How Echidnas Outsmart Deadly Heat - Lethal Heating Editor BDA

Scientists have found how echidnas survive heat
once believed lethal to the species

Key Points

Curtin University research found echidnas cool their blood by blowing bubbles of mucus over their beak tip.[2] Wild echidnas kept body temperatures below 30 degrees Celsius while ground temperatures reached 47 degrees Celsius.[1] A 2016 study confirmed echidnas survive bushfires through torpor, entering an energy saving state to endure the danger.[6] Population monitoring for most Australian echidnas remains absent, leaving climate resilience largely unmeasured.[7]

Short-beaked echidnas roam across Australia in conditions once considered impossible for their survival. 

Early laboratory research suggested temperatures beyond 35 degrees Celsius should kill these ancient monotremes. 

Yet echidnas persist through summers where ground temperatures climb past 47 degrees Celsius.^[1]

Curtin University researchers have now explained this apparent contradiction using thermal imaging technology. 

Wild echidnas were filmed blowing bubbles of mucus that burst and wet their beak tips. As the moisture evaporates, it draws heat from blood vessels, cooling the animal from the nose down.^[2]

Biological and Physiological Mechanisms

An echidna's beak contains a large blood sinus, a reservoir where blood pools close to the surface. This vascular structure gives the mucus bubble mechanism its cooling power. Once the bubble bursts, evaporating moisture pulls heat directly from that blood supply.^[3]

Monotremes such as echidnas cannot sweat, pant or lick themselves to shed heat. These common mammalian cooling strategies are absent from their evolutionary toolkit entirely. Researchers say this absence made the mucus bubble discovery especially significant.^[4]

Evaporative cooling works because turning liquid into vapour requires energy drawn from surrounding heat. When bubble moisture evaporates from the beak tip, it extracts thermal energy from nearby tissue. That process lowers the temperature of blood circulating through the vascular sinus.^[2]

Thermal imaging showed echidnas begin blowing bubbles once their body temperature rises alongside rising ambient heat. Dr Christine Cooper, the study's lead author, described the response as automatic under thermal stress. The behaviour intensifies as environmental temperatures continue climbing toward dangerous extremes.^[4]

Behavioural Adaptations to Heat

Echidnas complement bubble blowing by pressing their spineless bellies against cool, moist ground. Spines cover most of an echidna's body and function as flexible insulation. Bare skin on the underside and legs works as an additional thermal window.^[5]

During extreme heat, echidnas retreat into burrows, hollow logs and spaces beneath buildings. Some individuals seek out birdbaths, rivers, and beaches for direct cooling. These shelters buffer animals from radiant heat during the hottest parts of the day.^[4]

Foraging activity shifts substantially once temperatures spike beyond comfortable thresholds. Echidnas that forage by day switch toward dawn, dusk and overnight activity instead. This nocturnal shift reduces heat exposure while animals continue searching for ants and termites.^[4]

Keeping the nose moist also supports electroreception, the sense echidnas use to detect buried prey. Moist nasal receptors detect faint electrical signals from insect muscle contractions underground. Bubble blowing therefore serves cooling and feeding functions simultaneously, a dual-purpose adaptation.^[3]

Scientific Discovery and Research Methods

Curtin scientists used non-invasive infrared thermography cameras to carefully study echidnas without disturbing natural behaviour. This non-contact technology captured surface temperature patterns across the animals' bodies. Researchers filmed wild short-beaked echidnas in bushland roughly 170 kilometres southwest of Perth.^[2]

The team recorded 124 wild echidnas at least monthly across a full year of fieldwork. Surrounding air and ground temperatures were logged alongside each animal's thermal profile. Beak tips consistently registered as the coolest surface, while ears ran hottest.^[1]

Scientists previously assumed 35 degree heat was lethal based on controlled laboratory experiments. Those early studies lacked field observation of echidnas coping with real environmental extremes. Wild populations clearly exceeded laboratory predicted limits across multiple Australian regions and seasons.^[3]

Studying wild echidnas presents persistent challenges because the animals are cryptic and solitary. Their nocturnal habits during heatwaves make daytime observation increasingly difficult for field researchers. Thermal cameras offered a practical solution, capturing physiological data without handling stressed animals.^[2]

Climate Change and Survival Thresholds

Research into a 2015 prescribed burn found echidnas tolerate shelter temperatures between 35 and 40 degrees Celsius. That tolerance holds for periods of roughly ten hours before physiological strain increases. Beyond that threshold, researchers warn the cooling mechanism faces genuine failure risk.^[6]

Consecutive heatwave days compound physiological stress far beyond single hot afternoons. Echidnas rely on overnight cooling to recover from daytime heat exposure. Extended heatwaves without cooler nights erode this recovery window and heighten mortality risk.^[6]

Low humidity generally accelerates evaporation, making bubble cooling more efficient during dry heat events. However, dry conditions also increase moisture loss, forcing echidnas to blow bubbles more frequently. This trade-off links cooling efficiency directly to hydration availability across the landscape.^[6]

Longer, more frequent heatwaves under climate change could still strain echidna resilience over time. Population monitoring across most Australian states remains limited, according to conservation researchers tracking the species. Without baseline data, authorities cannot properly measure how populations respond to intensifying heat.^[7]

Interconnected Threats and Fire Survival

Entering torpor allows echidnas to survive bushfires by sheltering underground or within hollow logs. Body temperature drops substantially during torpor, reducing metabolic demand while flames pass overhead. Researchers studying a Western Australian prescribed burn found nearly every tracked echidna survived.^[6]

Despite surviving direct flames, echidnas face serious starvation risk once fire passes through their territory. Burnt landscapes offer little food, forcing animals to extend torpor for weeks afterward. Researchers recorded reduced activity and lowered body temperature lasting up to three weeks post-fire.^[6]

Underground shelters moderate the extreme heat generated by fast moving bushfires above the surface. Soil provides insulation, keeping burrow temperatures within the tolerable 35 to 40 degree range. One tracked echidna died after sheltering in a log that later caught fire.^[6]

Heatwaves and bushfires increasingly overlap under a warming climate, compounding pressure on echidna populations nationally. Citizen science projects have emerged partly because formal government monitoring remains patchy across most regions. Closing this data gap is essential for assessing long term species resilience.^[8]

Echidnas demonstrate remarkable physiological ingenuity, surviving conditions once assumed fatal for the species. Bubble blowing, sheltering, torpor and nocturnal foraging together form a layered defence against Australian heat extremes. This investigation shows science overturning decades of flawed laboratory assumptions about a resilient native mammal.

