Because the truth is, although the impact of climate change will be felt by all, the extremes will hit some harder than others. The irony is that the people and communities least responsible for the greenhouse gas emissions will bear the brunt of the impacts. While this is in part due to geography, the overwhelming reason is poverty.

Traditionally, it’s always been a time of excess. For many of us Christmas is inherently about family, presents and, importantly, food. And all of this would not be such a bad thing, if so much of it didn’t go to waste.

Andrew Campbell, director of the Research Institute for the Environment and Livelihoods (RIEL) at Charles Darwin University, writes: Here we go again. The Coalition proposal to dam rivers in northern Australia to create a massive food bowl has been floated before, as have various schemes for harvesting water from what is perceived to be the over-watered [...]

Climate change is already affecting the lives of many of our Pacific Island neighbours. Phil Ireland caught up with Pelenise Alofa from Kiribati to hear a Pacific perspective on how the UN climate negotiations are unfolding in Cancun.

On Tuesday night I had dinner with two ex-Murray River vegetable farmers (conventional) and two owners of an organic grocery store here in Melbourne, but who grew up on the Murray. We were debating the night’s SBS Insight program Organic or Not. It was a fascinating episode, involving lots of conventional and organic farmers and [...]

With the balance of power firmly in the lands of three country Independents, regional issues are back on the national agenda. “The people of rural Australia have put some of us here. They expect a return for having done that. As far as I’m concerned, they will get a return,” said Queensland independent Bob Katter at Wednesday’s National Press Club address. But will organic farming — traditionally seen a alternative movement and now gaining a more mainstream presence — benefit from the rural attention or suffer in favour of conventional farming practises?

Our current Australian anti-farmer policies coupled with a population that grows by 1 person net each 1.3 seconds will lead us to a point within 40 years where we will be a net importer of food. As the world population grows by another 2.3 billion people, food in Australia will indeed become a scarce resource. [...]