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Our time in The Tunnel on 18 August 2021 is devoted entirely to Geelong Sustainability. We have President Vicki Perrett and Vice-President Jennifer Jarrard on.
Two weeks ago we had Charles Street and father-son combination Les and Ryan Dew on the show talking about their concerns about the proposed Prospect Hill “waste to energy” project slated for construction in Lara. Vicki and Jennifer have researched this project well and add to the weight of evidence already presented against what they strongly feel would be a toxic project if it gets approval. The online petition they are running against it can be found here. We urge everyone to support it.
Also, Geelong Sustainability hopes that everyone in our community will get on board and support Geelong Council’s proposal to set a target of net zero carbon by 2035. Submit your opinion to Council here before 25 August 2021.
We start today’s show with some important questions and advice related to the sixth IPCC Climate Report, the latest version of which came out last week. If there was any doubt about the veracity of the science on climate, this was well and truly shattered by this report. It has left many people shocked at the harsh reality of the climate crisis we face. This in return has made us to feel some responsibility.
Yes, we have to talk about how bad things are, but with this comes a responsibility to give hope. Because here is the thing: We have everything we need in terms of solutions. We know what has to happen. However, there are two things – only two things – still lacking: 1) Political will, and 2) The number of people who are prepared to stand up to change that political will.
The big question facing us is: Can we do this?
[11:49] Damon Gameau, director of the film “2040”, tells us in a two-minute Facebook-clip that, yes we can: We know we can stay under 1.5 degrees with a massive stopping and down-scaling of any gas, coal or oil right now, moving to renewables. But also huge reforestation programs, planting trees, fixing our soil health, growing sea weed, whatever it takes to pull that carbon out of the atmosphere.
[03:20] Colin Mockett‘s Global Outlook this week begins with a new report from the US-based National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration which found that July 2021 was the hottest month on record. Ever. That is, since it began taking temperature 142 years ago. This information is so new that it wasn’t included in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Sixth Assessment Report that was issued last week.
Colin then reports on some of the reactions to that report, from UN Secretary general António Guterres, US special envoy John Kerry, UK prime minister Boris Johnson – and Australia’s present government.
He finishes with a warning that multinational oil companies, led by Exxon, were undermining the report using social media initiatives that put themselves forward as having possible technical solutions to the report’s ‘problems’. Their “greenwashing” must be recognised and called out at all costs.
We end the show today with Missy Higgins’ ‘The Difference’ and the very recognisable voice of young climate revolutionary – Greta Thunberg from Sweden – who has some timely advice for all of us.
That’s a wrap from The Sustainable Hour for another week. We’ll be back next week with another dose of climate solutions for you our listeners to consider, next week with a focus on how we change politics in Parliament. Till then, we hope you will join us in doing our best to be a part of the solution – find your role in the climate revolution. As they say in Geelong Sustainability: We can all inspire hope through action, and we can be more with less.
“You need two flames burning in the human heart: the flame of anger against injustice and the flame of hope you can build a better world.”
~ Tony Benn
“The IPCC released their sixth report with more than 500 authors, 14,000 papers cited. We now have a very robust scientific assessment of exactly what’s going on and we know what we need to do to fix it. We’re on track for 1.5 degrees warming in the next two decades. We are already at 1.1 degrees and we are seeing the fires we are getting and the floods we are getting. Well, 1.5 degrees – that is even more intensity of storms, more fires and flooding and there are some things that are irreversible: the ocean acidification, the melting of the ice caps and even the rising seas. So now is the time. It is a Code Red for humanity. (…)
Now is the time to find our agency. We know we can stay under 1.5 degrees with a massive stopping and down-scaling of any gas, coal or oil right now, moving to renewables. But also huge reforestation programs, planting trees, fixing our soil health, growing sea weed, whatever it takes to pull that carbon out of the atmosphere. Now is the time.
So, here it is: Talk about it, find your agency at school, at work, with your friends and family, but please: vote! We’ve got to get rid of any leader that doesn’t want to accept the complexity of this science but is still tied to any kind of vested interest. They are destroying the future for our children and all living systems. They need to go. So talk about it, vote, take action in any way you can, because this is the moment.”
~ Damon Gameau, director of the film ‘2040’
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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 disrespectful and unfair is that?
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A mental health crisis is looming
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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 running petitions where we encourage you to 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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Podcast archive
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