to Australian animals a long time ago, but the truth is, it's still happening. And it seems all of us, including biologists, are too busy to grieve the alarming rate of species loss.

Keeping drug-resistant superbugs off the table It's little wonder that Professor Lindsay Grayson has become a fierce advocate for legislative change to stop antibiotic-resistant superbugs from making their way into our food supply.

The evidence shows sea levels are rising: let’s not be caught out Today much of the world's population lives near the coast. At the same time, scientific evidence shows sea levels are rising. What will this mean for the world in the 21st century and beyond? What choices do we have?

Turtle tagging to help assess Gladstone dredging risks
Australian industry, environmentalists and fishing interests have been at loggerheads over the dredging of Gladstone Harbour. On the one hand, Gladstone and the state of Queensland seek economic prosperity from growing investment in regional resources extraction, processing and shipping. On the other, the World Heritage-listed Great Barrier Reef lies at Gladstone Port’s doorstep.

Victoria Marles: How law can work for nature
For a week or so around International Women’s Day, women’s achievements take centre stage. Last week, ECOS interviewed Dr Helen Cleugh, a key contributor to the recent State of the Climate report. This week, we chat with Victoria Marles, lawyer and CEO of the Victoria-based Trust for Nature. The Trust, one of Australia’s oldest private conservation organisations, works with private landholders to protect biodiversity through conservation ‘covenants’ and other mechanisms.

Helen Cleugh: Making a statement about climate
While Australia's latest ‘State of the Climate' report paints a gloomy picture of increased warming, rising greenhouse gas concentrations and more extreme weather, Dr Helen Cleugh – Deputy Chief Research (Climate and Atmosphere) of CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research – says climate science is a rewarding profession to be in because it can make a difference.

Safer water: helping a neighbour in need In India, increased demand for limited water resources from a growing population – along with pollution from urban and industrial development – are reducing water quantity and quality. While the problem is not new, India's capacity to respond continues to be limited.