COP15, an important United Nations meeting of nearly 200 countries, is being held in Montreal, Canada. The goal of the meeting is to agree on how to best protect all the different kinds of living things on our planet - Earth's "biodiversity".
Published in “Australasia”
Last Friday, Britain’s Prince William announced the winners of this year's Earthshot Prize. The prize is meant to encourage new ideas and rapid action to help protect the planet. Each prize-winner won $1.2 million for their efforts.
Around the world, workers are striking. The main cause is that prices have gone up sharply, while workers' pay has not. Many striking workers have extremely important jobs, and some governments have blocked them from striking.
On November 15, the United Nations reported that the number of people on Earth had grown to eight billion. That came just 11 years after the world reached seven billion people. The world faces challenges ahead as the population continues to grow.
US President Joe Biden and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese have both met with Chinese President Xi Jinping. These were the first in-person meetings the leaders have held in a long time, and represent an effort to improve relations between the countries.
Southeast Australia has been struggling as it faces its third year of flooding in a row. Thousands of homes have been flooded or cut off by flood waters. Because the ground is already soaked, and more rain is on the way, more flooding is expected.
Researchers in Australia have shown that human nerve cells in a dish can form a "brain" that can learn to play a simple video game. The research could help scientists understand the brain better. It could also lead to new kinds of computers.
A recent report by the World Wildlife Fund and the Zoological Society of London shows that, on average, wildlife numbers have dropped sharply since 1970. The main cause of the drop is human activity. The report is alarming, but there are some signs of hope.
Scientists report that people in Sydney, Australia are in a battle with cockatoos. The birds have learned to open the lids on trash bins, and people are figuring out new ways to keep the lids closed. But the clever birds are quickly discovering new tricks.
In today's news roundup, England's Queen Elizabeth II passes away at age 96, voters in Chile reject a new constitution, and four challenging codes included on a new Australian coin were cracked by a 14-year-old boy in about an hour.
Scientists have discovered what they believe is the world's largest plant, an underwater field of sea grass that stretches for 112 miles (180 kilometers) off the west coast of Australia. The sea grass plant is believed to be around 4,500 years old.