Two millionth milestone for blog

Science

A blog on climate change and energy options run by one of Australia's leading environmental experts has achieved a major milestone - more than two million page hits.

The blog by Professor Barry Brook from the University of Adelaide - called Brave New Climate - has been running since August 2008. Professor Brook uses the blog to update the public on the latest thinking on climate science and policy, to promote events such as public talks and seminars, and to seek feedback from the community.

By mid-March of this year, Brave New Climate had attracted one million page views and more than 28,000 comments from people engaging in the climate change debate.

Less than a week later, it had attracted another 1.3 million page views and a further 5000 comments, fuelled by his comments on the events at the Fukushima nuclear reactor in the wake of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami.

"I started the blog over two years ago to discuss the problem of climate change," said Professor Brook, who is Director of Climate Science with the Environment Institute at the University of Adelaide.

"It evolved to deal with issues of energy and what the future might bring. Eventually this led me to look seriously at nuclear power as one of the major solutions to addressing climate change.

"The reaction to the discussion about the events at Fukushima - and nuclear energy in general - has been enormous. I wasn't expecting to have so much interest from people all over the world within such a short space of time, but that's a good thing - it means people are interested in the issues and hungry for informed opinion," he said.

As well as tackling key topics such as the use of nuclear power and a proposed carbon tax, Brave New Climate also provides up-to-date information and analysis about the latest developments in science and policy, and it deals with climate change sceptics head on.

"Brave New Climate is a journey, a conversation, and an exploration of a potentially bright and prosperous future. That conversation is bright and lively. It gives the community their say on climate change and energy, and it allows us to help push the agenda forward, to lead Australia and the world to a low-carbon future that will deliver prosperity and also long-term sustainability for the planet," he said.

The University's Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research), Professor Mike Brooks, said Brave New Climate was an outstanding example of researchers engaging with the community.

"Barry Brook is a highly regarded scientist but he's also brilliant at conveying that science and the message behind it to a much wider audience. Being able to succeed on both levels enables Barry to show the relevance of science to our society, and he deserves to be applauded for it," Professor Brooks said.

"This is a reflection of the kind of commitment being made by researchers within the Environment Institute - one of our world-class research institutes - who are genuinely working towards a better future for us all."

Brave New Climate can be found at: http://bravenewclimate.com

Story by David Ellis