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Timothy Fridtjof Flannery (born 28 January 1956) is an Australian mammalogist,
palaeontologist Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of foss ...
,
environmentalist An environmentalist is a person who is concerned with and/or advocates for the protection of the environment. An environmentalist can be considered a supporter of the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that se ...
, conservationist, explorer, author, science communicator, activist and public scientist. He was awarded Australian of the Year in 2007 for his work and advocacy on environmental issues. Flannery grew up in Sandringham, and studied English at
La Trobe University La Trobe University is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Its main campus is located in the suburb of Bundoora. The university was established in 1964, becoming the third university in the state of Victoria a ...
in 1977. He then switched disciplines to pursue paleontology. As a researcher, Flannery had roles at several universities and museums in Australia, specialising in fossil marsupials and mammal evolution. He made notable contributions to the palaeontology of Australia and
New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is the world's second-largest island with an area of . Located in Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the wide Torres ...
during the 1980s, including reviewing the evolution and fossil records of Phalangeridae and Macropodidae. While mammal curator at the Australian Museum, he undertook a survey of the mammals of
Melanesia Melanesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It extends from Indonesia's New Guinea in the west to Fiji in the east, and includes the Arafura Sea. The region includes the four independent countries of Fiji, V ...
, where he identified 17 previously undescribed species including several tree kangaroos. In 1994, Flannery published his first
popular science ''Popular Science'' (also known as ''PopSci'') is an American digital magazine carrying popular science content, which refers to articles for the general reader on science and technology subjects. ''Popular Science'' has won over 58 awards, incl ...
book, '' The Future Eaters,'' on the natural history of Australasia. It became a bestseller and was adapted for television. He has since written more than 27 books on natural history and environmental topics, including ''
Throwim Way Leg ''Throwim Way Leg'' is a 1998 book written by Australian scientist Tim Flannery. It documents Flannery's experiences conducting scientific research in the highlands of Papua New Guinea and Indonesian Western New Guinea. The book describes the flor ...
'' and '' Chasing Kangaroos'', and has appeared on television and in the media. After becoming increasingly concerned about
climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...
, Flannery later became prominent for his role in
communication Communication (from la, communicare, meaning "to share" or "to be in relation with") is usually defined as the transmission of information. The term may also refer to the message communicated through such transmissions or the field of inqui ...
, research and advocacy around the issue, particularly in his native
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...
. He spent five years writing ''
The Weather Makers ''The Weather Makers: The History and Future Impact of Climate Change'' is a 2005 book by Australian scientist Tim Flannery. It discusses climate change, its scientific basis and effects, and potential solutions. The book received critical acc ...
'' (2005) on the topic. In 2011, he was appointed the Chief Commissioner of the Climate Commission, a federal government body providing information on climate change to the Australian public, until its abolition by the Abbott government in 2013. Flannery and other sacked commissioners later formed the independent
Climate Council The Climate Council is Australia's leading climate change communications non-profit organisation formed to provide independent, authoritative information on climate change and its solutions to the Australian public. It advocates reducing greenh ...
, which continues to communicate independent climate science to the Australian public. An environmentalist and conservationist, Flannery is a supporter of climate change mitigation,
renewable energy transition The energy transition is the process of downshifting fossil fuels and re-developing whole systems to operate on low carbon energy sources. More generally, an energy transition is a significant structural change in an energy system regarding ...
, phasing out coal power and rewilding.


Life


Early life

Flannery was raised in a
Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
family along with his two sisters in the
Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...
suburb of Sandringham, close to Port Phillip Bay. He described himself as a "solitary" child, spending time looking for
fossils A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...
and learning to fish and scuba dive. He said he first became aware of marine pollution and its effects on living organisms during this period. He attended Catholic school, and later said that he did not enjoy it and became an
atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...
. He was expelled in year 12 for suggesting a prominent
abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pre ...
activist be invited to speak to counter the anti-abortionist views at the school, but was later allowed to return after an intervention from his father.