These adaptations still carry limits worth serious attention from policymakers and land managers alike. Compounding heatwaves and bushfires under climate change threaten to overwhelm even well evolved survival strategies across the continent.

Investment in consistent, nationwide population monitoring remains scarce outside a handful of well studied regions. Without accountable, sustained research funding, Australia risks losing insight into a species now facing an increasingly uncertain climate future.

References 

1. Echidnas Blow Bubbles of Snot to Stay Cool in The Australian Outback Reports Curtin University thermal imaging findings on wild echidna body temperatures against extreme ground heat.

2. Study finds blowing bubbles among echidna's tricks to beat the heat Curtin University media release detailing Dr Christine Cooper's Biology Letters research on echidna thermal windows.

3. Prickly echidnas stay cool by blowing snot bubbles Explains the beak's blood sinus anatomy and the dual cooling and electroreception function of moist nasal tissue.

4. Echidnas blow snot bubbles to cool down Covers monotreme physiology, shelter seeking behaviour and expert commentary from Australian echidna researchers.

5. Echidnas blow snot bubbles to stay cool Details how echidna spines insulate the body while spineless areas function as heat exchange windows.

6. Cool echidnas survive the fire Peer-reviewed study documenting echidna torpor, burrow temperature tolerance and post-fire recovery after a prescribed burn.

7. EchidnaCSI: Engaging the public in research and conservation of the short-beaked echidna Outlines Australia-wide gaps in formal echidna population monitoring and the citizen science response.

8. Echidna Conservation Research Australia Research group documenting the absence of baseline population data across most Australian states and territories.

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Inside Australia's Quiet Network of Climate Change Denial - Lethal Heating Editor BDA

Australia harbours an organised network
that publicly rejects mainstream climate science

Key Points

A tightly networked group of politicians, commentators and organisations sustains climate scepticism across Australian media.[1] Sky News Australia and former talkback broadcaster Alan Jones have amplified sceptical narratives for decades.[3] Parliament repealed Australia's carbon tax in 2014 after years of fierce political debate.[5] Psychologists warn that perceived consensus strongly shapes public acceptance of climate science.[9]

Across Sydney broadcast studios and Canberra's parliamentary corridors, a familiar cast keeps climate scepticism alive.

Politicians, television commentators, think tanks and advocacy groups work together in loose, informal coordination.

Their combined influence stretches from talkback radio deep into federal policy debates and beyond.

A new analysis of Australian media and politics maps this network across platforms and decades in unusual detail.

It identifies a recurring set of actors who dominate discussion wherever climate scepticism surfaces online or on air.

The findings raise fresh questions about accountability, transparency, and the durability of public trust in institutions. 

A Small Circle With Outsized Reach 
Researchers describe a relatively compact group of politicians, commentators, and organisations driving most public denial. They share talking points across platforms and frequently recycle each other's material within hours. Social network mapping shows these figures consistently dominate discussion on the platforms that matter most ^[1].

Sky News Australia and The Guardian both loom unusually large within that data, though for very different reasons. One outlet amplifies scepticism to a loyal and engaged audience, while the other documents and challenges it directly. Both nonetheless attract enormous, loyal followings on YouTube and a range of other video platforms ^[1].

Analysts increasingly describe the overall pattern as a coordinated denial machine, a term describing mutually reinforcing actors who manufacture doubt. The label borrows from earlier academic studies of organised climate scepticism first observed overseas years ago. It has since been carefully adapted to fit Australia's particular media and political landscape ^[1].

What distinguishes the Australian case is the unusually tight overlap between media, politics and industry interests. Figures who question climate science often move fluidly between these three overlapping worlds throughout their careers. That mobility helps their messaging travel further and land harder than isolated commentary ^[2]. 

The Media Machine 
Opinion segments on News Corp platforms routinely privilege sceptical voices over mainstream scientific consensus. Commentators there have built loyal, engaged audiences spanning television, radio and social media. Sky News Australia in particular sits at the centre of this broader ecosystem ^[2].

Talkback radio has played a strikingly similar role in Australian public life for decades. Former Sydney broadcaster Alan Jones became a lightning rod for these long-running debates over the years. His commentary shaped public opinion well beyond the reach of his immediate radio audience ^[3][2].

Regulators have occasionally intervened when broadcast coverage crossed into outright misinformation territory. The Australian Communications and Media Authority, the national regulator, found Sky News breached standards over its reef coverage. The finding exposed persistent tension between commercial ratings pressure and factual accuracy ^[1].

Whether such recommendations translate into lasting, enforceable policy remains an open question. A parliamentary inquiry nonetheless urged tougher action against the spread of climate misinformation online. It called for greater platform accountability alongside sustained funding for independent regional media ^[4]. 

Politics on the Fault Line 
Climate scepticism has quietly shaped Australian federal politics for well over a decade. That contentious debate culminated in Parliament voting to repeal the country's short-lived carbon tax. The decision followed years of fierce, deeply personal political argument in 2014 ^[5][6].

