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".
Mark Carter (pictured) from Flight Free Australia was clearly the first person to call when it was announced that Melbourne's Tullamarine Airport would receive Federal Government cash to make the complex's third runway a reality. A story in The Melbourne Age - "Melbourne Airport’s $3 billion third runway cleared for take-off" - told of this development. Mark explains how his group draws inspiration and sustenance from the European organization, "Stay Grounded" and is affiliated with the locally-based group, "Climate Action Network Australia". High-speed rail is an alternative to flying and one view can be read in an article on The Conversation by Phillip Laird, "High-speed rail plans may finally end Australia’s 40-year wait to get on board". The Geelong-based, "The Sustainable Hour" talked with Mark earlier in the year and this episode of "Climate Conversations" includes the audio from that interview, which happened before the confirmation announcement of the the third runway.
Shepparton's Ray Russell (pictured) and his Mooroopna business partner, Marty Rogers, built their first electric bike, "The Phantom" in 1987. Building the bike was, in a sense, the easy part, bringing changes to Victorian State Government road rules was truly the hard part - it took months and months of dedicated lobbying by many people, including a former CEO of Victoria's Bicycle Network, Harry Barber. Ray and Marty produced 80 Phantoms and one is presently on show in Shepparton's "Museum of Vehicle Evolution (MOVE)". Ray, who is still enthusiastic about electric bikes, and recently graduated to a carbon fibre mountain bike, believes it is such things as mountain bikes with their go-anywhere capacity that can reshape human movement in Shepparton.
Osprey Orielle Lake (pictured) is passionate and committed to navigating through the "keyhole" of opportunity we have to avoid the worst of the climate crisis. Osprey founded "The Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN)", international, and through that organisation engages women and feminists across the gender spectrum worldwide in policy advocacy, on-the-ground projects, direct action, training, and movement building for global climate justice. Her award-winning book, "The Story is in Our Bones: How Worldviews and Climate Justice Can Remake a World in Crisis" expands on what Osprey does with WECAN. Osprey is a busy woman and among other responsibilities helps humanity avoid the worst of this "poly-crisis", she sits on the steering committee of "The Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative".
The Melbourne-based "Conversation at The Crossroads" opened its six-week series, "Ethics in Turbulent Times: How to Bring Society to Higher Ground" with broad and sweeping discussion and a presentation from the internationally known philosopher, Peter Singer (pictured). During his presentation at the University College at the University of Melbourne, Mr Singer mentioned the podcast with which he is involved - "Lives Well Lived". Five sessions are yet to come in "Ethics in Turbulent Times", an event you can attend either in person or virtually - I shared the first breakout room with several people, including a woman from Germany who was an enthusiast of Peter Singer's work.
Shepparton businessman, Sebastian Mangiameli (pictured), is thoroughly impressed with his long-range all-wheel-drive Tesla. The car, he explains is economical in every sense, and requires almost no servicing, has the latest in technology and most everything can be attended to in a virtual sense with upgrades being applied by the Tesla factory. This exciting, new and different way of buying and owning a car is explained on the Tesla website
The devastation of Super Typhoon Rai showed a whole generation of Filipino youth the impacts of climate change, according to youth activist Grace Ann Enriquez. Now in Canberra, she's joining First Nations climate activist Eduardo Maher and other youth campaigners in calling for the federal government to take stronger action on climate change "'I lost my childhood home': From disaster to climate action"; A powerful presentation by Canadian Naomi Klein in 2014 has long been one of the most powerful and memorable presentations from "Sydney's Festival of Dangerous Ideas"; "Applying the Framework for Ethical Decision Making to the Issue of Climate Change"; "Almost 68% of Australia’s tourism sites at major risk if climate crisis continues, report says"; "Ethics in Turbulent Times: How to Bring Society to Higher Ground"; "Sharing and Reflecting on our Common Future"; "South Australia to enshrine 100 pct net renewable target in law as BHP looks to double smelting capacity"; "Climate disasters challenge right to safe and adequate housing"; "As climate disasters grow, early warning systems become essential"; "Electric Big Rigs Are Poised to Revolutionize the Trucking Industry"; "Climate Change Is Making ‘Last Chance Tourism’ More Popular, and Riskier"; "Solar Farms Have a Superpower Beyond Clean Energy".