Academic career

After failing to achieve the required school marks to study
science Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence ...
, Flannery completed a Bachelor of Arts degree in English at
La Trobe University La Trobe University is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Its main campus is located in the suburb of Bundoora. The university was established in 1964, becoming the third university in the state of Victoria a ...
in 1977. After being impressed by Flannery's knowledge of natural history, palaeontologist
Tom Rich Thomas Rich (born c. 1940), generally known as Tom Rich, is an Australian palaeontologist. He is, as of 2019, Senior Curator of Vertebrate Palaeontology at Museums Victoria. Education and career *He was a student of Professor Ruben Arthur Stirt ...
and his wife encouraged him to pursue the subject, and Flannery went on to complete a Master of Science degree in
Earth Science Earth science or geoscience includes all fields of natural science related to the planet Earth. This is a branch of science dealing with the physical, chemical, and biological complex constitutions and synergistic linkages of Earth's four sphere ...
at
Monash University Monash University () is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Named for prominent World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. The university has ...
in 1981.Dapin, M. (2014)
Tim Flannery: a man for all climates.
The Sydney Morning Herald. Available at: ccessed 13 March 2019
He then left Melbourne for
Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...
, enjoying its subtropical climate and species diversity. In 1984, Flannery earned a
PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * '' Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. al ...
at the
University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW), also known as UNSW Sydney, is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the founding members of Group of Eight, a coalition of Australian research-intensiv ...
in Palaeontology for his work on the evolution and fossils of macropods under palaeontologist Mike Archer. At age 26, he was hired by the mammalogy department of the Australian Museum, and took his first trips to
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...
, the
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capit ...
and elsewhere, later becoming mammal curator at the museum. He took 15 trips in total to
New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is the world's second-largest island with an area of . Located in Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the wide Torres ...
(both
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...
and Irian Jaya) starting in 1981 and into the 1990s, working closely with local tribes to undertake fieldwork, which he later recounted in '' Throwin Way Leg'' (1998). A tapeworm he sent to a parasitologist following one trip was revealed to be a new species, and was later named ''Burtiela flanneryi'' after him. Flannery has held various academic positions throughout his career. He spent many years in
Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
, including a spell as professor at the University of Adelaide, and 7 years as director of the South Australian Museum. He was also principal research scientist at the Australian Museum, during which time he worked to save the bandicoot population on North Head. In 1999 he held the year-long visiting chair of Australian studies at
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...
. In 2007, Flannery became professor in the Climate Risk Concentration of Research Excellence at Macquarie University. He left Macquarie University in mid-2013. Flannery is also a member of the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists, and a Governor of WWF-Australia. He was also for a time director of the
Australian Wildlife Conservancy The Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC) is an Australian independent, nonprofit organisation, working to conserve threatened wildlife and ecosystems in Australia. This is principally achieved through the acquisition of extensive areas of land ...
. He has contributed to over 143 scientific papers. Flannery is a professorial fellow at the Melbourne Sustainable Society Institute,
University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb ...
. Until mid-2013 he was a professor at Macquarie University and held the Panasonic Chair in Environmental Sustainability.Macquarie University (2013).
PanasonicChair
". Retrieved 23 June 2013.


Personal life and family

Flannery rarely discusses his personal life publicly. He met his first wife Paula Kendall while at La Trobe in the 1970s. Flannery and Kendall's house south of Sydney was destroyed in a bushfire in 1994. He has two children with Kendall; the couple separated in 1996. He owns a house with a solar hot water system at Coba Point on the Hawkesbury River, north of Sydney, accessible only by boat; after this living location was revealed by broadcaster Ray Hadley he received threats and was given police protection. His second wife is anthropologist Alexandra Szalay. He has a third child with his partner Kate Holder. He moved to Victoria to be with her in 2014. In addition to writing non-fiction, he has also written unpublished works of fiction. He has described himself as a
non-political Apoliticism is apathy or antipathy towards all political affiliations. A person may be described as apolitical if they are uninterested or uninvolved in politics. Being apolitical can also refer to situations in which people take an unbiased po ...
person, and a humanist, rather than
atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...
.


Scientific contributions


Palaeontology

In 1980, Flannery discovered an Allosaurid
dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...
fossil on the southern coast of Victoria, the first from the family known from Australia. In 1985, he had a role in the ground-breaking discovery of
Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of ...
fossil monotreme '' Steropodon'', the first
Mesozoic The Mesozoic Era ( ), also called the Age of Reptiles, the Age of Conifers, and colloquially as the Age of the Dinosaurs is the second-to-last era of Earth's geological history, lasting from about , comprising the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretace ...
mammal fossil discovered in Australia. This find extended the Australian mammal fossil record back 80 million years. During the 1980s, Flannery described most of the known
Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological Epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fina ...
megafaunal species in
New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is the world's second-largest island with an area of . Located in Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the wide Torres ...
as well as the fossil record of the
phalangerid The Phalangeridae are a family of mostly nocturnal marsupials native to Australia, New Guinea, and Eastern Indonesia, including the cuscuses, brushtail possums, and their close relatives. Considered a type of possum, most species are arboreal, ...
s, a family of possums. As part of his doctoral studies, he reviewed the
evolution Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...
of Macropodidae and described 29 new fossil species, including 11 new genera and three new subfamilies.


Mammalogy

Through the 1990s, Flannery surveyed the mammals of
Melanesia Melanesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It extends from Indonesia's New Guinea in the west to Fiji in the east, and includes the Arafura Sea. The region includes the four independent countries of Fiji, V ...
—identifying more than 30 species—and took a leading role in
conservation Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws. Conservation may also refer to: Environment and natural resources * Nature conservation, the protection and manageme ...
efforts in the region. He also identified at least 17 previously undescribed species during his 15 trips, includes the
Dingiso The dingiso () (''Dendrolagus mbaiso''), also known as the bondegezou, is an endangered, long-tailed marsupial found only in mountain forests on the west of the island of New Guinea (in Indonesia). It is a species of tree-kangaroo (genus ''Dendro ...
, Sir David's long-beaked echidna and the Telefomin cuscus. He also found living specimens of the Bulmer's fruit bat, which were previous thought extinct. In the 1990s, Flannery published ''The Mammals of New Guinea'' (Cornell Press) and ''Prehistoric Mammals of Australia and New Guinea'' (Johns Hopkins Press), the most comprehensive reference works on the subjects. The specific name of the greater monkey-faced bat (''Pteralopex flanneryi''), described in 2005, honours Flannery. Flannery's work prompted Sir David Attenborough to describe him as being "in the league of the all-time great explorers like Dr
David Livingstone David Livingstone (; 19 March 1813 – 1 May 1873) was a Scottish physician, Congregationalist, and pioneer Christian missionary with the London Missionary Society, an explorer in Africa, and one of the most popular British heroes of t ...
". In 2022, Flannery was a co-author on new research on the origins of monotremes.