The carbon tax's tortuous legislative history illustrates how climate policy can become hostage to ideology. Successive governments of both political persuasions struggled to hold consistent, durable positions on emissions reduction. Sceptical backbenchers on both sides of politics frequently exploited that underlying instability for short-term advantage.

Regional and minor parties have often amplified public doubts about the economic cost of climate action. Katter's Australian Party (KAP) has been especially vocal in challenging mainstream scientific consensus. Nationals figures within the Coalition have echoed similar arguments inside Party rooms ^[7]. 

 

Nationals leader Matt Canavan memorably dismissed one parliamentary climate policy inquiry as fundamentally biased. His public dissent reflected a broader current of scepticism running through conservative political ranks. Hansard, the official transcript of parliamentary proceedings, preserves these exchanges as part of the formal record ^[7]. 

Think Tanks, Blogs and the Digital Front 
Think tanks such as the Global Warming Policy Forum help coordinate sceptical messaging internationally. Its rebranded arm, Net Zero Watch, pushes remarkably similar arguments toward new audiences. Beyond parliament and prime-time television, this quieter infrastructure sustains climate doubt online daily ^[2].

Independent blogs extend that reach into niche but devoted online communities. Sites including Watts Up With That and JoNova repackage sceptical content daily. Their posts frequently resurface on more mainstream platforms within hours of publication ^[2].

Social media analysis shows a number of accounts driving most engagement. These accounts consistently link back to the same small handful of external sources. That concentration limits the diversity of information reaching ordinary social media users ^[1].

One government coral health report became a case study in this recurring dynamic. Sceptical commentators quickly reframed its technical findings to deliberately downplay the extent of reported reef damage. The episode showed how easily complex scientific data can be repurposed for political ends online ^[1].
 

Pushback From Science and Society 
Scientists and civil society groups have continued speaking out throughout this long-running debate. Many have turned toward public deliberation rather than direct confrontation. One documented case study traces a sceptical politician changing his mind after sustained dialogue ^[8].

Researchers cite the episode as evidence that entrenched minds can still change. The shift followed a televised panel discussion involving scientists and concerned citizens. Conversations continued afterwards, spilling across social media and local community forums ^[8].

Psychologists warn that perceived scientific consensus strongly shapes public acceptance of climate science. Clear, carefully calibrated messaging can gradually reduce the entrenchment of denial. Poorly designed debunking efforts can sometimes harden existing scepticism further ^[9].

Australia's often fractious domestic debates unfold against a much larger global backdrop. The Paris Agreement reshaped global expectations around climate finance and accountability. It pushed national governments to better balance funding between adaptation and mitigation efforts ^[10].

Australia's climate denial network operates openly across public life rather than covertly behind closed doors. It spans federal parliament, mainstream broadcast media and fast-growing social platforms alike. Its true influence, though, remains frequently underestimated by casual observers and policymakers alike.

The network functions less like a formal conspiracy than a self-sustaining media ecosystem. Its many actors reinforce each other constantly without needing centralised coordination. That looseness makes the wider system unusually resilient to individual political setbacks.

Regulatory rulings and parliamentary inquiries offer only partial checks on this entrenched behaviour. Stronger enforcement and sustained transparency remain essential for lasting public accountability. Australia's climate debate will stay unresolved until governance genuinely matches scientific consensus.

References
1. A case study of the Great Barrier Reef's 2021 'in danger' listing bid This peer-reviewed case study maps the social network of Australian climate-sceptic actors and outlets.

2. The Structure and Culture of Climate Change Denial This sociological analysis describes the coordinated structure behind organised climate scepticism.

3. Alan Jones DeSmog profiles the Sydney broadcaster's long record of climate-sceptic commentary.

4. Australia has to fight back against misinformation about climate change This report covers a parliamentary inquiry recommendation on climate misinformation.

5. Australia votes to repeal carbon tax This report covers the 2014 parliamentary vote repealing Australia's carbon tax.

6. Carbon tax: a timeline of its tortuous history in Australia This timeline traces the political history of Australia's carbon tax debate.

7. Hansard AustralianPolitics.com hosts the official transcript of federal parliamentary debate.

8. How a climate change sceptic politician changed their mind This journal article documents a sceptical politician's shift after public deliberation.

9. The psychology of climate change denial The Australian Psychological Society explains how perceived consensus shapes public acceptance.

10. The Paris Agreement: Turning Point for a Climate Solution The World Resources Institute outlines the Paris Agreement's finance and accountability provisions.

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A nature-based food revolution - Julian Cribb

Surviving the 21st Century - Julian Cribb

AUTHOR Julian Cribb AM ATSE is an Australian science writer and author of seven books on the human existential emergency.  He is Co-founder, Council for the Human Future.  Julian Cribb's latest book is How to Fix a Broken Planet (Cambridge University Press, 2023)

Forget AI. The technological advance that will save the most human lives is being led by two million Indian farmers, who are pioneering advanced natural food production in a revolutionary movement that is spreading almost by the hour.

An overfed but badly-nourished, global society has largely forgotten what it means to go hungry. 

So long as supermarket shelves are a-bulge with empty industrial calories laced with petrochemicals, people tend to forget that no human or community can last long without good food.  

A super-El Nino bearing down on the world’s agriculture threatens to reinforce the lesson.

The global food crisis has been building steadily for two decades. It is driven by massive uncontrolled soil loss, growing water scarcity, failing farm ecosystems, overuse of poisons, declining nutritional value of food and a climate running rapidly beyond the realm of technical solution.

In India, where climate-driven famines have occurred frequently over thousands of years, the hard-learned lesson that food comes first has not been lost. 

A farmers group called Andhra Pradesh Community Managed Natural Farming (APCNF) has received the world’s largest environmental award, the Food Planet Prize 2026, for developing and sharing a new model of science-backed agroecology aimed at securing both food production and the environment that supports it.

