Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:00:00 — 17.2MB)
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | RSS | More
Our guests in The Tunnel on 1 July 2020 – The Sustainable Hour no 321 – are:
Peter Martin, Queenscliff and Port Lonsdale Anglican minister. Five years ago, in the days when Pope Francis’ encyclical letter Laudato Si’ had just been published, we had Peter setting a precedent on this show in creating one whole minute of silence. We’ll never forget that very special moment. Today he is back to talk about the launch on Sunday of the local chapter of the Australian Religious Response to Climate Change, ARRCC. We posted an excerpt of the interview on Youtube.
Vicki Perrett and Claire Ziegler from Geelong Sustainability talking about their latest exciting project in partnership witfh Deakin University and other strong community players: building a ‘micro village’ – a small, sustainable and climate neutral social housing project in Geelong as a pilot study for others to follow.
Between the two interviews, we have the very appropriately entitled song ‘Strange Days’ by Inanna.
Colin Mockett‘s Global Outlook today addresses three items:
• The dire implications for the Arctic regions of the current unprecedented high temperatures.
• Our Reserve Banks’s announcement over the weekend to join 66 other national Central Banks in their public warning of the horrific economic consequences of following business as usual in any stimulus packages post Covid-19.
• The recent decision by a local super fund for health care workers, HESTA, to walk away from any exposure to thermal coal projects – they are now actively looking for alternatives that won’t cost us the earth, literally.
You’ll find more info and links below on this page. Until next week, be that difference.
“Our goal is not to amass information or to satisfy curiosity, but rather to become painfully aware, to dare to turn what is happening in the world into our own personal suffering and thus discover what each of us can do about it.”
~ Laudato Si’ 19, quoted by Queenscliff and Point Lonsdale Vicar Peter Martin in The Sustainable Hour
→ Subscribe to The Sustainable Hour podcast via iTunes or Stitcher
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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 land. They nurtured it and thrived in often harsh conditions for millenia before they were invaded. Their land was then stolen from them – it wasn’t ceeded. It is becoming more and more obvious that, if we are to survive the climate emergency we are facing, we have much to learn from their land management practices.
Our battle for climate justice won’t be won until our First Nations brothers and sisters have their true justice. 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…
“We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors. We borrow it from our children.”
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?
Voices for the trees
National action for forests, which includes XR Forests, has reached forests in Gunaikurnai, Wurundjeri, Tuangurung, and Djab wurrung country. The rest of the nation will soon join in.
It began in late May 2020 with four protests at the same time the Federal court ruled that VicForests had logged illegally in 26 areas of forest in Victoria. On that day, logging was stopped in Baw Baw, Big Pats near Warburton and the Kinglake ranges, with a simultaneous action in the front of Daniel Andrews’ office.
Then in early June, logging was again halted in Big Pats forest, Baw Baw, and a log truck was halted in Toolangi while solidarity protests were held outside Parliament, and in two other locations.
Since then they have escalated. On 9 June logging was stopped in six logging operations with a simultaneous solidarity action in a previously logged area.
If you’d like to help out, come and join a small crew to scout forest areas on weekends. You’ll learn more about the campaign and help to familiarise ourselves with the roads and active logging areas.
→ For location and meeting details, email: xrforests@protonmail.com or message www.facebook.com/XRforests
Geelong’s religious response to climate change
“Go to the heart.”
~ Peter Martin, Vicar of the parish at Queenscliff and Point Lonsdale
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Latest in The Regenerative Hour series
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Ask the election candidates and CEOs: What’s your plan?
At the end of 2019, Mark Carney, former head of the Bank of England issued a warning to the financial sector on climate change: companies that fail to adapt to climate change will cease to exist.
A question for every company, every financial institution, every asset manager, pension fund or insurer: what’s your plan?
In the transition to net-zero carbon emissions, every sector, including financial institutions, will need to play their part. But the financial world is moving far too slowly and there’s a long way to go.
Nigel Topping is the UK’s High Level Climate Action Champion for COP26, the UN’s climate change conference taking place in 2021.
In this wide-ranging TED interview, Topping discusses his work with scientists, businesses and cities to drive action on climate change and get the world committed to net zero emissions by 2050. He also explains why he thinks the COVID-19 pandemic could accelerate the transition to a green economy, creating jobs that will last and building a cleaner world for us all.
This virtual conversation, hosted by TED global curator Bruno Giussani and current affairs curator Whitney Pennington Rodgers, was recorded on 26 May 2020.
The coronavirus brought much of the world to a standstill, dropping carbon emissions by five percent. Al Gore says keeping those rates down is now up to us.
In this illuminating interview, he discusses how the steadily declining cost of wind and solar energy will transform manufacturing, transportation and agriculture, offer a cheaper alternative to fossil fuels and nuclear energy and create millions of new jobs.
This virtual conversation, hosted by head of TED Chris Anderson, was recorded 23 June 2020. They have a lively debate about geoengineering and we hear Gore’s thoughts about how humanity can create a clean, prosperous future through a focused global effort and a generation of young people committed to change.
#BuildBackBetter
Six key principles for the economic recovery according to The Australia Institute:
1. Put people first
– Millions of Australian are suffering from a lack of work and a lack of income, the government can fix this.
