Climate Change is NOT Global Warming

By Ryan Pearson

There have been a few things in the public arena in this past week that I feel obliged to make comment on. This is the first of them. Earlier in the week there was a documentary, and subsequent debate on QandA on the ABC titled "I Can Change Your Mind About...Climate". The documentary featured an environmental activist, Anna Rose, and a 'skeptical' politician, Nick Minchin, each trying to convince the other that climate change does or does not exist. While I believe there is overwhelming evidence in one direction (no, not the boy band), neither really succeeded. There are a number of reasons for this, but for this blog I really wanted to focus on what climate change actually means. And to make an attempt to wade through some of the mystery that led to the actual topic barely even being addressed in a documentary about the subject.

The Evolution of Religion: For Children

Common Sydney Octopus (Octopus tetricus). Photo: Ryan Pearson

By Ryan Pearson

I read this dialogue recently and thought it was brilliant. The short run down is that it's a dad explaining various relatively complex chemistry concepts to his three year old daughter. It's brilliant as an entertainment piece, but in reality it does very little for the education of his daughter, and even less for the 'stop her asking me stupid questions' factor that I'm sure pretty much all parents go through. This got me thinking about the science vs religion debate... was religion created purely for the ignorant to quell the never-ending questions of an infant?

The Hunt For Sea Porn...Stoner Style

Estuarine Stonefish (Synanceia horrida). Photo: Ryan Pearson

By Ryan Pearson

Early last year, a few of us were on a dive in the Gold Coast Seaway, and saw something amazing. It was dusk early in the new year, the full moon was approaching, and we were diving on the high tide. The first thing we noticed was an abundance of stonefish - the most venomous fish in the sea - and they were acting strangely...