Climate Action Show

THE CLIMATE ACTION SHOWJULY 17TH 2023PRODUCED By Vivien Langford with guest interviewer Simon Walker THE  EXTINTINCTION CURVEEPISODE 2 in the  SERIES : SYSTEM CHANGE NOT CLIMATE CHANGEPlus REWILDING BENEATH THE EARTHAuthors of The Extinction Curve: Growth and Globalisation in the Climate Endgame, John van der Velden and Rob White argue that the climate crisis is happening now and they are proposing a radical solution to alter the global warming trajectory: democratic nationalisation. How has green capitalism failed and what does this alternative provide? Is it really too late to stop global warming? Following the daring direct action of Blockade Australia we explore what System change is possible and how to achieve it. Here is one option. We welcome your suggestions on other approaches. GuestsJohn van der Velden is an independent socialist writer living in Canberra, Australia. Activist and author, he writes on matters of political economy, class structure and the climate emergency.Rob White is  Emeritus Distinguished Professor of Criminology at the University of Tasmania, Australia. Considered a pioneer in the field of green criminology, he has particular interest in transnational environmental crime and eco-justice. His published books include Crimes Against Nature (2008), Transnational Environmental Crime (2011), Environmental Harm (2013) and Climate Change Criminology (2018). Dr Heidi- Jayne Harkins - Conservancy International and University of Cape town.‪Heidi-Jayne Hawkins‬ - ‪Google Scholar‬World’s vast networks of underground fungi to be mapped for first time | Fungi | The Guardian

CLIMATE ACTION SHOW  JULY 10TH 2023Produced by Vivien Langford HOPE LIES IN RESISTANCEYou'll die waiting for a climate election Guests:Blockade Australia's Munro, Wenzel and Jem who arrested the flow of commerce in the ports of Melbourne, Sydney, Newcastle and Brisbane over the last week of June.Videos Archives - Blockade Australia Professor Emeritus Rob White - University of Tasmania. He is an expert in Transnational Environmental Crime His recent book with John Van der Velden is-The Extinction Curve- Growth and Globalisation in the Climate Endgame. The Extinction Curve | Emerald InsightWe talk about Eco socialism and regaining democratic control of the essentials for survival, energy, water, land. The blockaders have thrown down the gauntlet. The banks and government subsidies are accelerating climate change. Is it unthinkable that they could be brought under democratic control?We explore how capitalism is the root cause of climate chaos. Rob describes democratic nationalisation  and how we  can produce and consume only what we need.  Dr Elizabeth Boulton  - Security Theorist. Her work, based on her experience in military logistics, sees the climate emergency as the central threat of our age. Destination Safe EarthShe says " It’s no use propping up a broken model. In the way that explorers of old set sail for unknown lands, it is now time for Humanity to break off the trajectory, and forge out a new path… to Destination Safe Earth.However, instead of setting out to plunder, take and destroy… this time, humanity sets out, enmasse, to repair, rebuild and protect…" Music : Warrior by Meraki Mae Warrior // Meraki Mae – The Environmental Music Prize  Do watch this video featuring the Bentley Blockade and the Lismore Floods

CLIMATE ACTION SHOW  JULY 3RD 2023Produced by Vivien LangfordFear and Wonder produced by Michael Green for The Conversation THROWING DOWN THE GAUNTLET Blockade Australia and Fear and Wonder - What is fair? Guests:Niabh -  She abseiled off a bridge in Melbourne with  Blockade Australia.They blocked 6 lanes of traffic leading to the port  Aida Diongue-Niang - Senegalese meteorologist  and IPCC Author on Loss and damageGueladio Cisse -    Mauritanian public health expert on water Throwing down the gauntletAt the end of June Blockade Australia had a week of action stopping the flow of commerce into the ports of 4 major cities in Australia. In Newcastle they drew attention to the exported coal which is fuelling climate chaos.. In BRisbane, Sydney and Melbourne climbers were suspended over  container ports. They are throwing down the gauntlet to our system based on high carbon lifestyles and consumerism. We talk to Niebh to learn why.About - Blockade Australia Fear and Wonder produced by Michael Green and Dr Joelle Gergis for The ConversationThe concept of "loss and damage" was debated at the United Nations COP27 climate summit in Egypt in November 2022 – which resulted in an historic agreement to establish a loss and damage fund to compensate countries that are most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. In our final episode of Fear & Wonder, we hear from Senegalese meteorologist Aïda Diongue-Niang, who called us from COP27. She explains how African nations are already highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. She also takes us inside the gruelling final approval session of the IPCC's Synthesis Report. Her behind-the-scenes account reveals the dedication and determination of the scientists involved. We also hear from Mauritanian public health expert Guéladio Cissé, who details how more intense rainfall is already increasing the risk of water-borne and vector-borne diseases. Finally, we recap what we've learned throughout this podcast. We reflect on how the event that sparked its creation – the Australian Black Summer bushfires of 2019–20 – has inspired survivors to fight for climate action.Humanity's Moment by Joelle GergisIf you'd like to support the Climate Council and receive your free copy of Joelle's book Humanity's Moment, click here: https://bit.ly/40sQ4BP.

