Associate Professor Michael Howes is the Director of the Climate Change Adaptation Programs within the School of Environment and Science at Griffith University. He is also an adaptation science researcher with the Cities Research Institute. Michael’s work explores how governments try to make society more sustainable and resilient, with specific projects on climate change, sustainable development, water management, environment protection, public environmental reporting, and ecological modernisation. Before becoming an academic Michael worked for several years as an industrial chemist and technical manager in the manufacturing sector. He also chaired a Technical Advisory Panel for the Australian Government’s National Pollutant Inventory. In his youth he worked for short periods as an engineer's assistant and a farm hand.