Episodes
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Dr Cathy OPke (pictured) was at TEDx Bendigo talking about our Cities: Our Climate Change Antiheroesâ and challenging us to reimagine cities as robust climate solutions rather than just sources of emissions.
She explained that while national governments debate, cities are becoming command centers for climate action - a role so crucial that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is preparing its first-ever special report focused on cities.
Through examples from Bendigo to Singapore, Cathy Oke shows how 13,000 local governments worldwide are already leading bold climate initiatives, often outpacing national action.
The future of our climate will be decided in our cities, she argues, and every citizen has a role in this transformation.
Dr Cathy Oke OAM is a leading voice in urban sustainability and city leadership, combining 25 years of practical and academic expertise. She serves as Associate Professor in Informed Cities in the Faculty of Architecture Building and Planning and Director of the Melbourne Centre for Cities at the University of Melbourne, while advising the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy on research and innovation.
"Understanding climate change";
"A UNSW Australian Human Rights Institute report shows Australiaâs fossil fuel exports are a significant contributor to global warming";
"The Rise and Fall of Degrowth";
"Australia urgently needs to get serious about long-term climate policy â but thereâs no sign of that in the election campaign";
"Reality check: coral restoration wonât save the worldâs reefs";
"Nations debate historic first global carbon tax as shipping faces pressure to cut emissions";
"NYC and Long Island Could Lose 80,000 Homes to Flooding by 2040, Exacerbating Housing Crisis: Report";
"Meet Zen, the border collie teaching rescue dogs as climate change compounds avalanche risks";
"Scientists say human-caused pollution may be masking the true extent of climate warming";
"âTheir determination is heroicâ: Portuguese youth mount fresh climate lawsuit against government";
"âSociety is at a crossroadsâ: 5 deep changes experts say will turn us away from the climate abyss";
"In the rain-soaked South, storms portend future âgenerationalâ floods";
"These recycling techniques could help keep clothes out of landfills";
"Pet dogs have âextensive and multifariousâ impact on environment, new research finds";
"Why California and the West could face a âbig fire seasonâ later this year";
"Oil Execs Warn Privately That Trumpâs âChaosâ Could Be âDisasterâ for Their Industry";
"Coalition nuclear plan will plough $58bn wrecking ball through renewable energy projects, analysis warns";
"Pipis, octopi, starfish and more have died en masse in South Australia, but it's not clear why";
"Climate Change is even worse than we thought, but this might be good news.";
"Climate crisis on track to destroy capitalism, warns top insurer";
"Beyond the Threshold: The Urgency of Climate Change";
"Laborâs home batteries policy could help people who will never take it up. Hereâs how";
"Hereâs who topped the rankings in this yearâs scorecard for sustainable chocolate â and which confectionery giant refused to participate";
"In Florida, Skyrocketing Insurance Rates Test Resolve of Homeowners in Risky Areas";
"Iâm a disaster reporter. But I was not prepared to watch my city burn.";
"Trump administration orders half of national forests open for logging";
"Antarcticaâs hidden threat: meltwater under the ice sheet amplifies sea-level rise";
"Batteries for all, not just the rich? Laborâs home battery plan must be properly targeted to be fair";
"98% of Queensland prawn areas at risk of inundation by rising seas this century";
"âSame shit, different yearâ: Australia records hottest 12 months and warmest March on record";
"Itâs not easy being a street tree, but this heroic eucalypt withstands everything we throw at it";
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Glenn Connley (pictured), moderator for the "Climate Academy" webinar organised by The Australia Institute.
Industrial Atlantic salmon farming near Tasmania is a story that needs to be told and understood, and this "Climate Academy" webinar moderated by Glenn Connley and featuring Leanne Minshull and Eloise Carr is a wonderful opportunity for people to learn more about what's happening in this southern Australian State.
Also, it's an equally wonderful chance to learn more about what's happening to Maugean Skate that has inhabited Australian waters, well, 300 square kilometres of Macquarie Harbour on Tasmania's west coast.
The Skate has inhabited the harbour since T-Rex roamed the Earth.