CLIMATE ACTION SHOWJUNE 26TH 2023Produced by Vivien LangfordBANGLA DESH REVISITED IN THE GREAT ASIAN HEATWAVE 2023 This is a repeat of the 2020 radio show taking us to Bangladesh. In the wake of Cyclone Mocha this year and the Asian heatwave which has caused many deaths we revisit these resourceful people to learn about courage.GUESTS: Runa Kahn - Founder of Friendship The Mangrove Project is Very Important: It Shows Things Can be Done - Friendship NGO- Cyclone Mocha makes landfall; Bangladesh spared mass destruction - Friendship NGODr Saleemul Huq - He has published hundreds of scientific as well as popular articles and was recognized as one of the top twenty global influencers on climate change policy in 2019 and top scientist from Bangladesh on climate change science. Recently he has been appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2022 New Year Honours for services to combating international climate change. Bangladesh rocked by power cuts as cyclone hits gas supply | Reuters ‘Alarming’ heat wave threatens Bangladesh’s people and their food supply (mongabay.com) Asia's heatwave prompts climatologists' warning amid UN report on rising global temperatures - ABC NewsImage from Climate VisualsPOULTRY FARMER AFFECTED BY EXTREME HEATPoultry farmer Mohammad Korban Ali is depressed. During a heatwave earlier in the summer one third of his chickens died from heat stroke. In August a flood drowned half of the hens that had survived the heat. - It has been a bad summer, he says. The low lying areas of Bangladesh are regularly flooded by the melting glaciers of Himalaya. They also suffer regularly from drought caused by warmer weather. With rising sea levels the farmland gets destroyed by salt water intrusion.Our research showed that authenticity matters. By far, the strongest finding from our discussion groups was that participants disliked staged photos.Authentic images were both more convincing and more compellingCountry: Bangladesh01/09/2007Photographer: Orjan Ellingvag / Alamy Stock PhotoAgency: AlamyRights ManagedMandatory Credit: Orjan Ellingvag / Alamy

CLIMATE ACTION SHOWJUNE 19TH 2023Produced by Vivien LangfordMOTHER EARTH? ....PALLIATIVE CARE A comment made  by a nurse in the human chain around the NAB Sydney HQ hit like a depth charge.Her placard showed Mother Earth with a thermometer in her mouth. I said  "She looks like she's in intensive care". "No, said the nurse, she's palliative".It chilled me because palliative suggests no more heroic measures, just smooth the dying pillow. This week watching videos of  Blockade Australia people hanging in harnesses above the Port in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne, I thought something is indeed dying. Our economic system of infinite growth is leading to ecological collapse. We need to let it go.One of the young people livestreaming his comments said " People recognise the system is not broken. It is designed this way and it is tearing away our future"They were not disrupting the export of coal and gas, which has a long history. They were interrupting the flow of goods that fuels consumerism.Another dangling  person said" We're digging ourselves a hole and the port is a big part of the shovel. We need to put that shovel down. We are here for life, for earth and all her peoples".There are so many ways to take Climate Action. Today's show highlights  people taking on the financiers of climate failure. It also introduces us to international energy experts in the fine Fear and Wonder podcast sponsored by The Climate Council Cooperation with the US could drive Australia’s clean energy shift – but we must act fast | Climate Council Guests:Move Beyond Coal group taking action as a human chain around the NAB HQ in SydneyCan you take some action at a NAB branch near you ? Deliver the 'Banking Climate Failure Report' - Move Beyond CoalWho we are - Move Beyond Coal Market Forces : Their report reveals just how loopholes are used for NAB to go on financing Whitehaven Coal and other  companies that are fuelling the climate crisis. Banking Climate Failure 2023 - Market Forces"In the last two years, the big four banks loaned a combined $13.1 billion to the fossil fuel industry. The banks also arranged $2.2 billion through the bond market for fossil fuel companies during this period".  Fear and Wonder Episode 6 Solutions“The problem is getting worse,” explains Greg Nemet, a Canadian renewable policy expert and IPCC author. “But we’ve got solutions now that are so much more affordable than they were.”After studying advances in solar technology, which has seen rapid expansion and price reductions, he’s optimistic about our capacity to avert the worst possible climate outcomes.In this week’s episode of our climate podcast Fear and Wonder, we speak to Greg about the pace of change in the solar industry and whether it can be replicated for other technologies. We also hear from fellow IPCC author and Algerian energy policy expert Yamina Saheb, about the emission reductions that are possible by adopting age-old sustainability concepts. She explains the idea of “sufficiency”, which aims to reduce the overall demand for energy, materials, land and water, while still delivering human wellbeing for all.Fear and Wonder podcast: the solutions needed to address climate change already exist (theconversation.com)

