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".

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).

Ryan Batchelor (pictured) is the member for Melbourne's Southern Metropolitan in Victoria's Legislative Council and is the chair of the Environment and Planning Committee.Mr Batchelor and his committee spent nearly two years considering and preparing a report of more than 450 pages about the state's "Climate Resilience".Sadly, the committee's terms of reference for the study didn't allow it to consider mitigation, but rather adaptation in reference to the state's built environment.

Late U.S. stand-up comedian, George Carlin, joked about plastic and the fate of the planet, and this human creation is on the international agenda."The lifecycle of plastics, a modern wonder that is choking the planet";"Deadlocked on Plastic Pollution";"Flash floods kill more than 360 in Pakistan, India";"Canada’s Wildfire Season Is One of Its Worst Ever, and It’s Not Over Yet";"Cost of state’s renewable energy transmission plan predicted to double";"Intense rainfall, chilly nights and possible flooding on the way for Australia's east coast";"Soft plastics recycling looks set to return to supermarkets. Cutting back on plastic would be even better";"How could we clean up the algal bloom?";"Spain deploys hundreds of extra troops as it steps up efforts to bring wildfires under control";"A perfect firestorm";"El Paso’s Heat Is Killing in Record Numbers. It May Only Get Worse";"As the Great Salt Lake dries up, clouds of dangerous dust blow into boomtowns";"After a Drought Last Year, Ohio Farmers Wished for Rain. Now Downpours Are Destroying Their Crops";"Global Warming in Vogue, Deal With It!".

Dr David Holmes (pictured) is an upbeat, friendly and co-operative fellow who is the Managing Director and founder of "Climate Communications Australia".CCA, as it is known, can be found in the Melbourne building of the Royal Society of Victoria in the city's La Trobe Street.This episode had a less-than-positive start when a pre-arranged phone call to record the interview fell apart because of unusable audio.We arranged to meet in Melbourne and we quickly ran into trouble again when a busy Dr Holmes had forgotten the keys to his office and so we moved to a nearby coffee shop, which was a little noisy, but okay.More troubles - my inadequate knowledge of audio resulted in the gain in Dr Holmes' microphone being too low, and my microphone wasn't working at all.The resultant episode is a workaround, and while far from ideal, it still helps us better understand something about the important, and critical work of Climate Communications Australia

The Chair of the "Climate Resilience" report from the Legislative Council Environment and Planning Committee, Ryan Batchelor (pictured), said: "The impact of a changing climate on Victoria’s built environment is clear. Hotter summers leading to longer bushfire seasons, more intense rainfall events create new flooding patterns, coastal erosion continues apace, and we are experiencing more frequent high-intensity wind and storms.""56 million years ago, Earth underwent rapid global warming. Here’s what it did to pollinators";"Cricket under threat as Hit for Six climate change report highlights risks of extreme weather events";"Albanese is crying poor, but we’re losing billions a year from untaxed gas";"They Can’t Get Answers From the Oil Industry. North Dakota’s Oversight Program Hasn’t Helped.";"Stronger Target, Safer Future Webinar";"Why Complex Societies Collapse | Joseph Tainter";"Sweltering Heat Wave Hits Southern Europe";"If You Fly Economy, You’re Paying for Someone Else to Fly Private";"Fires burn throughout Europe";"How Short-Term Thinking Is Destroying America";"China’s EVs are dirt cheap. Its policymakers are concerned".

Ross Garnaut (pictured) is among those who have urged the Australian Government to use this month's roundtable discussions to boost Australia’s productivity and economy, and repair the budget as a platform to resurrect the carbon price - "Economists want a carbon price comeback – but does Australia have the political courage?";"Great Barrier Reef suffers sharp decline in coral coverage after 'unheard of' heat events";"Great Barrier Reef suffers biggest annual drop in live coral since 1980s after devastating coral bleaching";"Renewable Energy Fit for a Superpower";"How to answer the argument that Australia’s emissions are too small to make a difference";"The agency asked five climate skeptics to write a report criticizing the consensus on global warming. Scientists are pointing out its errors.";"Candidate Trump Promised Oil Executives a Windfall. Now, They’re Getting It.";"Changes in Nature’s Symphony Can Reflect Climate Impacts":"Australian researchers discover two invasive weeds have the potential to be burned as biofuel";"Great Barrier Reef suffers biggest annual drop in live coral since 1980s after devastating coral bleaching";"World’s biggest coral survey confirms sharp decline in Great Barrier Reef after heatwave";"These students cut air pollution near their schools – by taking aim at their parents’ idling cars";"What would a climate model made from music sound like? This team of artists and scientists has created one";"TSI's Submission to the Economic Reform Roundtable";"August to bring more rain and snow, but for farmers it’s ‘storm Lotto’";"These kids want climate action. Here are the cutting questions they’re asking CEOs";"Ten Victorian towns to lose piped gas as operator says network is too expensive";"UN plastic pollution talks must result in ambitious treaty, leading expert says";"‘The forest had gone’: the storm that moved a mountain";"Heat, work, and worry: How is outdoor employment linked to concern about extreme heat?";"Walkable Cities, Neighborhoods = Happy Communities";"Energy Dept. Attacks Climate Science in Contentious Report";"Australia's Bid for COP31: Why It Matters and Why You Should Care ";"New National Climate Risk Assessment – more omission than commission?";"Clean energy subsidies should be replaced with ‘market-based incentives’ from 2030, Australia’s Productivity Commission says";"Threat of Nuclear War Is Rising, But Scientists Say the Public Can Change That";"'A bellwether of change’: speed of glacier shrinking on remote Heard Island sounds alarm";"5 ingenious things trees do that human designers can learn from";"Romania to access EU funds to help areas affected by devastating floods, PM says";"Offshore wind leasing is officially dead under Trump";"Scientists slam Trump administration climate report as a ‘farce’ full of misinformation";"Woman swept away in flood waters in Hunter region as emergency services respond to more than 1,450 calls";"Going to waste: two years after REDcycle’s collapse, Australia’s soft plastics are hitting the environment hard";"Troubling Scenes From an Arctic in Full-Tilt Crisis";"Greening of Antarctica Is Another Sign of Significant Climate Shift on the Frozen Continent";"Nordic countries hit by ‘truly unprecedented’ heatwave";"