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Missing episodes?
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Linden Ashcroft (pictured) went from wanting to be a poet to climate science, although she still dabbles in poetry.
Linden grew up in country Victoria, in Tatura near Shepparton, on the lands of the Yorta Yorta people, and is a lecturer, climate scientist and science communicator at the University of Melbourne.
Her parents still live in Tatura, and she will be back there on Saturday, September 6, for an event organised by the Transition Towns group in Tatura.
The Tatura Transition Towns program will include, in addition to Linden, a performance from the Melbourne band, "Music for a Warming World".
Short films and other identities are being organised now for the September 6 event.
People can learn more about "Tatura Transition Towns" by checking its Facebook page.
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Challenges on her home farm prompted Karin Stark (pictured) to pull together her first National Renewables in Agriculture Conference and Expo in 2019. Now, this year's event will be in Bendigo.
In what is a first for Victoria, the conference and expo will be held at The Capital Theatre in View St, Bendigo, on Wednesday, July 23.
The expo opens at 8:00 a.m., and the conference follows at 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.
On the National Renewables in Agriculture Conference and Expo website, it says:
"This event brings together farmers, agriculture and energy consultants, peak bodies and Government representatives to share stories of on-farm renewables, their business case and discuss whatâs driving the transformation of energy use in agriculture.
"Large scale solar and wind developments present opportunities for farmers and regional communities if planned well with meaningful engagement around benefit sharing. These topics plus combining farming and solar, termed agrivoltaics, also forms part of the yearly Conference program."
Ms Stark has urged farmers to attend the event and hear the keynote speaker, the Energy Program Director from the Grattan Institute
"Are we there yet? The countryâs economic transformation". -
Australia's former Secretary to the Treasurer, Ken Henry (pictured) has written about "cowardly politics" and "robbing our children blind", along with the 'juvenile climate politics" - "Cowardly politics is robbing our children blind. Itâs time to be brave";
"Citizen Future: why we need a new story of self and society";
"Iâve spent my life fighting nuclear. Hereâs what Dutton isnât telling you about his reactors";
"Renewables v nuclear: the facts point to one clear winner";
"Trumpâs âclimateâ purge deleted a new extreme weather risk tool. We recreated it";
"Solar panel windows that could turn whole buildings into power plants smash electricity record";
"Energy expert slams Dutton's 'populist anti-market' gas plan as self-defeating 'betrayal'";
"Winter sea ice in the Arctic just hit a record low";
"Outback flood tops 1974 levels, as residents evacuate amid major stock loss fears";
"Small town flown out as âdynamicâ flooding hits large parts of Queensland";
"New York to make major greenhouse gas emitters pay for past pollution".
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Climate change and it impact on life in Australia's northern parts has been ignored by the Australia Football League (AFL) as it has progressed plans to build a multi-million dollar stadium in Darwin, the capital of Northern Territory.
The climate community is well aware that wet-bulb temperatures expected in Darwin within decades could make life in that northern capital not only difficult, but for many people, fatal.
Senior players from the Brisbane Football Club (that's on the other side of the country, but still in a northern state) had urged the AFL not to schedule matches to start before midday as it is simply too hot.
Here is what Fox Sports had to say about the Darwin plans: "âA truly national AFLâ: $735m Darwin stadium plan unveiled as NT bids to land 20th club";
"Peter Duttonâs new energy plan sounds like a gas. In reality it means more emissions â and more profits for industry";
"âHard to see how lower pricing will emergeâ: Experts doubtful of Duttonâs gas plan";
"The oil industry takes its critics to court";
"Fossil fuel companies get direct email line to Trump for exemption requests";
"U.S. Honeybee Deaths Reach Record High: Survey";
"Earthâs soil is drying up. It could be irreversible.";
"Seymour Alternative Farming Expo".
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Economist Angela Jackson (pictured) was among the guests on the ABC's latest Q&A program and talked passionately about the seriousness and reality of climate change.
