Climate Action Show

CLIMATE ACTION SHOWDECEMBER 4TH 2023PRODUCED BY Vivien LangfordNEWCASTLE PEOPLE'S BLOCKADE - EPISODE 1 GuestsManjot Kaur -  SAPNA South Asian Climate Solidarity Sapna South Asian Climate Solidarity (sapnasolidarity.org)Grant Howard - Coal Miner + Climate communicatorDr  John Vander Kallen Doctors for the Environment- Doctors for the Environment Australia - DEASenator Janet RiceSenator Barbara PocockACT Environment Minister- Rebecca VassarottiNSW Greens MP Sue HigginsonDr Peter Sainsbury - Environment: 1.5 degrees of warming in 10 years (johnmenadue.com)

CLIMATE ACTION SHOWNOVEMBER 27TH 2023PRODUCED BY Vivien Langford CO2 REMOVAL- HOT TOPIC AT COP28DR KATHRYN HAYHOE AND SIR DAVID KINGCOURTESY OF COVERING CLIMATE NOW What’s the difference between “carbon dioxide removal” (CDR) and “carbon capture and storage” (CCS)? And what role might each play in decarbonizing the global economy fast enough to avoid climate breakdown? CCNow held a press briefing on November 9 to get journalists up to speed on the complicated, sometimes confusing technologies of CDR and CCS, both of which are expected to be major points of contention at COP28.PANELISTSDr. Katharine Hayhoe, Chief Scientist of The Nature Conservancy and Distinguished Professor at Texas Tech UniversitySir David King, Emeritus Professor of Chemistry at the University of Cambridge and former chief science adviser to the UK governmentMark Hertsgaard, CCNow’s executive director, moderated the conversation.

