This is your Brain on Climate Change

Discuss the Questions Here are the questions our panel faced this week. Tell us what your answer would be or what you think our panellists need to say. BRAVE NEW WORLD? Dominic Wilcox asked: My mother (who is a big fan of yours) is very worried about the effects of technology on the social skills and identity of her young adult offspring, and of how Gen Y will fare in the workplace. She thinks something needs to be done to change it. I tell her there's nothing she can do about it, and she needs to adapt to this brave new world. Is she right, or am I? NARCISSISTIC? Nicholas Walker asked: Has social media made children narcissists? Is today's generation the most narcissistic ever? QUESTION FROM THE FLOOR An audience member asked: Does the panel recognise that what Susan's talking about is science and what everyone else is talking about is experience? CLIMATE PUP Kevin Armstrong asked: Clive Palmer recently described your Direct Action policy as a 'waste of money'. To get Direct Action legislation passed by parliament, you cut a deal with him to retain the Climate Change Authority to prepare a study on emissions trading schemes worldwide - as an 'act of good faith' having already said that the Abbott government will never re-introduce an emissions trading scheme. Isn't this 'dodgy deal' the metaphorical equivalent of painting rocks white? FOLLOW UP QUESTION Kevin Armstrong also asked: Is Direct Action proven evidence anywhere in the world to be successful or is this just a hope? CLIMATE TARGET Emma Muhieddine asked: According to the Climate Institute, as a country we should be aiming for a 40% reduction in greenhouse gases by 2025. However we have lessened our investment into renewable energy by 70% in a year, compared to a thriving US and China. Are we falling behind and at what cost? THE VOTING AGE Anthony Freckleton asked: Given that the voting age was reduced to 18 because of the Vietnam war, should it not be raised to 21 to improve the quality of voters? 18 year olds are going to reflect teachers and parents view, as they have no life experiences. ROAD VS RAIL Janet Dandy-Ward asked: Anthony Albanese, I live in St Peters, Sydney, where homes in your electorate are about to be destroyed to make way for roads that will support the multi-billion-dollar WestConnex motorway project. This motorway will devastate communities throughout Sydney, much as the East/West Link is set to do in Melbourne. Why do governments inject huge amounts of money into these projects, claiming the end result will ease traffic congestion, when all the evidence shows that building bigger roads is not the solution? LEFT RIGHT BRAINS Robyn Alexander asked: You have described the mind as the tailored brain. How have the brains of conservatives been tailored differently from progressives?