Ian Lowe (born 3 November 1942) is an Australian academic and writer focused on

environmental issues Environmental issues are effects of human activity on the biophysical environment, most often of which are harmful effects that cause environmental degradation. Environmental protection is the practice of protecting the natural environment on t ...

. A

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

graduate, he is an Emeritus Professor of

Science, Technology and Society Science and technology studies (STS) is an interdisciplinary field that examines the creation, development, and consequences of science and technology in their historical, cultural, and social contexts. History Like most interdisciplinary fie ...

and former Head of the School of Science at

Griffith University Griffith University is a public research university in South East Queensland on the east coast of Australia. Formally founded in 1971, Griffith opened its doors in 1975, introducing Australia's first degrees in environmental science and Asian s ...

. He is also an adjunct professor at

Sunshine Coast University The University of the Sunshine Coast (UniSC) is a public university based on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia. After opening with 524 students in 1996 as the Sunshine Coast University College, it was later renamed the University of the ...

and

Flinders University Flinders University is a public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia, with a footprint extending across 11 locations in South Australia and the Northern Territory. Founded in 1966, it was named in honour of British navigator ...

. Lowe has authored or co-authored 10 books, 10 Open University books, more than 50 book chapters and over 500 other publications. Books by Lowe include '' A Big Fix'', ''

Reaction Time Mental chronometry is the scientific study of processing speed or reaction time on cognitive tasks to infer the content, duration, and temporal sequencing of mental operations. Reaction time (RT; sometimes referred to as "response time") is meas ...

'', '' Living in the Hothouse'', ''Why vs Why: Nuclear Power'', ''A Voice of Reason: Reflections on Australia'', ''Bigger or Better? Australia's Population Debate'', ''The Lucky Country? Reinventing Australia'' and ''Long Half-life: The Nuclear Industry in Australia''.

Career

In 1996 he was chair-person of the advisory council producing the first national report on the state of Australia's environment. He is a patron of

Sustainable Population Australia Sustainable Population Australia (SPA) (formerly Australians for an Ecologically Sustainable Population) is an Australian special advocacy group, founded in Canberra in 1988, that seeks to establish an ecologically sustainable human population. S ...

. One of his principal interests is the way policy decisions influence use of science and technology, especially in the fields of energy and environment. He wrote for 13 years a regular column for ''

New Scientist ''New Scientist'' is a magazine covering all aspects of science and technology. Based in London, it publishes weekly English-language editions in the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia. An editorially separate organisation publishe ...

'' and also writes for several other publications, as well as contributing frequently to electronic media programs. Lowe was a member of the Australian Radiation Health and Safety Advisory Council from 2002 to 2014 and a former member or chair of many other bodies advising all three levels of government in Australia. He was President of the Australian Conservation Foundation from 2004 to 2014. In April 2015 Lowe was appointed to the Expert Advisory Committee for the

Nuclear Fuel Cycle Royal Commission The Nuclear Fuel Cycle Royal Commission is a Royal Commission into South Australia's future role in the nuclear fuel cycle. It commenced on 19 March 2015 and delivered its final report to the Government of South Australia on 6 May 2016. The Comm ...

in South Australia. He is currently Emeritus Professor of

and former Head of the School of Science at

. He is also an adjunct professor at

and

Energy advocacy

Lowe sees the

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 ...

option for electricity generation as being risky and unworkable. He says nuclear power installations peaked last century and in the past 20 years, retirements, cancellations and deferments have outnumbered new reactor construction. Lowe says nuclear power is too expensive, with insurmountable problems associated with waste disposal and weapons proliferation. It is also not a fast enough response to

address climate change Climate change mitigation is action to limit climate change by reducing emissions of greenhouse gases or removing those gases from the atmosphere. The recent rise in global average temperature is mostly caused by emissions from fossil fuels b ...

. Lowe advocates for

renewable energy Renewable energy is energy that is collected from renewable resources that are naturally replenished on a human timescale. It includes sources such as sunlight, wind, the movement of water, and geothermal heat. Although most renewable energy ...

which he claims is "quicker, less expensive and less dangerous than nuclear".

Awards

Lowe was made an Officer of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

in 2001 for services to science, technology, and the environment. In 2002 he was awarded a

Centenary 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 go ...

for contributions to environmental science and won the

Eureka Prize The Eureka Prizes are awarded annually by the Australian Museum, Sydney, to recognise individuals and organizations who have contributed to science and the understanding of science in Australia. They were founded in 1990 following a suggestion ...

for promotion of science. His contributions have also been recognised by the Prime Minister's Environment Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement, the Queensland Premier's Millennium Award for Excellence in Science and the

University of NSW The University of New South Wales (UNSW), also known as UNSW Sydney, is a public university, public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the founding members of Group of Eight (Australian universities), ...

Alumni Award for achievement in science. Lowe was named Humanist of the Year in 1988.He was awarded the Konrad Lorenz Gold Medal by the International Academy of Science in 200
Professor Ian Lowe
/ref> He was President of the Australian Conservation Foundation from 2004 to April 2014. In 2009 the International Academy of Sciences, Health and Ecology awarded him the Konrad Lorenz Gold Medal. In 2019, the University of New South Wales recognised his body of published work by the award of a higher doctorate, Doctor of Science .Sc.

Bibliography

Books

* *''

Reaction time Mental chronometry is the scientific study of processing speed or reaction time on cognitive tasks to infer the content, duration, and temporal sequencing of mental operations. Reaction time (RT; sometimes referred to as "response time") is meas ...

'' *'' Living in the Hothouse'' *''Why vs Why: Nuclear Power'' *''A Voice of Reason: Reflections on Australia'' *''Bigger or Better? Australia's Population Debate'' *''The Lucky Country? Reinventing Australia'' *

Articles and other contributions

References

External links

*https://web.archive.org/web/20070406224629/http://www.acfonline.org.au/articles/news.asp?news_id=486 *http://www.abc.net.au/queensland/stories/s1421383.htm *http://www.abc.net.au/science/slab/clever/biog.htm *https://web.archive.org/web/20061002152508/http://www.staff.vu.edu.au/alnarc/onlineforum/AL_ath_lowe.htm {{DEFAULTSORT:Lowe, Ian 1942 births Living people Australian anti–nuclear power activists Climate activists Non-fiction environmental writers People associated with energy Quarterly Essay people Queensland University of Technology faculty Australian environmentalists University of Adelaide faculty University of New South Wales alumni Fellows of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering Officers of the Order of Australia