CLIMATE ACTION SHOWNOVEMBER 20TH 2023PRODUCED BY Vivien LangfordTAMBORAN AGM - "DON'T FRACK THE NT"andPACIFIC CLIMATE WARRIORS TOUR GOMEROI COUNTRYGUESTS:Aunty Rhonda Dixon-Madden - Welcome to countryTamika Sadler and Larissa Baldwin-Roberts - Get UpMilima May -Larrakia TO and Bradley Frarrar- Alawa Beetaloo TO who travelled from NT to this AGM of TamboranDr Emma Skowronski - Doctors for the EnvironmentThanks to organisers from 350.org, AYCC and Get Up!Pacific Climate Warriors Gabriel Veigaunavinaka in FijiJacybnta Fa'Amau in Australia In early November, Gomeroi and Gamilaraay traditional owners, Pacific Climate Warriors and activists, school strikers, local farmers, Move Beyond Coal community members and more came together on Gomeroi country in north-west NSW. Together, we shared stories of resistance and resilience, built deeper relationships and stood in solidarity with Gomeroi & Gamilaraay custodians - whose land is being exploited by fossil fuel companies such as Whitehaven Coal and Santos. This is a recount of what happened over the course of that special weekend - the stories that were told, the fights that were shared, and the solidarity built between communities. (Thanks to Move Beyond Coal) When country expands beyond what your eyes can comprehend, melting into the horizon, it’s beyond beautiful, and quite indescribable. This is what I experienced as I watched the landscapes change towards our destination, the colours of the trees and land changing every so often. I knew from this point, that the trip to Narrabri on Gomeroi country, where devastating coal and gas extraction projects are widespread, would be one to remember.  On arrival, we were welcomed by Gomeroi custodian Karra Kinchela and her family, by the Namoi river, as the wind rustled through the trees and soon after, embraced the young dancers and Karra’s cousin, Clinton Lamb, who led the welcome to country. The stars eventually dressed the night sky as the night crept in, whilst the Pacific Climate Warriors thanked those who welcomed us with their own traditional fijian kava ceremony. Joy and laughter filled the campsite of our initial meeting place, which would reflect the real essence of the people who were fighting for Gomeroi country in Narrabri.Our second day on Gomeroi country, Karra showed us around, first at a site in the Pilliga Forest where water is filtered through to the underground water and finds its way to sea. She talked about how even on country that is considered freshwater, it is still connected to saltwater, and that whatever happens on her country is inherently connected to all countries. This lit up the fire in many people and for some, only added wood to the fire. There were direct connections being made between the effects coal and gas companies like Whitehaven Coal and Santos had on Narrabri and those close by, but also to the ocean and the Pacific Islands. Karra continued the tour by taking us to the front gates of Santos’ Lee Wood gas facility.. She described how mining companies enjoy interacting with communities in order to claim, through social licensing, that those communities support their plans. Karra explained that continuing to participate in rallies and actions for Gomeroi country is one of the best ways to combat these false claims of support. She went on to explain how Whitehaven Coal, with numerous coal mines in the area with plans to expand, has eaten a lot of their country. Whitehaven promises all of these jobs and benefits to the community and Indigenous peoples, but these promises are only fallacies, with only a select few hired; their attempt to divert everyone's attention away from the reality that they are not only destroying country, but endangering the lives of those who live in the towns where they mine.We then headed to Maules Creek for lunch, where we were joined by one of the local Gamilaraay elders, Uncle Neville Sampson, who alongside a few other locals who have been fighting fossil fuel projects in their community for decades  explained the history of their fights. Uncle Neville talked about his resilience, and the resilience of those who continue to ensure a future for his people. After lunch, there was an opportunity to visit one of the local farms, and I put my hand up straight away. Being from a small village myself, from a remote island, I wanted to explore what life looked like right next to a coal mine. I remember most of my childhood in my village of Bauz, on Mer Island, in what is colonially known as the Torres Strait. Being from somewhere so remote, with a close knit community, I wondered if I could see a reflection of home amongst the tour, whether in the landscapes or the people. On the tour, we stopped every so often, learning what it takes to farm in Narrabri, about pink slugs and the houses and lands that were sold due to people getting extremely sick from not just the dust in the air from the mines but the gas released from the explosions. One of the farms belonged to a elderly woman, who was constantly sick due to the fumes, and had eventually sold her land and house, which now remains empty. Mining giants seem to have every right to not only harm the environment, but even the people who live within the environment it wants to destroy. After visiting the farm, and patting horses whilst learning about how climate change has even affected what farmers choose to grow now, we returned to Maules Creek renewed and even more passionate about stopping Whitehaven Coal.On our last day, we held an action at  sunrise - in front of Whitehaven Coal’s Tarrawonga coal mine. When we arrived at the mine, what was in front of me was not only confronting, but made me feel both physically and spiritually ill. How could anyone devour a land and make it so baron, how could anyone harm country in such a vicious and heartless way, knowing that this land is so inherently connected to Gomeroi people? The trauma that the land experiences translates into real trauma for those who descend from these lands. When you kill or harm a land, you kill or harm it’s people.  Comprehending this tragedy, one that is paid for, that seeks the destruction of this country to gain profit, was difficult, but it was a reality that had to be acknowledged. It is our reality, and thus our responsibility to ensure that Karra, her family, her people, are able to live, not just survive, on their country, safe and sound. We shared stories, songs and dances in front of the mine, whilst mining security guards watched us as they patrolled the parameters. I couldn’t help but mourn for country, but I could also feel the strength of everyone in this space, especially the Gomeroi mob who were so kind and gracious in inviting us to their country to see the truth of this place with our own eyes. Together, in times of crisis, when politicians let us down, we must rally together, allowing our communities to speak for themselves. We can see hope in the First Nations communities fighting to protect the country from new coal and gas projects. We see it in the global demands from Pacific leaders for no new coal and gas, phase out plans and renewables expansion. I remember some of my last words with Uncle Neville, he told me to keep fighting, but to also remember, that I am stronger, and that no matter what, Gomeroi country is who he is, and he will always know and be a part of its land, water and sky. In solidarity, we can protect this country.With Kindness and Au Esuau,Meleika on behalf of Move Beyond Coal P.S. Now more than ever, we need to all stand together and show our politicians that we are building a movement that will outmatch the power of coal and gas corporations like Whitehaven Coal and Santos, who are destroying Gomeroi sacred country and willingly contributing to devastating climate impacts in the Pacific and more. Join Move Beyond Coal teams and grassroots climate groups across the country for a Week of Action from 4-12 December, to take action in our communities to Turn Up the Heat on Labor.Move Beyond Coalhttps://www.movebeyondcoal.com/

