The art of merging nature with local culture

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The Sustainable Hour on 94.7 The Pulse on 13 April 2016 reports live from the You Yangs, a mountain 20 minutes outside Geelong, where around 50 volunteers planted trees around Big Rock, as the beginning of a ‘Green Corridor’ through the Geelong region and the preparation for the M~M2016, the Mountain to Mouth 80 kilometres Extreme Arts Walk in May 2016.

We interview, in order of appearance…
Caroline Moore, executive officer, Karingal Foundation
Esther Konings Oakes, artist and M~M2016 District Co-ordinator
Suzette Jackson, Co-ordinator of the Green Corridor, CEO Innate Ecology
Paul Tant, Bank Australia
Tamara Karner, Parks Victoria

We play excerpts from two great speeches:
► TED-talk by Johan Rockström: ‘How we can all become responsible stewards of Planet Earth’
► Speech by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse: ‘Time to Wake Up: Why Don’t We Care?’

And we play this rap-song:
Prince Ea: ‘Dear Future Generations: Sorry’ – An Apology Letter to Future Generations.



Listen to The Sustainable Hour no. 117:

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 LISTENER SERVICE: 

Mentioned in this hour

Links, excerpts and more information about what we talked about in this Sustainable Hour


Geelong Council report

It is worth paying attention to that the 116-page ‘Report of the Commission of Inquiry into Greater Geelong City Council’ reads under Recommendations, the commision recommends that

“3) Urgent priority be given to the development of a 20 to 30-year outcome-focused vision and strategy for the Council and the City developed in consultation with key business, community and other stakeholders.

4) The long-term vision and strategy guide Council’s approach to investment in and advocacy for the economic development, population growth, environmental sustainability and community services of Greater Geelong. Subsequent development of long-term capital investment, business and advocacy plans to guide the Council’s work for the City will be essential.”
 
» See the report on www.parliament.vic.gov.au



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Prince Ea: ‘Dear Future Generations: Sorry’

‘An Apology Letter to Future Generations’
Published on youtube.com on 20 April 2015
 
» www.princeea.com

» To directly fight the destruction and Stand For Trees, go to:
www.standfortrees.org



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https://www.facebook.com/events/519043278276236/


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M~M 2016 tree planting

Plantings are a component of the M~M 2016 80 kilometre Extreme Arts Walk on 6-7 May 2016. The planting project is an inclusive project where people with and without disabilities work together to care for our local habitat in the Geelong region.

The first planting took place on Wednesday 13 April at Big Rock, the You Yangs, between 10 am and 12noon.

All plants have been propagated at Karingal’s community nursery. The propagated plants have been carefully selected in consultation with Parks Victoria to ensure that they are indigenous to their planting site.

Green Corridor strategy
The planting is a part of the long term vision to revegetate the local habitat with plantings of Indigenous species of grasses, trees and shrubs. The Green Corridor strategy is connecting local communities and revegetation organisations together to care for the eleven songline corridors across the 80km walk, so that the region can retain its natural beauty, and it is fitting that our first planting is at the You Yangs.

For more information contact Executive Officer Caroline Moore, Karingal Foundation, 115-121 Little Myers Street, Geelong VIC 3230, phone 03 52221484, mobile 0437 114 674, www.karingal.org.au

» www.mountaintomouth.com.au

Caroline Moore, Karingal Foundation
Caroline Moore, Karingal Foundation
Esther Konings Oakes, M~M2016 District Co-ordinator
Esther Konings Oakes, M~M2016 District Co-ordinator
Suzette Jackson, CEO, Innate Ecology
Suzette Jackson, CEO, Innate Ecology
Paul Tant, Community Development Manager, Bank Australia
Paul Tant, Community Development Manager, Bank Australia
Tamara Karner, Parks Victoria
Tamara Karner, Parks Victoria

 



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Earth Day: plant trees!

Earth Day’s 2016 theme is Trees for the Earth (see: #Trees4Earth). Here are three simple yet compelling reasons:

Fact 1: Forests cover 30% of the earth’s land.
Fact 2: It is estimated that within 100 years there will be no rainforests.
Fact 3: One and a half acres of forest is cut down every second.

With this in mind, Earth Day Network has a BIG goal of planting 50,000 trees this April for its Canopy Project.

Earth Day Network’s Canopy Project plants trees that help the world’s impoverished communities sustain themselves and their local economies. Trees reverse the impacts of land degradation and provide food, energy, and income, all while helping communities achieve long-term economic and environmental sustainability. Trees also filter the air and help stave off the effects of climate change. Earth Day Network specifically targets impoverished areas of the world where our work makes the biggest difference.

Earth Day is on 22 April. See more on www.earthday.org



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TED-talk by Johan Rockström

‘How we can all become responsible stewards of Planet Earth’

Filmed at TEDGlobal in Edinburgh in 2013.

With more Johan Rockström’s around the planet stepping up to the challenge, we could be opening a door to that global mindshift and move towards an Ecological Age which also Pope Francis recently has been talking about. Its worth spending a quarter of an hour watching this inspirational TED-presentation by Johan Rockström.

“One common approach to the seemingly inevitable onslaught of climate change impact is to, well, bury our heads in the sand and pretend that everything will be just fine. Here’s the thing: things *can* be just fine, says environmental scientist Johan Rockström. But we have to take action. In this fast-paced, passionate talk, he zips through both threats and potential solutions to the current global environmental situation, and describes how we can peacefully transform to living on a truly resilient planet.”