"Their profit, our cost: Should fossil fuel companies pay for climate disasters?";
"Confirmed: 2024 was the hottest year on record in the air and the oceans";
"The maps that reveal how climate disasters are driving up insurance premiums in Sydney";
"Zali Steggall stands by controversial offshore wind, seeks to broaden climate debate";
"Greenhouse gas emissions. Winning slowly or losing the battle?";
"'Devastating' wildfires in South Korea claim lives and force evacuations";
"South Korea Battles Some of Its Worst-Ever Wildfires";
"2024 Wrapped: Yes, Climate Change Will Probably Kill You";
"The Existential Threat of Ultra-Billionaires";
"The true story behind the âgold barsâ at the heart of Trumpâs biggest climate fight".
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Emma Bacon (pictured) is among the most climate-aware and knowledgeable Australians and leads the Sydney-based non-government organisation. "Sweltering Cities".
You can hear more of Ms Bacon's almost prescient thinking on the "Finding Nature" podcast.
If you're in Geelong this Friday, March 28, get along to that city's "Climate Cafe".
"Garbage trucks are catching fire. Your battery could be to blame";
"Forget the Future â The Fall of Society Has Already Begun";
"I Wrote A Book About Water: Hereâs What I Learned";
"âSugar-daddyâ Trump comes for CSIRO on scientific research funding";
"US Banks Quit Climate Alliances and Targets. What Does This Mean for a Green Transition?";
"âApoplecticâ environment groups halt Coalition attack ads to take aim at Albanese over speciesâ âdeath warrantâ";
"Billionaires Advance Fossil Fuels at âEnergy Super Bowlâ in Houston";
"Hereâs How the Right Is Packaging Its Conspiracies in Environmentalism".
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The 89 Percent Project is a year-long global journalistic effort to explore a pivotal but little-known fact about climate change: The overwhelming majority of the worldâs people want their governments to take stronger action.
The project launches on April 20, 2025, with a week of focused coverage by journalists and newsrooms worldwide coinciding with Earth Day. A second week of focused coverage will come in October, before Brazil's COP30 UN climate summit.
The idea of The 89 Percent Project arose from a slew of recent scientific studies finding that the overwhelming majority of the worldâs people â between 80 and 89% â want stronger climate action.
This overwhelming global majority of people, however, does not realize that they are a majority; most think their fellow citizens donât agree.
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Climate change is a dilemma that appears to escape the understanding of most people astounding me.
"In the Australian outback, climate change widens the racial divide";
"The outlook for house insurance is much worse than weâre being told";
"Trump may ax EPAâs research office and fire most of its staff";
"Trumpâs attacks on science are a massive blow to Australia. These numbers show why";
"Helene blew through nearly six months ago. North Carolinaâs recovery has barely begun.";
"Why Europe is going âcar-freeâ";
"How restaurant leftovers are playing a role in audacious bid to bring life back to Port Phillip Bay".
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Anthony Stott (pictured) is a Geelong psychologist, whose fertile mind helps us understand how we can profit from his fresh idea of "Green Prosperity"'.
Anthony has put Green Prosperity on the table. Beyond that bold and adventurous thinking, he helps people through the travails of climate anxiety through his work at Aspire Health and Psychology at Werribee.
This thoughtful fellow first attracted the attention of Climate Conversations at a recent gathering of the "Geelong Climate Cafe ".
During our conversation, we discussed Green Prosperity's likeness to the "Degrowth Network of Australia", although as Anthony points out, the two have subtle and important differences.
Anthony has written two papers on Green Prosperity, both are freely available via email.
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Usually, episodes of "Climate Conversations" begin with a relevant or outstanding quote, but this event from La Trobe University, "Climate change: where are we now?" was littered with powerful and important quotes.
Subsequently, I decided it would be best if you listened first and then chose for yourself â enjoy, it is a powerful webinar.
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A friend fears nuclear annihilation more than whatever climate change has in store.
