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The Sustainable Hour no. 458 | Podcast notes
Our guests in The Sustainable Hour no. 458 on 10 May 2023 are Mother’s Rebellion organiser Cat Macleod, ‘Carbon Colonialism’ author Laurie Parsons and director at A Human Agency Katriina Tahka.
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Cat Macleod is one of the organisers of the Mother’s Rebellion For Climate Justice in Melbourne on this coming Saturday. We find out that this event is part of an international action: so far about 20 countries are having events to highlight women’s concerns about the impact which the climate crisis will have on the children they love.
Cat is keen to get the message out so that many women and allies can join them on this coming Saturday outside the National Gallery of Victoria. It will be a silent vigil where the participants form a circle all facing out. This is symbolic of the fact that women are observing what is happening and aren’t afraid to stand up to the injustice of it all.
→ If you want to know more about this event go here: Mother’s Rebellion for Climate Justice on Saturday 13 May 2023 at 10:30am.
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Laurie Parsons is an English geography academic who speaks to us from Cambodia where he is currently undertaking field work. Our chat focuses on his book, ‘Carbon Colonialism’, which has just come out. He tells us why he wrote it as well as what it’s about.
Amongst other things, we get to learn the impact of importing bricks into England, and what is wrong with our current legislation.
Laurie Parsons is Senior Lecturer in Human Geography at Royal Holloway, University of London, who explores how climate change is articulated through the social, political and economic systems within which we live.
He says whatever carbon reduction targets we set for ourselves, we will never be able to properly tackle the climate emergency without first tackling the implicit “carbon colonialism” that underpins our approach to climate change. A topic which relates to what we discussed with corporate lawyer Robert Hinkley, who we have invited to Geelong on 25 May to speak about his idea about adopting a Code for Corporate Citizenship in the Corporate Law.
→ For those who want to know more about Laurie’s work, watch his presentation: Carbon Colonialism: How Rich Countries Export Climate Breakdown and read his article in The Conversation: Carbon colonialism must be challenged if we want to make climate progress.
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Katriina Tahka is an Australian with strong family connections to Finland. We tracked her down after she posted on social media about Finland being declared the country with the happiest citizens in the world for five years in a row. We have a fascinating discussion with her about the various ingredients that led to their happiness. What is it about the Nordic countries that allows them to be so much more people-centred and able to make proactive rather than reactive decisions like our poor excuses for leaders here? Katriina replies:
“In Australia, we have a very short-term view of the world when we make decisions. And I would say that about any CEO, any senior leadership, any board and government. KPI – Key Performance Indicator – tends to be measured on 12-month cycles, so people get rewarded on 12-month cycles, which leads to a lot of 12-month thinking. Whereas in Finland I’m aware that a lot of decisions are tested on the basis of what’s the impact of this in one generation, two generations. So there is a much higher degree of intergenerational thinking: “If we do this today, what will be the impact in 20 years time?” I think in Australia we need to have a lot more of that. “Plant seeds that you will never sit in the shade of”-thinking. You know like: let’s do stuff with an intergenerational mindset, and that would fundamentally impact the way we do a lot of things. Not only in the environment, but even human issues, and the way we look at human issues, such as health, wellbeing, migration and workforce levels. I just think we’ve got a quick hit of 12-month thinking!”
For those who want to chase up any of the things Katriina mentions, these links will help:
→ This link outlines the work Katriina does with First Nations organisations
→ Katriina’s LinkedIn page for those who want to know more about her work
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Jane Goodall starts us off today with a clip where she exhorts all of us to be part of the solution to the wicked problem we face via the climate crisis. #FindYourRole.
Mik Aidt questions what good leadership is. He is justifiably upset by something that happened in Geelong last Saturday when the City of Greater Geelong held their first Net Zero Forum and not one of the elected councillors thought it would be important enough for them to be there and to talk with the people they are elected to represent.
The question Mik leaves us with here is: Is this good leadership, considering the real threat that the climate emergency is to everyone? The next Council election is in October next year, and the search for new candidates who will show climate action leadership is on. If you think you could run in the next Council election, let us hear from you.