Driven primarily by women’s groups, the Andra Pradesh farming revolution began with just 11 farms in 2018. Thanks to 10,000 eager volunteer trainers it has been taken up by over 1.8 million small farms in 21 Indian States in under a decade.

The AP model has already been shared with farmers in Zambia, Indonesia and Sri Lanka, with Brazil, Mexico, Nigeria and the DRCongo due to follow shortly. The plan is to extend it worldwide by the mid 2030s.

Unlike a good many ‘natural farming’ movements, the Andra Pradesh model is science-driven, fusing state-of-the-art soil and plant science and microbiology with traditional methods and widely-accepted principles of natural farming.

In essence, the AP approach gets soil microbes to do the heavy lifting. These are used to restore lost fertility, build nutrient cycling and boost carbon storage while also improving the aeration and water penetration of the soils, leading to better, more nutritious and drought-resistant crops in harsh climate times. They eliminate the need for toxic chemicals and reduce the need for industrial fertiliser.

While it has strong support from India’s State and Federal Governments the lynchpin of the project’s success are hundreds of women’s self-help groups, who ensure local ownership by participating communities. At local level the program seeks to engage 10-15 per cent of village farms in the first year and reach over 80% by years 3-5.

At its heart, the AP model uses year-round cover crops to protect the soil, promote microbial activity, prevent weeds, end chemical use, rebuild soil fertility and structure, and conserve more moisture to ‘droughtproof’ farms. More than 30 different crops are grown, from grains and legumes to leafy vegetables, cover crops and soil improvers. 

The technique has been refined for farming at every scale from kitchen garden and smallholdings up to tenant farms and commercial operations. Above all, it is designed to deliver a viable livelihood to poor farmers with only a few hundred square metres of arable land, who can start earning income within 15 days. In practice, farm incomes were found to improve by between 19-36% in the first year.

While it might look like a case of ‘high science/low technology’ the AP method does not shun recent technical innovations such as the use of drones for farm planning and seeding. It uses sophisticated innoculants to re-establish complex soil biology in dying soils. 

Also, unlike most modern farming methods, the AP approach focuses strongly on the nutritional value of the crops being grown, especially for the families growing them. In other words, it sees farming as being about healthy food – not as the neglected limb of an uncaring industrial machine focussed purely on money.

This represents an important departure from traditional western agro-industry, with its focus on bulk commodities of declining nutritional value, health and safety – one from which more and more western farmers, shackled to corporate food, increasingly wish to break free.

The US$1.5 million Curt Bergfors Food Planet Prize will go towards opening up more demonstration sites worldwide for the AP natural farming model, adapting it to local conditions and farmer needs, to building new scientific partnerships, establishing a natural farming leadership course and training a cadre of “farmer-scientists” able to measure the results they achieve scientifically.

The salient aspect of the Andra Pradesh project is that it is not alone. Worldwide the regenerative farming and food movement is mushrooming as farmers abandon the toxic, mechanical systems of yesterday. Worth an estimated $17 billion in 2026, ‘regen; is forecast to reach $50bn by the early 2030s, due to rising farmer and consumer demand.

Whether such a scale-up can feed a hungry planet of 9 billion people, beset by climate crisis, resource loss and mass extinction remains doubtful – unless at the same time there is success in voluntarily lowering the human populationcloser to what the Earth can actually carry long-term. The fact that women are leading both global movements – family planning and regenerative food – gives grounds for sober hope that a collapse in human society can be defrayed, and that female intelligence will prevail over male hubris.

While the masculine techno boosters hail developments such as Artificial Intelligence, robotics and biotech as the next big frontiers in technology, regenerative and renewable food are arguably far more significant to the human destiny – and to the fate of every individual living on Earth.

After all, nobody can eat AI, robots or corporate dollars. Nor can those alone protect and restore a habitable planet for our grandchildren.

Julian Cribb Articles

• When the Earth's well runs dry...
• The Coming Famine
• The greatest threat to global security
• Turning Waste Into Wealth
• Up to our eyeballs in 💩💩💩
• Plasticide: a crime against humanity Our Rising Oceans
• Will climate change put women in the ascendant?
• When the water runs out...
• The great dying
• Australia issues ‘terrifying’ climate warning
• 'Died of a delusion': the fate of modern civilisation?
• Collapse is near, scientists warn
• De-icing the Earth: a fatal human choice. 
• Rivers of Death
• Unlike politicians, thermometers do not lie
• Welcome to BunkerWorld: Home of the rich and fearful
• Wisdom of the elders
• The black work of Big Oil
• Stealing the Breath of Life
• The Earth Uncloaked - a catastrophe in slow motion 
  
• Military experts warn of climate wars
• Tackling the Earth Emergency
• A distracted world marches steadily towards catastrophe

Coal and gas giants spending tens of millions on programs in schools and children's sport - ABC

ABC — Senior Political Correspondent Jake Evans

A report has identified more than 260 mining-backed programs in children's settings, saying taken together it shows a network of influence on young people. (Glencore/Comms Declare)

In Short

A new report has identified a network of more than 260 coal, oil and gas-sponsored programs in childhood settings. Comms Declare says it paints a picture of an "extensive industry presence" in schools and children's sport, including direct teaching by mining companies and partners in some instances. Greens and independent senators say questions over whether more transparency and guardrails for industry-sponsored education should be examined through a senate inquiry.