Bill McKibben (pictured) writes in The Guardian about the danger of Donald Trump winning the U.S. Presidential election - "Donald Trump gets everything wrong about the climate crisis"; "Hottest summer on record could lead to warmest year ever measured"; "Households, EVs to the rescue as Australia’s emissions cuts stagnate"; "‘Make good on what they promised’: Greens ultimatum on Labor’s signature policy"; "Fossil Fuel Funding Is ‘Embedded’ Across Academia. What Does That Mean for Climate Research?"; "How Oil And Gas Companies Infiltrate Higher Education to Maintain Influence"; "Fossil Fuel Lobbyists and Major Polluters to Sponsor Labour Conference Events"; "Big Oil Sold Stuff They Knew Was Dangerous. There’s a Law for That."; "The Deteriorating Environment Is a Public Concern, but Americans Misunderstand Their Contribution to the Problem"; "Environment: Earth system tipping points threaten our stable environment"; "Urgent review of Woodside billion-dollar WA gas project needed to protect threatened snake, government advisers say"; "Here’s what the hottest summer on Earth looked like"; "African Nations Are Losing up to 5% of Annual GDP Due to Climate Change, WMO Finds"; "As Climate Threats to Agriculture Mount, Could the Mississippi River Delta Be the Next California?"; "South Australia is aiming for 100% renewable energy by 2027. It’s already internationally ‘remarkable’"; "The enduring and elemental importance of natural history"; "The Killer Climate Disaster That Has No Name"; "Winter heatwaves in the southern hemisphere"; "Australia has just been handed a map for getting to net zero. Here’s how it will guide us"; "Conservative governments protect more land while socialists and nationalists threaten more species"; "Ford Pulls Back Its Electric Vehicle Push"; "Mercedes-Benz delays electrification goal, beefs up combustion engine line-up"; "Why nuclear-powered commercial ships are a bad idea"; "BMW to start selling hydrogen cars from 2028"; "The vanishing mangroves of El Salvador: ‘All our efforts may only slow the destruction’"; "Australia may delay release of 2035 climate target as world awaits outcome of US election"; "Hope for North America’s Most Endangered Bird".
Kelsie Williams (pictured) has a key role with Farmers for Climate Action along with Paul Stark, a Policy and Farmer Engagement Officer with the group, who represented the organisation on the Thursday, September 5, screening of the movie, "Farming Forever". The screening was held at the University of Melbourne's "Melbourne Connect" building. Among the small crowd was Kevin Rassool representing "Allfed" - Alliance to Feed the Earth in Disasters (ALLFED). On its website, the group introduces itself by saying - "We seek to identify various resilient food solutions and to help governments and companies implement these solutions to feed everyone in the event of a global catastrophe. We focus on events that could deplete 5% or more of global calorie output, or access to those calories". The co-founder of Allfed, David Dekenberger, can be heard on the podcast "80,000 Hours".
Kamala Harris (pictured) rarely mentions the 'C' word as she campaigns to become the next U.S. President and although that was once the case in news stories it's now becoming almost daily usage. "Why Kamala Harris has said the c-word only twice on the campaign trail"; "How climate change accelerated spring winds"; "Clean up begins but strong winds will hit Victoria again this week"; "Worried about your trees after the windstorms? Here are 7 signs you might be at risk"; "A new land and water plan"; "Climate-Friendly Meat? Regulators Tighten Scrutiny of Label Buzzwords."; "Canada’s Wildfires Were a Top Global Emitter Last Year, Study Says"; "Bold climate action benefits more than just the environment – it’s also great for business"; "Environment watchdog powers may be weakened to pass parliament, Albanese says"; "North Sea oil firm Neo slows investment amid windfall tax concerns"; "‘We don’t want all the fluffy stuff’: Pacific islands push Australia to take strong action on climate"; "EPA's Statement of Regulatory Intent on Climate Change"; "Can the ‘Magic’ and ‘Angels’ that Make Long Trails Mystical for Hikers Also Conjure Solutions to Environmental Challenges?"; "What if Big Oil championed – and profited from – the green transition? Here’s how it could work"; "Australia needs tradies and materials to build the power grid of the future. So where are they?"; "Just Saying...Solidarity and the future of degrowth".
An American listener, "Tim" from Michigan, quoted Carl Sagan: "Extinction is the rule, survival the exception". Tim has argued, in an email: "If we want to be exceptional we have to move the Overton Window a lot more than Tom Steyer can even imagine". My American friend was commenting on a recent "Climate Conversations" episode featuring a discussion between Steyer and Greg Dalton on "Climate One". The Australia Institute has what it describes as "Australia's Biggest Book Club" and recently the guest was Royce Kurmelovs who has just published "Slick: Australia's toxic relationship with Big Oil". "Shepparton winter weather 2024 wrap"; "‘It doesn’t get much more significant’: Victorians urged to hunker down amid cold front"; "Would you have surgery if it badly impacted Earth’s carbon footprint?"; "Wondering how to get from Brisbane to Melbourne without wrecking the climate? Our transport choices make a huge difference"; "‘It’s time to give up on normal’: what winter’s weird weather means for the warm months ahead"; "Without sanctions, making companies disclose their environmental and social impacts has limited effect"; "Olympic champion joins climate activists for Windsor protest"; "Activists link climate change, Gaza in a campaign targeting Citigroup"; "Virtual reality offers a glimpse of future climate impacts"; "Tree-planting project aims to identify climate-resilient trees"; "Leaders are cutting fossil fuel finance – next comes unlocking clean energy for all"; "‘Immoral and unacceptable’: Tuvalu calls on Australia to set urgent deadline to end fossil fuels"; "Obsessing Over Climate Disinformation Is a Wrong Turn"; "‘Twisters’: Hollywood’s weird spin on tornadoes and climate change"; "Canadian city invites neighbors to tackle climate change together"; "As wildfires intensify, the taxpayer burden is growing"; "If EVs are stalling, accelerate with hybrids"; "Commonwealth Bank CEO labels Greens’ tax policy ‘insidious populism’ after firm’s $9.8bn profit"; "Mali declares state of national disaster over flooding"; "Winter’s unseasonal warmth and clear skies are glorious – but a forbidding sign of danger to come"; "At least 170 killed in weeks of flooding in Nigeria, authorities say"; "We invite you on a Transformative Journey"; "How the Heat Is Changing Us"; "Alarm as Australia records ‘gobsmacking’ hot August temperatures".