Dubbo lawyer, Claire Booth (pictured), told the July 23 Bendigo "National Renewables in Agriculture Conference and Expo" that farmers and their counterparts were living through a time of exponential changeMs Booth was speaking at a session entitled "Large-scale energy transition - tax law, insurance, agrivoltaics and hosting transmission".With her on the panel were Billy Greenham from "Coagency", Andrew Bomm from "Progressive Agriculture", Yvette Lloyd from "EnergyCo" and a cropping farmer who was hosting transmission lines and wind turbines, Simon Tickner.

The Energy Program Director from the Melbourne-based Grattan Institute, Tony Wood (pictured), was the keynote speaker at the Wednesday, July 23, National Renewables in Agriculture Conference and Expo.The conference, the best-attended yet of the several already staged, was held in Bendigo's Capital Theatre.Nearly 400 people enjoyed the theatre's facilities and, particularly, the varied and powerful program laid out by event organiser, Karin Stark.Earlier conferences had been held in Queensland and New South Wales, but this was the first in Victoria, although one was recently staged in Albury, close to the Victorian border.

The Chief Operating Officer, Wei-Chi Lee, (pictured) and one of the trio of founders of the Melbourne-based company, Phnxx, will be in Bendigo on Wednesday, July 23.We-Chi will be at the National Renewables in Agriculture Conference and Expo to be held at the city's View St Capital Theatre.Phnxx has a stand-alone solar/battery, containerised array of equipment that allows a farmer, regardless of what they are growing or producing, to quickly, easily, and relatively cheaply adopt renewable energy, eliminating, almost entirely, the cost vagaries of electricity to run their farm.The Bendigo conference is another in a series of annual events organised by Karin Stark, who lives on a cotton and wheat farm in Narromine, providing her with a firsthand perspective on the inherent energy challenges faced by farmers.Karin was a guest on "Climate Conversations".

My hometown newspaper, The Shepparton News, has undergone a remarkable change - it's now almost entirely a digital publication, switching from five print editions each week to just two. However, it will still be available to subscribers seven days a week via its digital editions.The change brings many benefits, particularly for those who follow this podcast, as all those stories the newspaper publishes about climate-related issues will be available in text-to-audio style and so can be included with the first being: "Locals encouraged to make the switch to electric living";"Transition to net-zero emissions";"It’s Paradise Lost as Climate Change Remakes Europe’s Summers";"Storms drench spots on hot, humid D.C. Saturday";"Trump Hires Scientists Who Doubt the Consensus on Climate Change";"Trump Is Gutting Weather Science and Reducing Disaster Response";"Trump’s big toxic bill will cost America – and the world";"Trucks are big polluters, but can batteries make them cleaner?";"Strung out: Power line problems put nation’s renewable rollout on backburner";"AI tool tracks early hurricane formation";"Climate Change Degrades Nutritional Value of Crops, Study Finds";"Millions of Tons of Tiny Plastic Particles Are Polluting the Ocean, Study Finds";"Ed Miliband would let a turbine farm destroy Brontë country. We need net zero, but at what cost?";"Science Moms lean into ‘humanness’ to educate on climate change risk";"Adapting to climate decline";"Europe’s Leaders Are Doing Something Disastrous";"Going it alone – how not to prepare for climate change";"Ancient WA rock art given UNESCO World Heritage status after 20-year campaign";"‘We don’t want to be climate refugees’: Torres Strait uncles fear for their islands and their people";"The solar battery rebate has arrived – here’s how to steer clear of scammers";"Trump defends Texas flood handling as disaster tests vow to shutter Fema";"The Texas flood, Australia and the psychology of evacuation";"More than half of koalas relocated to NSW forest died in failed government attempt at reintroduction";"What’s happened to Australia’s green hydrogen dream? Here are 5 reasons the industry has floundered";"Air Pollution Can Speed Aging, New Study Finds, but Measuring Other Factors Is Challenging";"Climate activists victim of flakey arrests";"Weather tracker: supercharged storms hit Texas’s ‘Flash Flood Alley’";"Deadly floods could be new normal as Trump guts federal agencies, experts warn";"‘A war of the truth’: Europe’s heatwaves are failing to spur support for climate action";"England’s reservoirs at lowest level for a decade as experts call for hosepipe bans";"Jeff Hardy: Promoting Global Change for Sustainable Peace to Secure the Second Human Evolution";"Futurist says there are three stages of human evolution - and we're currently in the second phase";"We should be paying more for our energy. Here’s why".