» More info on www.stockholmresilience.org



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Speech by the American Senator Sheldon Whitehouse

‘Time to Wake Up: Why Don’t We Care?’

Published on youtube.com on 5 April 2016.

In his 132nd ‘Time to Wake Up’ speech, Senator Whitehouse discussed the latest news on climate change and the deadly combination of politics and money that prevents climate action by the American Senate.

He called the American Senate “a defective institution”, because it doesn’t care about the recent climate change related news from the Great Barrier Reef and the Poles. “This is institutional failure.”

“Why would we be so blind? We are not all terrible people. So why does the Senate collectively not give a hoot?” … and then he goes on to explain about the way the Senate has become dependent on the money from the fossil fuel industry: “Money and secrecy have their way.” “We are making a mockery of our great democratic experiment. Well folks, people are going to notice.”

Big money in American politics

In America there are numerous groups advocating for a shift, similar to what Ian Dunlop is talking about. For instance, on 19 April 2016, the magazine Grist sent an email with the subject: ‘Call on President Obama to issue this executive order now’. They wrote:

“How do you get a 5,800% return on investment? Easy – start drilling for oil, then start lobbying Congress and contributing to political campaigns. You’ll get back $59 in subsidies for each dollar you spend on lobbying and political contributions!

If we want to see action on climate change – and two-thirds of Americans do! – then we have to start by fixing our broken political system that allows fossil fuel companies to spend hundreds of millions in campaign contributions and outside spending while reaping billions in federal subsidies. All the while, ordinary Americans’ voices calling for action on climate change are drowned out.

There’s a step President Obama can take right now to begin to tackle the problem: issuing an executive order that would require federal contractors to disclose their spending on elections.

Add your name now to call on President Obama to issue this executive order!

This executive order alone won’t fix our broken democracy, but it’s an important step – and it doesn’t require waiting for Congress to act. Companies who have contracts paid for by taxpayer dollars shouldn’t be allowed to secretly influence our elections. It’s that simple.

With Earth Day just 3 days away, let’s celebrate by taking action to clean up our government so we can clean up our environment!

Join more than a million other Americans who have already called on President Obama to act and sign the executive order – add your name now!

Thank you,
Every Voice”


 ADDITIONAL: 

In other news

Our notes of the week: news stories and coming events which we also had hoped to mention in this Sustainable Hour


Climate and carbon

2016 is forecast to be the hottest on record and more extreme weather events hit across the globe.

“The hottest February in recorded history. The northern hemisphere 2 degrees above normal 84 years too early. A winter-less Arctic. The Great Barrier Reef turned a deathly white. It is happening right now. And it’s caused by the mining and burning of fossil fuels. With a Federal election around the corner and tragic new climate impacts emerging every day, it’s time to impress upon our Government the unprecedented urgency of keeping Australia’s coal in the ground,” wrote Tony Fontes.

Meanwhile, Australians are among the most polluting people on the entire planet, with every individual responsible for an average of 17 tonnes carbon emitted every year. The country’s 12 dirtiest coal-fired power plants spew out 117 million tonnes of CO2 and hit the Australian population for an estimated $6.45 billion in effective subsidies every year. The 12 dirtiest coal-fired power plants make more annual emissions than 45 million cars and 151 entire countries. They also do $6.45 billion in damage every year.

Victoria alone is looking at $2.9 billion a year in effective subsidies for four of the dirtiest power plants in Australia – an extraordinary $504 per person in the state.

How can any responsible, civilised government get away with allowing this to continue? Ultimately because we, the voters, allow them to.



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» The Guardian:
February breaks global temperature records by ‘shocking’ amount
 
» Reuters:
Peabody shares plunge; coal producer raises bankruptcy risk
 
» The Monthly:
Diabolical – Why have we failed to address climate change?
By Robert Manne, Emeritus Professor and Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow at La Trobe University, twice voted Australia’s leading public intellectual.

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Sign the Climate Emergency Petition

Help build support for a climate emergency declaration. Ask the Australian Parliament to declare a climate emergency and mobilise resources to restore a safe climate.

» Sign petition to the Australian parliament on www.climatesafety.net



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Support the play ‘Extinction’

A GPAC fundraiser

“Production of new Australian work is rare, especially outside capital cities. Legendary plays are only created through sustained investment in the arts. Today we need YOU to play a role

After 35 years of being the stage for great shows, GPAC is stepping out into the spotlight to secure the future of great new Australian work.

We’re working with Red Stitch Actors Theatre to produce ‘Extinction’, written by Hannie Rayson and directed by Nadia Tass.

After launching in Geelong in July, our production will travel to Canberra and then to the Arts Centre Melbourne, reaching significant audiences and becoming an important conversation catalyst.

We’ve had to find $200,000 to make this happen. Support has come from environmental partners, corporate sponsors and generous individuals.

We’re almost there, but we need your support to get us over the line.

If you care about Australian work and supporting theatre development, then please donate. Your gift of $20 or $30 will help us produce this world class production and continue our commitment to new Australian theatre.
Oh, and you’ll be part of history!

Visit www.gpac.org.au/weneedyou to find out more and make a donation.







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“Participation – that’s what’s gonna save the human race.”
Pete Seeger, American singer