Writer
Rhonda Boyle
With a background in science, urban planning, environment policy and climate change, Rhonda Boyle worked for the Victorian Government in a variety of roles. She now coordinates a global movement known as PASK (Pianists for Alternatively Sized Keyboards) to increase the availability of piano keyboards with narrower keys given the conventional keyboard is too large for the majority of pianists.
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Australia has close to zero chance of achieving net zero emissions by 2050
The newly released report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is emphatic: the effects of climate change we are seeing now are irreversible and will worsen. It underscores the critical importance of the upcoming Glasgow climate conference and the need for all countries to lock in net zero emissions by mid-century in order Continue reading »
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Greenhouse gas emissions: What are they and how are they measured?
The goal of the Paris agreement on climate change is to limit global warming to well below 2°C, and preferably to 1.5oC above pre-industrial temperatures of the 1700s. This requires countries to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible in order to achieve a climate-neutral world by the middle of this century. Unlike 131 other countries, Australia is yet to commit Continue reading »
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Climate change and the impact of humans – A graphical perspective
The recent report by the IPCC (the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) is ‘code red for humanity’ according to the UN Secretary-General. This warning is a timely reminder to review the role of humans in global warming due to rising greenhouse gas pollution. Continue reading »
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Standard piano keys are too wide for too many. But alternatively sized keyboards are on the way.
The piano is the instrument most preferred by music students. It is often the instrument of their dreams: playing beautiful music perfectly and displaying extraordinary pianistic athleticism. However, the conventional keyboard – with its fixed key width – is unsuitable for many, dooming them to a future of unmet hopes. We can’t change our hands Continue reading »
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Australia’s Covid-19 quarantining – an abrogation of federal responsibilities! There is no national plan
Perhaps the most contentious issue of our Covid year is who is in charge of quarantining? With continuing outbreaks of Covid-19 linked to incoming travellers, Australians have reacted with astonishment that quarantining issues were not foreseen and planned for years ago. How did we end up where we are and what should be done about Continue reading »