CLIMATE ACTION SHOW JUNE 12th 2023PRODUCED  in the Studio at 3CR by Juliet and RachelINTERVIEWS  by Vivien LangfordRADIOTHON : STAY TUNED . STAY RADICALGive generously to community radio. Here is how: GiveNow - Community Radio Federations Donations Fund GUESTSPeter Bennett From his experience in the Emergency  Departments of busy hospitals Peter sees teamwork and training as essential. How are we training and creating the teamwork necessary to withstand the climate emergency?  Now, after a sojourn in remote communities, he takes climate action. He  was part of the Move Beyond Coal event that circled the NAB HQ in Sydney plus a dignified and meditative sit -in at their foyer. He sees that as long as they finance new coal and gas projects, they are detroying the health of all future generations. .Getting-to-know-our-rural-GPs.pdf (racgp.org.au) Coral Bleach Was  an "effluent" protester at the " Super Dirty Gas Awards" . Market Forces Analysis was shaming  the top superannuation companies :First Super Dirty Gas awards for Equipsuper, Colonial First State and REST - Market Forces  However Coral said “I’m here to applaud Equipsuper, Colonial First State and REST superfunds for their efforts to maintain their investments in Santos and Woodside. And to encourage them – and all uber wealthy superfunds – to staunchly resist the calls of greedy and selfish ordinary people wanting a stable climate. Believe me, gas, like smoking, is perfectly fine for people, and the planet!” Peter Sainsbury After a life in Public Health,  Peter now writes regularly for Pearls and Irritations. He knows the value of independent media and is a staunch friend of our radio show. We talk about his article Environment: Developing a better relationship with Nature (johnmenadue.com) Meraki Mei was a teenager when they went to the Bentley Blockade.This hypnotic song was a finalist  in the Environmental Music Prize and the video takes you to the Lismore floods 2022 and Back to Bentley. Warrior // Meraki Mae – The Environmental Music PrizeSent in by Lock the Gate Alliance another staunch climate action group and supporter of this show, Alex SmithHost of  Radio Ecoshock which you can hear 6am every Sunday on Radio 3CR. It is broadcast from over 100 community Radio stations, so Alex knows the true value of the independence we have. He is a real colleague and help to me, as we broadcast the sort of stories many people DO NOT want to hear. We talk about the widespread forest fires in Canada, where he lives and the Asian Heatwave which is breaking records but is rarely front page news in Australia. As he says the big corporations have trillions and yet all we are asking for is a few thousand dollars to keep radical voices on air. This episode is TRULY radical Why Make a World Nobody Wants? – RADIO ECOSHOCK -‘Endless record heat’ in Asia as highest April temperatures recorded | Climate crisis | The Guardian -Asia's heatwave prompts climatologists' warning amid UN report on rising global temperatures - ABC News Nicolette BoeleShe is the Smart Energy Council's expert on the Electrification of Everything. With a long history in clean energy finance she is upbeat about the future. She stood for Federal Parliament and  turned a safe seat into a marginal one. She will stand again as an Independent and is emphatic that the independent media  is necessary. We break through the deadlock of old opinions and allow fresh voices to describe the path to a safer climate. Interview with Nicolette at ABC:The US deal that could supercharge Australia's energy and mining industries - ABC News

