Climate Conversations

Monty Don tours the gardens of the River Rhine, wondering frequently about the impact of climate change - " Monty Don's Rhineland Gardens "; " Earth Overshoot Day "  – the date when humanity has consumed everything the planet can regenerate during the entire year. In 2026, that date arrived on 30 July; " What is climate gentrification? Why house prices are rising outsi...

John Lewis came from England in what seems like a lifetime ago, and his first in Australia was with the Shepparton News. John, who quickly became a favourite with many readers of the city's newspaper, became, along with his family, an important member of the city's community, especially in the arts. Readers loved his "left field" writing, particularly in his column, "My Word...

Many things trigger migration, but a worsening climate enriches the mood among people to move, to find what they believe is a safer place. The Guardian tells about the thousands of people who stormed into one of Spain's territories in search of a better life, driven by many things, among them a worsening climate: " At least 57 people die as tens of thousands cross to Spanish enclave of Ce...

Tim Flannery (pictured) was on the most recent edition of " Australia's Biggest Book Club " organised by The Australia Institute. Long had I been concerned that Tim had said, according to my climate-denying friends, Australia's dams would never fill again. Answering a question about that during this webinar, Tim said it was clearly misinformation and those claiming he said that should produce the...

Tim Flannery , Australian mammalogist, palaeontologist, environmentalist, conservationist, explorer, author, science communicator, activist and public scientist, talks wth Climate Council CEO, Amanda McKenzie, about the new book he has written with his daughter, Emma. The book, " A Brief History of Climate Folly ", is, according to one bookseller: "An outrageous history of dreamers...

The name David Wallace-Wells (pictured) was on everyone's lips following the publication of " The Uninhabitable Earth " and here he is being interviewed on the Canal Street Podcast, The title for that episode was " Climate Crisis Isn't Over ". This episode of Canal Street is from earlier this year (2026), but it is well worth listening to.

Is humanity on a trajectory toward death - does it have an unwritten suicide pact with itself? Wars and major international sporting events contribute massively to the worsening of the world's climate, resulting in wildfires in both Canada and Europe. " More than 200,000 people flee or lock down as wildfires sweep France and Spain "; "A Tempting Remedy for Heat-Stricken France:...

Fossil fuel companies that ignore bushwalking philosophy will be targeted - " Labor threatens oil giants with emergency offshore clean-up levy "; " ‘It’s dirty’: Stoush over whether burning waste for energy is renewable "; " Hot nights are stealing people’s sleep, researchers say "; " Solar generated record 25% of EU power in June with Germany, Spain and Poland l...

Sarah Perkins Kirkpatrick (pictured) is the Deputy Director, Engagement and Impact at The ARC Centre of Excellence for the Weather of the 21st Century, Australian National University . And she, along with the co-editor of CounterPunch and author of " Bad Energy: The AI Hucksters, Rogue Lithium Extractors, and Wind Industrialists Who Are Selling Off Our Future" , Joshua Frank, will be gue...

Ketan Joshi (pictured) from Crikey warns of the power demands of Australia's proposed data centre. " Trump Administration Taps Climate Science Critic to Oversee Flagship Report "; "Framing the causes of hotter heatwaves "; " Hotter Seas in Britain and Europe Threaten Marine Life "; " Power companies need more homes to share control of their batteries ";...

Bill McKibben (pictured), who is recognised for his understanding of climate change, has praised Australia for its use of solar power. McKibben was in conversation with Ezra Klein from The New York Times . Many would know of McKibben for his efforts in establishing 350.org , and, more recently, The Third Act .

The U.S.-based 350.org presented the webinar " Fuel on Fire: Reporting El Niño and the true cost of climate change " Among the guests was Shel Winkley, a Senior Engagement Specialist and Chief Meteorologist with " Climare Central ", and Gareth Redmond-King, who is the Head of the International Programme at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit ". The Executive Director...

" Record wildfires in Europe show failure to adapt carries a mounting cost "; Australia's Labor Party has been accused of "incrementalism" on a webinar organised by " The Australia Institute " - After the landslide: one year on from the historic 2025 election. Visit the " Wilderness Society " and learn about the highlights from April to June 12026.

