Climate Conversations

Phil Bryant will represent One Nation in the Saturday, November 28, Victorian State Election. Phil from Dookie, close to Shepparton, supports the idea of net zero but questions the steps governments are taking to achieve that goal and, rather than occupy countless hectares of farming land, he prefers nuclear energy. People need to ensure they vote on November 28, and can check whether or not they...

Lou Costa is a Shepparton girl who was born in the city, had her early education here and became a landscape garden designer after studying in Melbourne. Her chosen profession has seen her, and these are Lou's words: "Dig dirt" throughout the Shepparton electorate, The Rushworth mother of two is an independent candidate for the Saturday, November 28, Victorian election. As an indepen...

A mixed bag of voices for this next instalment of 500 people in 50 weeks - The weatherman, the data-driven guy, the farmer, the fellow whose career has been in water and Wilma - all have their say on climate change. You can also have your say, contact me via email at r.mclean7@icloud.com; I'll get back to you, and we can chat by phone and via Zoom.

Australia's PM, Anthony Albanese says one thing and does another: " Albanese takes climate warning to New York, but fossil fuel experts test credibility "; " Elites Have NO PLAN for Climate Collapse " - YouTube; " Elites Have No Plan for Climate Collapse " - story; " Trump dismantled U.S. climate policy. But his war is cutting emissions. "; " Melbou...

Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick speaks honestly and factually about the certainties of climate change and although those facts can be alarming and depressing, she doesn't want people to be overwhelmed; she wants them to act to counter the dilemma. Professor Perkins-Kirkpatrick is a mother first and, second, a climate scientist, and she doesn't want her views to influence others about having a fa...

People from all points on the arc of concern answer my 10 set questions about climate change. Opinions are as diverse as the people questioned, but generally there appeared to be some concern about humanity's approach to what some see as an existential threat. This project seeks the views of 500 people in 50 weeks, asking what they think about climate change.

Some interviewees call for more conversation about climate change as they want more people to know more about the dilemma - what's causing it, what are the impacts and what should be done. Although no one articulated it in so few words, they want government at all levels to engage communities and explain, in simple terms, what climate change is and how people should both respond and behave. As...

Retired farmer, Charlie Prell, champions renewable energy, saying wind turbines took his farm from having a debt problem to having a tax problem. Charlie, who has retired to a home on the New South Wales coast, has equated the rise of renewable energy with the force and power of a rising ocean tide. He mentioned that the world was heading towards serious economic troubles, a difficulty reflected i...

The Zero Waste Festival at Melbourne's Federation Square had many attractions, among them a " Repair Cafe ". Lia, who plays a key role in organising and helping out at two Repair Cafes, one at Melbourne's " St Kilda ", orchestrated the Federation Square Cafe and was kind enough to talk with Climate Conversations. The idea behind Repair Cafes challenges the corporate ide...

Another 10 people were interviewed, and their responses to 10 similar questions, despite the odd outlier, illustrate their eagerness for a broader understanding of climate change. "Keep asking questions", one interviewee said. She said the questions were good, not lecturing and were drawing people along, rather than forcing them to justify their position. If you want to be a part of this...

Author, filmmaker, and activist, Naomi Klein talks about the concern she has for supremacist governments. " AI data centre puts Melbourne’s West Gate Bridge at risk "; " What flash droughts and a super El Nino will mean for your summer "; "‘ Deaths Will Continue to Mount,’ Scientist Warns After August and Summer 2026 Set US Heat Records "; " Investments promising...

Shane Howard, a former key member of the Australian folk-rock group Goanna, is now a conservationist and activist who has a positive outlook, but declares we are now in "nutso-world." Howard was the special guest on the first of a series of webinars organised by The Wilderness Society to recognise and celebrate its 50th anniversary. The next of the "Fight Doom" events is schedu...

Former Australian Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, refused to acknowledge climate change when the country was ablaze in 2019/20, and now the present PM, Anthony Albanese, follows the same path despite UN warnings and the collapse of the "third pole" in Nepal. " The shift is now absolute’: China’s BYD says Australia just passed its EV tipping point "; " Many Italians Long Re...

Australia's Climate Council CEO, Amanda McKenzie, has described plans to go ahead with the Beetaloo Basin project as "bat-shit crazy". " Nepal knows only too well the devastating dangers of climate change "; " Melbourne records its warmest winter on record, as bushfire season looms "; " E nd Times Fascism and the Fight for the Living World. "; " Thi...

Here in Victoria's Goulburn Valley, the climate conversation is rather mute; people know it is happening, want something done about it, but rarely speak about the dilemma. Here at "Climate Conversations", it was decided that an attempt would be made to provide the discussion with some oxygen. Subsequently, it was decided we would ask 10 basic questions about climate change to 500 peo...

Kirsty Bishop-Fox chairs the group behind Victoria's " Zero Waste Festival " and, as the event's director, talks about the Saturday, September 12, event. The program has many highlights, among them the Rewear Runway (a fashion parade revolving around used clothing), appearances by the Climate Choir Melbourne, the Riff Raff Radical Marching Band Melbourne, and a session providing...

Nepal floods - " T sunami of dirt: what caused Nepal’s deadly glacial flood? "; " What probably triggered the Nepal flood, and why it could happen more often "; " Australia’s backdown on data centres allows them to use energy from coal and gas. Here’s what that means "; " The fight over AI data centres is becoming Australia’s next Indigenous policy challenge &quo...

About 30 people gathered recently at Geelong's Cellar Door Wine Bar for the launch of Mik Aidt's new book, " Man of Earth ". Mik has been a truly active climate activist for more than a decade, and that lively approach has seen him involved in a range of processes, allowing him to exercise his journalistic skills through podcasting, radio and now, the authorship of a book. Mik is...

Gardening Australia's Costa Georgiadis is excited about the Tatura Transitions event coming up on Sunday, August 23, at both the town's Cussen Park and the Italian Social Club. GV Community Energy is supporting the event, as are Zero Carbon Tatura ; The Goulburn Valley Tree Group ; Cussen Park; the Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority; Tatura Rotary ; Landcare ; Sustainability Vi...

Europe heatwave sees continent roast - " Germany’s Rhine River may ‘split in two’ as new heatwave roasts Europe "; " Electric car emissions benefits are far greater than first thought "; " ‘Truly Devastating’: Trump Ends Federal Funding for Key Arctic Climate Report "; " When fuel prices rise, who picks up the pieces? "; " ‘Climate whiplash’ is not simp...

Harry Rosson delivered the latest in the Public Money, Public Good lectures, titled " An economy that puts people & planet first: What it looks like & how to get there ". In this lecture, Harry shows how we have been tricked into a destructive growth agenda, and how we can move beyond it for our and our planet's sake.

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...