Citizen activists’ route from climate despair over hope to joy

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Guests in The Sustainable Hour on 30 November 2016 – woooohooooooo! Show no 150 – are: Gilbert Rochecouste, managing director of Village Well (at 6:45–16:00), ABC RN radio journalist Gretchen Miller (20:45–37:15), and filmmaker David Lowe (37:30–50:25). And Rusty reports on what is happening with Geelong Council’s ‘Our Future’ project (16:30–20:45).


Listen to The Sustainable Hour no. 150 on 94.7 The Pulse:

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 LISTENER SERVICE: 

Audio interviews

Excerpts from this Sustainable Hour


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‘Our Future’ inspirational interview with Gilbert Rochecouste

The interview runs from 8:00 to 16:00 in the program.

Gilbert Rochecouste is founder and managing director of Village Well.

In this interview about city planning, recorded by Anthony Gleeson during the Common Grounds Festival, Gilbert talks about how Geelong can ‘unlock’ its city centre, the heart of the city, with local food and night markets rather than shopping malls and supermarkets, and facilitate a positive low-carbon lifestyle. “Geelong has got the right DNA,” he says, but what is needed is to provide incentives to cooperate and generate a level of hope. He talks about ‘deep democracy’ and suggests we look towards Adelaide and Bendigo for ideas for the ‘Our Future’ project in Geelong.

» Fill the survey and submit your vision for Geelong’s long term future on www.geelongaustralia.com.au/OurFuture



adelaide-cph-lane250“What is it with Adelaide? Outdoor city beach volleyball courts and Copenhagen style bike lanes. O-barn express buses and SERIOUS push bike highways,” commented Geelong Compost’s Andrew Lucas from Adelaide via Facebook.

See also:

Cities of the future: what should be their form?
Discussion paper by Janet Stanley from Melbourne Sustainable Society Institute
This paper reviews some of the challenges faced by cities and opens a discussion on some solutions that may offer pathways for achieving outcomes that meet environmental, social and economic imperatives, with a particular reference to transport.

» Download the paper (PDF)


Weekly Our Future visions in Geelong Advertiser

Geelong Advertiser has started a weekly series produced as part of the Our Future project to develop a long-term community vision for Geelong. Elaine Carbines, CEO of G21-Geelong Region Alliance, wrote in the first column on 7 December 2016:

“As residents we know that Geelong’s socially diverse community plus our physical and environmental assets are among our greatest strengths. Our municipality’s environmental “lungs” include its rivers and beaches, world-recognised wetlands, tracts of native trees and vegetation, the horticulturally-diverse Bellarine Peninsula and the prime hinterland farmlands to the north and west. (…)

As we grow, environmentally efficient, frequent and dependable public transport services will be essential to lessen the dependence on cars, making possible greater social interconnectivity. Geelong’s bike and walking path network will necessarily become more extensive to encourage better usage.”



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Interview with the producer of ‘Climate of emotion’

The interview runs from 20:45 to 37:15 in The Sustainable Hour.

Gretchen Miller is producer of RN’s show ‘Earshot’, which recently featured two high quality shows ‘Despair’ and ‘Hope’ which were aired in early November 2016.

Climate of emotion: hope

Finding hope and taking positive action can be a challenging thing to do, when it comes to climate change.

How do climate and environmental scientists, studying everything from the Great Barrier Reef to the impact of heatwaves, manage the ‘burden of knowledge’? How do they emotionally experience the science around global warming?

Gretchen Miller asks where scientists, writers, philosophers and science educators find their optimism, and ways in which to take action – even if it’s as a way to counter their despair. And she visits a very unusual dinner party, where, taking a leaf out of the plastic manufacturer Tupperware’s book, a group called Climate for Change hopes to spread the conversation amongst millions of Australians.

» Download audio file


Climate for Change

Climate for Change wants to create the social climate in Australia for effective action on climate change.

“As individuals, we do what we can. But to stop climate change, we need action on climate change to be a social norm. So let’s create that social norm!,” says Climate for Change.

How?
We know social change happens when ordinary people have conversations with people they trust. So Climate for Change are kick starting those conversations.

A host invite his or her friends and family to the home for a gathering. At the gathering a trained Climate for Change facilitator guides a conversation and present information about climate change, its solutions and what we can do to make those solutions happen.

At the end of the gathering guests are encouraged to take regular action and to keep having conversations with their friends and family. The easiest way for them to reach out straight away, is to host their own gathering with their friends and family. In this way the iniiative can grow exponentially, engaging more and more people over time.

