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Timothy Fridtjof Flannery (born 28 January 1956) is an Australian mammalogist, biologist, writer, Humanist, paleontologist and 2007 Australian of the Year .

He is noted for his best-selling books including The Future Eaters and Throwim Way Leg. His most recent book, The Weather Makers: The History and Future Impact of Climate Change, was published in September 2005. A young persons' edition of this book, titled We are the Weathermakers, was published in August 2006.

He is a frequent speaker on ecological issues, in particular Global Warming, and is a vigorous advocate of human population control. [1]

Contents 1 Early life 2 Academic career 3 Advocacy 4 Awards and recognition 5 Television 6 Personal life 7 Bibliography 7.1 Edited and introduced by Tim Flannery 8 See Also 9 External links

Early life

Flannery was educated at St Bede's College, Mentone, Victoria and graduated from La Trobe University in 1977 with a BA in English Literature. Subsequently he was awarded an MSc by Monash University (1981) and a doctorate (PhD) by the University of NSW in 1985 for his work on the evolution of Macropods

Academic career

Prof. Flannery has held many academic positions throughout his career including Professor at the University of Adelaide, director of the South Australian Museum in Adelaide, Principal Research Scientist at the Australian Museum, Visiting Chair in Australian Studies at Harvard University, and an adviser on environmental issues to the Australian Federal Parliament. He holds bachelor degrees in English and Earth Science, a doctorate in Paleontology, and has contributed to over 90 scientific papers.

Some of his notable contributions to science have included:

• Description of 29 new kangaroo species, including the oldest known fossilised species;
• Involvement in the discovery of many fossilised dinosaurs and Cretaceous species in Australia;
• Description and taxonomy of a huge variety of Melanesian species in New Guinea.

In August 2006 he moved to Macquarie University's Division of Environmental and Life Sciences as an adjunct Professor. He has also accepted a role as a climate change advisor to Premier Mike Rann of South Australia.

Advocacy

Combined with his efforts to combat climate change, Flannery advocates a government control of Australia's population. He seeks to aim for a figure lower than currently resides in the country, by means unspecified. "My personal estimate is between six and twelve million".[2] Flannery has advocated for the immediate and complete shutdown of all of Australia's coal-fired electricity plants, claiming that coal is just as dangerous as asbestos. [3]

Awards and recognition

In 2005 Flannery was recognised as the Australian Humanist of the Year by the Council of Australian Humanist Societies.

Sir David Attenborough is quoted as saying "Tim Flannery is in the league of the all-time great explorers like Dr. David Livingstone."^{[citation needed]}

In 2006, Flannery won a $150,000 (US) Lannan award for his nonfiction work. In the same year he was nominated for councillor at the World Future Council.

Flannery was named Australian of the Year for his contributions to the environment and sustainability practices in a ceremony at Parliament House on 25 January 2007. After his acceptance he spoke about the Howard government's decision not to sign the Kyoto Protocol "We've not been part of Kyoto, we've cost the global enterprise time, and time is critical", "we have wasted at least a decade in dealing with this problem." ^[1].

Television

In 2006 he appeared in a television documentary series called Two Men In A Tinnie about the environmental degradation of the Murray-Darling Basin, with his longtime friend, John Doyle.

Personal life

Flannery lives in Sydney with his second wife. He has two children with his first wife.

Bibliography

• Tim Flannery (1994), The Future Eaters: An Ecological History of the Australasian Lands and People, ISBN 0-8021-3943-4 ISBN 0-7301-0422-2
• Tim Flannery, The Eternal Frontier: An Ecological History of North America and its Peoples, ISBN 0-8021-3888-8
• Tim Flannery, Throwim Way Leg: An Adventure, ISBN 1-876485-19-1
• Tim Flannery, Country: a continent, a scientist & a kangaroo, ISBN 1-920885-76-5
• Tim Flannery & Peter Schouten, A Gap in Nature, ISBN 1-876485-77-9
• Tim Flannery & Peter Schouten, Astonishing Animals, ISBN 1-920885-21-8
• Tim Flannery, The Weather Makers: The History & Future Impact of Climate Change, ISBN 1-920885-84-6
• Tim Flannery, We Are the Weather Makers, ISBN 1-921145-34-X

Edited and introduced by Tim Flannery

• The Birth of Melbourne, ISBN 1-877008-89-3
• The Birth of Sydney, ISBN 1-876485-45-0
• The Explorers, ISBN 1-876485-22-1
• Watkin Tench, 1788, ISBN 1-875847-27-8
• Terra Australis, Matthew Flinders' Great Adventures in the Circumnavigation of Australia, ISBN 1-876485-92-2
• John Morgan, The Life and Adventures of William Buckley, ISBN 1-877008-20-6
• John Nicol, Life and Adventures: 1776-1801, ISBN 1-875847-41-3
• Joshua Slocum, Sailing Alone Around the World, ISBN 1-877008-57-5

See Also

The Weather Makers

External links

• ABC Australia Biography
• Another ABC Australia Biography
• The Weather Makers book website
• Radio Interview from This Week in Science April 04, 2006 Broadcast
• MP3 recording of Interview on "It's Your World", archived by World Affairs Council of Northern California
• "Meeting the ancestors", an article by Tim Flannery in Cosmos Magazine
• Video trailer for The Weather Makers
• A Warm, Comfortable Blind Spot Essay by Tim Flannery on psychological responses to the idea of "global warming."
• Publisher's biography and information
• Report on Australian of the Year Award
• Global Warning - interview with Tim Flannery on WHO.com
• World Future Council

Preceded by Ian Frazer

Australian of the Year 2007

Succeeded by None