CLIMATE ACTION SHOWNOVEMBER 13TH 2023PRODUCED BY Vivien LangfordARE LEADERS JUST 'ACTING' ON CLIMATE ON THE WAY TO COP?THE MINISTRY FOR THE FUTURE Guests:Mark Spencer - Podcaster and Founder of Climactic Collective(link is external)Meg Clancy - Actor, Dancer and  Major Contributor to NITVLyn Bender - Psychologist and former Manager of Lifeline Melbourne Hope lies beyond latest climate shock therapy (eurekastreet.com.au)(link is external)Greta Thunberg - Founder of Fridays for Future and Cassandra to the Climate Movement  (229) Austrian World Summit 2021 - Greta Thunberg Speech - YouTube(link is external)Kim Stanley Robinson and Naomi Klein at Rutgers University Institute for  Earth, Ocean and Atrmospheric Sciences.Kim Stanley Robinson Special Event - Rutgers EOAS(link is external)Music "Nada:" a tango from La Tabu. This is a theatrical and intense episode. We use KS Robinson's novel as a springboard to explore the themes of being overwraught with insufficient leadership. What are the  many ways forward?It starts with a dramatised reading of the chapter where the head of the ministry, Mary Murphy, is kidnapped by Frank. He is a man traumatised by the great Indian heatwave which left millions dead. As he paces her Zurich apartment she thinks"His presence in her kitchen was all too much like one of her insomniac whirlpools of thought, as if she had stumbled into one of her nightmares while still awake, so that she couldn't get out of it."Then the actors and I discuss with psychologist Lyn Bender how leaders must  accept these messengers from the climate frontlines and act with urgency, while remaining confident and resolute that we can repair the damage.The second item is Greta Thunberg at the 2021 Vienna Climate Summit. She tells leaders that they are pretending to change, pretending to take the science seriously, pretending to wage war on fossil fuels while opening up new oil pipelines, gas fields and coal mines.She says " The audience has grown wary, the show is over"Thirdly we go to Rutgers University to hear the author, Kim Stanley Robinson , talking about  the hard things he had to say. The needle in the eye moments. Naomi Klein calls him a "possibilist" and talks about the sort of dystopian and escapist narratives we are  hard wired  for.  Are we fascinated by the billionaires aiming to colonise space because we were brought up on Noah's Ark? (229) Why Jeff Bezos’ Space Dream is Humanity's Nightmare | George Monbiot - YouTube(link is external)We learn about geo-engineering, how capitalism must change and how modern monetary theory can be used for good.If  you haven't read the novel yet do try now. It is an easy way to look at the future and all the paths we could follow once we wake up.Breaks for tango dancing courtesy of La Tabu.

CLIMATE ACTION SHOWNOVEMBER 6TH 2023Produced by Vivien LangfordKIM STANLEY ROBINSON - THE MINISTRY FOR THE FUTUREInterview with Kim Hill Courtesy of Radio NZ  Guests:Kim Hill from Radio New Zealand  in a recent interview with author Kim Stanley Robinson.Their subject is THE MINISTRY FOR THE FUTURE   and  The High Sierra: A Love Story Climate Action ahead:School Strike4 climate Friday November 17th.Nov 17 | SS4C Australia (schoolstrike4climate.com)Gadigal Land/ Sydney Belmore Park at 12 noonNaam/Melbourne - Flagstaff Gardens 1 pm The Peoples Blockade  of the World's largest coal port Newcastle  November 24th-27th Register to help - Rising Tide Extinction RebellionGlobal Newsletter #80: People Power Stops Oil in Ecuador! (rebellion.global)November 7th Sydney (20+) Drown out the Drums of War: March on the Naval Expo | FacebookNovember 18th Melbourne (20+) Mothers Rebellion for Climate Justice - Southbank - VIC - Action | Facebook 350.0rgSign the perition : Our Islands Our HomeFix Our Climate Laws: Protect Water - 350 AustraliaNovember 7th SYDNEY 9am at 60 Margaret St Double Action: Tamboran AGM & Minister Plibersek (actionnetwork.org)