Coal, oil and gas companies are spending tens of millions of dollars on programs in childhood settings, with a new report revealing the scale of investments by the resources industry to lift its brand and influence.
A network of more than 260 teaching programs, children's sport club sponsorships, partnerships with educational institutions and more has been funded by Santos, Shell, Chevron, BHP and other mining companies, climate advocacy group Comms Declare has identified.
Researchers found more than $50 million had been spent by mining companies in just six of those programs, suggesting far more is being spent by the industry across school and youth institutions.
While some are branding deals, such as Woodside Nippers in WA, others are years-long partnerships, like Queensland Museum's climate education program supported by Shell QGC, multi-day camps or mining site tours, or teaching training courses.
Many of those programs have helped to drive jobs for young people, particularly in regional areas, and prop up community organisations struggling for funding. Governments also expect the highly profitable sector to reinvest in the communities that it operates.
But the report says there are no dedicated oversight mechanisms for industry partnerships in childhood settings, few disclosure requirements for sponsorship arrangements involving schools and in some cases, little governance over how industries engage with children under those partnerships.
"A child may recognise that a television commercial is trying to sell them something. They are far less likely to view information provided by a teacher, museum educator, sporting coach or educational institution through the same lens," researchers said.
"Viewed individually, many of these programs may appear limited in scope. Viewed collectively, they reveal an extensive industry presence across the environments in which children learn, play and grow."

Comms Declare identified a number of partnerships between industry and schools, many of which are state-supported. (Comms Declare)

Lesson plans provided by mining industry

The report also raises questions over the quality of education available through some of the teaching resources offered to classrooms.
"Some educational programs and materials reviewed for this report presented climate impacts while giving limited attention to the role of fossil fuel production in driving those impacts," researchers said.
"In several cases, climate change was framed primarily through adaptation, technological responses or individual behaviour."
Comms Declare pointed to Woodside-supported teaching materials as one example.
The researchers cite a Woodside Australian Science Project (WASP) resource that says "while we often think that greenhouse gas emissions are only from industrial activities, we all contribute to the global carbon footprint", which then guides children "at length" to consider their contribution to global warming by how they get to school, without mentioning that CO2 emissions are primarily driven by the use of coal, oil and gas.
A 2021 corporate report by Woodside said its WASP project had reached 12,300 children "in-classroom" and provided professional development to thousands of teachers, and said of the early-career educators it had engaged, "100 per cent of pre-service teachers intend to use WASP resources in their classroom".
Woodside told the ABC it did not provide content for the education programs it helps to fund, and the specific content was a matter for the funding recipients that delivered those programs.

Comms Declare says many of the programs it identified provided valuable services to in-need communities. (Santos/Comms Declare)

In Queensland, a program called Oresome Resources, supported by the Queensland Resources Council, offers to "take the pressure off lesson planning" with material provided through its education arm, the Queensland Minerals and Energy Academy.
The council says Oresome Resources recorded more than 43,500 users this financial year, and all its workshops align with the Australian curriculum and are developed by educators with a science education background, and that the site's lessons are regularly reviewed and updated.
Some of the materials, however, appear not to have been updated since 2010.
The site acknowledges some materials provide a "point of view of the minerals and energy sector", such as a PowerPoint presentation on the advantages and disadvantages of different energy sources that describes solar power as "not reliable" because it is not always sunny and the "cost of power is high", while saying one advantage of solar is its "limited CO2 emissions".
Coal, the presentation says, provides "income from exports" and is a "source of cheap, reliable electricity", while noting it emits air pollutants such as carbon dioxide and uses large amounts of water.

An infographic on wind turbines, which emphasises that renewables production depends on coal, produced by the Queensland Resources Council and provided to students through Oresome Resources. (Oresome Resources)

Queensland Resources Council chief executive Janette Hewson said the minerals and energy academy was a partnership between the state government and industry that was highly regarded, and funded by successive governments over its 20-year history.
The academy says students at schools it has partnered with are three times more likely to pursue an apprenticeship in mining, and also more likely to pursue study in engineering or related fields at university.
A previous report by Comms Declare in 2025 identified a Queensland Museum program supported by Shell QGC that encouraged students to design their own carbon capture and storage technology, which was removed for review following that report.

Demand for senate inquiry

Greens early childhood spokesperson Steph Hodgins-May said resources companies were spending money in order to exert influence.
"I can't imagine if my son came home from school, or my daughter said they had been dressed up in a Santos T-shirt and were learning about oil from a corporation who, you know, makes billions of dollars off Australia's resources, pays very little tax and is frankly in there to build their social licence," Senator Hodgins-May said.
"Profits are their bottom line. If they are spending money on a program, they need to be able to demonstrate to their shareholders that there is a return on that — and I don't blame the corporations, they are going to do what they can do to make money, but I blame the government.
"I find it extraordinary that there has been no oversight over this for so long; we think it urgently demands a Senate inquiry."

Steph Hodgins-May will advocate for the issue to be referred to a senate inquiry. (ABC News: Matt Roberts)

Comms Declare said many of the sponsorship arrangements it reviewed provided genuine and valuable services within under-resourced communities.
But the researchers said the partnerships raised broader questions about whether existing transparency and accountability mechanisms were sufficient.
A 2020 review of school banking programs by the Australian Securities and Investment Commission, prompted by revelations that Commonwealth Bank staff had fraudulently activated children's Dollarmites accounts to meet sales targets, found young children were "vulnerable consumers" being exposed to sophisticated marketing tactics.
Its rulings resulted in some banking programs being removed from schools.
Independent senator David Pocock said vested interests should not be trusted to provide education without oversight.
"These are companies that have a track record of trying to shape the public understanding of climate change, of trying to shape the public debate around climate change," Senator Pocock said.
"We don't allow tobacco companies to go into schools and teach about respiratory health, or whatever it might be. This is something we have got to be looking at.

David Pocock says companies with vested interests should not be teaching their own material. (ABC News: Adam Kennedy)

"They engage in children's education and all these programs to try and shape what young people are learning and understand about the gas industry and fossil fuels in Australia."
The senator added that schools should be properly funded to provide education themselves, rather than having to rely on industry to step in.