2. Manage the economy, not the budget
– There is no point building a budget surplus on the backs of broken families and broken communities.
3. Bang for our buck
– Of all the ways to spend public money, which projects create the most jobs and the most community benefits?
4. Lasting benefits
– While all government spending will create some jobs, government spending on things we need more of will still be creating economic growth, a cleaner economy and individual joy decades after it has ceased creating jobs.
5. Clear criteria and democratic accountability
– The government’s response to COVID-19, and any bodies established to assist with the response, must meet good governance standards, with transparent and clear processes and objectives, external oversight, opportunities for public participation and diverse representation.
6. Voice. Treaty. Truth
– None of the health or economic challenges facing Australia should be used as an excuse to delay acting on the Uluru Statement from the Heart, on the contrary, the spirit of political cooperation and bipartisanship shown in recent times should be harnessed to act on it.
Chief economist Richard Denniss and climate and energy program director Richie Merzian launched this Reconstruction Memorandum.
→ See more and add your name to the Memorandum on nb.tai.org.au/reconstruction_memo
The Queenscliffe climate survey had 269 respondents of which 84% have their primary residence in the Borough of Queenscliffe.
In the news
→ JobOneForHumanity – 25 June 2020:
Planet primed for runaway global heating
“As the Arctic goes, so goes the planet. On 23 June 2020, a new record high temperature was recorded in the Siberian Arctic. The northern Russian town of Verkhoyansk hit a stunning 38°C (100.4°F), which is 18°C (32.6°F) higher than normal. Climate experts were shocked, as this Arctic heating was not predicted by models to occur until the end of this century. With this, the planetary climate emergency has reached a far higher level of “dire,” increasing the threat to our future survival. The reason is runaway.”
→ The New Yorker – 27 June 2020:
A disastrous summer in the Arctic
→ The Guardian – 29 June 2020:
Australia could create hundreds of thousands of jobs by accelerating shift to zero emissions – report
“Decarbonising the economy by investing in renewable energy, clean buildings, clean transport and manufacturing could help fight the recession.”
→ Business Insider – 30 June 2020:
Mike Cannon-Brookes has endorsed a plan to create 1.8 million jobs and turn Australia into a ‘renewable energy superpower’
“Think tank Beyond Zero Emissions (BZE) has launched its ‘Million Jobs Plan’ mapping a vision for an acceleration of the renewable energy sector. It plans to create 1.8 million jobs via the acceleration of new energy projects, creation of new zero-energy social housing and retrofitting of existing stock. The framework for creating 1.8 million jobs was backed by corporate heavyweights Mike Atlassian co-founder Cannon-Brookes, First State Super CEO Deanne Stewart, and long-serving corporate director Kevin McCann, as well as former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.”
→ ABC News – 29 June 2020:
NSW buys outback station in state’s largest single property purchase for a national park
“With nearby Sturt National Park, Narriearra will create a conservation area of close to half a million hectares, or twice the size of the Australian Capital Territory.”
→ The Guardian – 25 June 2020:
Morrison government has failed in its duty to protect environment, auditor general finds
“Conservation groups call for independent environment regulator after scathing review of national laws.”
→ Overland – 18 June 2020:
The return of the real
“What exactly is real about the world of unlimited air travel, kaleidoscopic economic development and an infallible commodity supply chain that we have inhabited until very recently? What sort of fantasy world were we living in where an empty supermarket shelf marked a traumatic intrusion of the real?”
→ Business Insider – 25 June 2020:
Atlassian is building the world’s tallest hybrid timber building in Sydney as its new headquarters. Here’s what it will look like
“At 180 metres, this will be the tallest hybrid timber building in the world. The building will be located in a new tech precinct in inner Sydney.”
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Events we have talked about in The Sustainable Hour
Events in Victoria
The following is a collation of Victorian climate change events, activities, seminars, exhibitions, meetings and protests. Most are free, many ask for RSVP (which lets the organising group know how many to expect), some ask for donations to cover expenses, and a few require registration and fees. This calendar is provided as a free service by volunteers of the Victorian Climate Action Network. Information is as accurate as possible, but changes may occur.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
→ Podcasts and posts on this website about climate emergency
→ Latest news on BBC about climate change
Live-streaming on pause
The Sustainable Hour is normally streamed live on the Internet every Wednesday from 11am to 12pm (Melbourne time), but due to the corona lockdown, the radio station has been closed.
» To listen to the program on your computer or phone, click here – or go to www.947thepulse.com where you then click on ‘Listen Live’ on the right.
Podcast archive
Over 300 hours of sustainable podcasts
Listen to all of The Sustainable Hour radio shows in full length:
→ Archive on climatesafety.info – with additional links
→ Archive on itunes.apple.com – iPhone friendly
Receive our podcast newsletter in your mailbox
We send this newsletter out around eight times a year.
Email address and surname is mandatory – all other fields are optional.
You can unsubscribe at any time.
Find The Sustainable Hour on social media
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/TheSustainableHour
→ Overview of all podcast front covers
Twitter:
www.twitter.com/SustainableHour Twitter tag: @SustainableHour
YouTube channel:
www.youtube.com/c/thesustainablehour
Share this podcast in social media
→ Share this podcast on www.twitter.com and www.facebook.com
Sharing solutions that make the climate safer and our cities more liveable