Tom Steyer (pictured) put himself up for election in America's 2020 presidential race, but unfortunately for America and the world, chance did not fall his way. Steyer was a guest on the interview program organised by Climate One and shared the stage with Greg Dalton, the face, and voice of Climate One. Although Steyer never became the U.S. president, he has not allowed that to discourage him and now he has the organisation "Galvanize Climate Solutions.
A fellow who questions the legitimacy of our economic system and is the convenor of Public Interests before Corporate Interests (PIBCI), Joseph Toscsano, has a Wattle Day Picnic coming up this Sunday in Melbourne's Parliament Gardens. "Green dreams go bad: Why feel-good investing doesn’t make for good returns"; "Big emitters chase new climate fix: turning their pollution into products"; "‘Ecological grief’: communities, economy suffer from damage to Great Barrier Reef"; "When does a glacier die?"; "40°C in August? A climate expert explains why Australia is ridiculously hot right now"; "‘Humanity is failing’: official report warns our chance to save the Great Barrier Reef is fast closing"; "Many Climate Policies Struggle to Cut Emissions, Study Finds"; "Extreme Heat Fueled by Climate Change Punishes Outdoor Workers"; "Ablution pollution: minimise your hygiene carbon footprint with some simple regime tweaks"; "Stir Crazy" - George Monbiot; "Heat Kills Thousands in the U.S. Every Year. Why Are the Deaths So Hard to Track?"; "Cities are trying to cut down on cars. Some states are standing in their way."; "Australia records hottest ever winter temperature with some areas set to be 10C above average"; "The Prosumer Economy: Embracing Posthumanism for a Regenerative Future"; "Global population growth is now slowing rapidly. Will a falling population be better for the environment?"; "Batten down the hatches: Strongest cold front this winter set to lash Victoria": "Europe faces three-fold increase in heat deaths by end of century"; "Flood victims need to be protected from unfair cash settlements from insurance companies, report says".
Genevieve Barlow (pictured) was part of a core community group that spent the best part of two decades creating a solar farm for the central Victorian community. Along with others on the Renewable Newstead committee, Genevieve worked with the State Government and ultimately "Flow Power" to make the solar farm a reality. Interest from across Australia in what has happened at Newstead was ignited after the Australian Broadcasting Corporation screened the news item; "Newstead is first town in Victoria to open its own solar farm". Genevive and her committee are happy to talk with other communities about their achievement.
University of Queensland economist, Professor John Quiggin (pictured), concerns himself with many things, including his fitness by running half marathons and presently training for an Ironman event, but central to his thinking is the economy. Professor Quiggin has long contributed to the public conversation, regularly writing articles for The Conversation and The Guardian. His latest work, a compilation of a life of writing can be found in his latest book, "After Neoliberalism". Also, you can experience John's writing and ask him any question you like by visiting "John Quiggins Substack".
The idea of net zero by 2050, considered by many, including Adrian Whitehead, to be 'suicidal' is back in the news: "Australia’s window for hitting net zero is ‘rapidly closing’"; Filmmaker, Damon Gameau, has given viewers something new with "Future Council: The kids talking truth to power"; "Girls in Southern Africa are being married off in exchange for food amid El Niño drought"; "As La Niña strengthens, forecasters warn of a potential return to drought"; "Countries' climate obligations could be legally defined at top UN court in December"; "What the data says about Americans’ views of climate change"; "4 Billion People Worldwide Lack Access to Safe Drinking Water, Study Finds"; "Prime Minister and Welsh First Minister announce vision to make Britain a clean energy superpower"; "As climate changes, scorching summers bring deadly heat for people with disabilities"; "Calls for carbon subsidy reform as polluters bank gains"; "Yes, it’s difficult for governments to pick green industry winners – but it’s essential Australia tries"; "More money is flowing to charge electric trucks in California"; "Australia won’t have ‘green steel’ to itself. Africa is poised to become a global hub"; "Poor compliance and broad exemptions mean land clearing continues apace in northern Australia – despite our laws and pledges"; "Inquiry raises deep concerns over Labor’s $1.5 billion cash splash for new NT gas hub"; "Climate Change Makes Lightning More Likely. Here’s Why That’s a Big Deal"; "California cuts back on safety enforcement as farmworkers toil in extreme heat"; "Carbon Counter: Is carbon capture and storage the solution to the climate crisis?"; "NZ’s electricity market is a mess. Rolling out rooftop solar would change the game"; "How open spaces can save lives during wildfires"; "Harris’ DNC climate moment awaits"; "Fast, wet and furious: How the North American monsoon floods the California desert"; "Humans can work with nature to solve big environmental problems – but there’s no quick fix"; "Australia risks missing $250b green iron opportunity".