Climate Conversations

The year just ended, 2023, was the hottest on record - " Scientists knew 2023’s heat would be historic — but not by this much "; " 2023 officially hottest year on record as global temperatures close in on tipping point "; " Climate change and El Nino turn 2023 into the hottest year ever "; " 2023 hottest year on record "; " A heatwave in Antarctica tota...

Anthony Leiserowitz (pictured), the founder and director of the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication , joined with others, including the founder and CEO of " Potential Energy ", John Marshall, to talk about climate change and communication. A few things stood out in worldwide research about the climate crisis and how to talk about it - some two billion people have never heard the...

Investors pour more than US$3 trillion into fossil fuels - check this out on Urgewald, " Investing in Climate Chaos "; " El Niño doesn't automatically mean it won't rain. Here's why it's been so wet and stormy for Australia's eastern states "; " Rooftop solar drives out coal, wind and grid-scale solar "; " Parts of Victoria, SA, NSW on flood w...

Geelong's Mik Aidt explains The Blue Dot and discusses why we should care . "‘ Incredible’ rain, storms to batter Victoria, prompting flash-flood warnings "; " The projects that would supercharge Victoria’s green energy future – but are stuck in limbo "; " Can you guess how crazy last year’s weather was? Try this game ."; " Melting ice - uncovered history :&q...

Hannah Ritchie (pictured) finds the cause of climate anxiety among children in the data and along with that the hope we can be the first generation to live sustainably - " Are we the last generation — or the first sustainable one? "; " What If People Don’t Need to Care About Climate Change to Fix It? "; " Hannah Ritchie: ‘Doomsday predictions are a dream for climate denier...

Craig Reucassal uses the vehicle of "Foreign Correspondent" to take us to " The Last Resort "; " Australia ‘risks climate tech exodus’ unless it follows US model "; " Free rain barrel program helps Duluth residents get involved in flood prevention "; " We can’t control what disasters a new year may bring. Stoicism can help us get up and try again "...

This was "The big one" said the fire chief in Greece: " The climate future arrived in 2023. It left scars across the planet. "; " ‘There’s No Other Job’: The Colonial Roots of Philippine Poverty "; " Campers rescued as heavy rain and flooding hits northern New South Wales across New Year "; " New Year’s Day weather: flash-flood warnings for Queensland a...

Greta Thunberg (pictured) is critical of COP28 and the whole Conference of the Parties process: " Greta Thunberg slams COP28 deal as 'toothless, insufficient, another betrayal’ "; " How ‘heat officers’ plan to help cities survive ever-hotter summers "; " Big-name EVs: here are the new models launching for the first time in Australia "; " ‘Propaganda to infect...

We are closing in on zero-carbon cement -listen to Leah Ellis on " Volts "; " Where U.S. house prices may be most overvalued as climate change worsens "; " Weather changes causing chaos for UK flora and fauna, says National Trust audit "; " Weather tracker: South Africa flash floods kill six with people still missing "; " It’s Time to Ban Earth-Damaging...

Climate change has some utterly horrific and devastating side effects and one of the most pressing and obvious right now is wildfires - Carsten Brinkschulte, from Dryad Networks, talks with Will Lockett about how to mitigate wildfires ; " How America’s Diet Is Feeding the Groundwater Crisis "; " Inland From Bondi Beach, ‘Heat Islands’ Make Australia’s Summer Deadlier "; "...

David Enrich writes for The New York Times and tells us about the book: " Fire Weather " in the story: " In Canada’s Wilds, a Chilling Inferno Was Also an Omen ". And we have a small piece from " Heat: Life and Death on a Scorched Planet " by Jeff Goodell.

With a month to spare, Copernicus called it; " Scientists have confirmed 2023 is the hottest year on record, with a month to spare "; " World-first assessment of carbon footprint of irrigation farm dams "; " The Diesel Transition: Petroleum diesel alternatives for the Australian agriculture, fisheries and forestry sector "; " O Christmas tree: After the holidays,...

Wawa Gatheru (pictured) considered herself a social activist but not an environmentalist - " Black Girl Environmentalist is highlighting the contributions of Black women in the climate movement "; " Dolly Parton - World On Fire "; " Huge waste-to-energy plant proposed for Melbourne’s northern suburbs "; " ‘My job to convince them’: Steven Miles knows climate chan...