CLIMATE ACTION SHOWJUNE 5TH 2023Produced by Vivien Langford WORLD   ENVIRONMENT   DAY- FOCUS ON PLASTICStories - Environment Day | United Nations Guests :Song :Warrior // Meraki Mae – The Environmental Music Prize : WATCH the video of Lismore floods. Tero Mustonen - Winner of the Goldman prize for Climate and Energy 2023. He is featured in this weeks episode of Fear and Wonder produced by Michael Green and Joelle Gergis for The Conversation Tero Mustonen, a Finnish scholar, fisherman and president of the NGO Snowchange Cooperative, brought together Sámi Indigenous knowledge holders, Western science, and community members to preserve culture and protect and restore massive areas of carbon-capturing peatlands.About 30% of the country’s surface is composed of peatland. Peat bogs have a layer of decomposed plant material that traps water and carbon dioxide due to the lack of oxygen. As a result, peatlands store a significant amount of carbon, making them crucial for regulating the Earth’s climate. However, peatlands grow slowly, about 1 meter (3 feet) every 1,000 years.In Finland, peat is burned to create energy, releasing these hard-won carbon stores into the atmosphere. Due to peat burning, Finland generates 23.8 million tons of carbon dioxide annually, making it the largest peat burner in the EU. And despite its goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2035, the country only intends to reduce peat use by half during that time frame.Meet the 2023 Goldman Environmental Prize Winners (mongabay.com)FEAR AND WONDER - LIFE ON THE MOVEIn this episode, hosts Michael Green and Joelle Gergis speak to Finnish fisherman and IPCC scientist Dr Tero Mustonen about the changes he has observed on the lake ice in his village of Selkie in North Karelia, Finland, and how his community has led a successful rewilding project.We also speak to Australian marine ecologist Professor Gretta Pecl, whose research has helped map the rapid redistribution of life on Earth. Through her dives off the Tasmanian coast, we learn that plants and animals are moving faster in the ocean than they are on land – with a little help from Nemo.

CLIMATE ACTION SHOWMAY 29TH 2023PRODUCED by Vivien LangfordWith guest producer Simon Walker K N O W I N G   W H A T   T O  D O N A B    B A N K I N G    C L I M A T E   F A I L U R ER E W I L DI N G  - ANIMALS KNOW WHAT TO DO.  Guests: The Climate Congregation - In prayer and meditation at NAB HQ in Sydney. This is a group of eminent                                                    citizens  from the Budhist, Christian and Muslim faiths.  David Finnigan -  Writer and climate expert has a short piece about rewilding in the suburbs. You can see his play in Sydney SCENES FROM THE CLIMATE ERA  at Belvoir Theatre until the end of JUNE.  (440) David Finnigan - How to fall in love with the world as it unravels - YouTube Oswald Schmitz  - Oastler Professor of Population and community ecology in the Yale University School of Environment.He is in Conversation with Simon Walker about how  Conserving Wildlife Can Help Mitigate Climate Change (yale.edu) " Solving the climate crisis and biodiversity crisis are not separate issues. Animals remove billions of tons of carbon dioxide each year. Restoring species will help limit global warming, new science reveals.                             Show NotesToday's programme takes us to a quiet Meditation Sit In to cut through the shouting around NAB who have increased their funding of the Fossil Fuel Industry!...... Its all through loopholes apparently.Imagine talking to the CEO. The police have been called but do they know who these people are?  Dear Ross Mc Ewan,Thank you for coming down. These people here are praying and meditating in order to connect with  you or the public or with something larger than all of us. You might like to know who they are.If you are stricken with a heart attack and rushed to the ED, one of these quiet people has spent his life being the calm knowledgeable centre of emergencies. He will know what to do.If there are racial tensions in your workforce and those workers are vital to you, one of these people is the head of a multi ethnic community group, and he will know what to do. There are skills involved and they start here with quiet meditation.If someone in your family is deeply unhappy and you have tried everything, one of these people has spent her life counselling, and she will know what to do.If you need an architect to renovate your house for energy efficiency and future proofing, she is sitting right here, and she will know what to do.In your world of high finance you also know what to do to keep capital flowing. But there is a bigger context than the economy for you to consider and I invite you to sit with us in this quiet place we have created. You are among people whose lives have been dedicated to the greater good. We are all depending on you to know what to do. BANKING CLIMATE FAILUREThe banners directed at the bank are simple : STOP FUNDING COAL, but in the Sydney HQ of the NAB Bank the calculations must be complex. Their policy is to reduce their exposure to coal yet they have financed the coal industry with $3.3billion since the Paris Climate Ageement. How much PR can cover that up? The new Market Forces report Banking Climate Failure explains the loopholes. Banking Climate Failure 2023 - Market Forces"The big four banks have committed to not providing direct finance for new thermal coalprojects, and all except ANZ have restrictions on project finance for new oil and gas fields,although these are opaque and littered with caveats.Yet none of the banks rule out financing the companies that are developing these new fossilfuel supply projects and are therefore continuing to fund this activity. It’s alsoworth noting that none of the banks exclude finance to new fossil fuel transport orprocessing infrastructure, such as LNG terminals, despite these projects being out of line withglobal climate goals." Later in the month a bigger coalition from MOVE BEYOND COAL blocked the entrances of the HQ with signs saying STOP NAB WORKING WHILE NAB WORKS FOR COAL.You can take action: 1. Calling all shareholders! - Market Forces2. Joining Move Beyond Coal3. Joining  ARRCC