"How Formula 1 is trying to cut its carbon emissions, on and off the track";
"Trump moves to gut several agencies, targeting Voice of America, libraries";
"How Climate Change Is Framed to Disempower You";
"âGreeted by concreteâ: Town fights for trees as rail project steamrolls historic avenue";
"The campaign battle over the next step to cheaper power bills";
"Alfred held its punches, but is Queensland prepared for a bigger blow?";
"Trump moves to gut several agencies, targeting Voice of America, libraries".
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Dr Kumi Naidoo (pictured) and Professor Noami Oreskes joined former South Australian Premier, Mike Rann, for a stimulating conversation about phasing out fossil fuels at the University of South Australia's Hawke Centre.
Promotional material for the conversation says: "Despite world leaders making climate pledges and investments in renewable energy, many governments are still approving new coal, oil and gas projects â threatening our chances of limiting warming to 1.5ÂșC. "The world has used powerful treaties to ban nuclear weapons, phase out landmines and save the ozone, but we have no international agreement on how to transition away from fossil fuels. How can we chart a future that breaks from fossil fuels, and with the urgency that is needed?
"This session will explore the pathway toward a global plan for keeping coal, gas and oil in the ground, and how governments, cities, scientists, communities and people from all walks of life can get involved to protect what we love from the threat of fossil fuels." -
Carly Noble (pictured) will represent the Australian Democrats at the next Federal Election and hopes your vote will help her secure a Seat in the Australian Senate as a representative for Victoria.
Carly, a mother, farmer, educator, agitator, and advocate for any environmental improvement that will benefit people generally, particularly Victorians, believes that if people work together through a "boots on the ground" approach, great things can be achieved.
As part of her campaign, Carly is visiting northern Victoria, and further to the east, on the weekend of April 5 and 6.
On Saturday, April 5, at 11:00 am she will be a guest at Beneath the Wisteria at the Shepparton campus of La Trobe University in North St.
Beneath the Wisteria is free, bookings are unnecessary and questions about the event should be directed to Robert McLean at 0400 501 199.
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Eddie Kowalski (pictured) is one of several people working to create what is presently known as the "Online Citizens Assembly".
The group is led by Professor Joseph Camilleri, an Emeritus Politics Professor at La Trobe University who is one of Australia's leading International Relations scholars. He has more than 30 years of experience.
Professor Camilleri has pursued a wide range of research interests covering almost the entire gamut of the International Relations discipline.
He is also the convener of the Melbourne-based Conversation at the Crossroads.
Those keen to make contact with Eddie Kowalski and learn more about the Online Citizens Assembly can do so through his website "Our Voice".
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My daughter's Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV (example pictured) helps out during Tropical Cyclone Alfred.
"Alfred to slow and lessen in severity, but window of destruction remains open";
"Cyclone Alfred is slowing â and that could make it more destructive. Hereâs how climate change might have influenced it";
"States prepare for cyclone flooding as authorities urge âdo not underestimate this stormâ";
"Cyclone Alfred live updates: Thousands without power; calls for help; 'lessons to be learned'";
"We lived through the Lismore floods three years ago. Now Cyclone Alfred brings a new threat";
"As the weather bureau pumps out crucial cyclone information, millions look elsewhere";
"As Los Angeles combusts, 2024 is declared Earthâs hottest on record";
"Why nuclear energy is not worth the risk for Australia";
"Tropical Cyclone Alfredâs destruction driven by climate change";
"Cyclone Alfred has slowed down â why is that dangerous?".
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Tropical Cyclone Alfred troubles coastal northern New South Wales and south-eastern Queensland, triggering memories of flooding in Lismore in NSW.
"âStripped to our bare bonesâ: three years on from the floods, Lismoreâs housing crisis is worse than ever";
"Queensland evacuations begin as Cyclone Alfred storm path tracks towards Brisbane";
"How to prepare for Cyclone Alfred and what to do if itâs too late to leave";
"Clive bought his house because of the view. Now he wonders if this is the last time heâll enjoy it";
"Tropical Cyclone Alfred to lash Queensland and New South Wales, Australia";
"Panic buying, giant waves as Cyclone Alfred barrels towards coast";
"âLike preparing to fight a warâ: Can we stop a cyclone in its tracks?".