Compounding "natural events" trouble the world and are becoming increasingly common in Australia - " Scale of Qld flood cleanup becomes clearer "; " Could tradie shortage hamper Qld flood recovery? "; " Anatomy of the Lismore disaster "; " Australia’s freight used to go by train, not truck. Here’s how we can bring back rail – and cut emissions ": &...

Chris Bowen (pictured) Australia's Climate Change and Energy Minister is walking "both sides of the street" with his response to the climate crisis - " COP28 makes headway on renewable energy transition "; " Kids at risk from dangerously hot homes " - Sweltering Cities executive officer, Emma Bacon. " Direct air capture: An expensive, dangerous distraction fr...

The thoughtful and philosophical, Adam Carrel (pictured) from EY was on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's penultimate episode of " The Drum " discussing what he said was "the status quo" COP28 recently in Dubai. " The Real Free Speech Threat "; " What a real international climate breakthrough would look like "; " Why guilt shouldn’t be the b...

The world of the climate is full of surprises - one is getting to know and learn about Dr Ben Santer (pictured) an atmospheric scientist who has won the 2023 Stephen H. Schneider Award for Outstanding Climate Science Communication. Dr Santer is interviewed here by the founder and CEO of Climate One , Greg Dalton.

Groundswell co-founder Arielle Gamble (pictured) talked about " Complicated Legacies, Climate Change and Simple Truths " on TEDxSydney. " The COP28 climate agreement is a step backwards on fossil fuels "; " From disruption to destruction " - Violet Coco; " Terrestrial Politics in Uncertain Times "; " The world just made it clear the fossil fuel era is e...

An idea that found fertile soil at Mont Perelin in Switzerland 75 years ago frustrates decision-makers at COP28 in Dubai; " COP28 talks on the cusp of failure with bitter divide over the future of fossil fuels "; " This is what the Arctic’s record-hot summer looked like "; " Climate Commission report makes for awkward reading "; " Climate summit pushback over fos...

Exxon-Mobil was about to acknowledge and celebrate one of its own when " Climate Defiance " protestors ruined the party. COP28 features on " 7:30 Report "; " Jasper to unleash 140km/h winds, dump life-threatening rain "; " ‘I’ll just eat on the way’: A climate activist’s 18-hour sprint through COP28 "; " Refugees use plants to fight malaria & climat...

Rosanna Xia, an environmental reported with the LA Times, was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 2020 for an explanatory piece on sea level rise ("The California coast is disappearing under the rising sea) and now she has published the book: " California Against the Sea: Visions for Our Changing Coastline ". Ms Xia is interviewed here by Wade Crowfoot in the Secretary's Speaker Series...

COP28 president, Sultan al Jaber calls for compromise - " COP28: Division on phasing out fossil fuels "; " Heat: Life and Death on a Scorched Planet "; "T he Rise and Rollout of AOC’s Green New Deal " - Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (pictured); " Humans have ‘large, negative impact on wildlife,’ researchers find "; " Banning fossil fuels is now a make-or-bre...

The value and worth of COP28 will be determined as to whether or not, attendees can decide on the necessity, and urgency of phasing out fossil fuels. And it was in January this year that the BBC wondered about the appointment of Sultan El Jaber as president of the Dubai event - " COP28: Why has an oil boss been chosen to head climate summit? "; " The disagreement between two climate...

Assistant Professor David Keith (pictured at the Melbourne Energy Institute's Symposium23 on Friday, December 8, mounted a convincing argument about why public transport will never replace, totally, the privately owned motor car. His argument overlooked, I would argue, the fact that the modern mind had been colonized by the individualism promoted and encouraged by capitalistic and neoliberal t...

Andrew Forrest cuts loose - " Andrew Forrest calls for fossil fuel bosses' 'heads on spikes' in extraordinary outburst on sidelines of UN COP28 climate conference "; " How climate disruption turns strategic priorities upside down "; " Secretary Speaker Series - Rosanna Xia "; " Why we need to fight for the “community” in community batteries "; &q...