Climate change communication

In the 1990s, Flannery observed a change in the elevational range of trees while doing fieldwork in
New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is the world's second-largest island with an area of . Located in Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the wide Torres ...
, and realised it was likely to be a climate change impact. He subsequently began working on
climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...
more seriously and shifted to campaigning and publicly communicating about climate change from the 2000s. Flannery's prominence in raising awareness around the subject, and efforts to oppose climate change scepticism, have occasionally attracted hostility from the media. Some of Flannery's academic peers were also initially critical of Flannery for speaking outside of his primary area of expertise. When discussing this in 2009, Flannery said that climate change science was a less established field earlier in his career and experts from multiple fields had shifted to respond to the issue, and said he feels publicly funded scientists are obliged to communicate their work and be vocal on important issues. In 2015, the Jack P. Blaney Award for Dialogue recognized Flannery for using dialogue and authentic engagement to build global consensus for action around climate change. As of 2021, he had attended six United Nations Climate Change conferences in official government roles and as an observer. In 2002, Flannery was appointed as chair of
South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest o ...
's Environmental Sustainability Board and was an advisor on
climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...
to South Australian Premier Mike Rann. He was a member of the Queensland Climate Change Council established by the Queensland Minister for Sustainability, Climate Change and Innovation
Andrew McNamara Andrew Ian McNamara (born 19 August 1959) is an Australian politician. He was a Labor member of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland from 2001 to 2009, representing the district of Hervey Bay. He served as Minister for Sustainability, Clima ...
. He was chairman of the Copenhagen Climate Council, an international group of business and other leaders that coordinated a business response to climate change and assisted the Danish government in the lead up to COP15.Copenhagen Climate Council (2008).
Tim Flannery
. Retrieved 17 May 2008.
Flannery has frequently discussed the
effects of climate change The effects of climate change impact the physical environment, ecosystems and human societies. The environmental effects of climate change are broad and far-reaching. They affect the water cycle, oceans, sea and land ice ( glaciers), sea le ...
, particularly on
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...
, and advocated for its mitigation. During the devastating
Black Summer ''Black Summer'' is a comic book limited series written by Warren Ellis, illustrated by Juan Jose Ryp, and published by Avatar Press starting in June 2007. The plot revolves around the consequences of a superhero, John Horus, who kills the Presi ...
bushfires of 2019–20, Flannery frequently appeared in the media to discuss the links between climate change and the unprecedented bushfires, stating, "I am absolutely certain that he bushfires areclimate change caused."


Climate Commission

In February 2011, it was announced that Flannery had been appointed to head the Climate Commission established by Prime Minister Julia Gillard to explain
climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...
and the need for a
carbon price Carbon pricing (or pricing), also known as cap and trade (CAT) or emissions trading scheme (ETS), is a method for nations to reduce global warming. The cost is applied to greenhouse gas emissions in order to encourage polluters to reduce the co ...
to the public. The commission was a panel of leading scientists and business experts whose mandate was to provide an "independent and reliable" source of information for all Australians. Following the election of the Abbott government in the 2013 Australian federal election, on 19 September 2013 Flannery was sacked from his position as head of the Climate Commission in a phone call from new Federal Environment Minister Greg Hunt. "It was a short and courteous conversation," Flannery recalls. "I'm pretty sure that cabinet hadn't been convened when they did it. My very strong recollection is that it was he Abbott Government'svery first act in government... The website that we'd spent a lot of time building was taken down with absolutely no justification as far as I could see. It was giving basic information that was being used by many, many people—teachers and others—just to gain a better understanding of what climate science was actually about." It was also announced that the commission would be dismantled and its remit handled by the Department of Environment.


Climate Council

By 6 October 2013, Flannery and the other commissioners had launched a new body called the
Climate Council The Climate Council is Australia's leading climate change communications non-profit organisation formed to provide independent, authoritative information on climate change and its solutions to the Australian public. It advocates reducing greenh ...
. Flannery told ABC News that the organisation stated that it had the same goals as the former Climate Commission, to provide independent information on the science of climate change.
Amanda McKenzie Amanda McKenzie is a public commentator on the climate crisis in Australia. She is the CEO and co-founder of the Climate Council, Australia's leading climate science communications organisation. Previously, McKenzie co-founded the Australian ...
was appointed as CEO. Between 24 September and 6 October the new Climate Council had raised $1 million in funding from a public appeal, sufficient to keep the organisation operating for 12 months. The Climate Council continues to exist based on donations from the general public.


