Climate Conversations

Fijian Minister of Defence, Inia Seruiratu (pictured), has declared that climate change poses a greater threat to the Pacific country than war: " Climate change, not war, biggest security threat to Fiji says defence minister ". Christiana Figueres, and others, tell listeners about the " Future of Food " on Outrage and Optimism. " India takes tough stand at climate talks as Delhi endures brutal hea...

Malala Yousafzai (pictured), along with Greta Thunberg and Vanessa Nakate, were with a group of girls outside the Swedish Parliament recently protesting about and warning people that climate change was having a dramatic impact on the education of girls. You can read more about that here: "' Girls' education is a climate solution': Malala Yousafzai joins climate protest ". From The Washington Post,...

Fiji has told the Shangri La conference that climate change worries it far more than military conflict in the region, read the story: "Climate change a bigger threat than war, Fiji tells security summit". The BBC has produced: "What is climate change? A really simple guide". On his blog Queensland's John Quiggin says: "If the opposition wants a mature discussion about nuclear energy, start with a...

The director of the International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD) in Bangladesh, Saleemul Huq (pictured), was the host of one of the many events at the recent Bonn Climate Change talks. The event was: "Striving for a Resilient Future: Addressing key asks of vulnerable countries". Scientists are concerned "‘Triple La Niña’: Australia may face another summer of flooding rains, US...

David Korten (pictured) is known to many people for many reasons, but it was his work as an author that first caught my attention when he published "When Corporations Rule the World". Rather than writing and publishing books, David has chosen to publish his thoughts and papers online and the latest, which warrants reading, is "Ecological Civilization: A global movement of living people of a living...

Andrew Crawford (pictured) farmed near Toolamba in northern Victoria and for a period was a councillor on the now-defunct Tatura-based Rodney Shire Council. Andrew is a keen member of the Shepparton-based Goulburn Valley University of the Third Age and was among the few people who volunteered to be interviewed by Climate Conversations. This episode began with an apology to Andrew as he had handed...

Barry Croke (pictured) has a long history in agricultural science and farming, and after 30 years in the latter has retired and now coordinates the Natural Resources sessions at the Shepparton-based Goulburn Valley University of the Third Age (U3A). Barry was among a handful of U3A members who voluntarily sat down early in June this year to have a chat with Climate Conversations. The City of Great...

Graeme Hanign (pictured) has an acute understanding of how and where the word "skeptic" should be employed and has "called out" Climate Conversations for the term's incorrect use. Graeme, who retired from a career in IT and retail to live in northern Victoria's Rushworth, and who is an active member of the Shepparton-based Goulburn Valey University of The Third Age, now spends considerable time an...

Allan Wilson (pictured) is a former President of the Goulburn Valley University of the Third Age and has many concerns about our inattention to the climate crisis. 'Climate Conversations' is eager to get the view of so-called "ordinary people" and so a few months ago we spent a day at the Bendigo Sustainability Festival to hear the views of eight people, and just recently we visited the Echuca-Moa...

Cruising has returned to the world's oceans bringing with it the recent launch of the world's largest cruise ship, the Wonder of the Seas (pictured), ABC News tells about the return of the cruise ships and their associated complications with carbon emissions - "Cruise ships are bringing tourists back to Pacific waters, but at what cost?" Here is just a handful of today's Quick Climate Links: "We c...

Heather Smith (pictured) is the chair of the Coalition for Community Energy (C4CE) and wants to see as many as possible both support and join the group. Heather, a Churchill Fellow, is an electrical engineer, policy and strategy adviser with a strong technical background in energy and climate change, and brings all those skills to C4CE. She encourages people to take a close look at the group's web...

John B. Cobb Jr. (pictured) from the U.S.-based Living Earth Movement has lived through wars and good times and now advocates, in whatever way he can, for peace and care for the Earth. He has personally written to both the leaders of America and China and with, he believes/hopes, some success. John has twice been a guest on Climate Conversations and on both occasions, our conversation has been cut...

Two seasons down and looking forward to bigger and better things - "A Positive Climate #Wrapped: 2021 in Review with Alex and Nick". Lecturer in Political Theory and Public Policy at London's UCL, Fergus Green, writes in The Conversation: "How to know if a country is serious about net zero: look at its plans for extracting fossil fuels". Other Quick Climate Links for today are: "Will a Labor major...

