Earth Matters

The east coast of South Africa is home to a conflict as old as the industrial age. A start-up company from Perth wants to mine a precious stretch of remote, coastal dunes for titanium; the local people, known as Pondos, value their land and culture above and beyond a flash-in-the-pan mining venture. Ten years on, there is no mine. The company is pulling out every trick in the exploitation book; un...

The new CSIRO management has announced drastic cuts and a controversial change of priorities for the nations' peak scientific research body. Drawing global condemnation and outrage, the cuts to the CSIRO have been likened to "driving at night with the lights off" when it comes to climate research. Also on the show, 2016 marks 20 years of Earth Matters on the air, and 40 years for 3CR Community Rad...

Today we look at yet another case of corporate interest versus the protection of public health and the environment. Australian mining company Oceana Gold are suing one of the poorest countries in the world, El Salvador for $300 million after an application to operate a gold mine at the head of the countries' biggest river was rejected in order to protect the countries scarce drinking water. As one...

REVIVING INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE SYSTEMSWestern scientists have an obligation to acknowledge and make amends for the damage that their coloniser disciplines have wreaked on Indigenous knowledge systems in regards to unsustainable agricultural and mining practices. This week on Earth Matters Sudanese ecologist Alawiyya Jamal and Kenyan man, Gathuru Mburu from the African Biodiversity Network, discuss...

Invasion Day, also known as Australia Day, is commemorated every year as a day for mourning the Aboriginal warriors fallen in the defence of their country, as well as celebrating cultural survival. 26 January 2016 saw the heart of Melbourne transformed into a defiant rally of thousands, living and breathing Aboriginal sovereignty and demanding justice on stolen land. Listen in to this epic day, or...

From data centres, to phones, to modems, to mobile towers, to intercontinental fibre optic cables spanning the globe... it takes a lot of energy to keep the internet running all over the world, for millions of people, 24/7. Our beloved internet has an environmental cost, and it’s pretty big. As the technology develops and the way we use the internet changes, there are big questions we need to ask...

The climate is changing, and so is our world. But what does that sound like? Anja Kanngieser and Daniel Jenatsch’s ‘A story of extinction’ is a sonic story meditating on climate change, the anthropocene, and capitalism. Katharine Round and Leah Borromeo of Disobedient Films teamed-up with composer Jamie Perera to create ‘Climate Symphony’, a one minute composition sonifying climate change. Anita M...

The forests of East Gippsland, Victoria, continue to fall victim to an over-subsidised and under-regulated forestry industry. While some threatened species of flora and fauna should enjoy legal protection, the regulations are too-often ignored in the quest to make a dollar out of an unsustainable plunder. Thankfully, there are people on the ground to defend the forest and get in the way of the mac...

This week is a journey of voices and sounds from a morning of creative resistance in the centre of the city that was the Flood the System in Melbourne. Flood the System is a worldwide movement of people committed to powerful non-violent direct action that challenges the root causes of the problem and is seeking climate justice. On Thursday 10th December, a peaceful, mass civil disobedience shut do...

Tanzanians are all-too-familiar with the promises made and not kept by mining companies and the national government. The mining of gold, diamonds, copper and many more minerals have left toxic wastelands and disenfranchised villages behind. An Australian company, Mantra Resources, is now aggressively pursuing uranium exploration in Tanzania. Civil society groups are working to help inform and empo...

 As politicians from around the world meet in Paris for the latest round of climate talks, we hear some of the voices of resistance from below. We bring you three different perspectives, and three different campaigns. Guests: Amelia Telford & Paul Gorrie (SEED Indigenous Youth Climate Network); Colin Long (NTEU); Natasha Saunders (Healthy Futures). Interviews courtesy of 3CR's Wednesday Breakfast.

On the 5th of November a catastrophic failure of a tailings dam at the Brazillian Samarco Iron Ore mine caused Brazils largest ecological disaster and possibly the biggest tailings spill in the world.  The rupture in the dam unleashed a deadly mudslide that has travelled almost 500 kilometres killing 17 people, destroying 11 villages and pushing toxic sludge down Brazil's Doce river, headed toward...

On October 16th, the Federal Government re-approved the Adani Carmichael coal and railway project. Federal Environment Minister Greg Hunt, or Minister for Coal, released a statement of reasons for the approval. The Australian Conservation Foundation launched a Federal Court challenge to the Environment Minister Greg Hunt's, arguing that the mine's emissions would contribute to climate change and e...

The Murray-Darling's Political Flows: Basin Plan under attackIn response to the failing health of the vital inland Murray-Darling river system, the Murray-Darling Basin Plan enables water allocations to be bought back from farmers and irrigators and kept in the river. The Plan doesn't go far enough but is an important step in revitalising the environmental and cultural flows that are essential to...

Now, you’re concerned about climate change, and you know it’s caused by human activity. But the facts, figures and statistics can be bit elusive. And the climate deniers are well rehearsed at seeding confusion and miss-information. This week we're going to give you a bit of a cheat sheet. We’ll be getting to the facts behind the climate science. We’ll hear about how is it studied, and what it is t...

As someone who cares about the environment and social justice you could be excused for feeling a little bit paranoid at the moment. 2015 has seen the Federal government attack the tax-deductibility status of environmental groups, complain about 'lawfare', and try to frame environmental activism as 'violent extremism'. You might just be feeling like the current Federal government wants to silence a...

New Chum toxic waste dump is situated on geographically unsuitable land within the suburbs of the busy urban centre of Ipswich, Queensland. We talk to Jim Dodrill from Ipswich Residents Against Toxic Environments (IRATE) about some of the ongoing problems with the dump and the community campaign to clean it up.

The Green Witch Hunt: another angle to cripple dissentGreen groups have been put under the microscope by the Federal House of Representatives Inquiry into the Tax Status of Environmental Organisations. Currently, the ability to receive tax deductible donations is a lifeblood for many groups fighting for environmental and social justice. The Committee intends to de-legitimise the role of advocacy i...

On the 21st of September the Federal Justice Minister and the Attorney General’s department launched a booklet titled ‘Preventing Violent Extremism and Radicalisation In Australia’.The kit is directed towards young people, and those working with them, including schools. While the kit covers different types of violence and so-called extremism, what really caught public attention, and lead to ridicu...

Today we're looking at a highway duplication between Beaufort and Ararat. Vic Roads completed an environmental effects statement that said they would cut down 221 large old trees in this project. Later the estimate went up to 1635 of these valuable trees. Vic Roads argues that this is for safety, but campaign group Western Highway Alternative Mindsets says that both the construction and the destru...

On this episode we interview five former producers - Juliet Fox, Indira Naryan, Gab Reade, Nicky Stott and Helen Gwilliam - about who they are, some of their proudest moments and what they think Earth Matters contributes to environmental and social justice movements. Throughout the episode you will hear clips from some of the many great environmental defenders that have appeared on the last 999 ep...

Leadfish and shale gas: resistance in the Northern TerritoryNear Borroloola, NT, the McArthur River Mine continues it's scandalous modus operandi by failing to deal with toxic discharge contaminating the river and the smouldering pile of waste rock. Documents recently obtained via freedom of information legislation reveal the Northern Territory Government's conclusion that to manage the smoulderin...