Books and other media


''The Future Eaters''

In 1994, Flannery published '' The Future Eaters: An Ecological History of the Australasian Lands and People'', which became a bestseller''.'' The synopsis of the work regards three waves of human migration in these regions. These waves of people Flannery describes as "future eaters". The first wave was the migration to
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...
and
New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is the world's second-largest island with an area of . Located in Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the wide Torres ...
from
Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...
approximately 40,000 to 60,000 years ago. The second was Polynesian migration to New Zealand and surrounding islands 800 to 3,500 years ago. The third and final wave Flannery describes is European colonisation at the end of the 18th century. Flannery describes the evolution of the first wave of future-eaters: In contrast with other hypotheses that climate variability and change had shaped the evolutionary history of Australia, he instead attributed the continent's nutrient-poor soil as a driver. He also proposed that
Aboriginal Australians Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait ...
had shaped the continent's ecosystems through their fire-stick farming and unique practices. It also advocates for modern societies of the Australasian region adapt to its unique ecological conditions, including managing the environment, consuming local rather than imported species, and limiting human population growth. ''The Future Eaters'' enjoyed strong sales and critical acclaim. Redmond O'Hanlon, a '' Times Literary Supplement'' correspondent said that "Flannery tells his beautiful story in plain language, science popularising at its antipodean best". Fellow activist David Suzuki praised Flannery's "powerful insight into our current destructive path". Some experts disagreed with Flannery's thesis, however, concerned that his broad-based approach, ranging across multiple disciplines, ignored counter-evidence and was overly simplistic. ''The Future Eaters'' was adapted into a documentary series for
ABC Television ABC Television most commonly refers to: *ABC Television Network of the American Broadcasting Company, United States, or *ABC Television (Australian TV network), a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Australia ABC Television or ABC ...
.


''The Weather Makers''

While reading scientific journals more widely during his tenure at South Australian Museum, Flannery became increasingly alarmed by anthropogenic
climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...
. He spent five years writing a book on the topic. This culminated in '' The Weather Makers: The History & Future Impact of Climate Change'' published in 2005, in which he outlined the science behind climate change for a general audience. "With great scientific advances being made every month, this book is necessarily incomplete," Flannery writes, but "That should not, however, be used as an excuse for inaction. We know enough to act wisely." The book broadly discussed longer-term patterns of climatic change and its influence on evolution. It also discussed contemporary
greenhouse gas emissions Greenhouse gas emissions from human activities strengthen the greenhouse effect, contributing to climate change. Most is carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels: coal, oil, and natural gas. The largest emitters include coal in China and ...
and
effects of climate change The effects of climate change impact the physical environment, ecosystems and human societies. The environmental effects of climate change are broad and far-reaching. They affect the water cycle, oceans, sea and land ice ( glaciers), sea le ...
, such as
sea level rise Globally, sea levels are rising due to human-caused climate change. Between 1901 and 2018, the globally averaged sea level rose by , or 1–2 mm per year on average.IPCC, 2019Summary for Policymakers InIPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cr ...
, impacts on large storms and species extinction. Flannery also provided guidance on mitigation, such as reducing emissions and increasing solar and
wind power Wind power or wind energy is mostly the use of wind turbines to generate electricity. Wind power is a popular, sustainable, renewable energy source that has a much smaller impact on the environment than burning fossil fuels. Historically ...
. Other points include: * that a failure to act on climate change may eventually force the creation of a global carbon
dictatorship A dictatorship is a form of government which is characterized by a leader, or a group of leaders, which holds governmental powers with few to no limitations on them. The leader of a dictatorship is called a dictator. Politics in a dictatorship a ...
, which he calls the "Earth Commission for Thermostatic Control", to regulate carbon use across all industries and nations—a level of governmental intrusion that Flannery describes as "very undesirable"; and * the establishment of "Geothermia"—a new city at the NSW-South Australia-Queensland border—to take advantage of the location's abundance of natural gas reserves, geothermal and
solar energy Solar energy is radiant light and heat from the Sun that is harnessed using a range of technologies such as solar power to generate electricity, solar thermal energy (including solar water heating), and solar architecture. It is an essen ...
. Flannery argues that such a city could be completely energy self-sufficient, and would be a model for future city development worldwide. Of the city project, Flannery told ''The Bulletin'' that "I know it's radical but we have no choice". The book won international acclaim.
Bill Bryson William McGuire Bryson (; born 8 December 1951) is an American–British journalist and author. Bryson has written a number of nonfiction books on topics including travel, the English language, and science. Born in the United States, he has b ...
concluded that "It would be hard to imagine a better or more important book." ''The Weather Makers'' was honoured in 2006 as 'Book of the Year' at the
New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards The New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards, also known as the NSW Premier's Literary Awards, were first awarded in 1979. They are among the richest literary awards in Australia. Notable prizes include the Christina Stead Prize for Fiction, t ...
. James Hansen reviewed the book positively. Released not long before '' An Inconvenient Truth'', the book came at a time when climate change was becoming more prominent topic in public opinion and increased Flannery's profile. A review in '' NPR'' outlined how Flannery had sought to settle debate and controversy about climate change that was prominent at the time.