Values
“Whilst the warmings of climate scientists may be dire, there are many reasons to hope. Hope is what drives us and gives us courage to act. We will hold on to it, stay true to it and share it with others.

Staying true to one’s values requires constant inspiration and support, both practical and emotional. We will offer spaces for people to come together to inspire and support one another and we will provide the tools and resources they ask for to be powerful.

We believe in democracy and the potential of citizens who join together to make change in their communities, their countries and the world. We will build responsible and powerful citizen networks to realise the changes needed in Australia to stop climate change.

We recognise that for a movement to be universal and representative of the people, it must contain people from many background and of many differing worldviews. It is essential not just for the success, but also for the integrity of the movement that we work together in a respectful and empathetic way, to find common ground and work towards a shared goal.”

» More information: www.climateforchange.org.au/about

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» Katerina Gaita, director of Climate for Change, was guest in The Sustainable Hour on 11 May 2016:
Changing climate – changing people



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“It doesn’t take that much. Just a few hundred people standing together. Non-violently. With the facts on their side. They can achieve amazing things. And with the Internet, we can magnify what we do, and it becomes a part of the global struggle.”
David Lowe


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Interview with David Lowe about his short film ‘From Citizen to Activist’

The interview runs from 37:30 to 50:25 in The Sustainable Hour

‘From Citizen to Activist’ is a not-so serious guide to becoming an activist, using the example of the Australian fight against unconventional gas and coal mining. Watch the film – script/camera by David Lowe:

“We are giving this important film to all earthlings for free on the internet in solidarity with all the communities around the world standing up to fossil fuel madness.”

Read more:

» The Echo – 28 November 2016:
Filmmakers guide for citizen activists ‘a gift to the planet’

» You can help David Lowe and Cloudcatcher Media make more films like this by chucking something in their virtual tip-jar here: www.cloudcatchermedia.com

» And also: Share on Facebook




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 DIG DEEPER: 

Content of this hour

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


What happened this week?

We randomly mentioned…

» 7News / AAP – 29 November 2016:
SA Liberals propose southeast fracking ban


Solar roadway is going to be rolled out on four continents after successful trial in France this year – hoping to include charging stations for EV’s


This was the plastic ban song we played in The Sustainable Hour

» ABC – 25 November 2016:
Single-use plastic bags to be banned in Queensland from 2018
“Queensland says it will not wait for Victoria and NSW to come on board for an east-coast ban”

Queensland plastic bags ban fantastic news for our oceans
The Queensland government’s announcement that single-use plastic shopping bags will be banned from 2018 is welcome news for marine life, according to the Australian Marine Conservation Society.

“With this announcement, Queensland will join South Australia, ACT, Northern Territory and Tasmania which already have similar bans in place. We welcome the bipartisan support for this critical measure to cut the amount of plastic pollution ending up in our oceans. We encourage all states to join together in cutting plastic pollution,” said said James Cordwell, AMCS Marine Campaigner.

“The banning of bags, along with the implementation of a Container Deposit Scheme, are two encouraging steps for Queensland. These are crucial moves to put an end to an era of these highly damaging items from impacting on our marine environment.”
Excerpt from a media release on Friday 25 November 2016




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“When you come to a fork in the road, take it.”

What fork in the road?

There isn’t any!

Editorial • By Mik Aidt

You often hear people talk about that “we have a choice.” We can either continue living as we do, or we can change. We can continue polluting the air and destroying our children’s future – or we can begin investing in what it takes to become a carbon-neutral society.

But that is wrong. That choice is an illusion. Continuing business as usual is no longer an option. If we don’t quickly change things ourselves, then nature around us will. The World Meteorological Organisation declared 2015 the hottest year ever on record, and 2016 is set to be even hotter. Across Australia we are seeing increased instances of drought, bushfires, tornados, flooding, even wicket ‘asthma thunderstorms’.

“A thumping majority of Australian farmers have concluded they are witnessing the effects of climate change, urging the Coalition government to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prepare the country for a future that is drier, less predictable and more prone to bushfires,” wrote Sydney Morning Herald on 29 November 2016.

We have been told climate change will affect our children and future generations, but as we are seeing it in 2016, climate change is already affecting every aspect of our life, from our economy to our health. People are dying. Even in our area:



» Sydney Morning Herald – 29 November 2016:
We need to do more to understand the impact of climate change on our health
“After the tragic deaths of eight people related to the recent outbreak of thunderstorm asthma in Melbourne, we need to consider the “perfect storm” of climate change.”


