200 Years in Antarctica: Australia's bicentenary development plans On the 200th anniversary of the first European sighting of Antarctica, Australia is planning the biggest single development in Antarctic history. In this episode we talk to Shaun Brookes, environmental researcher at the University of Tasmania, about what the development is and what environmental impact it could have. We speak with conservation biologist Rachel Leihy from Monash University about the cumulative human impact on Antarctica over the last 200 years. We hear from environmental historian Adrian Howkins, author of Frozen Empires: an environmental history of the Antarctic Peninsula, about how countries have historically used scientific research to claim land on the continent. We also speak to Andrea Kavanagh from Pew Charitable Trusts about why a global commitment to create marine protected areas in the Southern Ocean has stalled. Earth Matters #1259 was produced by Else Kennedy