Other works

Flannery has published more than 27 books. He recounted his scientific fieldwork and experiences with local tribal people in
New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is the world's second-largest island with an area of . Located in Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the wide Torres ...
in ''
Throwim Way Leg ''Throwim Way Leg'' is a 1998 book written by Australian scientist Tim Flannery. It documents Flannery's experiences conducting scientific research in the highlands of Papua New Guinea and Indonesian Western New Guinea. The book describes the flor ...
'' (1999). He later released an account of his work in Australia in '' Chasing Kangaroos'' (2007). In 2010's ''Here on Earth'', Flannery criticises elements of
Darwinism Darwinism is a theory of biological evolution developed by the English naturalist Charles Darwin (1809–1882) and others, stating that all species of organisms arise and develop through the natural selection of small, inherited variations tha ...
while endorsing James Lovelock's
Gaia hypothesis The Gaia hypothesis (), also known as the Gaia theory, Gaia paradigm, or the Gaia principle, proposes that living organisms interact with their inorganic surroundings on Earth to form a synergistic and self-regulating, complex system that help ...
. In 2015, Flannery published ''Atmosphere of Hope'', which discussed climate change mitigation,
carbon sequestration Carbon sequestration is the process of storing carbon in a carbon pool. Carbon dioxide () is naturally captured from the atmosphere through biological, chemical, and physical processes. These changes can be accelerated through changes in lan ...
and technological solutions and acts as a follow-up to ''The Weather Makers''. He published another work about climate change in 2020, ''The Climate Cure'', which calls for the Australian government to address the issue and argues its response to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
could be used as a model for this. Following ''The Future Eaters'' on Australasia, he has published popular science books recounting the natural histories of
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and th ...
in ''The Eternal Frontier'' (2001) and
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
in ''Europe: A Natural History'' (2018).


Television and film

Flannery has appeared in several series for
ABC Television ABC Television most commonly refers to: *ABC Television Network of the American Broadcasting Company, United States, or *ABC Television (Australian TV network), a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Australia ABC Television or ABC ...
, including several
travel documentary A travel documentary is a documentary film, television program, or online series that describes travel in general or tourist attractions without recommending particular package deals or tour operators. A travelogue film is an early type of trav ...
collaborations with comedian John Doyle. ''Two Men In A Tinnie'' focused on the pair travelling down the Murray River, and ''Two in the Top End'' in
the Kimberley The Kimberley is the northernmost of the nine regions of Western Australia. It is bordered on the west by the Indian Ocean, on the north by the Timor Sea, on the south by the Great Sandy and Tanami deserts in the region of the Pilbara, ...
. In August 2017 Flannery hosted an episode of ABC Catalyst investigating how carefully managed seaweed growth could contribute to combating climate change via the sequestration of atmospheric carbon to the ocean floor. This explored the details of the book he published in July 2017, ''Sunlight and Seaweed: An Argument for How to Feed, Power and Clean Up the World''. In January 2018, Flannery appeared on the ABC's Science program exploring whether humans are becoming a new 'Mass Extinction Event', in addition to outlining the '5 Things You Need to Know About Climate Change'. Flannery also appeared in the 2021 documentary film ''
Burning Combustion, or burning, is a high-temperature exothermic redox chemical reaction between a fuel (the reductant) and an oxidant, usually atmospheric oxygen, that produces oxidized, often gaseous products, in a mixture termed as smoke. Combustion ...
,'' about the
Black Summer bushfires Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...
.


Views and advocacy

Flannery's work in raising the profile of environmental issues was key to his being named Australian of the Year in 2007. Awarding the prize, former Prime Minister
John Howard John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007, holding office as leader of the Liberal Party. His eleven-year tenure as prime minister is the ...
said that the scientist "has encouraged Australians into new ways of thinking about our environmental history and future ecological challenges." That said, Howard—who was a
climate sceptic Climate change denial, or global warming denial, is denial, dismissal, or doubt that contradicts the scientific consensus on climate change, including the extent to which it is caused by humans, its effects on nature and human society, or the ...
at the time—was unconvinced as to some of Flannery's views.


Climate change

Flannery has long spoken out about the impacts of
climate change in Australia Climate change in Australia has been a critical issue since the beginning of the 21st century. Australia is becoming hotter and more prone to extreme heat, bushfires, droughts, floods, and longer fire seasons because of climate change. Since ...
and internationally.In May 2004, Flannery said in light of the city's water crisis that "I think there is a fair chance
Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...
will be the 21st century's first ghost metropolis", a warning reiterated in 2007. In 2005, he issued several warnings about water issues in Australia, saying "water is going to be in short supply across the eastern states". In June 2005 warning that "the ongoing drought could leave
Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...
's dams dry in just two years". In October 2006 Flannery quoted a US Navy study stating that, there may be, "no Arctic icecap in Summer in the next five to 15 years. He also quoted NASA's Professor James Hansen, "arguably the world authority on climate change" who said, "we have just a decade to avert a 25-metre rise of the sea". In February 2007, as he explained how increased soil evaporation impacts on runoff, he said "even the xisting amount ofrain that falls isn't actually going to fill our dams and our river systems" and in June 2007, he said that, "Adelaide, Sydney and Brisbane, water supplies are so low they need desalinated water urgently, possibly in as little as 18 months". In May 2008, Flannery suggested that sulphur could be dispersed into the atmosphere to help block the sun leading to global dimming, in order to counteract the effects of global warming. In 2019, Flannery said, "Sadly, I've been aware of he urgency to actfor a long time. We have to reduce emissions as hard and fast as possible... The speed and scale of impacts have been something that is really shocking." He continued to warn people that, "People are shocked, but they should be angry...The consequences will grow year by year, and stuff we were warning people about 20 years ago is now coming to fruition and is impossible to deny, unless you are wilfully blind." He also said that
climate activism The climate movement is a global social movement focused on pressuring governments and industry to take action (also called "climate action") addressing the causes and impacts of climate change. Environmental non-profit organizations have enga ...
during the previous two decades had been a "colossal failure", but praised
Greta Thunberg Greta Tintin Eleonora Ernman Thunberg (; born 3 January 2003) is a Swedish environmental activist who is known for challenging world leaders to take immediate action for climate change mitigation. Thunberg's activism began when she persuaded ...
,
school strikes for climate School Strike for Climate ( sv, Skolstrejk för klimatet), also known variously as Fridays for Future (FFF), Youth for Climate, Climate Strike or Youth Strike for Climate, is an international movement of school students who skip Friday ...
and Extinction Rebellion for their impact on the climate movement during the 2010s.