The U.S. Senator, Sheldon Whitehouse (pictured), has stood before the Senate 300 times, urging his fellow Senators to "wake up" to the perils of climate change.The representative for Rhode Island can be seen on YouTube spelling out the facts and the realities of climate change, and how the fossil fuel industry has played its cards to capture government processes and, at the same time, confuse and deceive the public - "Senator Whitehouse Delivers 300th Time to Wake Up Speech".

The Conversation is a wonderful place to learn more about the climate crisis."The dangers of romanticising Britain’s 1976 heatwave":"Climate change has doubled the world’s heatwaves: how Africa is affected";"Too hot to sleep? Nights are warming faster than days as Earth heats up";"Why homeowners are suddenly rushing to install rooftop solar";"As the Texas Floodwaters Rose, One Indispensable Voice Was Silent";"Tons of Invisible Plastic Pieces Lurk in Ocean Water";"The Texas Flash Flood Is a Preview of the Chaos to Come";"Trump’s Pick to Head NOAA Faces Senators in the Wake of Multiple Weather-Stoked Disasters";"Southern China and Hong Kong Brace for Floods and Fierce Winds from Danas";"Melting ice will strengthen the monsoon in northern Australia – but cause drier conditions north of the Equator":"New carbon forestry land restrictions only ‘palliative’ – watchdog";"Climate anxiety meant I could no longer work as a pilot. But I love flying – and I know we can transform aviation";"Extreme heat is our future – European cities must adapt";"Democrats and climate groups ‘too polite’ in fight against ‘malevolent’ fossil fuel giants, says key senator";"Millan Millan and the Mystery of the Missing Mediterranean Storms";"Europe hit by storms and wildfires after heatwave - is climate change also to blame?";"To future-proof crops, science is half the battle. The other half is getting existing solutions into the field.";"Far-right conspiracy theories spread online in aftermath of the Texas floods";"The growing problem electric vehicles are fuelling";"The third day of a heatwave is the tipping point … are we ready?":"Why homeowners are suddenly rushing to install rooftop solar";"‘He died trying to save Mystic girls’: Camp director’s last desperate bid to reach Bubble Inn cabin";"Marseille suspends flight and evacuates homes as wildfire reaches city's outskirts";"Texas pediatrician ‘no longer employed’ after post about pro-Trump flood victims";"Murray Watt ramps up lobbying efforts in last-minute push to get Murujuga rock art on world heritage list";"American science is in crisis. It’s a great opportunity for Australia to snap up top scientists";"Patriots break cordon sanitaire to seize climate file in European Parliament";"Portugal records 284 excess deaths during heatwave as wildfires rage across Europe";"Thirsty future: Australia’s green hydrogen targets could require vastly more water than the government hopes";"NZ Post is the latest company to drop its climate targets – another sign business is struggling to decarbonise";"Solar powers up retirement villages’ sustainability plans";"River Seine in Paris Reopens for Public Swimming for the First Time in 100 Years";"UN Climate Expert Urges Criminalization of Fossil Fuel Disinformation to Protect Basic Human Rights";"Facing Climate Anxiety With Visual Comedy: ‘World Without End’ Graphic Artist Christophe Blain";"Global unrest threatens fuel security, but electric vehicles could ease oil dependency";"

Stories about this month's flash floods in central Texas have dominated the news, and a panel assembled by Climate Central has discussed the impact of climate change and a link to a recording can be found at: "Understanding the climate connection with the devastating Texas floods";"Texas Hill Country Is Underwater, and America’s Emergency Lifeline Is Fraying";"Texas floods kill at least 104, including 27 from Camp Mystic, as search for missing continues";"Texas Flood Live Updates: Hope Fades for Finding Survivors as Death Toll Passes 100";"Deadly floods could be new normal as Trump guts federal agencies, experts warn";"Climate Change Helped Fuel Heavy Rains That Led to Devastating Texas Flood";"At least 161 people missing in Texas floods as death toll rises to 109".

Auckland University's Dr Timothy Welch has applied his urban design skills to help local councils better understand what they need to do to keep their towns and cities cooler in a warming world.Dr Welch recently wrote about this on The Conversation in the story: "NZ cities are getting hotter: 5 things councils can do now to keep us cooler when summer comes".His story begins: "Stand on any car park on a sunny day in February and the heat will radiate through your shoes. At 30°C air temperature, that asphalt hits 50–55°C – hot enough to cause second-degree burns to skin in seconds."