Climate Conversations

Bert Lobert and his compatriots from "Save our Strathbogie Forest" are eager to keep what remains of the forest intact, especially for all the animals who live there and, of course, the thousands of people who enjoy the amenities it provides. The focus of the original legal case put by the group was the Southern Greater Glider (a young Greater Glider is pictured looking out from its threatened forest home), but Justice Horan found that "planned burns" in the forest were not a threat to the Greater Glider population. The Stratbogie group had been raising money through Chuffed to help fund its legal costs, but that is now closed, so those eager to support the campaign should contact Mr Lobert directly. The group's appeal against the planned burns will be held at the High Court in Melbourne on Tuesday and Wednesday, August 20 and 21. People are welcome to personally sit through the hearing or can watch it live via the High Court website. Writing on its website, the group says: "We’re appealing the recent Federal Court ruling on planned burns, which allowed the Victorian government to burn parts of the Strathbogie Forest last Autumn. Our legal argument stems from the knowledge that the Strathbogie Forest is home to one of the healthiest populations of the Endangered Southern Greater Glider in Victoria. But our broader concern is for the long-term health of the forest -the complex partnership of plants, fungi, microbes and animals- and the beneficial influence a healthy forest has for everyone and everything that shares that landscape."

Anna Rose (pictured) told a 2013 forum in Shepparton how a warmer atmosphere can hold much more water and the evidence of that is all around the world. "Thousands missing and feared dead after floods submerge eastern Libya"; "‘Catastrophe’ in Libya’s Derna as deadly floods engulf city"; Jane Fonda talks about her life as an activist on "Climate One"; "Why your perception of climate change threats might depend on where you live – new research"; "The heat is on"; "Their names appeared on letters urging fracking Ohio’s state parks. They don’t know how."; "How back-to-back disasters strain community resources"; "How Fires, Floods and Hurricanes Create Deadly Pockets of Information Isolation"; "Faster disaster: climate change fuels ‘flash droughts’, intense downpours and storms"; "Heat Waves May Be Slow, but They Are Just as Destructive as Faster Disasters"; "Five cars destroyed at Sydney airport after luxury electric vehicle’s battery ignites"; "‘Disastrous beyond comprehension’: 10,000 missing after Libya floods"; "Half the World’s Population Faced Extreme Heat for at Least 30 Days This Summer"; "$85 for a cheap piece of plastic? Push to overhaul green government scheme"; "Antarctic sea ice levels entering 'new low state', climate researchers say, with action urged on emissions"; "‘Transform Australia’: Critical minerals key in calls for $100 billion green plan"; "To efficiently harvest water from air, consider the humble spider web"; "1.5°C: where the target came from – and why we’re losing sight of its importance"; "Update needed for 1872 mining law to boost clean energy, report says"; "Climate breakdown: even if we miss the 1.5°C target we must still fight to prevent every single increment of warming"; "Libya, Greece, Brazil: Climate-driven storms cause catastrophic flooding around the world"; "US behind more than a third of global oil and gas expansion plans, report finds"; "Guess What? More Plastic Trash."; "The Fire This Time: Facing the Reality of Climate Change"; "You call this living? Dutch ‘cycling professor’ has some tough advice for Melbourne"; "Europe's climate activists face 'repressive tide,' rights watchdogs warn"; "Flood-hit homes uninsurable or unaffordable as climate change hikes premiums"; "Labor won't release climate report on national security threat"; "U.S. Sets Record for Billion-Dollar Disasters in a Single Year, With Almost Four Months to Go"; "“Complete habitat destruction” – scientists rally against NSW Forestry Corporation clear felling"; "It's Official: International Agency Marks 'Beginning of The End' of The Fossil Fuel Era"; "More Than 5,000 Dead in Libya as Collapsed Dams Worsen Flood Disaster"; "How Big Oil Misled The Public Into Believing Plastic Would Be Recycled"; "Renowned conductor allows climate activists to address crowd at Swiss music festival"; "Working in Extreme Heat Is Dangerous. We Must Make It Safer"; "U.S. has seen a record number of weather disasters this year. It’s only September."; "Lethal Heat Is Spreading across the Planet"; "Murray measured the indoor temperature at home. The results were shocking"; "In Libya, 10,000 missing following devastating floods"; "We just blew past 1.5 degrees. Game over on climate? Not yet"; "Overwhelming Heat This Summer Could Kill Twice as Many People as Usual"; "How rising water vapour in the atmosphere is amplifying warming and making extreme weather worse"; "What El Niño means for the world’s perilous climate tipping points"; "The engineering brain drain facing Australia's renewable energy sector"; "We urgently need $100bn for renewable energy. But call it statecraft, not ‘industry policy’"; "Is Climate Change Causing More Record-Breaking Hail?"; "How Green is Burning Man?" "Climate Science Is under Attack in Classrooms"; "Large Herbivores Can Help Prevent Massive Wildfires"; "Our unsung farm dams provide vital habitat to threatened species of frogs"; "Sand Dredging Is Unsustainable and Wiping Out Mari