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Colin Mockett OAM‘s Global Outlook this week begins at last weekend’s coronation in London, where Buckingham Palace said that in keeping with the new King’s wishes, his coronation would be smaller and more environmentally friendly than previous coronations. Apparently he was wearing recycled clothes and the venue used recycled furniture. This doesn’t mean that they went down to the local Salvos for their outfits. It turned out that Chas was wearing the gold and silk robe that his grandfather wore at his coronation, while Queen Camilla wore a robe that her mother-in-law the late Queen wore at hers. And the recycled furniture was the throne that all monarchs have been crowned on for generations. That would all count as Supreme Royal Greenwashing. If they were serious about saving emissions they would have invited Greta Thunberg to arrange the guest list and their transport.
Now to America, where the US Government, in the form of their EPA, has joined a political battle between environmental groups and the plastics industry, mainly represented by Exxon Mobil over what is called “chemical” or “advanced” recycling. The move preempts changes to the US Green Guides, which lays down guidelines for companies’ environmental claims. Behind the move is the global recognition of a world plastic crisis, with the UN now acknowledging the widespread failure of plastic recycling. Of particular concern is the plastic manufacturers who are mounting a publicity campaign to gain public acceptance of advanced or chemical recycling, which requires new, kinds of chemical plants that seek to break down plastic waste with chemicals, high-heat processes, or both, and then turn the waste into feedstocks that can be mixed with fossil fuels or incorporated into new plastic products. The industry claims that advanced recycling a “circular” plastics economy can be created, while the US EPA says advanced recycling is “greenwashing”. It’s an energy-intensive process with a high carbon footprint that incinerates plastic waste and turns a small percentage into new plastics, or more fossil fuels. We’ll keep you updated on the proceedings.
In that regard, we’ll go back to India, and a story we brought last week. If you remember, they’re about to open the world’s third biggest solar farm in the southern state of Karnataka. It covers 40 square kilometres and it surrounds five small villages. Well, it turned out this week that those five villages don’t have electricity. Not only are they not getting any power from the plant that surrounds them, they’re not on the grid at all. Apparently all the villages are small, with fewer than 100 people each, and they are getting a tiny payment – around $5 per month each – from the solar operators. But they wouldn’t get that if they had chosen to be connected to the power. So they settled for the compensation payments, but are now having difficulty feeding their animals. They have to travel up to 10 kilometres with their ox or hand-carts to get enough hay to feed them, where before they collected it locally. It goes to illustrate the difficulties some countries are having to decarbonise and makes our problems appear tiny by comparison.
Now back in the US, the New Yorker magazine invited the activist and author Bill McKibben to list the most practical steps their readers could take in their own decarbonising efforts. Bill came up with a five point list, and most are surprising.
Number 1 is to persuade a young person to become an electrician. That’s because projections show that America would need at least a million more electricians in order to go full bore with the project of running cars, heating homes, and cooking food on clean, renewable power. The job pays well, and he remarked that it’s hard to be too gripped with climate despair when you’ve got a pair of pliers in your hand and are actually doing something about the problem.
Suggestion Number 2 was: If you are, or have been a student, ask the school or universities’ development office if they’ve divested from fossil fuel yet — and point out that Harvard, Princeton, the University of California, Michigan, Oxford, Cambridge, and hundreds more have already taken steps to do so. What’s more, study after study has shown that this has essentially had no financial penalty to them — and that it could prove useful in attracting new students, especially of the Thunberg generation who have little tolerance for climate hypocrisy.
Number 3 is to organise a neighbourhood group to take advantage of government rebates to fund renewable energy. It’s much easier and cheaper to install solar panels or insulation at a bunch of houses along adjoining streets, than it is to do it piecemeal. And, if neighbours organise, they can get a much better price from suppliers and contractors.
Fourth is to hop on the e-bike bandwagon. He said that of all new electric technologies, this may turn out to be the most game-changing. There are more e-bikes sold each year than electric cars. They use less electricity than a car, which is good, because the less we use, the fewer solar panels we need to put up. Their advantage is that they get you outside to enjoy what is still a beautiful planet. And they will likely turn you into an evangelist for more bike lanes, thus setting off a clean living cycle.