So here is the thing: We don’t have a choice. The only way forward is to act. To change. Two important things you need to do. We have a saying in Danish, which goes, “First you must sweep in front of your own house.” Meaning: First you must show the good example – not in words, but in actions. And then, secondly, you must join the general movement, whether just online or in a local community group, to create public pressure – at least until that point when we begin to see bipartisan action in our parliaments to reduce the climate pollution.

This is for instance what the Climate Emergency Declaration mobilisation and petition is all about.

The Great Barrier Reef is a very sad, but also very visible example of how climate change also is an issue of intergenerational theft. According to government agencies, unusually warm waters have bleached and killed 22 per cent of the reef in one hit. It has undergone the worst bleaching event in recorded history. This is a direct result of our generation’s ignoring of the warnings from climate scientists.

Right now – with our inaction – we are robbing that Great Barrier Reef from our children. It is beginning to seem unlikely they will be able to show the wonders of the reef to their children. Some 67 per cent of corals died in the reef’s worst-hit northern section, a report from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies said recently.

Climate change poses such a threat to the reef that the former head of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority has called for a ban on all new coalmines in Australia to protect the reef from climate change. Graeme Kelleher, who was the first chief executive of the authority, a position he held for 16 years, said: “Australia cannot have a healthy Great Barrier Reef and a continuing coal industry.”

» The Guardian – 29 November 2016:
Great Barrier Reef scientists confirm largest die-off of corals recorded
“Higher sea temperatures have led to the worst bleaching event on record, new study finds, with coral predicted to take up to 15 years to recover”




Climate activism


“Forget the politics, we’re making changes now”

Natalie Isaacs, founder of 1 Million Women, wrote:

“Forget the politics, we’re making changes now.

Countries need to dig deeper if we have any chance of keeping the world below 1.5 degrees of warming. Which is why we must rise above any political system and just get on with it.
 
Just imagine if entire populations cut energy usage by 20%, ate half as much meat, stopped over-consuming, or took public transport instead of driving their cars solo. Imagine if we all divested from banks and institutions that invest in fossil fuels and used every single dollar we spend to shape the kind of world we want to live in.

We can’t just fight for climate action, we must live it too. 

There’s no doubt that changing how we live is challenging; we are ingrained in a society of over-consumption, and often detached from the impacts of our lives. To truly, profoundly, and honestly change how we live, we must emotionally connect with what is at stake. We must peel back the lid on the culture of convenience that we live in, and take ownership for our actions.

The world needs a lifestyle revolution and 1 Million Women is leading the charge.”

» The above is an excerpt from this newsletter from 1 Million Women

» www.1millionwomen.com.au

. . . .

Yep, Natalie – well said. This is where we are at: our elected leaders have failed us big time. We must wake up and realise that it is currently entirely up to us – individuals, citizens, residents, families and local communities – if we as a society are to get out of this absolutely irresponsible and life-threatening stalemate, this pathetic political inaction we are seeing, if we want to create real measurable reductions of our climate pollution to protect our children and future generations, securing that they will be able to live in peace and safety on this planet after we have left them.

The transition to a zero carbon society which we have up till now been patiently and quietly waiting for someone else to kickstart for us, is not going to happen unless we collectively begin to be the change that we want to see in the world.

What this also means is that this really is the time to evaluate what your priorities are, how your own lifestyle impacts the planet’s ecosystems, and to figure out what needs to be done differently.

If you want to see change, be that change! There is no other way.

Our leaders have thrown humanity into a climate emergency. But the good news, as this podcast hopefully shows, is that you are not alone about stepping up to that challenge. People are making up their minds about which level of action they are comfortable with, whether it be dinner conversations, mobilising local communities or non-violent protests against fossil fuel projects. Every day more people are joining us on this journey of action.



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Victorian action points

Cam Walker from Friends of the Earth Melbourne wrote in a recent newsletter:

“In 2010 there was a discussion about the staged closure of Hazelwood power station. That evaporated once the Coalition came to power. They gutted the Climate Change Act and removed the Act’s emission reduction targets. Our state lost four valuable years yet climate science made it clear we had no time to waste.

But now there are two significant government policies that will be announced soon. It is essential that we convince the Andrews government that they must act decisively on both of them. The government will soon release a draft coal policy and amendments to the Victorian Climate Change Act which will include a series of emission reduction targets.