How Climate Change Is Pushing Australia's Trees Past the Point of Survival - Lethal Heating Editor BDA

Climate change is pushing Australia's native trees
toward biological limits across every forest type

Key Points

Drought-stressed eucalypts are losing more than three quarters of their hydraulic capacity before canopy collapse begins.[1] Snow gum treelines advanced only where fire stayed away, with saplings largely absent from burnt alpine ground.[4] Alpine ash forests need two decades to mature, yet repeated mega-fires are burning stands before seed reserves rebuild.[7] Mountain ash carrying capacity is falling by nine per cent for every degree of warming already recorded.[9]

Australia's forests face an accelerating biological crisis as global temperatures climb. 

Eucalypts, alpine ash, snow gums and Gondwanan rainforest relics all show measurable signs of stress. 

Investigators are now tracing these changes to hydraulic failure, altered fire regimes and expanding pathogens.

This investigation examines recent Australian tree research from universities, CSIRO and government agencies. It traces physiological collapse from northern savanna woodlands to Tasmanian wilderness rainforest. 

The evidence points toward structural, ecological and economic consequences still unfolding.

Physiological Stress and Hydraulic Failure

Eucalypt species rely on stomatal closure to survive extreme heat, but this defence carries a cost. Researchers studying the 2019 eastern drought found dieback trees had lost between 78 and 100 per cent of hydraulic conductivity. That scale of xylem embolism marks catastrophic hydraulic failure rather than ordinary water stress.^[1]

Western Australia's jarrah and marri forests showed similarly uneven damage during the record 2023 to 2024 heatwave and drought. University of Western Australia researchers combined satellite imagery with groundwater and soil data across the South West. Trees on shallow, rocky ground with little groundwater access suffered the most severe die-off.^[3]

A second mechanism compounds hydraulic failure across drought-affected forests. Prolonged stomatal closure starves trees of carbon needed for metabolic and defensive functions. Scientists now treat hydraulic failure and this carbon starvation as interdependent drivers of Australian eucalypt mortality.^[2]

Together these findings reframe eucalypt resilience as finite rather than limitless. Species long assumed to tolerate Australian extremes are approaching measurable physiological ceilings. Forest managers now face pressure to identify which stands are closest to that threshold.

Ecosystem Shifts and Range Contraction

Snow gum treelines in the Victorian Alps were tracked across sixteen years at four mountains. Seedling recruitment advanced upslope only in areas that stayed unburnt during that period. After fire swept through, researchers found no saplings establishing above the treeline at all.^[4]

Tasmania's Gondwanan rainforest relics face a parallel contraction driven by drying conditions. Fire scientists describe a steady rise in lightning-ignited bushfires across the island's cool, wet west. These blazes threaten pencil pines and myrtle beech stands that evolved for a climate now retreating.^[5]

Southwest Western Australia has recorded measurable rainfall decline over four decades of climate change. Reduced water availability, combined with rising temperatures and evaporation, is accelerating dieback across the region's eucalypt forests. Consultants increasingly attribute chronic canopy decline directly to this drying trend.^[6]

Northern Australian savannas face a different range pressure from invasive gamba grass. This African species burns up to eight times hotter than native grasses, killing fire-sensitive trees outright. Surviving canopy gaps then invite further grass invasion, turning open woodland into flammable grassland.^[10]

Altered Fire Regimes and Regeneration Failure

Alpine ash regenerates exclusively from seed released by fire, a strategy known as obligate seeding. Young trees need roughly twenty years to reach reproductive maturity and rebuild canopy seed stores. Fires returning faster than that interval can wipe out a stand's entire regeneration capacity.^[7]

The Black Summer fires of 2019 and 2020 struck many alpine ash stands still recovering from earlier blazes. Ecologists warn some regions have now burnt so often that local extinction becomes plausible. Modelling efforts are underway to identify which remaining stands most urgently need protection.^[7]

Montane forest studies link drought conditions directly to more severe wildfire outcomes at high elevation. Obligate seeder species prove particularly vulnerable when short fire intervals prevent a viable canopy seedbank forming. Resprouting species such as snow gum fare comparatively better, though repeated fire still reshapes their structure.^[7]

These regeneration failures represent a structural shift rather than a temporary setback. Forests once defined by predictable fire cycles are entering unfamiliar territory. Land managers increasingly describe some alpine ecosystems as approaching ecological collapse.

Pests, Pathogens and Biotic Threats

Myrtle rust arrived in New South Wales in 2010 and spread rapidly along the eastern seaboard. The fungus now infects Myrtaceae across New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, Tasmania and the Northern Territory. Government scientists consider eradication no longer feasible anywhere in Australia.^[8]

At least fifteen rainforest tree species now face extinction risk in the wild from myrtle rust infection alone. Myrtaceae make up Australia's largest plant family, spanning eucalypts, tea trees and paperbarks. A pathogen this widespread therefore threatens forest structure well beyond any single species.^[8]

Phytophthora dieback remains a longstanding threat across Western Australian jarrah forest and heathland. Drying conditions and reduced soil moisture appear to be reshaping how and where this pathogen spreads. Land managers already treat Phytophthora management as inseparable from broader drought and thinning strategy.^[6]

Underground, warming and aridity are placing new pressure on tree root systems and their fungal partners. Mycorrhizal networks help native trees access water and nutrients through drought and disturbance. Disruption to these partnerships could compound every other stress documented across Australian forests.

Carbon Sequestration and Biomass Dynamics

Mountain ash forests store between 415 and 819 tonnes of carbon per hectare, more than the Amazon. Half a century of Victorian forest data now shows warming is steadily reducing how many trees these stands can support. Each additional degree of warming cuts tree carrying capacity by roughly nine per cent.^[9]

Researchers project a three degree rise by 2080 could shrink mountain ash carrying capacity by 24 per cent. That decline equates to losing roughly 240,000 hectares of mature forest carbon stock. Regeneration failure after severe fire could push losses beyond this estimate.^[9]

These figures carry consequences far beyond forestry accounting or biodiversity reporting alone. Australia's national emissions targets rely partly on forests continuing to sequester carbon reliably. A shrinking carbon sink undermines that assumption at exactly the moment climate policy depends on it most.