Australian Capital Territory Chief Minister Andrew Barr (pictured) claims his government is a national and world leader in taking the jurisdiction to a serious reduction in carbon dioxide emissions. Minister Barr was the first speaker on the opening day of the Better Futures Australia Forum held in Canberra on September 6 and 7. He saw the forum as both critical in that it would solidify ideas and processes for achieving net zero and important that it brought together people and ideas that could help achieve the ambitious target. Enjoy "Music for a Warming World".

The then deputy mayor of the City of Greater Shepparton, Cr Seema Abdullah (pictured) used her casting vote in 2020 to see the municipality endorse and embrace a climate emergency. "How drought and rising temperatures drove millions of Somalis from their homes"; "‘Carbon mega bomb’: climate experts urge Biden to block gas export hub"; "The huge climate problem of cement, steel and chemicals, visualized"; "Where malaria is spreading"; "One of Europe's most polluted cities wants to ban cars from its centre"; "West Antarctic ice sheet faces ‘unavoidable’ melting, a warning for sea level rise"; "Utilities Have Been Lying to Us About Gas Stoves Since the 1970s"; "Rapid ice melt in west Antarctica now inevitable, research shows"; "EV ruling could jolt Australia’s financial foundations"; "The dams are full for now – but Sydney will need new water supplies as rainfall becomes less reliable"; "Tesla Value Tops $1 Trillion After Hertz Orders 100,000 Cars"; "Antarctica has lost 7.5tn tonnes of ice since 1997, scientists find"; "The Crisis in the Middle East is a Crisis of Growth"; "Suicide rates increased after extreme drought in the Murray-Darling Basin – we have to do better as climate change intensifies"; "Here’s what winter weather the U.S. can expect"; "Migrant workers toil in perilous heat to prepare for Cop28 climate talks in UAE"; "Prepare for a turbulent El Niño winter — with a major wild card"; "Fossil-fuel industry embrace raises alarm bells over direct air capture"; "A Path to Sustainable Energy by 2030"; "Low-cost solution to the grid reliability problem with 100% penetration of intermittent wind, water, and solar for all purposes"; "End of coal-fired power stations to crush decent incomes, report reveals"; "Children at ‘existential risk’ from climate crisis, UK’s top paediatrician says"; "Here’s what happens to workers when coal-fired power plants close. It isn’t good"; "Storm Babet kills at least three people in UK as floods strike northern Europe"; "Alabama Wood Pellet Mill Seeks Millions in Climate Funds, but Critics Say It Won’t Cut CO2"; "Small islands struggle to get help from UN’s flagship climate fund"; "The climate impact of plastic pollution is negligible – the production of new plastics is the real problem"; "In Florida, Gen Z Activists Step Into the Fight Against Sugarcane Burning"; "How to beat ‘rollout rage’: the environment-versus-climate battle dividing regional Australia"; "Research by Public Health Experts Shows ‘Damning’ Evidence on the Harms of Fracking".

John Bell (pictured) has written a script for a television advertisement that begins: "I am planet Earth". The artistic director of the Bell Shakespeare Company was one of several speakers at the May 9 Smart Energy Conference and Exhibition in Sydney, which was in fact, the 60th conference organized by the Smart Energy Council, a fact proudly pointed out by the council's Chief Executive, John Grimes. Among the speakers was the founder and chief scientist of "Otherlab", Saul Griffith, who talked about "Rewiring Australia". Enjoy "Music for a Warming World".

Bill McKibben (pictured), a climate activist, author, and occasional newspaper columnist, has encouraged people to be less individualistic and join groups.He was among those on a panel organised by The New York Times as a part of its annual "Climate Forward" conference assembled to discuss "The future of climate activism in the Trump era"Mik Aidt has a special guest on his "The Climate Revolution" show - British sustainability strategist Joseph Gelfer calls time on weak incrementalism. He argues that the urgency of planetary collapse, combined with rising public frustration and disillusionment, will soon push even moderate citizens to demand bold, transformative change. When that moment comes, we must be ready. A peaceful political revolution for a pollution-free society is possible – but only if we dare to think big and act boldly on a planetary scale.And from The Guardian we read "Wildfires tore through central Chile last year, killing 133 people. In California, 18,000 buildings were destroyed in 2018 causing US$16bn (A$24bn, £12bn) in damage. Portugal, Greece, Algeria and Australia have all felt the grief and the economic pain in recent years.The story is: "Wildfires are getting deadlier and costing more. Experts warn they’re becoming unstoppable".