This is our chance to set our state on a pathway to a truly sustainable future. But only if we act now.
Please take a few actions which will show the government the scale of public opinion about the need to move beyond coal:

1/ sign our petition to the premier

2/ share the petition

3/ mention the Premier and Resources minister on social media (details here, just scroll down)

4/ send an email to the Premier and Resources minister

5/ if you’ll be in Melbourne, come along to our picnic in All Nations Park this coming Sunday morning to hear about what else we’re doing

6/ help us letter box our lovely campaign postcards in the northern suburbs (just get in touch if you’re keen: cam.walker@foe.org.au)

7/ join our team of volunteers holding info stalls over summer. Contact jemila.rushton@foe.org.au

8/ tell the Coalition you expect them to support action on climate change. Sadly, the Liberals are playing politics on all key climate announcements. Please urge the Leader of the Opposition, Matthew Guy, to offer his parties support for the VRET and other climate policy.

9/ Support our work with a tax deductible donation.

For further details on this campaign please check here.

I really can’t overstate how important these two policies are. They do represent the best chance we will get over the next year to ensure the state government shows real leadership on climate change. Please act today.”



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Standing Rock protests

Support Native American’s simply by viewing and sharing this video

Native Americans wrote:
“STOP !!! And share this around the world . Thank you for sharin.Please post where you’re from so i can track how far the video. How many LIKES & SHARE can get this video ?”

The protesters in the video are saying no to an oil pipeline and to fossil fuel pollution on their land and in their drinking water. The insanity of the fossil madmen has got to stop. We are in a global climate emergency and the time is seriously over for building more oil, coal and gas infrastructure. These companies should be building wind turbines and solar plants while investing in developing new and even better renewable energy sources.


“The images are burned into my mind right now, of the sounds of my people screaming in horror.”
– This woman spoke about the brutality of the DAPL arrests. Interview via Josh Fox.

Over 2,000 veterans are expected to travel to Standing Rock on Sunday, pledging to act as “human shields” for the protestors. Led by former Marine Corps member Michael A. Wood Jr., the group promises to “defend the water protectors from assault and intimidation at the hands of the militarized police force.”







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When the chips were down over the years, the Australian ‘can do’ attitude coupled with our unique inventiveness has got us out of a number of sticky situations. It’s time to come together to take on the biggest challenge we’ve faced to date. Let’s leave behind our differences and get on with the job of fixing climate change.

» www.generationyes.com.au



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» ABC – 30 November 2016:
Tree-sitters stop logging operation in south-east NSW forests
Protesters have stopped logging operations twice in the last week in the south-east forests of New South Wales.

» ABC – 29 November 2016:
Fracking report says no to controversial process without community consent
Unconventional gas exploration or production should not go ahead in South Australia’s south-east without a social licence, the Natural Resources Committee has recommended.




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Make a call for our climate

Important legislation to reduce climate pollution and protect Victoria from global warming is currently before the Victorian Parliament. This is the moment of truth for the Victorian Coalition: where do they really stand on climate change?

Environment Victoria asks: “Can you take one minute to call Coalition Leader Matthew Guy and ask him to support stronger climate laws?” » Read more

The Climate Change Bill 2016 was introduced to the Victorian Parliament last week. If passed, it will:
• Establish a target of net zero climate pollution by 2050
• Require five-yearly emissions targets from 2020 onwards
• Improve accountability and transparency on efforts to cut emissions
• Ensure all arms of government are properly factoring climate change and emissions reductions into their decisions.

Most of this is procedural and not particularly attention-grabbing, but it is really important. And climate change is too serious for party politics – we need all parties to support stronger climate laws.

Would you like to sit in the Parliament public gallery in Melbourne when this bill is being debated? A big presence will let all politicians know that we are scrutinising their actions for current and future Victorians. This could happen at any time during the sitting week, but if you sign up with your mobile number below Environment Victoria will text you on the day.

» More information on www.environmentvictoria.org.au


“There is no cavalry left. We are the cavalry. It’s left up to cities to be the innovators, to be the agents of change, and to do it in a practical way.”
Darden Rice, St. Petersburg City Council member and chair of the city’s Energy, Natural Resources & Sustainability Committee, told ThinkProgress


» ThinkProgress – 2 December 2016:
‘There is no cavalry left’: Cities prepare to lead the way on climate action
“It’s not just about the big international agreements — some of the most important progress starts small.”