Greens Leader, Larissa Waters (pictured), wants the Federal Labor Government to rake in huge sums by properly taxing the gas industry. " The biggest myth about EVs is dying and sales are surging "; " The world is failing to curb carbon, and we may be close to a scorched earth tipping point "; " Fragmented and incomplete: why isn’t anyone in charge of Australia’s EV charger...

Kate Aronoff says " This Is the Week for Democrats to Start Saying “Climate Change” Again "; " Heat Starts to Break in Western Europe, as Central Europe Begins to Broil "; " Without Climate Change, U.S. Heat Wave Called ‘Virtually Impossible ’"; " Voters Rank Billionaires, Then Corporate Landlords as Top Villains to US Society and Economy "; " Wildfires rage in Spain and Portugal, as France heatwa...

The co-founder and executive director of "Covering Climate Now ", Mark Hertsgaard, recently moderated a Press Briefing entitled " Deadly Heat, Vital Reporting ". In this press briefing, panellists discussed climate adaptation best practices, attribution and end-to-end science, and storytelling tips, equipping journalists to deliver the coverage their audiences need. Covering Cl...

Barry R. Davis has written a book about something whose success is often invisible - should "The Preventioneers" be successful, there is nothing to show/see. The author has pulled something of a magical trick, as his excellent book is about an issue for which there is no obvious evidence or visible result. And that, of course, is the sleight of hand, for if the efforts of his subjects br...

The fourth seminar in the  Powering the Future series was presented by Dr. David Kearns   from  the Global CCS Institute . Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is increasingly recognised as essential to achieving net zero, particularly in hard-to-abate sectors such as cement, steel, chemicals and LNG. This seminar examined the role of CCS in Australia and the broader Asia-Pacific region, where industr...

One Nation Party leader, Pauline Hanson, has just addressed the National Press Club and, in doing so, illustrated that she, her party and supporters are locked into 20th-Century thinking, seemingly unaware that this is the 21st Century, a time and place that needs a whole new approach and athletic thinking. Here is a story from The Melbourne Age - "‘ We must be monocultural’: Hanson demands end to...

" Sorry, climate change is still dangerous, no matter what nonsense Trump emits " - Michael Man and Genevieve Gunther. " 3 Months of Trump’s Disastrous Iran War Has Cost US Consumers $60 Billion in Extra Energy Costs​ "; "‘ Deep concerns’: Labor gas plan triggers alarm in Asia "; " Wind and Solar Overtake Gas. What It Means for Energy Strateg y"; " Four...

David Spratt, the Research Director for Breakthrough National Centre for Climate Restoration, has damned the recent Federal budget for not mentioning climate even once - " Turning a blind eye to climate risk threatens derailment ". The Australian Broadcasting Corporation's Four Corners program. " The BHP Files" , alerted viewers to the big miners' deceptions about carbo...

Greater City of Shepparton's Climate Resilience Officer, Jack Bowmaker, has encouraged city residents to attend the first-ever "GV Home Energy Expo" on Sunday, June 14. Mr Bowmsaker, or "Jack" to most, points to an array of reasons why people should visit the expo, among them, they can learn how to set up and equip their homes, making them cheaper and more comfortable place...

Book author and associate professor, Fernando Racimo, discusses academia's complicity in the polycrisis, and its potential for transformation towards serving social and ecological well-being. His book, " Science in Resistance ", provides a first-person account of the Scientist Rebellion, a global movement of scientists and scholars rising in collective resistance for climate and soci...

Natalie Kyriacou was one of several speakers at the May 9 event at the Melbourne Town Hall, "Recovering Democracy Together" where she asked the question " How will history judge us? " " Trump Has Created a Climate Opportunity "; " The Iran War Is Crippling One of the World’s Wealthiest Nations"; " White Supremacy Is the Point of the Trump Presidency "; " Dookie calls for the ‘ugly’ truth" ; " Rain...

What appeared, at the time, to be a dearth of news about the quickly unfolding climate crisis prompted me to have a crack at producing a podcast - "Climate Conversations". That was in 2018, and only you, as the listener, can make a judgment good or bad, useful or otherwise. I was fascinated when I discovered that the latest episode of the Reuters Institute podcast, " The Future of J...