Energy

In response to the introduction of proposed
clean coal technology Coal pollution mitigation, sometimes called clean coal, is a series of systems and technologies that seek to mitigate the health and environmental impact of coal; in particular air pollution from coal-fired power stations, and from coal burnt b ...
, Flannery has stated: "Globally there has got to be some areas where clean coal will work out, so I think there will always be a coal export industry or Australia... Locally in Australia because of particular geological issues and because of the competition from cleaner and cheaper energy alternatives, I'm not 100 per cent sure clean coal is going to work out for our domestic market." Flannery has advocated for a
renewable energy transition The energy transition is the process of downshifting fossil fuels and re-developing whole systems to operate on low carbon energy sources. More generally, an energy transition is a significant structural change in an energy system regarding ...
in
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...
. He joined calls for the cessation or reduction of conventional coal-fired power generation in Australia in the medium term, at a time when it was the source of most of the nation's electricity. Flannery's view is that conventional coal burning will lose its social license to operate, comparing it to
asbestos Asbestos () is a naturally occurring fibrous silicate mineral. There are six types, all of which are composed of long and thin fibrous crystals, each fibre being composed of many microscopic "fibrils" that can be released into the atmosphere b ...
. In 2006 Flannery was in support of
nuclear power Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced b ...
as a possible solution for reducing Australia's carbon emissions; however, in 2007 changed his position against it. In May 2007 he told a business gathering in Sydney that while nuclear energy does have a role elsewhere in the world, Australia's abundance of renewable resources rule out the need for nuclear power in the near term. He does, however, feel that Australia should and will have to supply its
uranium Uranium is a chemical element with the symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Uranium is weak ...
to those other countries that do not have access to renewables like Australia does.


Geothermia

In September 2005 Flannery said, "There are hot rocks in
South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest o ...
that potentially have enough embedded energy in them to run Australia's economy for the best part of a century". For the Cooper Basin, he proposed the establishment of a fully sustainable city where, "hundreds of thousands of people would live", utilising these geothermal energy reserves. He named the hypothetical city "Geothermia". Subsequently, in 2007, an exploration company was established. The company expected to raise at least $11.5m on the Australian Stock Exchange. Flannery took up shares in the company. In 2010, the Federal Government provided the company with another $90m for the development work. In August 2016, the geothermal energy project closed as it was not financially viable.


Hunting and whaling

When, in the concluding chapters of '' The Future Eaters'' (1994), Flannery discusses how to "utilise our few renewable resources in the least destructive way", he remarks that In late 2007, Flannery suggested that the Japanese whaling involving the relatively common minke whale may be sustainable: This raised concerns among some environmental groups such as Greenpeace,Flannery's views on whales 'curious'.
''The Sydney Morning Herald''. Retrieved on 2 January 2008
Tim Flannery lampooned by sustainable whaling claims.
LiveNews. Retrieved on 2 January 2008
fearing it could add fuel to the Japanese wish of continuing its annual cull. In contrast to his stance on the minke whale quota, Flannery has expressed relief over the dumping of the quota of the rarer
humpback whale The humpback whale (''Megaptera novaeangliae'') is a species of baleen whale. It is a rorqual (a member of the family Balaenopteridae) and is the only species in the genus ''Megaptera''. Adults range in length from and weigh up to . The hu ...
, and further was worried how
whale Whales are a widely distributed and diverse group of fully aquatic placental marine mammals. As an informal and colloquial grouping, they correspond to large members of the infraorder Cetacea, i.e. all cetaceans apart from dolphins and ...
s were slaughtered, wishing them to be "killed as humanely as possible".Flannery worried about small fish, not big whale culls.
''Brisbane Times''. Retrieved on 2 January 2008
Flannery suggested that krill and other small
crustacean Crustaceans (Crustacea, ) form a large, diverse arthropod taxon which includes such animals as decapoda, decapods, ostracoda, seed shrimp, branchiopoda, branchiopods, argulidae, fish lice, krill, remipedes, isopoda, isopods, barnacles, copepods, ...
s, the primary food source for many large whales and an essential part of the marine food chain, were of greater concern than the Japanese whaling.