Governments have monitored these pressures for years without matching investment in forest resilience programs. Scientists studying jarrah, alpine ash and mountain ash all describe similar structural warnings. The accountability gap between documented risk and funded protection remains stubbornly wide.

Australian trees are recording climate change through physiological damage that scientists can now measure directly. Hydraulic failure, fire-driven regeneration collapse and expanding pathogens are converging across jarrah, alpine ash and mountain ash forests alike.

These are structural shifts rather than isolated events confined to a single drought or fire season. Carbon-dense old-growth forests face mounting risk precisely when their storage capacity matters most for national climate targets.

Accountability now rests with governments and land managers who hold the evidence but have been slow to fund large-scale protection. Australia's forests are signalling distress well ahead of the policies meant to safeguard them.

References 

1. Hydraulic failure and tree size linked with canopy die-back in eucalypt forest during extreme drought . New Phytologist study documenting xylem embolism levels behind 2019 eastern Australian eucalypt canopy dieback.

2. Canopy dieback and recovery in Australian native forests following extreme drought . Scientific Reports research on hydraulic failure and carbon starvation as interdependent drought mortality mechanisms.

3. Study reveals impact of extreme heat and drought on Australia's jarrah forests . University of Western Australia research linking shallow soils and groundwater access to uneven jarrah forest die-off.

4. Alpine treeline ecotone stasis in the face of recent climate change and disturbance by fire . PLOS ONE study tracking snow gum treeline recruitment across sixteen years in the Victorian Alps.

5. Tasmania's forests are burning more as climate change dries them out . The Conversation analysis of rising lightning-ignited fire threatening Tasmania's Gondwanan rainforest refugia.

6. Dieback and Tree Decline . Shire of Mundaring information on rainfall decline, drought and Phytophthora dieback across southwest Western Australia.

7. Can we keep Australia's endangered alpine ash on the map? . The Conversation report on obligate seeder biology and repeated Black Summer fire impacts on alpine ash survival.

8. Myrtle rust (Austropuccinia psidii) . Australian Government Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water overview of myrtle rust spread and species risk.

9. Climate change is driving a silent, sinister change in Australia's mountain ash forests . The Conversation summary of research showing mountain ash carrying capacity and carbon storage declining with warming.

10. Gamba Grass . Weeds Australia profile detailing gamba grass fire intensity and its impact on native tree cover in northern savanna.

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Heat, Ticks and Bushfires: The New Climate Threats Facing Australia's Pets - Lethal Heating Editor BDA

Key Points

NSW data show heat-related illness kills almost a quarter of affected dogs.[1] Paralysis tick habitat is projected to expand south toward Melbourne.[3] RSPCA warns bushfire intensity threatens companion animals each summer.[6] The AVA now treats climate change as an animal welfare emergency.[9]

Rising heat and disasters are reshaping the health of Australia's family pets.
Dogs and cats share Australian homes with families across capital cities, coastal towns and inland regions. 
Their bodies and everyday behaviour are increasingly tested by a warming, more volatile climate. 
Veterinarians, animal charities and university researchers are now documenting the cumulative strain in detail.
This investigation examines five fronts where climate change is reaching directly into the family pet's daily life. 
It covers heat stress, disease spread, disaster displacement, behavioural change and the policy response taking shape. Together they reveal a welfare challenge that is still gathering pace across the country.^[9]

Heat Stress and Physical Health
Heatwaves push the thermoregulation systems of dogs and cats well past safe physiological limits. Unlike humans, dogs rely mainly on panting rather than sweating to release excess body heat. Cats often hide quietly during heat stress, masking distress until illness becomes advanced and harder to treat.
A New South Wales study spanning two decades of veterinary records found 119 confirmed heat-related illness cases in dogs. Almost a quarter of the affected animals died from the condition despite treatment. Large, obese and brachycephalic dogs consistently faced the steepest risk of a fatal outcome.^[1]
Flat-faced breeds such as bulldogs, pugs and French bulldogs struggle hardest to cope with rising temperatures. Their narrow airways restrict airflow, undermining the panting response that dogs depend on for cooling. Demand for these breeds has grown steadily even as Australian heatwave severity continues to increase.^[2]
Repeated, non-fatal episodes of heat exhaustion can leave lasting organ and tissue damage in surviving dogs. Urban pavement absorbs and radiates intense heat, scorching paws during otherwise routine summer exercise routines. Veterinary researchers describe coat thickness, body weight and advanced age as compounding hazards during extreme conditions.^[2]

Vector-Borne Diseases and Parasites
Climate modelling indicates the eastern paralysis tick's geographic range may gradually shift south toward greater Melbourne. Warmer, wetter conditions developing in southern regions could make the habitat newly suitable for the species. The tick already kills a significant number of dogs and cats annually along the eastern seaboard.^[3]
Separate ecological modelling projects the tick's range extending into Tasmania and parts of Western Australia by 2050. Researchers link part of the spread to the transport of infested pets beyond traditionally endemic zones. Coastal population density across the eastern states compounds the overall exposure risk for households.^[4]
Mild Australian winters allow mosquito populations to persist year round across many regions, sustaining heartworm transmission risk. Veterinary clinics now treat parasite prevention as a continuous baseline rather than a seasonal precaution. Missed monthly doses can leave pets dangerously exposed during unexpected warm spells in cooler months.^[5]
Extended flea seasons aggravate flea allergy dermatitis, a genuinely painful skin condition affecting sensitive pets. Clinics report steady year-round demand for treatments once confined largely to warmer months of the year. Vaccination schedules and broader biosecurity protocols are adapting accordingly across Australian veterinary practice nationwide.^[5]

