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The Sustainable Hour no 355 – in the name of love, rage and and climate activism. Interviews with and speeches by members of the Extinction Rebellion and Fridays for Future movements.
Content overview:
02:31 Colin Mockett‘s global outlook
10:28 Tony Gleeson reporting live from Extinction Rebellion’s camp in Melbourne
13:31 and 31:53 and 1:04:24 Tim Neville, 25-year-old Extinction Rebellion media spokesperson, who was employed full time in the contruction industry until he quit his job to work full time as a climate activist.
18:37 Natalia Shara, author of a new cli-fi book – meaning: a climate science-fiction book – called ‘Descendants of Power’
28:37 Clip from the Marvel movie ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’
36:44 Report from the Fridays for Future event in Geelong on 19 March 2021. Speakers: Tony Gleeson, Caroline Danaher and Neo Williams.
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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 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 the climate emergency 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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severe weather warning is expanded to include almost every state and territory in Australia.”
~ The New Daily on 23 March 2021
“This week, as floods inundate New South Wales, we are reminded of what’s at stake. We know more severe and frequent climate disasters are happening. A good government would invest in the solutions to help us prepare, recover, and stop the damage at its root cause.”
~ Newsletter from GetUp!’s Climate Justice Team
A ‘surprise’ everyone had seen coming
“Since records began, we haven’t seen these types of numbers before.”
~ Jonathan How, senior meteorologist at the Bureau of Meteorology
→ The Conversation – 24 March 2021:
Yes, Australia is a land of flooding rains. But climate change could be making it worse
“Joelle Gergis, Senior Lecturer in Climate Science, Australian National University, looks at the link between increased flooding risk and climate change in The Conversation.”
“There are fears that many will not evacuate and be trapped by rising flood waters, overwhelming the capacity of emergency services to rescue them. But rather than encouraging residents to move to safer ground, the NSW government plans to move another 134,000 people into the area by 2050.”
→ The New Daily – 23 March 2021:
‘The valley can fill up like a bathtub’: Experts warn of known NSW flood risk
“The emergency evacuation of thousands of Western Sydney residents living in flood-prone areas has been 200 years in the making, climate experts say.”
“Insurance catastrophe”
“The Insurance Council of Australia declared large parts of New South Wales an “insurance catastrophe” because of the widespread storms and floods.”
→ ABC News – 22 March 2021:
BOM warns more wild weather to come as tropical cloud band collides with east coast trough
” ‘Absolutely incredible totals’ are set to continue as weather systems collide, bringing a peak to the rain into Tuesday with every state and territory, except Western Australia, expected to be under some sort of heavy rain warning by this evening.”
→ ABC News – 22 March 2021:
NSW flooding forces 18,000 people to evacuate, schools closed, workers told to stay home
“A severe weather alert is in place for almost three-quarters of New South Wales as evacuation warnings remain for large parts of Sydney’s west and the Mid North Coast.”
→ The Shovel – 22 March 2021:
NSW Residents Facing Fourth Once-In-A-Hundred-Year Event Since Last January
“As flood waters continue to rise across the state, residents of New South Wales are weathering their fourth once-in-a-lifetime event since the start of last year. Penrith resident Helen McMannis said she would be telling the grandkids about the floods of 2021, after she’d finished telling them about the floods, smoke, bushfires and global pandemic of 2020. “I haven’t seen a weather event of this scale during a Sydney summer since last summer,” she said.”
→ The New Daily – 22 March 2021:
Thousands more must evacuate amid prediction NSW floodwaters will cover homes
“The Hawkesbury is predicted to reach a peak of about 15 metres on Monday afternoon, with homes and properties expected to be flooded, some up to roof height. The once-in-a-generation flooding will not just cut off evacuation routes but it could displace residents and disrupt utilities for months. It could also prompt as many as 4000 evacuations. That will likely exceed the capacity of emergency services.”
→ NewsCorp – 21 March 2021:
NSW Floods: A one in 100-year event
“Several areas of NSW are suffering under intense rains and flooding in what has been dubbed as a one-in-one-hundred-year event.”
→ The Independent – 17 March 2021:
More than 10 million people displaced by climate disasters in six months, report finds
“About 10.3 million people were displaced by climate change-induced events such as flooding and droughts in the last six months.”
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Come to Camp Calton in Melbourne – near the corner of Rathdowne St and Victoria St in the Carlton Gardens and join the actions. There are non-arrestable roles in all of them if that’s what you prefer.
The XR rebellion is getting quite a bit of media attention. So even if you don’t come to join, you can share their posts and comment to show your support:
Here’s the XR Vic page on Facebook:
www.facebook.com/XRVictoria
And here’s XR Australia:
www.facebook.com/XRAustralia
Here’s some of the tv coverage:
www.fb.watch/4q4l5mDOSy
www.fb.watch/4oE93EHsu4
www.fb.watch/4q3lz7hEf8
Extinction Rebellion UK’s weekly roundup of climate and Extinction Rebellion news
“Maintain your rage and enthusiasm”
“Maintain your rage and enthusiasm through the campaign for the election now to be held and until polling day.”