Climate facts


» The Independent – 1 December 2016:
Climate change escalating so fast it is ‘beyond point of no return’



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150 years of global warming in a minute-long symphony

Sometimes, a tune can say so much more than an image or words. Here, we turn almost 150 years of global temperatures into music. The higher the temperature, the higher the pitch of the note. And the louder the note, the more carbon there is in the atmosphere

» The Guardian video



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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qd0cl10oaF0



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Published on youtube.com on 30 August 2016



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Pay for damage





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» AOL – 29 November 2016:
Major cities could be underwater ‘in our lifetimes’ because of melting ice shelf


A farewell to ice

“Some Xmas Reading,” suggests climate blogger Peter Gardner

farewell-to-ice-bookcover-small“In the ‘Call to Arms’ chapter Wadhams pessimistically examines a number of options including geoengineering, but makes a call for the improvement of climate science. He also calls on readers to condemn what he call the ‘black tide of denial’ of the climate sceptics. He notes that their “insidious opposition to taking action on climate change is now being fomented by well financed groups of malevolent people and organizations. These organizations focus on planting stories in the media and persuading timid or ignorant politicians that we cannot afford to do anything about global warming, even if it actually exists” (p.199) – a position we well understand here in Oz.

‘A Farewell to Ice’ is easy reading, has colour plates of maps, diagrams and photos, illustrating various aspects of the text. It should be great Xmas reading or perhaps could be a present for your favourite climate change denying uncle or politician.”
Excerpt of book review by Peter Gardner

» Read the review



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Black Saturday bushfires
The Glen Cromie Caravan Park in Drouin pictured during the 2009 Victorian Black Saturday bushfires.

Megafires: “Unfightable”

Researchers predict megafires in Australia will not only become more frequent but more intense. Australian firefighters warn that unless there was real leadership shown on climate change, such disasters would continue to occur.

“The cost of not addressing the root cause of worsening bushfires is high, and growing ever higher. This is a real threat because it has the potential to be so catastrophic,” said Australian Firefighters Climate Alliance spokesman Jim Casey. He a candidate for The Greens at the recent federal election. Mr Casey spoke with Debra Killalea, journalist with news.com.au.

“It’s no longer a question of belief. It’s just a question of whether you can read and a question of scientific research.”

The Australian Firefighters Climate Alliance warn everywhere west of the Great Dividing Range face higher risks of mega firestorms than ever before. While acknowledging bushfires are and will always be part of the Australian way of life, Mr Casey said megafires were a nightmare for authorities.

“With shorter winters and less time to do hazard reduction burning, it creates perfect conditions for fires like this. Their real danger is their size, they are unfightable,” he said. “When fire crews are faced with fire fronts stretching across 50km and it’s 10m high, the only option is to leave.”

Jim Casey is an urban firefighter in New South Wales and the Secretary of the Fire Brigade Employees’ Union.

» Sky News – 25 November 2016:
Bigger, hotter ‘firestorms to become the new normal’ in Australia

firefighters-frontline560


“Its inhabitable”

» Climate Central – 29 November 2016:
Tennessee Wildfire is ‘Unlike Anything We’ve Ever Seen’
“The Southeast’s spate of freakish fall fires continued on Monday night. Tinderbox conditions and powerful winds whipped up a firestorm in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, forcing the evacuation of at least 14,000 residents from the gateway communities of Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, Tenn.”



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China is to spend US$ 102 billion on wind power in the next four years. That will create around 300,000 jobs, bringing the total number of employees to 800,000, Xinhua news agency reported.

China is responsible for about a quarter of global emissions with an energy mix dominated by coal, and even though $102 billion and 300,000 new jobs in just four years are big numbers, the reality of this is that the proportion of non-fossil energy in the energy, which currently is around 11 per cent, is still not projected to exceed more than around 20 per cent by 2030.

» Source: www.indianexpress.com



Climate pessimism


The threat of climate change

David Attenborough on climate change: ‘The world will be transformed’

An extract from Liberatum’s documentary ‘In this Climate’, in which a range of cultural and environmental figures including Noam Chomsky, David Attenborough and Mark Ruffalo respond to the threat of climate change and to the deniers. The full-length film is scheduled for release before the World Economic Forum in January 2017.

This trailer was published on youtube.com on 29 November 2016.



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Guy McPherson: “Human extinction within 10 years”

“The human destruction of our own habitat is leading towards the world’s sixth mass extinction. Instead of fighting, we should just embrace it and live life while we can,” says Guy McPherson, professor at the University of Arizona.