And fifth, McKibben recommended New Yorkers to decarbonise their credit cards. This is because data shows that the big four American banks are also the world’s four biggest fossil-fuel lenders. That means that money sitting in their vaults — and then being lent out for new pipelines and frack wells — is a potent source of emissions. By one recent estimate, from the decarbonisation-advocacy group BankFWD, keeping a few thousand dollars in those mainstream banks for a year is the carbon-emissions equivalent of flying across the country. Moving your mortgage is hard work, but moving your credit card is easy. Just make sure that when you cut it up, you let everyone know, especially the institution that you’re rejecting.
No news this week from Forest Green Rovers who played their final match of the season against Cambridge, lost 2-0 and will now be preparing for next year in the English Division Two.
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Missy Higgins‘ ‘The Difference’ ends the show accompanied with a comment from Greta Thunberg.
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That’s it for this week. We hope we’ve given all listeners something to think about and ideas on how to find their way into the climate revolution. We’ll be back with the same intent next week. Be the Finnish difference.
“Every time you talk to a Finn about what makes them happy or why they’re happy, they talk about nature. It’s everywhere. You walk out of your front door, you walk out of your gate, it’s everywhere. That is both an individual and a collective form of happiness because there is a huge individual and cultural and government based collective responsibility to look after our nature in Finland. This is a country that has had forestry as one of its main industries for a very long time, but we also have the most amazing untouched replenished forests as well.”
~ Katriina Tahka, Australian born Finn
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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 millennia before they were invaded. Their land was then stolen from them – it wasn’t ceded. 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?
30 May 2023 in Geelong:
The Heart – A Shared Journey
Join us for an afternoon with Wadawurrung Traditional Owners, First Nations community elders, and Reconciliation Victoria.
Come join us on a journey into the Heart of Us… Our Shared Journey at Wurriki Nyal – Wadawurrung words, meaning ‘a place to gather and speak’.
This event allows us to come together, to share stories and have a yarn about the Uluru Statement of the Heart. It will be an afternoon of yarning, sharing and healing as we walk into our past. We will talk about our shared journey and how we can all walk together into the future.
Brought to you by the City of Greater Geelong, this event is also supported by the City’s Kilangitj Aboriginal Advisory Committee.
Wurriki Nyal Civic Precinct
Free – Reserve a spot
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Environmental Music Prize 2023:
A call for your ears – and your vote
2023 FINALISTS:
Anya Anastasia – Losing Wild
Beckah Amani – Smoke And Mirrors
Emily Wurramara – Lady Blue
Flume – Go
Georgia Mae – Gentle
Hazel Mei – Golden Chains
Jen Cloher – Being Human
King Stingray – Milkumana
Kutcha Edwards – Singing Up Country
Meraki Mae – Warrior
Midnight Oil – Rising Seas
MO’JU – Change Has To Come
SheisArjuna – Vessel
Sunfruits – End of the World
Tash Sultana – Willow Tree
The Bowerbird Collective – The Godwit and Curlew
Troy Cassar-Daley – Back On Country
Wildfire Manwurrk – Mararradj
Wildheart – Backburner
Woodes – Forever After
Xavier Rudd – Stoney Creek
Ziggy Alberts – Together
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SustainAustralia:
“Are you a young or emerging urban farmer wanting to grow food as a business but lacking the space and resources in which to do so? Know someone who might be interested? Our 2023 Emerging Farmer opportunity may be the stepping stone needed.
Sustain presents a unique and empowering opportunity for a young/emerging market gardener to manage a piece of land just 7km from Melbourne CBD.
While Sustain will cover the rent and water of this 900m2 space for a minimum of 1 year, the space will otherwise be managed as a small business entirely by the new farmer. The farmer has the opportunity to manage the space autonomously to grow and sell produce.🥕
You’ll find more information including the requirements and responsibilities of the role, plus details of how to apply, on our job vacancies page on our website https://linktr.ee/sustain.
But you don’t have long! Applications close on Monday 15th May 2023, and candidates need to be available for interviews and training on Tuesday 16th and Wednesday 17th May 2023.
Please share widely – opportunities like this don’t come around too often!”
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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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The Sustainable Hour is streamed live on the Internet and broadcasted on FM airwaves in the Geelong region every Wednesday from 11am to 12pm (Melbourne time).
» 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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