CLIMATE ACTION SHOWOCTOBER 30THProduced by Vivien Langford PLAYING GOD WITH THE CLIMATE "Artificial Intelligence and the latest technological innovations start with the notion of the human being with no limits, whose abilities can be infinitely expanded thanks to technology, a paradim which monstrously feeds upon itself" Pope Francis Laudate Deum.Guests:Thea Ormerod - Chair of ARRCC- ARRCC Winton Higgins - Author, Holocaust scholar and secular BuddhistRevamp Writings on Secular Buddhism — Winton Higgins This show is dedicated to the late Professor Saleemul Huq OBE. He was a friend of this show always willing to do an interview and a major figure in the world of climate action.Once he was on the phone from Dhaka and in the 3CR studio with me was a Dutch expert on flood control.Dr Huq was so enchanted that he invited the Dutchman to a conference in Bangla Desh there and then.Later he showed a deep compassion inspired by his Muslim reverence for life, when talking of the Rohyngia refugees stumbling at that time in from Myanmar. He said we will find a place for them . Each of those children has a future.I think he was on the same page as Pope Francis and was not afraid to call out the climate criminals who  continue to export and expand the use of coal oil and gas.  He saw their callous disregard for humanity. At the COP meetings he networked among the climate vulnerable nations to get an agreement on loss and damage. He said this was not foreign or adaptation aid. It was a payment from the world to compensate the losses they were suffering daily.He was proud of the adaptation measures taken by Bangla Desh. They used to lose thousands in cyclones or floods but now they have shelters on high ground where people can go with their livestock. Students are assigned to elderly or disabled people to assist them to the shelters and volunteers with loud hailers alert everyone. He said after the recent European floods that we could all learn from Bangla Desh to read the signs and take protective action. I have learned a lot from his example, His death at 71 is a great loss to all of us who try to keep our feet on the ground, promoting climate actions that have justice and care at their core.Hear his voice here:Bangladesh revisited | 3CR Community RadioBANGLADESH - DR SALEEMUL HUQ | 3CR Community RadioLOSS AND DAMAGE and MOVING BEYOND COAL | 3CR Community RadioRead the Letter signed FRANCIS here:Laudate Deum": Apostolic Exhortation to all people of good will on the climate crisis (4 October 2023) | Francis (vatican.va)

CLIMATE ACTION SHOWProduced by Vivien LangfordOctober 23rd 2023VETERINARIANS FOR CLIMATE ACTION Guests: Dr Ron Glanville Former Chief Veterinarian Officer for Queenslandtalks about livestock and the increase of vector borne diseases in floods and rising heat. Biosecurity consultant says Victorian farmers need to be more aware of mosquito-borne viruses - Vets for Climate Action (vfca.org.au) Dr Michelle Marquardt - In the Blue Mountains talks about caring for your dog in a heatwave,preventing your cat becoming a pest and rescuing wildlife from bushfires.Do Birds Pant Like Dogs? - Vets for Climate Action (vfca.org.au) Music by Flume A call to Nature The Environmental Music Prize – Amplifying the voices of artists who inspire action for climate and conservation. Watch this to see beautiful birds of the Northern Rivers Inspiration from HEAT by Jeff Goodall -‘The Heat Will Kill You First’ is a chilling book — and a warning | GristCheck out his chapter :The Mosquito is my vector

CLIMATE ACTION SHOWOCTOBER 16TH 2023Produced by Vivien Langford "LIVING WONDERS" LOSE IN COURT The Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek was not in court to defend the challenge to her approval of two coal mine extensions. On her side were barristers for MACH Energy and  WHITEHAVEN coal. Justice Mc Elwaine dismissed the case. He said "Ultimately (this)...... raises matters for parliament to consider"   Environmental Justice Australia said "Unless it is appealed, today's judgement effectively clears the way for the minister to ignore climate change in her risk assessment of all new coal and gas projects on her desk- of which there are 25" I interviewed the president of the Environment Council of Central Queensland, Christine Carlisle about the impact on Australia's living wonders of more coal exports into the 2040's. Even now the Narrabri mine is leaking three times the climate changing  methane it claimed. If the extension is approved it will only add fuel to the climate chaos we are now experiencing everywhere. If you haven't see the Living Wonders project ,which ECoCeQ presented to Tanya Plibersek, please look at it now and check which of the living wonders  that you cherish will be imperilled. Explore the Evidence - Living Wonders Despite a promise to escape the climate 'naughty corner', the government just scored a win against environmentalists - ABC News Fine article by Michael SlezacLiving Wonders: Calls for law change after Federal Court ruling | news.com.au — Australia’s leading news site Our "breaking News" interview will be followed by  a repeat of our 2022 show exploring the living wonders project featuring Professor Jakelin Troy and Lawyer Holly Kerwin. One of the wonders we look at is Lake Albacutya - Living Wonders.The hope we had then has had a setback in court. We had a new Environment Minister and Australia had overwhelmingly voted for Climate Action, but now state capture has been made obvious. Just as when our Former government passed around a shiny piece of laquered coal  and told parliament "Dont be afraid", now the Environment Minister is lined up with the coal companies who are defending her right to approve their mine extensions into the 2040's. That's the reality which should motivate a great deal of climate action. I think we must insist the reforms of the EPBC Act, promised for the end of this year, contain a climate trigger . Meantime, let us know if you are campaigning to delay the 25 projects.CLIMATE ACTIONOctober 29th SYDNEY- XR Zombie Walk  Events - Extinction Rebellion Australia (ausrebellion.earth)December 5-10th MELBOURNE -XR December RebellionNovember 17th - School Strike4Climate - Focus on stopping Fossil Fuel SubsidiesNov 17 | SS4C Australia (schoolstrike4climate.com)November 24-27- NEWCASTLE People's Blockade of the Coal PortPeople's Blockade — Rising Tide