Chris Bowen (pictured) is Australia's Climate Change and Energy Minister, who says it is the toughest job he has ever had.Mr Bowen, also the Federal Member for McMahon, was a guest on a recent webinar organised by Australia's Climate Council.He was interviewed by the CEO of the Climate Council, Amanda McKenzie.And from The Melbourne Age we have the story: "COP out? Prospect of climate summit spanning Australia and Turkey raises carbon emissions question".

Rebecca Huntley (pictured), Australia's pre-eminent social researcher, watched Sydney's 2019 School Strike for Climate students marching in the city's streets and, mesmerised by what these young people were doing, she wrote a book - "How to Talk about Climate Change in a Way That Makes a Difference".But the drive those students ignited didn't end there, for working with her company, "86 Degrees East", and with the support of "Boundless Earth," she created "The Clean Energy Solutions Index".The Clean Energy Solutions Index is a unique research tool that measures deep support for 11 clean energy technologies across  Australia.During the interview, Rebecca mentioned "Climate Compass".

Australia's Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese (pictured), was among the guests interviewed during the "Climate Forward Conference" organised by The New York Times.Also among those interviewed was Andrew "Twiggy" Forrest, the boss of Fortescue.The New York Times hosted the Climate Forward Conference on Sept. 24, bringing together political leaders, activists, policymakers and business executives.Andrew Forrest, the executive chairman of Fortescue and one of the richest people on the planet, has a bold, perhaps unlikely vision to shift his gigantic mining company to net zero emissions by 2030. Mr Forrest pushed back against Mr Trump’s claims that climate change is a “con job” and challenged Mr Trump to “come and see what’s happening to my land.”Prime Minister Albanese discussed Australia's challenge in reducing emissions. Australia remains reliant on fossil fuels, including coal, which generates nearly half of its electricity. But Albanese has been outspoken in calling for Australia to be a global leader in lowering emissions and embracing renewables.

David Spratt (pictured) was the keynote speaker at the webinar "Cooling or Collapse", sharing the microphone with activist and author Jane Morton.David is the lead researcher with The National Centre for Climate Restoration (Breakthrough). This independent think tank develops critical thought leadership to influence the climate debate and policy making.  Also, in this episode, you will hear how a councillor from the City of Greater Shepparton wants officers to report on progress made on a 2020 decision to set a target of zero carbon emissions by 2030.Cr Rod Schubert gained unanimous support in calling for the report to be tabled by November.

Professor David Karoly (pictured) was among those critical of Australia's position on carbon emissions: "Climate scientists target Albanese as Turkey holds out on COP talks";"Call for more urgent climate action";"Drought resilience project focuses on orchards";"Water impacted in climate report";"On a progressive journey to their carbon-neutral future";"'Russian blood oil': Australia faces calls to ban oil products refined from Russian crude";"Exxon Urges Europe to Repeal Rules to Make Companies Track Climate Pollution".

Great Teapot in the Sky believers are mostly climate change deniers.The SBS show "Black Gold" illustrates how fossil fuel companies were aware decades ago of how, when, and why our climate was going to deteriorate."Europe splits on climate in ‘major embarrassment’ before UN summit""60 Best Climate Change Podcasts";"Albanese takes his usual each-way bet on climate change";"All Gassed Up, Part 1: The Carbon Coast";"Urban sprawl worsens as government struggles to meet density targets";"What will Australia's 2035 climate goal mean for the grid?";"Here’s the good news: we’ve improved the environment before, and we can do it again".

Australian mining billionaire Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest sharply criticised US President Donald Trump’s “gobsmackingly illogical” energy policies and accused him of kowtowing to oil and gas donors as he arrived in New York for a major United Nations summit - "‘Gobsmackingly illogical’: Twiggy lashes Trump on climate as Aussies hit New York";"Charlie Kirk and America’s political collapse";"Climate Minister Chris Bowen stops short of setting targets for renewables, EVs";"Matt Kean on Australia’s future in a climate crisis – Australian Politics podcast";"Coalition denial makes Labor seem reasonable on climate – but neither is ambitious enough".