Species introduction

In ''The Future Eaters'', Flannery was critical of the European settlers introducing non-native wild animals into Australia's ecosystem. At the same time, he suggested that if one wanted to reproduce, in some parts of Australia, the ecosystems that existed there around 60,000 years ago (before the arrival of the humans on the continent), it may be necessary to introduce into Australia, in a thoughtful and careful way, some non-native species that would be the closest substitutes to the continent's lost megafauna. In particular, he proposed the
Komodo dragon The Komodo dragon (''Varanus komodoensis''), also known as the Komodo monitor, is a member of the monitor lizard family Varanidae that is endemic to the Indonesian islands of Komodo, Rinca, Flores, and Gili Motang. It is the largest extant ...
be brought into Australia as a replacement for its extinct relative, '' Megalania'', "the largest goanna of all time". He also suggested the Tasmanian devil could be allowed to re-settle the mainland Australia from its Tasmanian refuge area. In ''The Eternal Frontier'', Flannery made a proposal for what later became nicknamed " Pleistocene rewilding": restoring the ecosystems that existed in North America before the arrival of the Clovis people and the concomitant disappearance of the North American Pleistocene megafauna 13,000 years ago. He proposed if, in addition to the wolves that have been already re-introduced to
Yellowstone National Park Yellowstone National Park is an American national park located in the western United States, largely in the northwest corner of Wyoming and extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U.S. Congress with the Yellowst ...
, ''ambush predators'', such as jaguars and
lions The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus '' Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphic; ad ...
should be reintroduced as well, in order to bring the number of elk under control. Furthermore, the closest extant relatives of the species that became extinct around the Clovis period could be introduced to North America's nature reserves as well. In particular, the
Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...
and African elephants could substitute, respectively, for the
mammoth A mammoth is any species of the extinct elephantid genus ''Mammuthus'', one of the many genera that make up the order of trunked mammals called proboscideans. The various species of mammoth were commonly equipped with long, curved tusks an ...
and the
mastodon A mastodon ( 'breast' + 'tooth') is any proboscidean belonging to the extinct genus ''Mammut'' (family Mammutidae). Mastodons inhabited North and Central America during the late Miocene or late Pliocene up to their extinction at the end of the ...
; the Chacoan peccary, for its extinct cousin the flat-headed peccary (''
Platygonus compressus ''Platygonus compressus'', the flat-headed peccary, is an extinct mammal species from the Tayassuidae family, that lived in North-America during the Pleistocene. It was first described in 1848 by John L. Leconte. Description The flat-headed ...
''). Llamas and
panther Panther may refer to: Large cats * Pantherinae, the cat subfamily that contains the genera ''Panthera'' and ''Neofelis'' **'' Panthera'', the cat genus that contains tigers, lions, jaguars and leopards. *** Jaguar (''Panthera onca''), found in S ...
s, which still survive outside of the US, should too be brought back to that country.


Human population

Flannery advocated for
human population planning Human population planning is the practice of intentionally controlling the growth rate of a human population. The practice, traditionally referred to as population control, had historically been implemented mainly with the goal of increasing p ...
in Australia in the 1990s. He has been a patron of Sustainable Population Australia since 2000. He said in 2007 that he had stopped discussing population issues, as he said he did not think curbing population growth was a solution to climate change. In 2009, Flannery called for an inquiry into
population growth Population growth is the increase in the number of people in a population or dispersed group. Actual global human population growth amounts to around 83 million annually, or 1.1% per year. The global population has grown from 1 billion in 1800 to ...
in Australia, to better elucidate the potential environmental impacts of the country's growing population.


Humanitarian issues

In 2009, Flannery joined the project "Soldiers of Peace", a move against all wars and for a global peace. In July 2018 he played a role in the Kwaio Reconciliation programme in the
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capit ...
, which put an end to a 91-year-old cycle of killings that stemmed from the murders in 1927 of British Colonial officers Bell and Gillies by Kwaio leader
Basiana Basiana (early 1880s – June 19, 1928) was a native leader of the Kwaio group on Malaita in the Solomon Islands. He was a powerful and feared ramo (bounty hunter), and came from a line of prominent leaders, feastgivers, and warriors of the Gouna ...
and his followers.


Awards

* Edgeworth David Medal for outstanding research in zoology *
Centenary of Federation Medal The Centenary Medal is an award which was created by the Australian Government in 2001. It was established to commemorate the centenary of the Federation of Australia and to recognise "people who made a contribution to Australian society or gov ...
for his services to Australian science * Colin Roderick Award, Foundation for Australian Literary Studies for ''Tree Kangaroos'' (1996) * First environmental scientist to deliver the Australia Day address to the nation (2002). *
Australian Humanist of the Year The Council of Australian Humanist Societies (CAHS) is an umbrella organisation for Australian humanism, humanist societies. It was founded in 1965. It is affiliated with Humanists International. The official symbol of CAHS (and all member org ...
(2005) * NSW Australian of the Year (2006) * Australian of the Year (2007) * NSW Premier's Literary Prizes for Best Critical Writing and Book of the Year (''The Weather Makers'', 2006) * US Lannan Award for Non-fiction works (2006). * The New York Times Best Seller list (''The Weather Makers'') * Order of Saint-Charles, Monaco * Leidy Award (2010) * Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science (2012) *Jack P. Blaney Award for Dialogue (2015–2016).