~ Gough Whitlam, in 1975
Gough Whitlam (1916–2014) won the Federal seat of Werriwa in 1952, was deputy leader of the Australian Labor Party from 1960 to 1967, and was then its leader until the end of 1977, a record term for the party. Having campaigned with the slogan ‘It’s Time’, Whitlam was elected prime minister in December 1972, instituting a number of major social reforms before his Labor government was dismissed in November 1975. Whitlam called on the people of Australia to ‘maintain your rage and enthusiasm‘ against the dismissal and for the coming election campaign, but Labor was comprehensively defeated at the election in mid-December 1975.
~ Source: National Portrait Gallery
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The reality of sexual predation and climate change
”There has been a lot of discussion in the media lately about two important subjects. The public is now calling for better ethics and responsibility on the part of those in power. We want a safer world, safe from physical and sexual abuse, and safe from the threat to life on Earth from the effects of climate change caused by fossil fuels.
We have known for years about the reality of sexual predation, but many people have been repetitively groomed by a section of the media and doubt the reality of climate change. “Australia has always had droughts and floods”, some repeat, as they turn on the air conditioning.
Last year Australia was the hottest place on Earth. Many Australians lost their homes in the massive 2019/2020 fires. Precious lives were lost.
According to the Climate Council: “Globally, the risk of extreme rainfall and flooding events like those currently devastating Australian communities is increasing with climate change. The global average temperature has already risen by around 1.1°C. For every 1°C rise in temperature, the atmosphere is able to hold around 7% more water.”
Our children’s lives are at risk: If your house were on fire and your children were trapped inside, would you call the Fire Brigade, or would you call the neighbourhood pyromaniac and allow them to add to the flames with their choice of fuels?”
Australia needs to vote for government with integrity, not one prepared to endanger the future with subsidies to new gas and coal mines.”
Gillian Blair, Warrnambool, Victoria
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“The aim of ‘The Dance’ is to showcase the beautiful Geelong region and many of
our amazing individuals and community groups who are making a difference.”
“The supermarket giant Coles has pledged to source all its electricity from renewable sources across its brands by 2025 after signing another agreement to buy clean power from a Victorian windfarm. The move means all three of Australia’s major supermarkets, including Woolworths and Aldi, will be sourcing all their electricity from renewables by 2025 at the latest.”
→ The Guardian – 19 March 2021:
Coles shuns coal: supermarket giant vows to source all its electricity from renewables by 2025
“Australian climate campaigners hail decision: ‘An announcement like this changes the national story’”
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“Catholics demand action against the climate emergency”
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CLIMATE COUNCIL:
How are floods influenced by climate change?
“It’s been devastating watching the worsening flooding disaster unfold. New South Wales and Queensand have been hit particularly hard so far, whilst 10 million Australians are currently subject to an extreme weather warning covering every state and territory except Western Australia.
We hope you are keeping safe and encourage you to keep up to date with the emergency warnings via your local State Emergency Service.
Many people have been asking us over the past few days how flooding events are being influenced by climate change, so here are the facts:
Globally, the risk of extreme rainfall and flooding events like those currently devastating Australian communities is increasing with climate change. The global average temperature has already risen by around 1.1°C, and for every 1°C rise in temperature, the atmosphere is able to hold around 7% more water.
This extra heat and moisture means more energy for weather systems that generate intense rainfall, and in Australia, we’re already seeing an increase in the intensity of heavy rainfall events.
Our weather over summer and autumn has also been influenced by a La Niña event, which tends to bring more rain for much of Australia. But it’s important to remember: everything we are experiencing today is occurring in the context of a rapidly warming planet.
Share this image on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram to help educate Australians on the link between climate change and flood risk. Our thoughts are with the many Australian communities dealing with the floods right now. For many, this is the latest in a line of climate change-exacerbated extreme weather events they have faced, including drought, the Black Summer bushfires, and scorching heatwaves.
It’s time for all levels of government and businesses to step up their climate efforts by helping communities cope with increasing extreme weather events; and cutting emissions so that we protect people, their livelihoods and our environment.
Our leaders must take decisive action now to bring climate change under control.”
Professor Will Steffen
Climate Councillor
P.S. Find out more about how climate change is influencing extreme weather events like these in the Climate Council’s report, Hitting Home: the compounding costs of climate inaction.
References:
The Guardian Live: 10m Australians under weather warning as two systems collide – as it happened
If you need assistance during a flood event, call your local State Emergency Service (SES) on 132 500 or Triple Zero in a life-threatening situation.
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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.
Petitions
→ List of petitions where you can add your name
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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.
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