A prolific author and adventurous thinker, Associate Professor Anitra Nelson (pictured), and her book, "Beyond Money: a post-capitalist strategy", were at the core of two webinars staged by the Global Tapestry of Alternatives. Professor Nelson, who is with the Melbourne Sustainable Society Institute at the University of Melbourne, has argued that the power of money ceded to capitalism must be reap...

Mooroopna bird enthusiast, Don Roberts, has many favourite birds and one is the Red Cap Robin, pictured here by Russel Jones. Don has fears for the future of many birds as climate change has reached a point where not just birds, but Earth's whole eco-system is sliding into disarray. Here is a short piece Don wrote about birds and heat: "I have three birdbaths in the back yard which borders Gemmill...

Mark Spencer has created The Climactic Collective to allow the telling of critical climate stories and in the most recent episode gives his listeners the chance to hear the joy people were feeling when the incumbent Liberal National Government was booted from office on May 21. An Editorial in today's Melbourne Age tells readers: "Renewable energy isn’t to blame for rising power prices". The Mirror...

Bob Carr (pictured) has written the story - "On back of urgency on climate, Australia is tipping centre-left" - on Pearls and Irritations that just as slavery initiated the American civil war, it was climate issues that saw the Scott Morrison Government tossed out of government. The Sydney Environment Institute from the University of Sydney staged an event in April - "Why Can’t We Talk About a Jus...

Astrid Bester (pictured) is the Youth Development Officer with the City of Greater Shepparton and has a key role in the creation and implementation of a new Climate Change Youth Leadership program. Along with the municipalities of Benalla and Strathbogie, the city is working with the State Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning to breathe life into this new program. The first step in...

Dr David Korten (pictured) presents the paper - "Ecological Civilization: A global movement of living people of a living Earth" - to the latest in a series of webinars organised by "The Living Earth Movement". Dr Korten ended his paper by saying: "The time is now. The choice is ours. We are the ones we have been waiting for". You can learn more about Dr Korten by reading his biography. Enjoy "Musi...

Dr John B. Cobb (pictured) is the prime mover of The Living Earth Movement and wants all of us to do what we can to inspire the United States, China, and other nations to reduce conflicts and work together to address the ecological crisis, urgently and dramatically. The Living Earth Movement website says: "What can we do to lay the foundations for ecological civilization? For this movement to succ...

David Pocock (pictured) is known to many Australians for his exploits on the rugby fields, both here in Australia and overseas, and on Saturday, stood as a candidate for the Australian Government and at this point appears to have been successful in his bid to become a Senator. Cycling takes centre stage on the World Resources Institute podcast, "Big Ideas into Action". A recording of today's discu...

Marty Kady (pictured) is the editorial director for subscription platforms at Politico and takes us through the group's second Sustainability Summit - "Fast-tracking a sustainable future". Dr. Britt Wray is a Human and Planetary Health Postdoctoral Fellow at the Stanford Center for Innovation in Global Health, Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment and London School of Hygiene & Tropical Med...

The aspirations and climate goals of Sydney's Opera House were among the topics discussed at Sunday"s Echuca/Moama Market. A woman responsible for the leasing of internal areas talked about how difficult it has been to achieve zero emissions as many of those internal areas are set aside for restaurants and the chefs all prefer gas, a fossil fuel, for their cooking - it's a challenge, she said, the...

Musicians are increasingly turning to their craft to help us, and them, better understand and deal with the climate crisis. A podcast from Climate One "Coping with Climate through Music" takes us into this growing field. Other Quick Climate Links for today are: "Scientists call for incentives to help households transition away from gas use in homes"; "Critical climate indicators broke records in 2...

Climate scientist, Joëlle Gergis, is finalizing a new book - "Humanity's Moment: A Climate Scientist's Case for Hope" to be published late in August. Her previous book - "Sunburnt Country: The History and Future of Climate Change in Australia" was published in 2018 giving an unparalleled perspective on how human activities altered patterns that have been with us for millions of years, and what cli...