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Tropical Cyclone Alfred is roaming about near the coast of Australia's south-east Queensland and northern New South Wales: "Northern NSW residents urged to prepare for first tropical cyclone since 1990";
"The coastal Victorian city with ambitious plans but a big sea-rise problem";
"Trump fired hundreds at NOAA, Weather Service. Hereâs what that means for forecasts.";
"Amazon loses fight to exempt data center from energy regulation";
"More Growth, More Problems: System Change Not Climate Change";
"Slow-moving and erratic: Why cyclones like Alfred are so hard to predict";
"Secure the boat, pile sandbags and hunker down: Queenslandâs Bribie Island braces for Cyclone Alfred";
"Cyclone Alfred is expected to hit southeast Queensland â the first in 50 years to strike so far south";
"How to prepare for a cyclone, according to an expert";
"Melting Antarctic ice will slow the worldâs strongest ocean current â and the global consequences are profound";
"Yes, paper straws suck. Rather than bring back plastic ones, letâs avoid single-use items";
"Anti-Trans Disinfo Creeping on Climate Justice Spaces (Part 2 of 2)";
"Over 90% of countries fail to submit new NDCs by deadline";
"German election shows how far green wave has receded in Europe";
"Trump, EPA Aim to Remove Finding That Mandates Action on Greenhouse Gas Pollution";
"EPA Under Trump Besieged by Mass Terminations, Axed Programs, Funding Cuts";
"Wildfires in the Carolinas prompt a state of emergency, evacuations";
"Labor backs household batteries in bid to win over voters on cost-of-living and climate worries";
"âThis is unusualâ: Northern NSW braces for first tropical cyclone in decades";
"Mine copper without destroying the planet? London-based project gives scientists hope";
"Submarine cables keep the world connected. They can also help us study climate change";
"'Real threat': Queensland residents warned to prepare for category 2 Cyclone Alfred";
"Premier claims WA a ârenewable energy powerhouseâ but leaked document shows wind and solar projects have âstalledâ";
"Four million Queenslanders warned they could be in âfiring lineâ when cyclone heads towards coast";
"New report slaps an official price tag on Australiaâs precious natural assets";
"Weathering the Storm: Marylandâs Chief Resilience Officer Reflects on Year One as Climate Threats Increase";
"These buildings use batteries made of ice to stay cool and save money";
"Cop16 nature summit agrees deal at 11th hour but critics say it is not enough";
"Column: Time for California to get serious about cheaper, cleaner energy";
"Nuclear reactors could become targets of war, defence experts warn";
"New âheat mapâ tool predicts which Australian cities are at risk from extreme heat";
"A Nuclear Power Resurgence Is Coming to Michigan. What Are the Potential Health Impacts?";
"Seeking sanctuary from a deranged world? Bring on the footy";
"Heatwaves, fires, torrential rain, fish kills: Australiaâs summer of climate extremes";
"Weathering the Storm: Marylandâs Chief Resilience Officer Reflects on Year One as Climate Threats Increase";
"Back to basics â and familiar faces â as Greens eye balance of power";
"âCruel and thoughtlessâ: Trump fires hundreds at US climate agency NOAA";
"The Troubled Energy Transition";
"Peter Duttonâs nuclear accounting trick #4: Assume climate change
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Anthony Stott (pictured) was the guest speaker at the Geelong Climate Cafe on Friday, February 28.
He has worked in several fields such as teaching, youth work, and training unemployed people. He was a Lifeline counsellor for 5 years and has been in private practice since 2008.
With a gentle smile, Anthony took those at the Climate Cafe on a metaphorical journey from humanity's beginnings to where we are now - a planet in crisis.
Coping with climate distress has been a passion of Anthony for many years, something he has written about in his book, âThe End of Hitchhiker Inc?? How Failure to Manage Population and Consumption has Led to Climate Emergency and What We Can Doâ.
At Crookes Counselling and Consulting Services, Anthony runs an innovative client-centred climate distress program for individuals and groups.
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