CLIMATE ACTION SHOWMAY 22ND 2023 Produced by Vivien LangfordSCENES  FROM  THE  CLIMATE  ERAGuestsCarissa Licciardello - Director at Belvoir Theatre of Scenes from the Climate EraDavid Finnigan - Writer of Scenes from the Climate Era. (401) David Finnigan - When will the climate era end? - YouTube“We knew there was a mass extinction happening, we all felt bad about it. But you couldn’t think about it every second of every day. I had a bad breakup that year, I was trying to pay rent. We were just living our lives.”A frog, the last of its species, starts calling for a mate, but there’s no-one to hear.A group of friends reminisce about the last time they took a flight, before all that came to an end.Landholders in Borneo confront western environmentalists over who owns the forest.A scientist is coached on how to speak to the media in digestible soundbites.A family takes to the water, needing a new home, new hope…A remarkable, illuminating, shocking, wry, and sometimes inspiring piece of theatre, Scenes from the Climate Era is exactly what it says – over fifty small plays that catch the exhilaration, frustration and fascination of living in interesting times.Belvoir Theatre said:We read this and simply had to do it, we haven’t had a script that’s generated quite as much energy as this one. David is a climate expert as well as a playwright, and the sheer dramatic impact of his expertise is thrilling, frightening, invigorating. It’s not a play that wags its finger, it’s terrifically smart and human. If you’re looking for something about the big issues of this era, here’s a piece of theatre for you. – EamonSCENES FROM THE CLIMATE ERA - Belvoir St Theatre Fear and Wonder Episode 4   with kind permission from The Conversation Produced by Michael GreenFeaturing IPPCC Authors :   Joelle Gergis, Paola Arias in Colombia and Krishnana Ragavhan in India. "The wet gets wetter and the dry gets drier".That's one of the key messages from the chapter in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC) latest report on how climate change is impacting Earth's water cycle. And it's the topic of our latest episode.In case you're new here: Fear & Wonder is a new climate podcast, brought to you by The Conversation. It takes you inside the United Nations’ era-defining climate report via the hearts and minds of the scientists who wrote it. The show is sponsored by the Climate Council, an independent, evidence-based organisation working on climate science, impacts and solutions.In this episode, hosts Michael Green and Joelle Gergis speak to scientists Paola Arias from Colombia and Krishnan Raghavan from India about how climate change is intensifying the extremes of wet and dry. They discuss the Australian floods of 2020 to the South Asian monsoon and the devastating Pantanal wetland fires in Brazil's Amazon.

CLIMATE ACTION SHOW MAY 15TH 2023Produced by Vivien Langford HEATWAVE SCIENCE ------ EXTINCTION PREVENTIONUNITE TO SURVIVE Guests :Extinction Rebellion TV Live.(396) XR Big One. 21-24 April 2023 - YouTube The Big One featured 200 climate action groups gathered in London in April. A joyful crowd of 60,000 extra ordinary people swarmed  with more pageantry than the coronation. I extracted some comments to show the depth, education and ardour of these climate activists determined to turn the tide.. We hear from The Climate Media Coalition , XR doctors and nurses, Trade Unions, Engineers for climate action and a retired policeman on how Citizens Assemblies can cut through the futile battles in court. They did not disrupt traffic or glue themselves to banks. They did not disrupt the London Marathon and they did not get the ususual outraged media coverage that anger and disruption generate.They  created their own media and we will bring you more extracts from The Big One in the following months.The aim was to be inclusive, to "Unite to Survive".  TO TAKE ACTION AT THE END OF MAY -  join us at:Melbourne Action Occupy for Climate Melbourne 2023 - Extinction Rebellion Australia (ausrebellion.earth)Can Extinction Rebellion really be the new centre ground of the climate movement? | Ellie Mae O’Hagan | The Guardian Fear and Wonder  .   Episode 3 takes us to a Heatwave in Toulouse. The show is hosted by Joelle Gergis, a climate scientist and lead author for the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and her friend Michael Green, an award-winning journalist.In this episode, we're unraveling one of the major shifts in the public communication of climate change – the attribution of extreme weather events to climate change. In the past, we knew climate change made extreme weather more likely, but couldn't say for sure if an individual weather event might've happened in a cooler world too. But scientists have now developed more sophisticated models to help determine how connected or influenced the shift in climate is on individual weather extremes.We speak to climatologist Fredi Otto about a rapid attribution study of a heatwave in Toulouse, France. Then scientists David Karoly and Tannecia Stephenson help us understand how climate models are built and what they can tell us about our changing weather.