» Newshub, New Zealand – 24 November 2016:
Humans ‘don’t have 10 years’ left thanks to climate change – scientist

Here’s a bit of an antidote to McPherson’s very pessimistic worldview:



Climate politics


“You’ve got [federal energy minister] Mr Frydenberg overseas saying nice things and signing Australia up to greenhouse targets, which is terrific, but then he comes back to Queensland and bags us for actually backing in that target and acting on climate change,” he says. “He speaks with forked tongue on this.”
Mark Bailey, energy minister, Queensland state government



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“Politicians ignore the evidence”

“Despite all of these troubling statistics and predictions, Australia’s government shows little interest in setting strong climate goals and facilitating the transition away from coal. In fact, the Australian delegation arrived at the COP22 climate talks in Morocco without having ratified the Paris agreement (although it has since been ratified), and with some of the weakest greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets among all the participating nations.

Rather than explore ways to bring domestic policies in line with the international community, Australia’s politicians seem more concerned with protecting the coal industry and promising that the fossil fuel will be part of Australia’s energy mix for “many, many, many decades to come.”

By doing so, they are not only steering Australia to a hotter, more dangerous, and less healthy future, but also cheating Australians out of the positive co-benefits of transitioning away from coal and other fossil fuels.”
Michael Marmot



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A $700 billion conflict of interest

While this is the 150th Sustainable Hour podcast, in the United States and on a similar weekly basis, the Democratic senator Sheldon Whitehouse has delivered 150 speeches on climate change – 150 pleas for climate action, warning his political peers of the perils of ignoring climate science. In his 150th speech on 29 November 2016, Whitehouse said that Donald Trump may have won the presidency, but with operatives like Myron Ebell, the Koch brothers are moving in to run it.

“The new president will hear from our military, our national labs, and NASA (who, with a rover driving around on Mars, may actually know a little science) that this is deadly serious. I encourage President-elect Trump to listen to these voices of reason and expertise, not to the Swamp Things. Don’t be taken in by industry lobbyists and front groups, scratching and clawing to protect a $700 billion conflict of interest,” said Whitehouse.

Trump isn’t keen on listening to scientists, but does seem to care what his family members think. Whitehouse added, “Consider listening to your children, who joined you just seven years ago in saying climate science was ‘irrefutable,’ and portends ‘catastrophic and irreversible’ consequences.”

Trump and co. really did say that. They signed a letter arguing for global climate action. This was uncovered by the American magazine Grist a few months before he was elected.


» Victorian Labor Media Release:
Liberals, Nationals Need To Come Clean On Fracking
“Minister for Resources Wade Noonan has urged Victoria’s Liberal and Nationals to reveal their stance on fracking, in the wake of their South Australian colleagues committing to a 10-year moratorium for unconventional gas.”



Carbon optimism and solutions


“Last year 500,000 solar panels were installed every day around the world. In China alone, home to a whopping 40% of the 153 gigawatts (GW) of global growth in renewable energy installations, two wind turbines were erected every hour.

Based on existing policies, it forecasts that from 2015-21, 825GW of new renewable capacity will be added globally, 13% more than it projected just last year.”


» The Economist – 29 October 2016:
Wind and solar advance in the power war against coal


Published by Bloomberg on youtube.com on 22 June 2016




theclimatesolution.com
www.theclimatesolution.com



Calendar




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Thursday 15th December at 6pm at The Farmer’s Place



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Solar powered, zero-waste music and arts festival

Australia’s first solar powered, zero-waste music and arts festival, Off the Grid, has unveiled The Palimpsest, a second stage for their inaugural conference program that will present some of Australia’s leading environmentalists, architects, activists, entrepreneurs and foodies to the ACCA Forecourt.

» More information: www.greenmagazine.com.au/the-palimpsest



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icon_small-arrow_RIGHT Podcasts and posts about climate change

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Acknowledgement

We at The Sustainable Hour would like to pay our respect to the traditional custodians of the land on which we are broadcasting, the Wathaurong People, and pay our respect to their elders, past, present and future.

The traditional owners lived in harmony with the environment and with the climate for hundreds of generations. It is not clear – yet – that as European settlers we have demonstrated that we can live in harmony for hundreds of generations, but it is clear that we can learn from the indigenous, traditional owners of this land.

When we talk about the future, it means extending our respect to those children not yet born, the generations of the future – remembering the old saying that…



The decisions currently being made around Australia to ignore climate change are being made by those who won’t be around by the time the worst effects hit home. How utterly disgusting, disrespectful and unfair is that?




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Hours and hours of sustainable podcasts

Listen to all of The Sustainable Hour radio shows in full length and in selected excerpts:

» Archive on climatesafety.info

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