Extreme Weather and Emergency Displacement
Bushfires have grown more frequent and intense across Australian summers as hot, dry conditions persist longer. The RSPCA identifies companion animals among the most vulnerable creatures during these unpredictable events. Evacuation planning that genuinely accounts for pets remains uneven and inconsistent among Australian households.^[6]
Smoke inhalation from mega-fires affects respiratory health in both indoor and outdoor companion animals alike. Brachycephalic dogs and cats with existing airway conditions face significantly heightened danger during smoke haze events. Owners across affected regions are urged to monitor breathing closely whenever air quality deteriorates sharply.^[6]
Animal shelters face surging demand for emergency boarding during major floods and bushfires alike. Capacity limits force charities to coordinate across state borders for additional relief support and supplies. Clean water access and strict biosecurity become urgent priorities once floodwaters finally begin to subside.^[6]
Research into the 2015 Pinery bushfire in South Australia found strong owner attachment shaped evacuation outcomes for pets. Animals that survived the disaster often showed lasting behavioural change in the months afterward. Researchers argue preparedness planning must treat pets as genuine, core household members rather than afterthoughts.^[8]

Behavioural and Psychological Impacts
Prolonged indoor confinement during extended heatwaves can fuel anxiety and destructive behaviour in high-energy dog breeds. Restricted exercise removes a key outlet for accumulated stress and pent-up physical energy. Owners report increased chewing, pacing and vocalisation across consecutive hot spells lasting several days.
Rising ambient temperatures can also alter social interactions and aggression levels among ordinary domestic cats. Heat discomfort tends to reduce tolerance for handling, play and close physical contact generally. Behaviourists note withdrawal and irritability as common warm-weather patterns observed across many Australian households.
Climate-linked stress reaches well beyond cats and dogs into birds, pocket pets and reptile species too. Feather picking and altered feeding patterns can signal distress in companion birds during heat events. Reptiles depend heavily on stable thermal gradients that increasingly extreme weather patterns can seriously disrupt.
Emergency planning research shows owner stress during disasters often mirrors directly into measurable pet anxiety and fear responses. Emotional attachment to animals strongly shapes household evacuation decisions made during fast-moving bushfire emergencies. Communicators are urged to treat that bond as a genuine preparedness asset rather than an obstacle.^[7]

Veterinary Care and Policy Changes
The Australian Veterinary Association now recognises climate change as a serious threat to national animal health and welfare. The association acknowledges human activity as the primary driver behind this acceleration in risk. It calls on government to respond with coordinated, science-based policy action across jurisdictions.^[9]
Clinics are adapting emergency protocols to manage seasonal surges of heat-damaged animals presenting for urgent treatment. Some practices have pursued carbon-neutral certification while expanding capacity for extreme weather caseloads. Veterinary bodies increasingly frame sustainable practice as a core professional responsibility rather than an optional extra.^[9]
Australia's prudential regulator is modelling how climate-driven losses could affect general insurance affordability nationally through 2050. Rising claims costs and growing reinsurance pressures are already lifting household premiums across the country. Pet insurance providers face similar upward pressure stemming from broader veterinary cost inflation.^[10]
Local councils face growing calls to share practical climate-proofing guidance directly with suburban pet owners. Advice typically spans shade provision, reliable water access and well-stocked emergency evacuation kits for households. Veterinary groups argue these education campaigns are now an essential welfare investment for every council area.^[9]

Heat, Parasites, Disasters, Welfare
Australia's pets face a warming climate on several fronts at once. Heat illness, expanding parasite ranges and disaster displacement now intersect with measurable welfare costs. Veterinary records and ecological modelling confirm the trend is accelerating well beyond early projections.
Behavioural strain compounds the physical burden, often mirroring the stress carried by owners themselves. Shelters, clinics and insurers are adjusting, yet preparation remains inconsistent across households and regions. Governance gaps persist between veterinary advocacy and binding climate policy.
Genuine accountability requires councils, insurers and government to treat pet welfare as core climate planning. Families who build pets into emergency plans improve outcomes for the whole household.

References 
1. Incidence and risk factors of heat-related illness in dogs from New South Wales, Australia (1997-2017) . Australian Veterinary Journal study analysing two decades of confirmed canine heat-related illness cases.
2. Heat stress in domestic dogs: morphological and environmental risk factors for dog welfare in a warming world . Frontiers review of thermoregulation physiology and breed-specific heat vulnerability in dogs.
3. Climatic requirements of the eastern paralysis tick, Ixodes holocyclus, with a consideration of its possible geographic range up to 2090 . ScienceDirect modelling study projecting southward expansion of paralysis tick habitat under climate change.
4. Climatic suitability of the eastern paralysis tick, Ixodes holocyclus, and its likely geographic distribution in the year 2050 . Scientific Reports analysis projecting tick range extension into Tasmania and Western Australia.
5. Hot weather, bugs and parasites . Vetwest Veterinary Clinics guidance on year-round flea, heartworm and tick risk in Australian conditions.
6. Caring for animals in bushfire season . RSPCA Australia advice on bushfire preparedness and risks to companion animals.
7. Does emotional closeness to pets motivate their inclusion in bushfire survival plans? . Australian Journal of Emergency Management research on owner attachment and bushfire preparedness.
8. Attachment, Bushfire Preparedness, Planning, and Response among Animal Guardians: A South Australian Case Study . Peer-reviewed case study of pet owners affected by the 2015 Pinery bushfire.
9. Climate change and animal health, welfare and production . Australian Veterinary Association policy on climate change as an animal welfare priority.
10. Insurance Climate Vulnerability Assessment . APRA modelling of climate-driven impacts on general insurance affordability in Australia to 2050.

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