Bibliography


Books

* * *Tim Flannery (1994), ''Possums of the World : Monograph of the Phalangeroidea'' (). * *Tim Flannery (1995), ''Mammals of the South-West Pacific & Moluccan Islands'' (). *Tim Flannery, Roger Martin and Alexandra Szalay. (1996) ''Tree Kangaroos: A Curious Natural History''. *Tim Flannery (1998), ''Throwim Way Leg: An Adventure'' (). *Tim Flannery (2001), ''The Eternal Frontier: An Ecological History of North America and its Peoples'' (). *John A. Long, Michael Archer, Tim Flannery and Suzanne Hand (2002), ''Prehistoric Mammals of Australia and New Guinea: One Hundred Million Years of Evolution'', Johns Hopkins Press (). *Tim Flannery & Peter Schouten (2001), ''A Gap in Nature'' (). *Tim Flannery & Peter Schouten (2004), ''Astonishing Animals'' (). *Tim Flannery (2005), ''Country: A Continent, a Scientist & a Kangaroo'' (). *Tim Flannery (2005), ''
The Weather Makers ''The Weather Makers: The History and Future Impact of Climate Change'' is a 2005 book by Australian scientist Tim Flannery. It discusses climate change, its scientific basis and effects, and potential solutions. The book received critical acc ...
: The History & Future Impact of Climate Change'' (). *Tim Flannery (2007), '' Chasing Kangaroos: A Continent, a Scientist, and a Search for the World's Most Extraordinary Creature'' (). *Tim Flannery (2009), ''Now or Never: A sustainable future for Australia?'' (). *Tim Flannery (2009), ''Now or Never: Why we need to act now for a sustainable future'' (). *Tim Flannery (2010), ''Here on Earth'', *Tim Flannery (2011), ''Among the Islands: Adventures in the Pacific'' (). *Tim Flannery (2015), ''Atmosphere of Hope: Searching for Solutions to the Climate Crisis'', Boston: Atlantic Monthly Press (). Published in the United Kingdom with the title ''Atmosphere of Hope: Solutions to the Climate Crisis'',
Penguin Books Penguin Books is a British publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.Watkin Tench, ''Watkin Tench's 1788'' (). *''Terra Australis: Matthew Flinders' Great Adventures in the Circumnavigation of Australia'' (). *John Morgan, ''The Life and Adventures of William Buckley'' (). * John Nicol, ''Life and Adventures: 1776–1801'' (). * Joshua Slocum, ''Sailing Alone Around the World'' ().


Book reviews

Tim Flannery, "In the Soup" (review of Michael Marshall, ''The Genesis Quest: The Geniuses and Eccentrics on a Journey to Uncover the Origins of Life on Earth'', University of Chicago Press, 360 pp.), ''
The New York Review of Books ''The New York Review of Books'' (or ''NYREV'' or ''NYRB'') is a semi-monthly magazine with articles on literature, culture, economics, science and current affairs. Published in New York City, it is inspired by the idea that the discussion of i ...
'', vol. LXVII, no. 19 (3 December 2020), pp. 37–38.


Television series

*''Two Men in a Tinnie'' (2006) with John Doyle *''Two in the Top End'' (2008) with John Doyle *''Two on the Great Divide'' (2012) with John Doyle *''Two Men in China'' (2014) with John Doyle


References


External links


Climate Commission

''The Weather Makers'' book website

Tim Flannery lecture online, RMIT School of Applied Communication Public Lecture series


by Our World in Balance
Flannery author page and article archive
from ''
The New York Review of Books ''The New York Review of Books'' (or ''NYREV'' or ''NYRB'') is a semi-monthly magazine with articles on literature, culture, economics, science and current affairs. Published in New York City, it is inspired by the idea that the discussion of i ...
'', accessed 6/3/2018


Video


Tim Flannery on SlowTV

Address from Professor Tim Flannery
at '' University of Technology, Sydney'', recording of live speech, 22 May 2008
Tim Flannery interview
on '' The Hour'' with George Stroumboulopoulos
Tim Flannery interview
on '' Democracy Now!'' program, 25 October 2007 *
APEC Singapore 2009 APEC Singapore 2009 was a series of political meetings held around Singapore between the 21 member economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation during 2009. It culminated in the 17th APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting (AELM) held in Singapore f ...
br>The business of climate: A look to technology



Keynote address at Alfred Deakin Lecture series "Innovation in Changing Climate"

Tim Flannery: Here on Earth (ABC Radio National)
23 September 2010 {{DEFAULTSORT:Flannery, Tim 1956 births 20th-century Australian non-fiction writers 20th-century Australian scientists 21st-century Australian non-fiction writers 21st-century Australian scientists Australian activists Australian biologists Australian environmentalists Australian of the Year Award winners Australian paleontologists Australian science writers Australian zoologists Climate activists Cultural critics Directors of museums in Australia Fellows of the Australian Academy of Science Harvard University faculty La Trobe University alumni Living people Macquarie University faculty Monash University alumni The New York Review of Books people Non-fiction environmental writers Writers from Melbourne Quarterly Essay people Australian social commentators Social critics Sustainability advocates University of Adelaide faculty University of New South Wales alumni Australian republicans Science communicators Climate communication Paleozoologists Australian mammalogists Scientists from Melbourne People from Sandringham, Victoria