CLIMATE ACTION SHOWOCTOBER 9th 2023Mark Diesendorf : SUSTAINABLE CIVILISATION As the world’s ecosystem and climate is collapsing around us, due to humanity’s uncontrolled carbon emissions, is a transition to a civilisation that is sustainable, socially just, healthy and less militarised even possible? Associate professor Mark Diesendorf and science journalist Rod Taylor think so, and they have recently published a book about how we will do it: ‘The Path to a Sustainable Civilisation’.In this podcast interview courtesy of journalist Mik Aidt, Mark Diesendorf describes what is wrong with our current political system, and then he makes a coherent argument for how it can be transformed.Diesendorf calls for citizen-based environmental, social justice, public health and peace groups to form alliances in order to challenge the overarching issues of state capture and flawed economic ideology.Former US President Franklin D. Roosevelt once told a delegation: “OK, you have convinced me. Now get out there and make me do it!”In other words, says Diesendorf, pressure from voters is needed to make government action politically feasible. Otherwise why would governments free themselves from state capture and discard the growth economics ideology?“The solution is to build a social movement to apply overwhelming pressure on government and big business, weaken the power of vested interests, and strengthen democratic decision-making,” Mark Diesendorf explains. “However, building enormous pressure on politicians will require a broader strategy than lobbying.”“Technological change is necessary but not sufficient. We must also struggle for substantial socioeconomic and political change, as discussed in the book. Consider the nonviolent strategies used to obtain votes for women, civil rights for black Americans, the expulsion from India of the colonial power of Great Britain, and the nonviolent removal of dictators in Argentina and the Philippines.”Mark Diesendorf is Honorary Associate Professor in the Environment & Society Group, School of Humanities & Languages at UNSW Sydney. He has written the book ‘Sustainable Energy Solutions for Climate Change’ (Routledge-Earthscan, 2014) and six other books.Rod Taylor is a freelance science writer and journalist. Rod is co-editor of Sustainability and the New Economics (Springer, 2022). His book, ‘Ten Journeys on a Fragile Planet’ (2020), received strong positive reviews.

CLIMATE ACTION SHOWOCTOBER 2ND 2023Produced by Vivien Langford STOP COAL SEAM GAS RALLY AT NSW PARLIAMENT  " If the LNG build out continues in USA, Canada and Australia - its sheer size will overwhelm our efforts to rein in global warming" Bill Mc Kibben Speakers :  Gomeroi, NSW Farmers ,Unions NSW and Climate activists defend the Pilliga against Santos GasBernie Hobbs M.C.- Knitting Nannas Gomeroi People from the land where Santos Gas Project threatens the Great Artesian Basin watersRaymond Bubbly WetherallSue-Ellen TigheKara Kinchella Parliamentarians in support of stopping Coal seam gas projects affecting Liverpool plains farmlandRoy Butler - MP for Bowen (Narrabri, Broken Hill, Cobar)Cate Faehrmann - Greens MP in NSW Upper HouseDr Joe Mc Gurr - MP for Wagga WaggaJeremey Buckingham - Member of the NSW Legislative Council and Legalise Cannabis Party Farmers defending the food bowl against the contamination of Coal seam GasXavier Martin - President of the NSW Farmers FederationDoug Friend - FarmerJoy Beves - Prsident of the Country Womens' Association Unionists defending Gomeroi People, workers and a safe climate for all of usVanessa Seagrove - General Secretary of Unions NSW OVERSEAS NEWSFrance wants to replace gas, fuel heaters with heat pumps - minister | ReutersThe Biden Administration’s Next Big Climate Decision | The New Yorker  by Bill Mc Kibben  QUIZ send your 5 answers to: [email protected]. If you include your postal address a book prize will arrive.1. How much gas does Australia export?2. Where do we export gas to?3. Export terminals where are they in Australia?4. Where is Shell's half kilometer long Prelude Gas processing facility? Clue it's floating.5. What do Tunisia, France, Quebec and Victoria have in common with regard to fracking? TO GET INVOLVED CONTACT  LOCK THE GATE ALLIANCESYDNEY RALLY - Stop Coal Seam Gas: Save the Pilliga and Liverpool Plains - Lock the Gate