Some days, Australia presents as a petrostate; others, it's not that at all.Read the new book by Michael Mann and Peter Hotez, "Science Under Siege," to better understand Australia's Chameleon-like behaviour."Will the government's 2035 target avert a climate crisis?""Littleproud labels Labor's 2035 climate target a 'con job' ";"'Falls short': Vanuatu on Australia's 2035 climate target";"Bowen weighs in on climate target criticism";"Three times faster: Climate target means emissions need drastic fall over next decade";"‘It’s a farce’: Treasury reveals only one number in play for Albanese’s climate target";"Australia needs to quadruple its number of wind farms. This year, none have been funded";"How Tim Winton hopes to inspire a generation of ‘ocean defenders’";"‘Too late to avoid any impacts’: The reality of Australia’s climate crisis";"In 2050, I’ll be 46. These climate targets abandon my generation";"‘We love it’: How Caroline turned a knockdown into a home built to last";"Bowen has committed Australia to reducing emissions by 62 to 70 per cent by 2035. What does this even mean?".

Australia has set a goal to cut emissions by between 62 per cent and 70 per cent by 2035 from 2005 levels, as the Albanese government continues its strategy of modestly ambitious climate action over the next decade.The 2035 target is an upgrade to the plan to cut greenhouse gases 43 per cent by 2030 and represents a major challenge to the government and the economy, given emissions have fallen 28 per cent in the two decades since 2005 and must fall a further 15 per cent in the next five years."Australia announces 2035 climate target of 62-70% emissions cut";"Politics with Michelle Grattan: Tony Wood on ‘politics trumping climate policy’ and the hard road ahead";"Heat waves aren’t just natural disasters. Study finds hidden fingerprints on our hottest days.";"Climate change triggering global collapse in insect numbers: stressed farmland shows 63% decline – new research";"How climate change is making Europe’s fish move to new waters";"Why snow days are becoming increasingly rare in the UK";"Smoke from Canada's 2023 wildfires linked to more than 80,000 early deaths worldwide, study warns";"Europe faces billions in economic losses from summer heatwaves, droughts and floods, study warns";"Government set to announce Australia's 2035 emissions reduction target";"Labor’s 2035 emissions target a ‘sliding doors’ moment for future generations";"Heat, air quality, insurance costs: how climate change is affecting our homes – and our health". (Michelle Grattan pictured)

The present events in Gaza City are driven by one man's twisted thinking, with the subsequent death and destruction, undergirded by fossil fuels, not to mention the massive rebuild needed to repair the lives of millions, is climate change writ large.Here's a story from The New Times: "Israeli Ground Forces Move Into Gaza City, Sowing Chaos";"Coalition divisions erupt as more MPs urge leader to dump climate pledge";"Victoria’s renewables push suffers major blow as developers bail";"September is hotter than ever, but January rings the alarm bell even louder";"‘Using the wrong data’: Major problem with the 1.2m new homes";"New climate report warns property prices face a $611 billion hit. What does that mean?";"Australia’s 2035 climate target is coming. Here’s how we’ll know if it’s good enough
".

Australia's news services were alive today with stories about the country's first Climate Risk Assessment Report."Catastrophic forecast pushes case for Australia to spend big and cut hard on emissions";"Climate Risk Assessment's 'high risk' warning for 1 million Australian homes";"Queensland among most at-risk from sea level rises by 2050";"‘Alarmist’ or ‘terrifying’? New climate report divides parliament";"‘Like a Mad Max movie’: How hot it will really get in ‘unliveable Australia’";"Horrifying report paints grim picture of Australia’s future".

Haoning Xi (pictured), from the Newcastle Business School at the University of Newcastle, has examined Australia's rail network in detail and sees investment now as it means of saving huge sums in the future. She has written about that on The Conversation: "Buckling rails and lines underwater: how Australia’s ageing train networks are crumbling as the climate changes".Haoning refers to the "Australasian Rail Network" as one source of information for her research.An advanced and sophisticiated rail newwork will play a significant role in helping Australia navigate the climate crisis.

Dr Linden Ashcroft (pictured) will explain the quickly evolving dynamics of climate change and what impacts we can expect in the Goulburn Valley when she appears as the keynote speaker at Tatura Transition Towns event - "Community to gather for a greener tomorrow at Transition Tatura event";"AI’s Massive Energy Demands" -  Go behind the scenes with executive editor Vernon Loeb and clean energy reporter Dan Gearino as they discuss the mounting demand for electricity to power AI."Former UN climate chief urges Australia to set ‘prosperity’ target of cutting emissions by 75% by 2035".

Dr David McCoy (pictured) appears on a "Saving the World" webinar, emphasising the importance of good governance when it comes to global health.In this webinar, "Power, accountability and global health governance", Dr McCoy speaks about the principles of good global health governance, examining current and evolving power dynamics in global health and how accountability deficits need to be plugged to improve the quality and effectiveness of global health governance. In doing so, he highlights the role and accountability of powerful private actors in global health governance. He describes some of the work being done by the United Nations University International Institute for Global Health (UNU-IIGH).